Hope Portocarrero

Hope Portocarrero Somoza Baldocchi (1929 - October 5, 1991) was the first lady of Nicaragua, the wife of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and mother of Anastasio 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 was Roberto Sacasa, a former president of Nicaragua. 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 on December 10, 1950 at the Cathedral in Managua by Archbishop Jose Antonio Lezcano. Over 4,000 guests attended the ceremony. The reception was given by President Anastasio 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 in high society.She attended diplomatic missions with her husband, such as the visit to the former U.S. President, Richard Nixon, and the Japanese 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 in Miami, Florida on October 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" magazine

External 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" by Anthony Lake