Blanca Canales
| Blanca Canales | |
|---|---|
Leader of the Jayuya Uprising
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| Born |
February 17, 1906 Jayuya, Puerto Rico |
| Died | July 25, 1996 (aged 90) Jayuya, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Puerto Rican Nationalist Party |
| Movement | Puerto Rican Independence |
 Newsreel scenes on YouTube in Spanish of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s |
Blanca Canales (February 17, 1906 – July 25, 1996) was an educator and a Puerto Rican Nationalist. Canales joined the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in 1931 and helped organize the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.
As a leader of the Nationalist party in Jayuya, she stored arms in her house, which were used in a revolt in 1950 against United States rule over the island. During the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s she led members in the Jayuya Uprising, in which Nationalists took control of the town for three days.
Canales (birth name: Blanca Canales Torresola ) was born in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. She was the younger sister of writer and politician Nemesio Canales. Her family was politically active and her father was part of the "Partido Unión de Puerto Rico" (Union Party of Puerto Rico). It lobbied for the independence of the island. Her mother was a strong-willed woman who encouraged her children to think for themselves.
As a child, Canales read many books and stories about other nations and their heroes. She often accompanied her father to political meetings, where she enjoyed the speeches, flag-waving, and patriotic fervor. Canales finished her primary and secondary education in Jayuya.
In 1924, her father died and her mother moved to Ponce. Canales graduated from Ponce High School and, in May 1930, earned her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Puerto Rico. Before graduating, she attended a conference given by the President of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Pedro Albizu Campos, and was impressed by the ideals of independence which he preached. Canales returned to the university that same year, and took a course of study in social work.
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