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Lola Rodríguez de Tío (September 14, 1848-November 10, 1924), born in San German, Puerto Rico was the first Puerto Rican born poetist to establish herself a reputation as a great poet throughout all of Latin-America. A believer in Women's Rights, she also believed in the abolition of slavery and the in the Independence of Puerto Rico.
Lola's father, Sebastian Rodriguez de Astudillo, was the founder of the Puerto Rican Lawyers College. Her mother, Carmen Ponce de Leon, was a descendent of Juan Ponce de Leon. Lola received her education at home where she was home-tutored. That was when she developed a life-long love for literature and especially for the works of Fray Luis de Leon which were to serve as her fountain of inspiration.
Lola moved to Mayagüez, with her family, where she met Bonocio Tio Segarra, whom she married in 1863. Segarra was a well educated man who was active against the Spanish regime. She also published her first book of poetry,"Mis Cantos" which sold the then amazing amount of 2,500 copies.
In 1867 and then again in 1889, Lola and Bonocio were banished from Puerto Rico by the Spanish appointed Governor Palacios. On their first banishment they went to Venezuela. On the second banishment they first went to New York and then to Cuba. In 1868, inspired by Ramon Emeterio Betances's quest for Puerto Rico's independence and by the attempted revolution called the Grito de Lares, she wrote the patriotic lyrics to the existing tune of "La Borinqueña. In Cuba, Lola was elected a member to the Cuban Academy of Arts and Letters. She was well known in Cuba for her patriotic poetry about Puerto Rico and Cuba.
Some of Lola's best known works are "Cuba y Puerto Rico son..." (Cuba and Puerto Rico are..) and "Mi Libro de Cuba" (My Book about Cuba).
In 1919, Lola Rodriguez de Tio returned to Puerto Rico where she was honored with a great banquet at the Ateneo Puertoriqueño and where she recited her "Cantos a Puerto Rico".
Lola Rodríquez de Tío died in November 10, 1924 and is buried in Havana, Cuba.
The design and colors of the Puerto Rican Flag, which was adopted in 1954, came from Lolas idea of having the same flag as Cuba with the colors reversed. Puerto Rico has honored Lola's memeory by naming schools and avenues after her.
The 1868 Lola Rodríguez de Tió revolutionary version of "La Boriqueña".
- ¡Despierta, borinqueño
- que han dado la señal!
- ¡Despierta de ese sueño
- que es hora de luchar!
- [Arise, Puerto Rican! The call to arms has sounded! Awake from this dream, it is time to fight!]
- A ese llamar patriótico
- ¿no arde tu corazón?
- ¡Ven! Nos será simpático
- el ruido del cañón.
- [Doesn't this patriotic call set your heart alight? Come! We are in tune with the roar of the cannon.]
- Mira, ya el cubano
- libre será;
- le dará el machete
- su libertad...
- le dará el machete
- su libertad.
- [Come, the Cuban will soon be free; the machete will give him his liberty.]
- Ya el tambor guerrero
- dice en su son,
- que es la manigua el sitio,
- el sitio de la reunión,
- de la reunión...
- de la reunión.
- [Now the war drum says with its sound, that the jungle is the place of the meeting.]
- El Grito de Lares
- se ha de repetir,
- y entonces sabremos
- vencer o morir.
- [The Cry of Lares must be repeated, and then we will know: victory or death.]
- Bellísima Borinquén,
- a Cuba hay que seguir;
- tú tienes bravos hijos
- que quieren combatir.
- [Beautiful Puerto Rico must follow Cuba; you have brave sons who wish to fight.]
- ya por más tiempo impávido
- no podemos estar,
- ya no queremos, tímidos
- dejarnos subyugar.
- [Now, no longer can we be unmoved; now we do not want timidly to let them subjugate us.]
- Nosotros queremos
- ser libre ya,
- y nuestro machete
- afilado está.
- y nuestro machete
- afilado está.
- [We want to be free now, and our machete has been sharpened.]
- ¿Por qué, entonces, nosotros
- hemos de estar,
- tan dormidos y sordos
- y sordos a esa señal?
- a esa señal, a esa señal?
- [Why then have we been so sleepy and deaf to the call?]
- No hay que temer, riqueños
- al ruido del cañón,
- que salvar a la patria
- es deber del corazón!
- [There is no need to fear, Puerto Ricans, the roar of the cannon; saving the nation is the duty of the heart.]
- ya no queremos déspotas,
- caiga el tirano ya,
- las mujeres indómitas
- también sabrán luchar.
- [We no longer want despots, tyranny shall fall now; the unconquerable women also will know how to fight.]
- Nosotros queremos
- la libertad,
- y nuestros machetes
- nos la darán...
- y nuestro machete
- nos la dará...
- [We want liberty, and our machetes will give it to us.]
- Vámonos, borinqueños,
- vámonos ya,
- que nos espera ansiosa,
- ansiosa la libertad.
- ¡La libertad, la libertad!
- [Come, Puerto Ricans, come now, we hope and wait for freedom, wait for freedom, freedom, freedom!]