Betances

2003
Linocut Print on Paper
6" x 9"

One of my goals has been to create a series of prints and paintings that serve strictly as portraits of patriotic figures in Puerto Rican history. This piece is a portrait of Ramón Emeterio Betances, the leader of the September 23rd, 1868 Grito de Lares Revolution in Puerto Rico. Betances led frustrated revolutionaries in an attempt to overthrow the Spanish Government in the island. He continued the planning while in exile in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Unfortunately an informant had notiftied the colonial authorities before the revolution even began. The revolutionaries countered this by starting the insurrection 1 week before the scheduled date and changing the original gathering place from Camuy to Lares. Unfortunatley this warning to the authorities was enough for the Spanish colonial gov't to warn the Dutch authorities. A ship that Betances had reserved for the revolution, stocked with supplies and weapons, was confiscated by the Dutch West Indian government, contributing to the failure of the mission. Despite the shortage of arms, several towns were taken by the revolutionaries and the town of Lares was declared the Republic of Puerto Rico, until the colonial authorities began capturing the leaders of the insurrection.

Pictured in this image, behind the figure, is the revolutionary flag, designed by Betances and sewn by Marianna Bracetti. Also known as "Brazo de Oro" or Golden Arm, Bracetti was celebrated not just for her sewing skills but for the fact that she took up arms during the revolution. Today the flag is still used as the official flag of the town of Lares. People who share Betances' ideologies and support independence for the island also carry this flag as a symbol of revolution and patriotism.

Betances, of African descent, was a physician trained in Paris and used his wealth to purchase the freedom of slave children. A devout abolitionist, he often hung out near churches waiting for slave children to be brought in for baptism. At the time there was a law in Puerto Rico that allowed individuals to purchase the infant's freedom at their baptism. Slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico in 1873.

For more info:
Puerto Rico’s Revolt for Independence: El Grito de Lares by Olga Jimenez de Wagenheim. Markus Weiner Publishers.
Historia de la esclavitud negra en Puerto Rico, Luis M. Díaz Soler. University of Puerto Rico.