March 6, 2025

Lolita Lebron: Part One

Lolita Lebron: Part One

On March 1, 1954, four Puerto Rican Nationalists opened fire on the house of Representatives chamber at the US Capitol. They were led by Lolita Lebron, a woman who some see as a hero and others as a terrorist.

Cristina tells Carmen about Lolita...

Spotify podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconPlayerFM podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player icon

On March 1, 1954, four Puerto Rican Nationalists opened fire on the house of Representatives chamber at the US Capitol. They were led by Lolita Lebron, a woman who some see as a hero and others as a terrorist.

Cristina tells Carmen about Lolita Lebron, leading up to the March 1st attack.

If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/

Want ad free episodes? And the ocassioal bonus episode? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcast

Follow on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknown

Music Credit: Hustlin (Instrumental) by Neffex

Sources

https://www.paseomedia.org/episodes/12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita_Lebr%C3%B3n
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Ricans_in_New_York_City
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Act
https://web.archive.org/web/20170506201050/https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-1/ylp-reader.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_United_States_Capitol_shooting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayuya_Uprising
https://www.roosevelt.nl/en/from-the-vaults/lolita-lebron-there-is-no-need-now-to-kill-for-freedom/
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03lebron.html
https://www.workers.org/2022/03/62656/
https://mediaburn.org/video/the-defense-of-lolita-lebron-an-interview-with-conrad-lynn/
https://mronline.org/2010/08/07/puerto-rico-remembers-independence-fighter-lolita-lebron/
https://www.npr.org/2010/08/03/128959759/remembering-puerto-rican-activist-lolita-lebron

WEBVTT

1
00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:10.839
Hi, I am Christina and this is Estodia's Unknown. This

2
00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:14.640
episode was supposed to be just one episode, but because

3
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.519
we're going to be on vacation, we decided to split

4
00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:20.600
it into two in a place where it makes sense.

5
00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:23.480
If you are a member of our Patreon, then you

6
00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.559
will get this episode all together and we'll be back

7
00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:31.160
next week with the second part. Hi everyone, This is

8
00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.640
Carmen and Christina and this is estodia Is Unknown. A

9
00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:37.719
podcast where we talk about Latin American history. Sometimes it's

10
00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:41.560
horrible and deals with tibe topics like criticism, corruption, and genocide,

11
00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:44.960
but more than that, it's also about resistance, power and community.

12
00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:48.920
And I wanted to talk about well, I've been wanting

13
00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:50.799
to talk about who I'm talking about today for a

14
00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:52.679
very long time, and I was like, there's no better

15
00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:56.399
time than March, because one, it's Women's History Month, but

16
00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:01.439
also the events that take place during her story happened

17
00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:05.079
on March first, nineteen fifty four. Her story, not his story,

18
00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:09.599
exactly her story. So yeah, that's why I wanted to

19
00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:11.519
talk about. So what was the year because I just

20
00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.840
was thinking her story, Oh wow, Okay, March first, nineteen

21
00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:17.319
fifty four, fifty four Okay, I heard the March first

22
00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.680
prize and hear the year. Yeah. So here's my little

23
00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:22.719
thing before I introduce who I'm talking about. Hey, you mystery?

24
00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:25.640
Yeah yeah, Well, because I want to see if you

25
00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:27.280
know who it is after I say this a right,

26
00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.159
you know, I don't remember anyone. Okay, go on, I'm

27
00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:32.200
quizzing you, not a quiz, a pop quiz. Can sign

28
00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:34.840
up for a pop quiz. This is what I'm here for.

29
00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:39.599
I'm lean, okay. So on March first, nineteen fifty four,

30
00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.719
for Puerto Rican nationalists open fire on the House of

31
00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.879
Representatives chamber at the US Capitol. They were led by

32
00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:50.319
Lolita Lebron. Okay, a woman who you do know who

33
00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:55.040
she is? I knew of this, I know her generally,

34
00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:57.319
but in the moment, I'm glad you say her name

35
00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:00.120
because I was not gonna remember her name. Okay. No,

36
00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:01.959
I was always gonna say her name. Okay. I thought

37
00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.359
we're gonna be like, go and who is the andle

38
00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:09.039
them who led them to open fire on the House

39
00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:12.479
for person So not the first time that the capital

40
00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.439
saw an act of quote unquote terror, because I don't

41
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:20.759
consider this an active terror. I'm sorry, but Okay, no,

42
00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:24.960
I'm FBI agent that's listening and I'm just kidding. No.

43
00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:28.280
Some and she's a very like polarizing figure. Some people

44
00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:30.800
see her as a hero as right, She's a hero

45
00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:34.560
to me, and others see her as a terrorist. I mean,

46
00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:37.879
I guess it depends on you ask like you just said, yeah,

47
00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:42.039
Like if you're asking me hero yeah, yeah. And even

48
00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:44.479
if people don't agree with what she did, she they

49
00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:47.479
still see her as a heroic figure in Puerto Rican

50
00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:49.919
history because not everyone agrees with what she did. Right

51
00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.120
that day, I'm a capital because some people were like, oh,

52
00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:55.360
it's too much violence, but we'll get into it. But yeah,

53
00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:59.960
that's what we're talking about today. Full name Dolores lebron

54
00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:04.599
Lolita lebron So. She was born in Lattis, Puerto Rico,

55
00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.919
on November nineteenth, nineteen nineteen, and she was one of

56
00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.759
five siblings. Her parents were Gonzalo lebron Bernard and Rafaela

57
00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:16.520
so To Luciano. Her sylings were Aurea, Agusto, Gonzalo Junior

58
00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:20.879
and Julio and they were raised in Ascienda Bezuelas in

59
00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.520
the Batrio of Bezuela in Lattice Puerto Rico, and her

60
00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:28.120
father worked as the ascienda's foreman, earning a wopping thirty

61
00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:31.240
dollars a month for this, Oh my god. But because

62
00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:33.520
she was foreman, they were given a small house on

63
00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:35.639
the essenda to live in, and they were also allowed

64
00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:39.000
to grow some food in this little house, and the

65
00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:43.759
Lebron children attended a small community school. But Lorita found

66
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.759
herself unable to keep up with her siblings because she

67
00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:49.759
fell into a gutter when she was small was full

68
00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:54.560
of water, and this resulted in hurricane in pneumonia. Wow. Yeah.

69
00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:58.159
And after that she suffered from years of fatigue, and

70
00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:01.000
she grew up to be a little frail And who

71
00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:06.159
would think that this little frail girl would lead a shootout? Yes?

72
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:14.240
Well what was a shooting? Yes? Yeah? And maybe because

73
00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:16.040
she couldn't keep up with her siblings anymore, she was

74
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:18.720
she wasn't out there running a bunch with them in

75
00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.639
the neighborhood. It could have been the reason. It strengthened her,

76
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:26.480
strengthened her want to read and like seeking knowledge and

77
00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:29.399
oh my god, I can't now I can't read, yes,

78
00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:33.680
thank you? And yeah, she just you know, spent time

79
00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:37.199
indoors reading and stuff like that. Eventually, the family moved

80
00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:41.000
from Besuela to Mirasol, a different neighborhood in Lattice. Here,

81
00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:43.720
her father, Gonzalo was the foreman of another ascent that

82
00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:47.519
owned by Emilio via Yes. And in Mirasol, Lolita was

83
00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.240
able to receive a better education. She attended the local

84
00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:53.199
public school and then after completing sixth grade, she attended

85
00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:59.439
the Seunda Rural that's her saving in Spanish, without a

86
00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:03.279
middle school in Bartholo, and this is a barrio right

87
00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:07.639
next to Mirasol, all in Lattice still and she finished

88
00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:11.000
eighth grade. And by now at this point in her life,

89
00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.240
she was known for her smarts and her beauty. She

90
00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:17.160
was just always described as gorgeous. And if you look

91
00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.040
at her picture of when she shootout, she's dressed, she's

92
00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:22.519
so well dressed. She just looks beautiful. I mean, she

93
00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:25.800
looks so cool. Yeah, she's got red LIPSTI gun and

94
00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:29.920
she's just like she's ready to you know. But yeah,

95
00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:32.399
she was known for her beauty. So she won first

96
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:35.480
place in the annual Queen of the Flowers of may

97
00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:38.839
A beauty contest in Lattice. And even though her dad

98
00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:41.319
was an atheist, her mom was Catholic, and she, along

99
00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:43.920
with her siblings, were all baptized into Catholicism and she

100
00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.600
would eventually be super religious as well. When this baptism

101
00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:49.680
happened when she was fourteen, this is where she met

102
00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:54.879
Francisco Mattos Pauli, who she immediately liked and they started

103
00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:58.439
writing each other love letters poetry. This was her her

104
00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:02.040
first boyfriend, and I mean, for this time, secually's not

105
00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:03.720
that bad of an age gap. He was only four

106
00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:07.839
years older than her, making him eighteen and her fourteen. Yeah,

107
00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:12.480
to be worse, yeah, it could be a lot worse pose, Yeah,

108
00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:15.600
And while the two were in love, their families did

109
00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:19.720
not love this union. His family felt like the Lebrons

110
00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:22.959
were too poor and they considered her a hibaa a peasant,

111
00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:28.079
oh and not at their son's level. And her family

112
00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:30.360
was just worried that he was some rich snob and

113
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:33.399
he was older, and that's why they opposed the relationship.

114
00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:35.720
Out of the two, they have a valid reason, I think,

115
00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:40.560
I agree, Yeah, And they did eventually break up because

116
00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:45.000
Fancisco Marcos Bauli moved out of Lattice and she also

117
00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:48.279
ended up leaving Lattice for San Juan to study sewing

118
00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:50.319
here or she picked back up with her love and

119
00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:52.920
they started seeing each other again. But then she ended

120
00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.600
up moving back to Lattice because her dad got super

121
00:06:55.639 --> 00:06:59.279
sick with tubertudosis and she felt like it was her

122
00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:02.319
duty to help her family, so she returned and her

123
00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:04.639
dad was too sick to work. They were forced to

124
00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:09.920
leave the Scienda because again him being the foremant of

125
00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:12.000
the scienda was the reason they had a free house

126
00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.199
on the scenda. Right, and this is why I don't

127
00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:19.480
know things like housing, health insurance. I don't know. I

128
00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:22.279
feel like you should be type to employment No. One

129
00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:27.079
hundred percent. And eventually the Scnda owner did provide them

130
00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:28.720
with the new house to live in. And it's like

131
00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:33.439
now they have to depend on the generosity of this

132
00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:36.680
rich person, which luckily he was generous enough to give

133
00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:40.680
them a house. Right, that's rare, so rare. Because he

134
00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:44.120
couldn't work anymore, so she took care of her dad.

135
00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:46.480
She would travel to the next town over to pick

136
00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:50.480
up his medicine. She then diligently gave him his medicine

137
00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:55.439
every seventy minutes for seven days. Wow. Yeah, and she

138
00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:57.480
didn't sleep or eat during these seven days because she

139
00:07:57.560 --> 00:07:58.959
was like, nope, I need to take care of him.

140
00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.560
And it took all her attention, but he did sadly

141
00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:07.040
die after the seven days, and so she started helping

142
00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.839
her family financially by weaving clothes because she was a

143
00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:13.120
trained seamstress. And it was right after this that her

144
00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.600
political ideologies would be shaped. She had already been a

145
00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:20.000
member of the Liberal Party from a very young age,

146
00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:22.360
but she wasn't very involved in politics. She was just

147
00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.480
like a member, that's it. She didn't go she didn't

148
00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:27.800
attend any meetings, nothing. But now at eighteen, she had

149
00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:31.120
been working as a seamstress for some time, she was

150
00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:35.879
dating a local engineer, and at this age eighteen, she

151
00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.039
witnessed what started as a peaceful protest then turned into

152
00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:43.960
a massacre. Oh no, the Ponte massacre. Oh I was

153
00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.759
gonna guess. I was, Yeah, I know. I figured you

154
00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:51.600
wouldn't know, yeah, or you would say that, and the

155
00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:55.039
next nose and yes, this is the Ponte massacre, the

156
00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:58.399
very one, yeah, which we talked about way back in

157
00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:03.840
episode twenty two twenty two. Wow, yeah, long ago. Yeah.

158
00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:05.399
And because we've already covered it, I'm not going to

159
00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:07.960
go into details but just know it was completely horrible.

160
00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.960
It was literally like a massacre. There's the reason why

161
00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:15.840
it's called the pont Samasacar. Yeah, it's truly truly horrible.

162
00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:17.559
Go back and listen if you have not listened to

163
00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:19.679
that episode, which I would just assume everyone has at

164
00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:23.320
this point because most people go in order. So this

165
00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:26.080
is the event that radicalized her into believing that the

166
00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:29.879
olin way forward was a free Puerto Rico, and she

167
00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:34.519
began to admire the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, which we

168
00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:37.039
do mention a lot in the Ponts of Massacre. During

169
00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:39.559
all this, she ended up getting pregnant and had her

170
00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:43.080
first baby at twenty one, and like any mother, she

171
00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.320
wented to provide for her child, but she realized that

172
00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.000
there were no opportunities on the island for her to

173
00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:52.559
do this, especially after separating from her baby's father, so

174
00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:55.279
she left her baby with her mother and, like many

175
00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:58.720
other Puerto Ricans, migrated to New York in search of

176
00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:02.639
a better life to provide for her child. But this

177
00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.639
was not easy at all. It was difficult for her

178
00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:07.720
to find a job, especially because she didn't fully understand English.

179
00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:10.519
She found occasional work as a seamstress, but she was

180
00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.519
often fired because a lot of her bosses considered her

181
00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:17.399
a rebel. But all she really did was call out

182
00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:21.799
discrimination that she witnessed against Puerto Rican workers. Yeah, so

183
00:10:21.960 --> 00:10:24.159
they just expected you to lay there and take it,

184
00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:26.600
you know. Yeah, And she didn't. She wasn't like that.

185
00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:31.679
Sorry for the crudeness, Sorry for the crudeness. She's tired.

186
00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:40.879
The injustices she saw as a Puerto Rican trying to

187
00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:44.360
make a living in New York further solidified her nationalistic views.

188
00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:48.200
She found the local Puerto Rican Liberation Movement group and

189
00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.440
began meeting with them. She also enrolled in classes at

190
00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.759
George Rushton College and attended for two years when she

191
00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.679
was not at work, and then at twenty three ish,

192
00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:01.639
she married again. She had her second baby, who she

193
00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:03.879
also sent to live with her mom in Puerto Rico.

194
00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.360
She also left her husband after a year of marrying

195
00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:09.960
him because she felt like he was oppressing her. He

196
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.960
probably will, I'm on her side, automatically. Automatically, No, right,

197
00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:19.000
you know, there's some schools of thoughts out there that

198
00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:25.480
that believes what I believe. Marriage is inherently oppressive to women,

199
00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:29.559
Like no matter what kind of marriage all marriage. Yeah, yeah,

200
00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:37.240
I can't say I fully disagree. Same And during this

201
00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:40.759
time that we're in nineteen forty three, there was an

202
00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.440
even greater migration from Puerto Ricans leaving the island for

203
00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:47.759
New York. And it has a name, the Great Migration.

204
00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:55.000
Oh yeah, fitting fitting name. A lot led to this

205
00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:58.080
great migration. I've talked about this book in our other

206
00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.519
Puerto Rico episodes, but Against All Puerto Ricans is a

207
00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:03.799
great book on this. But the very short version on

208
00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.759
what led to this great migration is a combination of

209
00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:10.759
the Great Depression, World War Two, and air travel being

210
00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.159
more accessible. But again, there was a lot of situations

211
00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:16.600
that led up to a lot of people leaving the island.

212
00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.039
We did talk about it also in the Mustard Gas episode.

213
00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:22.879
But one of the only jobs available in Puerto Rico

214
00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:26.240
is the military, something still true today. Perducans joined the

215
00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:29.080
military the most out of any Hispanic or Latino Latin

216
00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:32.919
group because it's one of the only things available. Other

217
00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.519
than that there's crime, really like, that's what it seems like. Yeah,

218
00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:39.679
and so this was true back then, so true today.

219
00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:41.559
On top of that, you know, there was an explosion

220
00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:44.320
in jobs in factories and ship docks in the US,

221
00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:48.120
which made it more lucrative than the jobs available in

222
00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:50.919
Puerto Rico, which were also dying down because of like

223
00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:54.120
a lot of reasons. Again that that book talks more

224
00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:58.440
about it. Most of the people leaving were hibaros aka peasants,

225
00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:01.279
the people working in the fields, so that also played

226
00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:03.639
a big role into who was leaving, and wood jobs

227
00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.960
where jobs were available, and so Lolita watched us more

228
00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:10.440
and more for people left their homeland only to be

229
00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:14.559
forced into poverty and prejudice in the US, and seeing

230
00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:17.919
all this, she began to work more within the liberation movement.

231
00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:21.480
She became an official member of the Puerto Rican National

232
00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:24.639
Party in nineteen forty six, and she came to develop

233
00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:29.000
a great admiration for Pedro Albiso Campos, the president of

234
00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:30.720
the party, which we did talk a little bit more

235
00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:32.679
about him in the Ponte massacre. There's going to be

236
00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:35.039
a separate episode on him because there's so much there.

237
00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.759
I feel like deep admiration isn't even enough force to

238
00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:42.200
cover what she felt of him. It wasn't like, you know, like, oh,

239
00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:46.039
I'm infatuated, like nothing like that. It was like such

240
00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.759
a deep admiration of him and his work and what

241
00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:53.759
he was doing. She memorized his biography and like his lectures,

242
00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:57.679
I studied it an insane amount. And again, like one

243
00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:00.639
day I will cover him as a topic and it's

244
00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.159
probably gonna end up being like a two or three

245
00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:05.679
partt because he was done so dirty every less really

246
00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:08.559
so dirty. Yeah, so fucked up. What they did to

247
00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.159
him make me hate to hear even more. No, it's

248
00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:13.600
it's so bad. Like if you thought it it was bad,

249
00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:17.240
it really I can't even know. It's terrible. You need

250
00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:20.440
to learn about this. Yeah, the book War against Sand

251
00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:23.399
Puerto Ricans covers history really well. I need to read

252
00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.960
that book. It's it's I don't want to say good.

253
00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:30.360
I don't think that's the right word. So informative. Yeah, yeah,

254
00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:35.799
importantly it is, truly because the way the book is

255
00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:41.159
written is also it starts out after the US colonizes

256
00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:44.240
Puerto Rico after Spain. It starts out there and talks

257
00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:46.240
about the businesses that are moving in and the money

258
00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.519
that's to be made, and in it they weave his

259
00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:52.360
story in throughout the topics that they're talking about. So

260
00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:55.399
it's not like there's one chapter that's mostly dedicated to him.

261
00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:57.600
But then his story is like it goes on throughout

262
00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.759
the whole book. As they're talking about the birth control

263
00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:02.799
tr also as they're talking about the bontime massacre, it's

264
00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:05.799
all related back to him. Wow, and telling his story

265
00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.039
until the end, and in the very end, Lolita Levron

266
00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:11.200
is mentioned too. But yeah, it's such a good book.

267
00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:17.279
Depressing but again informative important. It's hard when you read

268
00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:19.799
things like that and you're like, I can't say I

269
00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:22.240
had a good time reading it, but I had a time.

270
00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:26.480
I had a lot of time was had, Yeah, truly,

271
00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:30.320
But yeah, I mean, it's such a good book to

272
00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:33.320
read that covers all this stuff in like one place.

273
00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.879
All the separate episodes we've done in Puerto Rico are

274
00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:40.120
all in that book. So back to Lolita. She began

275
00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:44.399
to study his ideals memorisis biography, and she showed great

276
00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:48.759
initiative when she joined the party. She brought in new ideas,

277
00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:52.399
even more socialists and more feminist ideas into the group,

278
00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.200
and her hard work paid off because she rose through

279
00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:58.759
the party's ranks. She was secretary, then vice president, and

280
00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.879
then executive delegate of the New York chapter of the

281
00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:05.879
party and in all this, as this is happening, a

282
00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.320
bill was brought to the Puerto Rican Senate. This bill's

283
00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:12.279
purpose was to restrain the rights of independence and nationalist

284
00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:16.759
movements like the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Yeah, the Senate

285
00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:21.200
was controlled by the PPD Bartido popular Democratico and they

286
00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:24.159
approved this bill. It became known as lalais de la

287
00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:28.000
moreasa or the gag Law in English. So you can't

288
00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:29.679
ready tell what the purpose of it was just by

289
00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:33.120
the name. Yeah. It was signed into law on June tenth,

290
00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:36.000
nineteen forty eight, and it worked very similarly to the

291
00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:39.440
Smith Act in the US. And if anyone doesn't recall

292
00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:43.039
this from history, that US history in eleventh grade. That's

293
00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:46.840
when we did US history. Anyone else did. But officially,

294
00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:50.639
the Smith Act is the Alien Registration Act, which set

295
00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:53.759
criminal penalties for advocating for the overthrow of the US

296
00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:57.080
government by force or violence and required all non citizen

297
00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.480
adult residents to register with the federal government. And it

298
00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:02.440
pretty much be came the anti Communist Act because it

299
00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:04.880
says all these other words, but in reality it was

300
00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:09.200
what led to the whole McCarthyism and right, right, he's

301
00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:12.480
trying to overthrow the government. Yeah, red scare, this was

302
00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:18.279
all in that right. Overall, two hundred fifteen people were induced.

303
00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:21.839
That's not the right word, indicted, maybe the indicted. Yeah,

304
00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:27.480
they induced, that's induced. That can't be right. Two hundred

305
00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:31.880
and fifteen people were indicted under this law, and most

306
00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:35.240
were communists and socialists, hence the name Anti Communist Act.

307
00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:37.880
It was made to find these people and destroy this

308
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:41.680
movement because again red scare Russia, blah blah blah. Right,

309
00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:46.119
So now I'm just kidding, go on and now yeah

310
00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:51.599
and now now look at us now for real. Now

311
00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:54.720
back to Puerto Rico. This new law made it a

312
00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.400
crime to print, publish, cell exhibit any material intended to

313
00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:01.839
paralyze or destroy the insular government the insular government being

314
00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:05.079
the US, as well as to organize any society, group,

315
00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.559
or assembly of people with similar destructive intent. It made

316
00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:11.480
it illegal to display the flag of Puerto Rico. And

317
00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:13.000
I don't know if you, I don't know if anyone

318
00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.079
else has been listening to Bad Bunny since the album

319
00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:17.440
released a month and a half. You know it, all

320
00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:20.079
I have been digging about this whole time is Bad

321
00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:24.200
Bunny No, Because saying well, then the album, I mean Yeah,

322
00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:28.400
but you know when he says, and they've done this before,

323
00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:30.759
this is what he's talking about. This law that made

324
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.839
it illegal to waive the Puerto Rican flag, and that's

325
00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:37.400
what this is, the gag law. And so anyone displaying

326
00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:40.319
the Perto Rican flag, anyone found disbeying this law in

327
00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:43.319
any way was subject for subject up to ten years

328
00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:45.599
in prison and like, how can you do this in

329
00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:50.720
Puerto Rico? Like that's ridiculous, right, yeah, also a fine

330
00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:54.440
of up to ten thousand dollars or both. And of

331
00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:56.680
course I don't think I need to say this, but

332
00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:59.400
this is a common tactic. If there's a movement or

333
00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:03.680
riving up their following, and that movement is very stand

334
00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:06.240
up for my rights type thing, the US is going

335
00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:09.240
to make anything associated with this movement illegal and start

336
00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:12.880
arresting people for it, arresting or destroying the movement. Yep,

337
00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:17.079
it's the playbook that they've been doing forever ever. And

338
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.599
so those who didn't agree with this act saw it

339
00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:22.279
for what it was, a repressive law that violated First

340
00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:24.960
Amendment rights of the US Constitution, which is opposed to

341
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:28.519
guarantee freedom of speech, but for a repressive government addressing

342
00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:31.039
their colonial project. These rights were never meant for them.

343
00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.440
These rights were not meant for Puerto Ricans. They just

344
00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:35.839
simply were never meant to apply to them, which is

345
00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:37.599
why they didn't care and why they made this law

346
00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:45.839
in the first place. So Pedro Albiso Campos gave a

347
00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:48.960
speech and manati to explain to Puerto Ricans how this

348
00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:52.000
was a violation of their rights. And on that day,

349
00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:54.759
hundreds and hundreds gathered to hear him, but also to

350
00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.759
a block police from arresting him, because he could be

351
00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:00.440
arrested just for doing this, and understandably so oh. The

352
00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:02.960
gag law led to a series of protests over the

353
00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.799
next few years, and the Nationalist Party felt like they

354
00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:08.279
had to They had tried to call for a free

355
00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:12.200
Puerto Rico peacefully, but they were being not only ignored,

356
00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:17.000
but persecuted for wanting a free Puerto Rico. And so

357
00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:19.319
now they were like, you know what, No, this is

358
00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:21.920
not the time for peace anymore. Now they were punning

359
00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:26.759
armed revolution. And I mean you, if you are the

360
00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:30.519
subject of a colonial ruling, you have a right to

361
00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:34.079
stand up, you have a right to armed revolution. Like

362
00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:36.960
that's just my that's what I believe, you know, I

363
00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:39.279
know that's what you believe too. I know not a

364
00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:41.359
lot of people fall into that category. I know a

365
00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:42.839
lot of people are like violence is not the answer,

366
00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:47.720
but I'm sorry, if they've tried everything, what is their left? Yeah,

367
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.720
I feel like as a last measure, yes, and generally

368
00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:56.960
I'm a pacifist yeah yeah, not me, no, Yeah, like

369
00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.759
we don't want people out here dying, right, but right,

370
00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.319
that's where yeah, Yeah, they feel like they have tried

371
00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:06.240
everything that have been under this colonial rule. And if

372
00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:10.359
you like, we're not diving into the disparities that led

373
00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:14.599
them to fuel this, but they're real, they're not these like, oh,

374
00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.400
I just want to not be an American colony. Like first,

375
00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:21.880
that's it, right, Yes, yeah, I mean that should go

376
00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:27.559
without saying. Yeah, the exploitation, the disparity between the people

377
00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:31.079
that own the businesses and the workers, there's so much

378
00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:33.200
that we're not going into that. We have got into

379
00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:35.400
one other episodes. Yeah, but there's a reason that they

380
00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:38.119
finally they felt like this is now time for an

381
00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:43.160
armed revolution. They didn't just plan here yeah, out of nowhere, Yeah, exactly,

382
00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.480
and so they chose nineteen fifty two for the date

383
00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:50.400
of their armed revolution. There were planned uprisings across all

384
00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:53.240
Puerto Rico. And I don't know if you've heard of it,

385
00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:56.160
but have you heard of the Hayuya uprising? I don't

386
00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.000
think so. Okay, this is also going to have to

387
00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:01.640
be its own episode as well as the woman who

388
00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:04.400
led the uprising Blanca Canalists, She's gonna have to be

389
00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:08.279
her own episode. Two wow wow, yeah, let me write

390
00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:11.279
these down. There are no lists already. Actually I don't

391
00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:15.400
know if they are. They might not be another list yet. Anyway,

392
00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:18.400
they will be theren topic. And without getting too much

393
00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:22.640
into it, the US appointed governor called martial law and

394
00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:27.319
the air force bombed Hayuya and Utado. So the US

395
00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:31.000
Air Force bombed these two towns in Puerto Rico because

396
00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:35.839
of these uprisings, including Hayoya and so Hayoya and were

397
00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:39.319
bombed with five hundred pound bombs. And also they were

398
00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:42.839
like rating machine gun fired down on these towns. When

399
00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:46.480
this was reported in the US, President Truman referred to

400
00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:51.599
as an incident between Puerto Ricans. Bullshit. Nope, because the

401
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:57.599
US Air Force dropped these bombs. Yeah, and so this

402
00:22:57.880 --> 00:23:00.960
is how they were. This uprising was met with literal

403
00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:08.000
force in violence, so honestly to me, naturally, so this

404
00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:13.119
led the Puerto Rican National Party to start planning counterattacks,

405
00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:19.000
and I think that makes sense, honestly. So the first

406
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.839
of these counterattacks was and I don't I don't like,

407
00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:26.759
I don't want to say, I'm like yes to this, right,

408
00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.079
but this is what they did. They attempted to assassinate

409
00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:35.799
President Truman. Oh wow, that's bold. Yes, bold first, he said,

410
00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:44.119
planned right, bold first counterattack plan right and police officer

411
00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:48.200
Lesli Kofelt were killed during this attack. This then, this

412
00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:52.920
counter attack then led the US appointed it was an election,

413
00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.000
but really it was US appointed government. So the US

414
00:23:56.039 --> 00:24:02.640
appointed pr government arrested thousands that's parted Perdrinkan independence. After

415
00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:05.960
this counter attack, they just went arrested everyone. And police

416
00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:09.200
estimate that during this uprising and all these arrests and stuff,

417
00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:13.799
there was twenty eight killed and fifty injured. Wow. In

418
00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:17.880
the aftermath of all of this, Rolita Lebron, who had

419
00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:23.119
already been corresponding theal letters with Perro Albiso Campos, she

420
00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:28.680
claims to have received a letter from Perro Albiso Campos

421
00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:31.799
in which he declared his intention to order attacks on

422
00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:36.240
three different locations most strategic to the enemy. And at

423
00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.440
this point she's thirty four and she had already been

424
00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:43.279
exchanging letters back and forth. Now, there is no proof

425
00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:46.279
of this letter at all anywhere. If it was written,

426
00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:49.200
it was destroyed, because no proof of this letter has

427
00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:51.759
ever existed or been found, except for her saying he

428
00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:54.319
said he was planning, on order or reading an attack

429
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.720
on three different places in the US that were most

430
00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:59.720
strategic to them. Right, So it was never he never

431
00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:03.079
or her to do what she did, right, He just

432
00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:06.359
said he intended to plan an attack on three locations.

433
00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:11.680
But then she went on to say this meant she

434
00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:15.960
was to coordinate one of these attacks, and so she

435
00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:20.359
brought this information to the New York Nationalist Party leadership.

436
00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:22.720
The rest of them two members just agreed with this plan.

437
00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:25.200
They were like, no, this isn't right, but the plan proceeded.

438
00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:30.079
Lolita Lebron said she was meant to be part of

439
00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:33.559
the attack. I think she the order was for her

440
00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:36.039
to coordinate the attack, but not be like a part

441
00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:38.000
of it, but she made herself part of it. Her

442
00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:40.480
being part of it was not an order from federal visa.

443
00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:42.839
But she decided she was going to be the one

444
00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:45.599
to lead the group. So she made the plan. Studying

445
00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:49.039
and looking for possible weaknesses where this attack could take place.

446
00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:53.279
She concluded that instead of three separate attacks that would

447
00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:55.759
happen at the same time, one single attack on the

448
00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:59.960
hause of representatives would be the most effective. So they

449
00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:04.440
chose March first, nineteen fifty four, for this attack. They

450
00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:07.200
chose this day because it fell at the same time

451
00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:11.640
as the inauguration of the Inter American Conference in Kanaka's Venezuela.

452
00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:14.720
This was an annual meeting, so nineteen fifty four was

453
00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:19.839
the tenth annual meeting, and this inter American Conference is

454
00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:25.160
a meeting of theas the Organization of American States come

455
00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:27.559
up one a while, we should have put them on

456
00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:31.680
our being. Actually right, that's what I'm thinking now. And

457
00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:35.000
the goal of this meeting was supposed to be to

458
00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:38.119
discuss economic issues in Latin America, but of course the

459
00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:41.279
US convinced the committee to place an anti communist resolution

460
00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:44.119
as the most important topic because they were worried about

461
00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:48.920
the influence of communism in Latin America. Because Hakowabins had

462
00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:52.400
just been elected in Guatemala. Man, everything is tied together,

463
00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:56.319
everything is tied together. I was typing this like, oh

464
00:26:56.359 --> 00:26:58.759
my god, it's all connected. I feel like the meeting,

465
00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:00.799
my brain just made that connection. The guy from It's

466
00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:03.960
Always Sunning Philadelphia when he's like like, you know, crazy

467
00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:06.440
in front of the board with this all the redliner

468
00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:09.559
or whatever string that, or I feel like a Kendrick

469
00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:14.880
Lamar listener when I'm like connecting everything, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,

470
00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:17.839
one or the other, but point out this is literally connected.

471
00:27:18.839 --> 00:27:20.640
So they chose this day because they knew that all

472
00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:23.319
these leaders of Latin America would have been meeting and

473
00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:27.279
they wanted to call attention to Puerto Rico's cause for independence.

474
00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:31.960
And that is the end of part one. We'll pick

475
00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:35.279
up next week with the actual attack that happened on

476
00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:38.160
March first, nineteen fifty four, and the rest of Lolita

477
00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:41.079
Lebrun's life. Again. You can get all of this in

478
00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:44.559
one piece over on patreon dot com right now, and

479
00:27:44.640 --> 00:28:00.000
we hope this was one less historia unknown for you.