Genoveva Guardiola de Estrada Palma
María Genoveva de Jesús Guardiola Arbizú, known as Genoveva Guardiola Arbizú, Genoveva Guardiola de Estrada Palma, or popularly Veva, (30 July 1858 – 30 December 1926) was the Honduran-born wife of the first President of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, when the country gained its independence from Spain, and the inaugural First Lady of Cuba from 1902 to 1906. Raised in Honduras, she moved with her husband to the United States in 1882 and assisted him with the bi-lingual school he established in Central Valley, New York. When her husband was elected as the first president of Cuba, after the country gained independence from Spain, she served as the inaugural First Lady. During her husband's second term in office, he resigned and she moved with him to the Cuban countryside to run an agricultural estate. Upon his death, she returned to the United States. Her image was depicted on a 1956 postage stamp issued by the Honduran Postal Service.
Genoveva Guardiola Arbizú | |
---|---|
First Lady of Cuba | |
In office 20 May 1902 – 28 September 1906 | |
President | Tomás Estrada Palma |
Preceded by | Office created |
Succeeded by | América Arias |
Personal details | |
Born | María Genoveva de Jesús Guardiola Arbizú 30 July 1858 Comayagua, Honduras |
Died | 30 December 1926 68) New York City, New York | (aged
Nationality | Honduran by birth, Cuban by marriage |
Spouse |
Tomás Estrada Palma
(m. 1881; died 1908) |
Occupation | School Director |
Known for | Inaugural First Lady of independent Cuba |