Havana Cuba. – The newspaper The world had the honor of welcoming among its regular columnists the first Cuban woman to practice the profession of journalist. Avelina Correa de Malvehy was her name, and although before her there were others who collaborated with magazines and newspapers on the island, only this talented woman from Bayamo managed to be hired by such a prestigious newspaper, in which she served as founder and editor of the Fashion section.
Avelina was born in Bayamo in 1875. At just 14 years of age she wrote the article “Esperanza”, which was published in the weekly Elegant Havana. At the outbreak of the 1895 war, she moved to Havana and from there to Spain, where she married Alfonso Cao Rebolllado, with whom she later left for the Philippine Islands.
In May 1898 she and her husband were caught in the middle of the Santo Tomas uprising. A group of insurgents attacked them. Alfonso was killed and Avelina was seriously injured. About to be buried she regained consciousness and her life was spared, but she remained imprisoned for a year.
He returned to Madrid and from there he traveled to Cuba. He arrived on December 31, 1899 in a devastated country, free from the Spanish crown, but occupied by American troops. The new Republic had not yet awakened, but Avelina felt at home with her. In 1901 she was hired by the newspaper The world, becoming the first woman to practice journalism professionally, forming part of the writing team and earning a salary for her work. She also collaborated regularly with the magazine Bohemia.
The traumatic experience lived was the focus of his first book, entitled Impressions Philippines (pages of a Cuban prisoner)which concluded in Havana and was published in 1908.
As a journalist, Avelina was always committed to intellectual work and to the truth. She was a woman ahead of her time, who managed to insert herself and grow in a profession traditionally reserved for men, dealing with machismo and contempt without being intimidated. With firmness and intelligence, she managed to break through and set the definitive precedent for the many colleagues who would come after her.
Avelina Correa died on March 2, 1927 at the age of 52.
