Amarilis Fuentes

Amarilis Fuentes (1894–1955) was an Ecuadorian teacher and suffragist, who became one of the first women in the country to hold public office. She was instrumental as a teacher and pressed for the founding of libraries in Guayaquil. There are both a school and a street which bear her name in her hometown.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fuentes and the second or maternal family name is Alcívar.
Amarilis Fuentes
Amarilis Fuentes circa. 1920
Born
Amarilis Fuentes Alcívar

1894 (1894)
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Died1955 (aged 60–61)
Guayaquil, Ecuador
NationalityEcuadorian
Occupation(s)educator, suffragist, politician
Years active1908–1954

Early life

Amarilis Fuentes Alcívar was born in 1894, in Guayaquil, Ecuador to Mercedes Alcívar and Miguel Clemente Fuentes. She began her early education with her mother and then studied[1] at the school run by Débora Lamota,[2] and other schools to earn her teaching credentials.[1]

Career

Fuentes began teaching in 1908 and worked for seven years, before moving to Quito to further her education. She enrolled in the Manuela Cañizares Normal School and studied methodology and pedagogy. In 1916 she earned a certification as a normal school teacher and that same year attended the first conference devoted to pedagogy in the country.[1]

Returning to Guayaquil, Fuentes worked at several different schools before she was appointed Deputy Director of the Rita Lecumberri School in 1919. Later that year, the school was reorganized as a normal institution and Fuentes was promoted to Director given the task of completing the restructuring of the school.[1] She was one of the founding members of the Women's Legion of Popular Culture, established by Rosa Borja de Ycaza.[2]

Beginning in 1924, women in Guayaquil began agitating for the right to vote and participate on local councils. When Matilde Hidalgo received a ruling from the ministerial council that she could vote, working women in Guayaquil began to take part in municipal elections.[3][4] In 1925, when it was difficult for women to attain a post on a city council, Fuentes was elected to serve as a council member of the Cantonal Council,[5][3] becoming the first woman to hold the position of councilor for a canton in the country.[4] As a council member, she pressed to improvement of educational facilities and was instrumental in the development of libraries.[1]

Death and legacy

Fuentes died on 19 February 1955 in Guayaquil.[1] The year prior to her death, a trade school bearing her name, focused on accounting and administrative education was opened in her home town. The school was managed by the Guayas Province until 1992, when control of the institution passed to the state.[6] There is also a street in the Centenario neighborhood, in the southern part of Guayaquil which is named in her honor.[2]

References

Citations
  1. Avilés Pino 2016.
  2. El Universo 2005.
  3. Prieto 2008, p. 319.
  4. Quintero 1980, p. 242.
  5. Valverde de Duarte 2011.
  6. PP Digital 2011.

Bibliography
  • Avilés Pino, Efrén (2016). "Fuentes Amarilis". Enciclopedia del Ecuador (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • Prieto, Mercedes (2008). Mujeres y escenarios ciudadanos [Women and scenarios as citizens] (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Quito, Ecuador: FLACSO, Sede Ecuador. ISBN 978-9978-67-180-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2017.
  • Quintero, Rafael (1980). El Mito del Populismo en el Ecuador [The Myth of Populism in Ecuador] (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Quito, Ecuador: FLACSO Editores. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2017.
  • Valverde de Duarte, Berta (9 October 2011). "Guayaquileñas en el municipio de su ciudad" [Women of Guayaquil in the municipality of your city] (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador: La Revista el Universo. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • "Colegio Fiscal Amarilis Fuentes Alcívar: Forjando líderes – Primera parte" [Colegio Fiscal Amarilis Fuentes Alcívar: Forging Leaders – Part One] (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador: PP Digital. 30 August 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  • "Evocación a los maestros Amarilis Fuentes Alcívar y Pedro Martínez" [Evocation to the teachers Amarilis Fuentes Alcívar and Pedro Martínez] (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador: El Universo. 30 January 2005. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
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