Petra Allende

Petra Allende (June 29, 1920 – April 1, 2002) was a Puerto-Rican factory worker and clerk, who worked as an activist in New York City's El Barrio neighborhood. In the 1960s, she began working to overturn voter suppression laws which required literacy. In the 1970s, she campaigned for day care facilities for working mothers and adequate supports for the poor and in the 1980s turned her attention to elder rights. Affectionately known as "La Alcaldesa del Barrio" (The Mayor of the Barrio [Spanish Harlem]), the street on which she lived in Manhattan, East 111th Street, was renamed Petra Allende Way in 2012.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Allende and the second or maternal family name is Rosario.
Petra Allende
Allende, 1944
Born
Petra Allende y Rosario

(1920-06-29)June 29, 1920
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
DiedApril 1, 2002(2002-04-01) (aged 81)
New York City, New York
NationalityPuerto Rican
Other namesPetra Rosario Allende
Occupationdomestic worker, factory worker, activist
Years active1937–2001
Children5

Early life

Petra Allende y Rosario was born on June 29, 1920 in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Alejandrina Rosario and Justo Allende.[1] Her mother was mulatto and worked as a laundress, while her father was Afro-Puerto Rican and was a dock worker.[2] Her mother's parents were Narcisa Coto and Demetrio Rosario and her father's parents were Saturnina Rivera and Cirilo Allende.[3] One of five children, she completed 8 years of schooling before marrying Santos Garay on May 24, 1937. The couple had a son, Juan, and made their home with Garay's family in Fajardo, where Allende worked as a domestic.[1][4] The marriage was unsuccessful. Allende returned to her parents' home with her son and she obtained a divorce. She would later have a second son, Felipe, with Felipe Ventegeat, though the couple did not marry.[1]

Career and activism

After the senior Ventegea died in 1948,[5] Allende received the promise of a job in New York City. In 1949, she took her youngest son, leaving her older child, who was ill, and migrated north. When she arrived, the job had been filled, leaving her alone in a place where she did not speak the language. Despite the difficulties, Allende found work in a garment factory and was soon joined by her older son.[1] She spent several years making clothing and then worked as a clerk at Barco Press. During that time, she had a relationship with Pedro Rivera, with whom she had two more children, Alexandra and Pedro Rivera.[1][6] She also was mother to Rivera's son by a former partner, Felipe Ortiz, and raised a godson Miguel Maldonado.[1]

In 1964, Allende became involved in community activism, first working to abolish literacy tests, which were used to suppress minority voters[7][8] and organizing English classes. She participated in the Puerto Rican Community Development Project, which worked to alleviate poverty in El Barrio, and was one of the founders of the Puerto Rican Leadership Alliance.[1][8] She also joined the women's affiliate of the Latino Odd Fellows Fraternity of Spanish Harlem, which worked to provide support to orphans and widows.[1] In 1966, Allende began working for the city in the human resources department of the Manpower Career Development Agency, later the New York City Department of Employment.[1][6]

In the 1970s, Allende became a member of the Manhattan Political Caucus, learning how to lobby effectively by joining forces with other communities with similar needs.[1][9] She and African-American women recognized the need for adequate day care for working women, joining forces in their efforts.[9] She served as an advisor for the federal anti-poverty programs, and as the head of the East Harlem Multiservice Center Committee, lobbied the government of New York City to consolidate available services in a central location to facilitate the ease of coordination for those in need.[10][11] From 1982, she turned her attention to working for the rights of elders and specifically those from minority communities with limited income.[7][12] She served on the Action Council for Elderly Persons of the Puerto Rican and Hispanic Council, the East Harlem Interagency Council, the New York Advisory Committee to the Older Americans Act, the New York City Committee of the Department of Aging, and did volunteer work at the Gaylord White Senior Citizen Center.[13]

In 1995, Allende represented the State of New York at the National Conference on the Aging, which advised in the development of federal changes to acts effecting senior citizens.[8] She continued her activism and volunteering up until her death.[1] Allende was honored by many organizations over the course of her career.[8] She was known as the "La Alcaldesa del Barrio" (The Mayor of the Barrio [Spanish Harlem]).[1][14] Of all the honors received during her lifetime, she cherished the recognition from the National Latinas Caucus.[8] In 1998, she was given the New York State Certificate of Merit, as well as a certificate of appreciation from the National Silver Haired Congress. The New York City Council honored her with the Woman of Achievement Pacesetter Award in 2001 for International Women's Day.[1][15]

Death and legacy

Allende died on April 1, 2002 in New York City, New York.[1] Her papers are housed at the Center for the Study of Puerto Ricans at Hunter College in New York.[16] In 2012, East 111th Street in Manhattan, on which she had lived was renamed Petra Allende Way in her honor.[17]

References

Citations
  1. Ventegeat Jr. 2016.
  2. US Census 1920, p. 6B.
  3. Birth Records 1920, p. 317.
  4. Marriage Records 1937.
  5. Death Records 1948.
  6. Aranda-Alvarado 2001, p. 273.
  7. Freidenberg 2000, p. 115.
  8. Watts 1995, p. E8.
  9. Aranda-Alvarado 2001, p. 276.
  10. Castaño 1997, p. 29.
  11. Kline 1975, p. 14B.
  12. Aranda-Alvarado 2001, p. 275.
  13. Freidenberg 2000, p. 280.
  14. The Daily News 2002, p. 44.
  15. Irizarry & Rodriguez 2007, p. 4.
  16. Irizarry & Rodriguez 2007.
  17. LaVorgna & Erskine 2012.

Bibliography
  • Aranda-Alvarado, Rocío (2001). "Petra Allende: When Florida Isn't an Option: Testimonio on Growing Older in El Barrio". In Shohat, Ella (ed.). Talking Visions: Multicultural Feminism in a Transnational Age. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 273–280. ISBN 978-0-262-69261-8.
  • Castaño, Javier (June 8, 1997). "El Barrio…Refugio de sueños y esperanzas" [El Barrio…Refuge of Hopes and Dreams]. El Diario La Prensa. New York, New York. p. 29. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • Freidenberg, Judith Noemí (2000). Growing Old in El Barrio. New York, New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-2702-7.
  • Kline, Polly (February 27, 1975). "Launch Fight to Save 6 City Care Centers". The Daily News. New York, New York. p. 14B. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Irizarry, Kimberlly (November 7, 2007). "Guide to the Petra Allende Papers" (PDF). Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. Translated by Rodriguez, Nadya. New York City, New York: Hunter College. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • LaVorgna, Marc; Erskine, Evelyn (October 2, 2012). "Mayor Bloomberg Signs Legislation Renaming Forty-one Thoroughfares And Public Places". Official Website of the City of New York. New York, New York: City of New York. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • Ventegeat Jr., Felipe (2016). "Allende, Petra Rosario (1920–2002), community activist". In Knight, Franklin W.; Gates, Jr., Henry Louis (eds.). Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-993579-6.  – via Oxford University Press's Reference Online (subscription required)
  • Watts, Susan (July 4, 1995). "A Grandma Ready to Fight". The Daily News. New York, New York. p. E8. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "1920 U. S. Census: Barrio Ballaja, San Juan, Puerto Rico". FamilySearch. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. January 5, 1920. p. 6B. NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 2069, lines 35–38. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • "In Memoriam: Tireless Advocate for the Rights of the Elderly Petra Allende". The Daily News. New York, New York. June 2, 2002. p. 44. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "Registros civiles, Defunciones, vols. 35–42, 1947–1951: Certificado de defuncion: Felipe Ventegea [sic]". FamilySearch. Toa Alta, Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico Departamento de Salud. September 22, 1948. certificate #430. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • "Registros civiles, Matrimonios 1938–1947: Certificación de la celebración del matrimonio: Garay/Allendez Rosario". FamilySearch. Toa Alta, Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico Departamento de Salud y Igesia Catolica. May 25, 1937. certificate #68. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • "Registros civiles, Nacimientos 1918–1921: Acta de Nacimiento: Petra Allende y Rosario". FamilySearch. Toa Alta, Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico Departamento de Salud. July 10, 1920. p. 317. certificate #659. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
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