- Hope Portocarrero
Hope Portocarrero Somoza Baldocchi (1929 -
October 5 ,1991 ) was the first lady ofNicaragua , the wife ofAnastasio Somoza Debayle and mother ofAnastasio Somoza Portocarrero .Family and education
Hope Portocarrero Debayle was born in
Tampa, Florida . She was the daughter of Dr. Nestor Portocarrero Gross and Blanca Debayle de Portocarrero.She was of Spanish, French and German descent. Her grandfather was Dr. Luis H Debayle Pallais, good friend of
Rubén Darío . Her great-grandfather wasRoberto Sacasa , a former president ofNicaragua . The Debayles and Portocarreros were one of Nicaragua's wealthiest families.She spoke fluent English, Italian, Spanish, and French and had an appreciation for art and culture.Hope attended
Barnard College in New York.Marriage
Hope Portocarrero and her cousin
Anastasio Somoza Debayle married onDecember 10 ,1950 at the Cathedral inManagua by Archbishop Jose Antonio Lezcano. Over 4,000 guests attended the ceremony. The reception was given by PresidentAnastasio Somoza García in the luxurious and modern Palacio de Comunicaciones. Hope and Anastasio had five children: Anastasio, Julio, Carolina, Carla, and Roberto.First Lady of Nicaragua
In 1967 Hope Portocarrero became the
First Lady of Nicaragua and an icon of fashion and elegance and refinement inhigh society .She attended diplomatic missions with her husband, such as the visit to the former U.S. President,Richard Nixon , and theJapanese Emperor Hirohito .Hope was president of the " _es. Junta Nacional de Asistencia y Previsión Social" (National Social Security).
She created the National Cultural Center, The General Archives of the National Library, National Conservatory of Music, National School of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes), National Museum and Plurar Gallery.
Her biggest legacies were the constructions of
Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío (The National Theater of Nicaragua), the Children's Hospital, a clinic for Nicaraguan women and a Center for Orphans "The Hope".Final years
By the late 1970s, Hope and Somoza had become estranged, and Hope moved to
London . She married Archie Baldocchi, a wealthy Salvadoran man. Hope Somoza Baldocchi died of cancer inMiami, Florida onOctober 5 1991 .References
* [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10E15FD395A10728FDDA80994DA415B8089F1D3 SOMOZA'S SON MARRIES; 4,000 See Wedding in Managua to Hope Portocarrero of Miami] "
The New York Times "
* [http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/02/26/politica/42324 Primeras damas: poder y apariencia] "El Nuevo Diario "
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906754,00.html Bracing for the Aftershocks] "Time" magazineExternal links
* [http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/clas/nicaragua_proj/history/somoza/Hist-Somoza-dinasty.pdf The Somoza Dynasty]
* [http://www.sandino.info/somozadebayle.html Somoza Debayle]
* [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/somoza-debayle-1.htm Anastasio and Hope]Further reading
* "Death of Somoza" by Claribel Alegria and Darwin J. Flakoll
* "La saga de los Somoza" by Agustin Torres Lazo
* "Somoza Falling" byAnthony Lake
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