On 2 July, The New York Times published an article by Larry Rohter on the death of a different and influential first lady -- Ruth Vilaça Corrêa Leite Cardoso, ex-first lady of Brazil. Rohter begins simply, yet offers us a strong impression:
Ruth Vilaça Corrêa Leite Cardoso, a Brazilian anthropologist who carved out a career as one of her country’s most respected intellectuals and feminists before rather reluctantly becoming its first lady, died June 24 at her home in São Paulo. She was 77.Though we'll begin our class discussing sexual violence and exploitation, particularly in relation to Latin American women, I thought it might be nice to begin our blog with the story of a powerful, educated woman. Take a look at the article by following the link above. You can also read more about Cardoso through this Wikipedia article.
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3 comments:
I had not heard of Ruth Cardoso before this article. Amazing to read about her life and work especially for a woman in the 1950s. She is an example of a strong intelligent woman who did not fall into the "first lady" mold. She has left a legacy for Brazil and is a model for all women.
Like Lydia, I had never even heard of Ruth Cardoso before this article. It was really nice to read all of her accomplishments throughout her long life. There is a part in her bibliography that says she was instrumental in developing many of the country's main social programs. Cardoso was what a first lady should be, not just a woman who stands by her husband through his presidency. Instead of just taking pictures with children and visiting schools to improve her image as the first lady, Cardoso worked to improve an entire country. I am sure the country of Brazil will miss her greatly.
I just want to say that I find it a bit ironic that you have this article up on this page. I had not heard of Ruth Cardoso up until two days after she passed away. They had a special news broadcast that I ended up getting very interested in and hearing about all of her works completely mesmorized me. She seemed like such a very intelligent, infulential, and kind woman especially after she became first lady of Brazil. I am so happy that you have this article up so that others can learn about her great works. If you are interested on looking her up more I know that had a huge thing on her on Fox News or MSNBC. It is a shame that she passed away.
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