Lolita Lebron: Part Two

0:07 Hi, this is Christina and this is Historia's Unknown. This is part two following last week's episode where we talked about Alita Lebron leading up to the attack that happened on March first, and here's the rest of that episode. Now for the attack itself. On the morning of March first, Lolita traveled to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan to meet the rest of the group. They were Rafael Cansel, Miranda, Irvin Flores, and Andres Vigueroa Corlero. They all took a train to Washington, DC, and then they walked from Union Station over to the Capitol. They sat on the steps and Rafael suggested not attacking because they were already reading a little late and it was raining. He said, I don't know, man, it's raining, but Lolita would not happen.

0:51 It's like I immediately almost cancel all plants if it's raining. I was going to say, if that's not the most Latin American thing driving in the rain, no, thank you, No, maybe we shouldn't do this. It's reading. It's a bad sign. But she told them then I am alone, and she continued up the steps, meaning she was still going to go through with it even if they didn't. So she was like, then, you know, I'm about myself then, and so she kept walking up the steps, and they all looked at each other and like all right, they followed her. Then the group reached the visitors gallery, which is above the House chamber. And you know, while they're standing on this visitor's gallery, the representatives down there are discussing issues of immigration. Then Lolita gave her group the order. They recited the Lord's Prayer together. Then Lolida stood up and she shouted, Viva Puerto Rico Libre long, Live a free Puerto Rico. She unfurled the Puerto Rican flag and the group fired with their semi automatic pistols toward the House chamber. Wow.

1:53 I'm sorry, but I got chills when. I heard that. I mean, like, you drive people into these crazy conditions and they drives them to do these kind of things. So yeah, it is what it is, you know, truly. So about thirty shots were fired, mostly by Rafael, who wounded five Congress members. Lolita fired all her shots at the ceiling. Okay, and Andres Friguero's gun jammed so he can fire in a damn on this that sucks the plan though they were never because you know, people would be like, oh, four crazy Puerto Ricans, four terrorists came and tried to kill congress members, but that was never the plan. Their plan was to go and shoot up like a statement. Yes, yeah, they were never planning that killing was never their intention, which is like what they say now about it, they're more noble, yeah, honestly. Yeah again, she's my hero. So congress members injured during this attack were Republican Michigan Representative Alvin Morrile Bentley, Tennessee Democrat Clifford Davis I wore, Republican Ben F. Jansen, Maryland Democrat George Hyde Fallon, and Alabama Democrat Kenneth Roberts. The Puerto Rican nationalists were immediately arrested, and while she was being cuughed, Lolita yelled, I did not come to kill anyone. I came to die for Puerto Rico. Oh my god. Now just look up right now and go to images that itself gave me chills. No right. One of the first

3:26 images that comes up is her being arrested, and you can just see how beautiful and well dressed she is. Truly gorgeous women. No wow, truly yes, Like I'm not kidding she like look at her, Oh my gosh, and I just imagine her this one too. You can just see there are beautiful curls on all of them. I know, that's the first thing I saw, Like amazing when we'll share these images on Instagram as well. Anyway, So yeah, just those words. I did not come to kill one. I came to dine for Puerto Rico, like oh man, like she I listened to an episode I have. I'm gonna put it in the show notes as well. But this podcast was called Passeo Podcasts, and it's episode twelve of this podcast. It's called episode twelve, one hundred Years of Lolita Leron and Pasel podcast is like Pasel podcast Colin sharing Puerto Rican stories and the host just interviewed people that knew her. Wow, and one of them there is like even up to the day of her death, like she was just such a beautiful, gorgeous woman, and she just gave this aura when she were in her presence, like you could tell she was just so full of life, so loyal, so courageous. She's just like being in her presence was like like my life is complete now. Like, I don't know what else and I can only imagine what that felt like. But that's such a beautiful episode and I was going to actually mention it at some points.

4:58 One this will mention it now. But it is a listen if you want to hear people that literally directly knew her talking about her, it's crazy. Definitely you gonna check that out. Yeah. So, right after the arrest, Pedro Alviso Campos's home was readed in Puerto Rico. They fired into his house before going in there to drag him out. Wow. When they dragged him out, he was unconscious and half asphyxiated. Oh wow. And this arrest never made any sense because from the start, Lolita told officials this attack was orchestrated by me alone, plus federal Albisto Campos had been under twenty four hour surveillance already by the FBI, the CIA and in Solar police. Wow. Like, so there was no way he could have had a part in no. No, And again that letter that she said, she he said, I'm planning on doing this attack, which then she took over.

5:52 This dollar doesn't exist anywhere. There's no proofs in her memory, in her heart, you know, So the amount of pages that are in the FBI's reports of pedrol Libsto campus alone, campus alone are over one million pages. That's how deep their surveillance of him went. Wow. Yeah, it's just like he's getting up, now, he's going to the bathroom. Oh oh, he took twenty minutes in there, like that's wild. One million pages and in the end there was no evidence at all tying him to the attack on Congress at all. Still, he was returned to La princessa prison where he had just been released from six months before this. He was accused of violating the gag law order and he did remain in prison until his health deteriorated, and he ended up dying in the San Juan Presbyterian Hospital under police guard in nineteen fifty six. Wow, when I'm telling you he was done dirty by this government, I'm not kidding.

6:49 And I'm not gonna want to distails here because he is going to have his own episode eventually. But it was horrible, like radiation exposure, horrible. Oh my god, i I'm not ready. No, no, But back to Lolita. Contrary to what is usually told, the aim was not to kill anyone, but again to die for Puerto Rico and the cause for independence. The four were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy. She was imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institution for Women in Alder in West Virginia, though I did read some other accounts that at some point she was in a men's prison, so I don't know if this was up to the trial and then after the trial she was sent to this other prison, but at some point she was in immense prison where she had to endure horrible things like rape and sexual assault. The trial began on June fourth, nineteen fifty four. The jury composed of seven men and five women, whose identities still to this day are kept secret. There were thirty three witnesses, including Lolita's own brother, which she viewed as a betrayal.

7:52 And I don't blame that, that's rough. Yeah, I just wonder what they offered him, Yeah, because that's the only reason I could think. Yeah, that's well. Although some people have just shitty siblins, so mmm. True. So, while the persecution was allowed to bring all those witnesses, the defendants were not allowed to have anyone testify on their behalf except for themselves. That sounds like not a right full just trial. I agree, and they had I forget the name of the organization, but they did have an organization providing free legal counsel in their defense, and it's like a liberal organization, but I don't remember the name of it. So they at least they had lawyers like the minimum right, like good lawyers that were trying to defend them to the best of their ability. During her testimony, Lolita maintained that she did not intend to kill, only to die for the freedom of her homeland. And I actually have I have a link of her talking.

8:49 Puerto Rican, you know, vas Puerto Rico. I stayed with gess Para National el Imperio North Americanos y Obstina and Upacion nuestro Bayis in Os Provoca, the aria infensa denutradi Nidad national. Some of victimas yes violencia nostros emostrato to medios Pacificos en cuyo processo elen Emigo North Americano Seaford tale SiO.

9:32 On June sixteen, nineteen fifty four, the jury declared all four of them guilty. Lolita was accredited her charge of intent to kill, and she was instead convicted of the offensive assault with the dealy weapon, which lowered her sentence. So the men received seventy five years and she received fifty years. So at their ages this meant life in prison. Yeah. They were all sent to different prisons. Figuero A Cordero was sent to the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, Lolita Lebrun sent to the women's prison in Alderson, West Virginia. Cancel Miranda was sent to Alcatraz and San Francisco, Wow, and Flores Rodriguez was sent to Levenworth, Kansas. And Livingworth, Kansas is the same place that Oscar Coo Yasso, the person who was involved in the attempted assassination of President Harry S. Truman, was in as well incarcerated. Then they were there together.

10:22 So Lolita would later say that her first two years in prison were the most difficult. Her son passed away during these first two years. Oh that's terrible. Yeah, he drowned, and of course she was not able to say goodbye or even go let alone see him again. Didn't even tell her it happened until nine days after Wow. Then her mother died. In his first two years, Oh my gosh, it's like one bad thing after another. Yeah, and again she couldn't say goodbye or anything. She was also unable to communicate with her siblings because only letters in English were allowed inside the prison. How is that? Yeah, probably to prevent more yeah, corresponding between and portwecans arrested and the party. But still very very unfair. Yeah. This was changed after a three and a half day hunger strike.

11:16 They were finally allowed to have letters received in Spanish. But Lolita was placed in solitary confinement for participating in this hunger strike, which is something that happened to her often just because of her rebellious like spirit, like signing up for rights, she was often in solitary confinement, which again is a violation of human rights. It is Yeah, reminds me of a Martin Sosa. Yes, that was such a good episode, Like I had no idea about him. I got to do a video with him two Okay. And during her time in prison, they also tried to make her seem crazy, often putting her in the insane asylum section of the prison of course. Yeah, and she was like they're doing all this to try and break me, and I will not be broken. Yeah, she did it eventually work in the prison infirmary. Fifteen years into her sentence, her social worker told her she was eligible for parole.

12:07 She could ask for it, but part of the requirement for the parole was for her to issue a public apology for March First. What she refused to do. She's like coome that apologizing for that, Like I wasn't the right and I wasn't trying to kill anyone. I was trying to make a statement for a free Porto Ygo, and I was ready to die for my cause. Like I'm not apologizing for that. Damn, I shouldn't even entertain the idea of parole. Because she showed no interest in parole, they made her attend a meeting before the Penitentiary Committee, and instead of talking about her parole during this meeting, she used this time to discuss how wrong the use of the atomic bomb was and about politics and terrorism of the US. Oh my gosh, I love her. I'm telling you, my hero. She's my hero. And I went too.

12:54 And she had already been religious, for her interest in religion only grew in prison, which tends to happen for most people, especially because tragedy after tragedy happened. Her daughter also died in nineteen seventy seven, so now she's lost her son, mother and daughter. Wow. In prison and even in prison, she made sure to get ready every day put makeup on to her hair. When she was asked like why did you do this, she was like, because I needed to be well presented. I needed to show them that no one was going to break me. I still love myself enough to look good no matter where I was, and I love her for that. Wow. Yeah, she is my hair. She even said that even like horrible thing after horrible thing that happened to her in prison, she refused to cry, and after being released back home she could still not cry, Like and that is like a traumatic response. Yeah. And actually in that episode that I mentioned of that Basseo podcast, they have someone who wrote a song called Lolita you can Cry Now. Oh my god, why did that almost make me want to cry?

13:57 Right now? Just a title alone made me cry? But then hearing the words, should they play part of it in the episode? Okay, yeah, hold on, let's just hear part of it right now. Lolita you may cry now, Lolita you may cry now. Tears for the oppressed, hungry for food, knowledge, and hope. Thelita, you may cry now teas for the millions of upon maions of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Tears for those names, languages, customs, and cultures we will never know, lost like the leaves that fall. Into the streams and rivers. Lilitha, you may cry now tears for the African slaves that were shackle chain raped, with their backs dripping with red teardrops of their own belith that you may cry now tears for those who worked and toiled, Tears the sweat dripping in the soil that they bled to cultivate so others could prosper.

14:44 From their suffering. Liliit that you may cry now tears for the massacres, broken treaties, diseases, death, stolen land and nature. The liift that you may cry now tears for the murdered Mexicans, lynched, hung, drag cut, and shot in what is known as the southwest of the United States. That you may cry now for those who worked the large sugar and coffee plantation and never had a chance to taste either. Wow, like they just they mentioned everything. Yeah, and I guess it's more like a poem with music in the background. It's not like a song songs still, I mean, it's still a song though it's beautiful. It's beautiful. I recommendly listen to it. I found it a band camp and it's like three and a half minutes long. But yeah, beautiful song and yeah, he wrote that for her and she actually listened to it. She was still alive when they wrote the song. Wow, she listened to it. And the guys in the episode talking about it, how like he was like, I can't even like explain how that felt that she was like crying because of the poem that I wrote. Like, also, she was a poem poet herself. Yes, she was a poem. She was actually a poem. She was a poet too, and so I think poet's a poet that probably meant like an insane oh yeah, and for it to be her, like I can't even fathom.

15:59 So back to now where we were in this episode. It wasn't until nineteen seventy nine that President Jimmy Carter commuted the sentenceus of Lolita lebron Iven Flores, Rafael can Sel Miranda, the fourth person, had already gotten out because he was very sick and they let him out of prison. In total, they spent twenty five years in prison. The governor of Puerto Rico at the time opposed this, him Jimmy Carter prison, Jimmy Carr doing this letting them go, that's bullshit. Question, is that like sorry that you were Puerto Rican their pummans. Yeah, of course, that's just goes to show how much Yeah, that's true. So he stated that it was going to encourage terrorism if they were released early. When she arrived home, she received a hero's welcome, like hundreds upon hundreds who went to see her arrive.

16:51 There's people to this day that can say, my parents still tell me about the day they went to see her return amazing, And that episode again has someone saying that. But one of the first things she did when she landed in Puerto Rico, right after she landed from the airport, she went to the old San Juan Cemetery to go see Pedro Albiso Campos for the first time because they never met. It was just all through letters. Oh that's right. And at his tombstone she knelt, she kneeled down and she said these words to him, Maestro Obra kumplida all teacher mission accomplished. That gave me chills. I almost cried when I read that. Wow, because man, oh, so now that she was back in Puerto Rico, she married Serchio Itsari Rivera, who was actually sent by the Nationalist Party to monitor her health because they were worried about her eight years before she was released. They sent her to check on her and he did this every day for eight years.

17:56 Wow. And so they just like cultivated their relationship during those eight years and got married. After that, they moved to Luisa together and Lolita here like anyone that wanted to meet with her to talk about anything, like she would like welcome them. It reminds me of Rufina Maya, who also anyone that they're like, can you tell us about this, she would tell anyone. Yeah. So it gave me vibes like that. In nineteen seventy nine, Lolita lebron I Flories, Rafel Cansel Miranda and Oscar Cooyaso were recognized as the embodiment of the directive of their teacher, Alviso Campos to exercise valor and sacrifice before the representatives of fifty one countries at the International Conference in Support of Independence for Puerto Rico, which was held in Mexico City at the time. Wow.

18:43 What an honor, honest truly. She continued to be active in the cause for independence for decades. In fact, she participated in the protests against the United States Navy's presence in vs She was there. Wow, she was among the arrested. Oh my god, she just doesn't quite you know, which is amazing. She appeared as a witness at the International Tribunal on Violations of Human Rights in Puerto Rico and Vieques that was held on November seventeenth through the twenty first of two thousand on the island of Viks. They held this event and she was met with a roar of applause when she said, I had the honor of leading the act against the US Congress on March first, nineteen fifty four, when we demanded freedom for Puerto Rico and we told the world what we are, an invaded nation occupied in abuse by the United States of America.

19:39 I feel very proud of having performed that day, of having answered the call of the motherland. I saw that quote while I was looking at her pictures, and I was like, yes, oh yes. On June twenty six and one, Lolita was among a group of protesters arrested for trespassing in the Resurgen area of viks And she was sentenced to sixty days in prison on the charge of trespassing on Navy property. And yeah, she served her her full time. Wow, And we talked about it in the Viecas episode. But two years after that, in two thousand and three, the US Navy did leave vs. Yes, and yeah, she continued her participation in other independence activities. By the time of the Vicus protest, she turned to civil disobedience as a form of rebellion, and she did say that no one else needed to die for the cause, leaving her former believe that violence was the only way forward, which I think happens to a lot of people who were activists during that time period nineteen Yeah, you know when did this is fifty four, nineteen fifties up to like the nineteen eighties even And some people never say that, like Malcolm X, which is fine, or some people change their ways of thinking into thinking, you know what, maybe we do need a little more violence, you know. And again in the fight for against oppression and for freedom of a colonial a place under colonization, like for me everything

21:10 in spare game. Yeah, yeah, but I'm not when to say no they should be doing this. That's not my place either, right right, just what I think. So between two thousand and eight and twenty ten, Lolita was hospitalized multiple times. The first she fell and fractured her hip and her arm, which requires surgery. On September eighteen, two thousand and nine, she suffered a relapse due to a viral infection, like a cardio respiratory viral infection, like I don't know, some virus. Lolita recovered, but then from complications of this episode led to like first bronchitis and then other things which did ultimately lead to her death in twenty ten August first two wow, and I mean her her death was very sad for Puerto Rico, for people outside of Puerto Rico because now to this day, I want to say, there's like more non Puertorican or more Puertricans outside of Puerto Rico than in Puerto Rico, which is the case for a lot of places like yeah, Pales signe. Don't even like get me started on that because I will, but again, just you know, Hawaii, same thing.

22:27 But her death was mourned by so many hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, so many public figures said words you know about her death, even in European papers. It was announced like wow, Europe. And she does leave behind a complicated legacy. There is a book. Let me share the name, because I didn't write it down. It wasn't one of my sources because I didn't have time to read yet another book I already read. So this was supposed to be shorter episode, and I read so much for this, and I was like, oh, whoops. So there's a book called The Ladies Gallery, a memoir of family secrets by Villar that is her granddaughter, and it has like beautiful moments, but she remembers her her grandmother as like this very like difficult to love kind of person who was very strong willed and strong like in her ways, and like if you weren't for the cause, she kind of didn't have time for you. Oh my gosh, that reminds me of such a No. I was going to say, do lotus were that? It reminds yous were the same thing. Yeah, And I get it if you've been under so much trauma because she was in prisoned. Yeah, it creates such a inability to prepare the relationships and build those, build them back up, build your relationships, trust people, and opening

24:00 yourself up like that again, because she lost so much. Yeah, and so that's what her had the book. You can tell her granddaughter is like resentful and angry about this. That's so interesting and it is her right, you know, yeah to feel that, because she is the one who lives with her right. Right. But then later, when Hurricane Maria happened, it looks like she has changed her views on her grandmother a little bit more and is also a little more toward finally accepting like, yeah, she was right, Puerto Rico needs to be free. And she did give a speech when Hurricane Maria happened kind of saying this and then also asking for donations from people and saying like, yeah, Puertoio needs to be free, like my grandmother was right, and it her speech prompted a ton of donations. Oh wow for mentioning. But it looks like she's come around to accepting it. And I couldn't understand how all this would take so much time for her to see and for because yeah, yeah, it's like we were saying, there's reason for all this, you know. Yeah, and it wasn't a complicated legacy only with her own family. But like I was saying at the top of that episode, some view her as a terrorist. They rote headlines like when terror wore lipstick honestly kind of iconic. Oops. No really, and others like myself remember her as a hero and as a Puerto Rican freedom fighter. Yeah. And even if

25:31 people don't agree with what she did, because that's another polarizing thing, or they're like, you know, she was a really good person, but we don't agree with the violence of that day, people still see her as like this heroic, symbolic person to PERTHIRTI goo, even if they don't agree, because even today you can find people that don't. And again we're not Puerto Rican. But I do believe that it should be free. But my opinion, it doesn't matter. I don't think so. I think it's like Puerto Rico itself, right, and among Puerto Rico you'll find some people who call for a free port, free Puerto Rico and others who call for it to become a saintan. Yeah, it's it's divided. There's no like consensus. Yeah. Yeah, but I for one.

26:16 I think they should be freed along with Hawaii. You know pastine all the races. And there is a plaque at the monument to the Hayuya Uprising, and you can find her name on that plaque. But yeah, that is Lolita Lebrun who had been on my list for so long. And it was just like dunting to get started. But we're here now. I did it. I'm glad you did have a new thank you she wro hero. Yes, of course I don't like that term. I was just like, no, I know, I know, all right, do you have anything else had before we know? Because I'm hungry and tired.

26:59 Oh okay, that makes sense. Yeah, and I guess before we go again. Somehow we're still like blowing up on reels. I thought it was over. Yeah, and this reel about the nineteen seventeen bathriots has now surpassed the amount of likes on instagrams versus TikTok. Yeah, then that's wild because that never happens. Yeah, so that's crazy. But also then I made another post on threads talking about one of the comment oh right comments we got on that reel where people were like, I don't care about this this is in the past. Where are we stuck in the past? Blah blah blah, And I wrote on threads like it's very odd getting these comments because to me, I just think about and we've talked about this, and as a listener, you would know of all our coverage of Chile. Yeah, but there's that national stadium in Chile where they leave the sections empty and it says peblo memoria like people without my memory, they don't have a future. And I just like when I see people come te things like that, I'm like, this is why we are where we are today because you don't know your past. Yeah, yeah, I mean we've I feel like we've touched on that so many times, especially also when we've talked about and I often hear a term and I don't know if I've mentioned here before, collective memory. Oh i've heard that before.

28:20 I have heard it. I don't think you've said those words here. Okay, I want to do like more reading about it, but I've seen it like here and there when articles about trying to erase the civil war essentially and his whole messaging, part of his messaging painted Yes, I ever see that, but yeah, his whole messaging is like, oh, that was so long ago that that doesn't matter anymore. It's time for new ideas. We don't have to keep talking about that or touch and then and look where things are now, like he is repeating, you know, like mm hmm. And in the scheme of humanity, it's not long ago at all. Like literally, your father lived through the Civil War. And then even going back to the bathriots that brought on all these comments on Instagram or great I was nineteen sev father like was, yeah, you know of Rasetto, which was part of the group that was subjected to those yeah, chemical baths. It's like that's what two generations ago, three generations ago. Yeah, and like even bringing us back to Puerto Rico, these uprisings where a bunch of people were killed. We're in this in the nineteenth century, Like, yeah, you know, it's not that long ago, not at all. So I mean, Leron, she died in twenty ten exactly, That's what I was gonna say,

29:51 So not that long ago. Yeah. Anyway, I know you're hungry, so well, let us go. If we have any new listeners from either Instagram or threads that found us, Yeah, welcome, and we hope that this was one less estonia unknown for you. Bye bye ye