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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Dec. 28, 2000
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------Doña Luisa Guadalupe, presente!
Doña Luisa Guadalupe, a fighter for Puerto Rican independence and against the U.S. Navy presence in her native Vieques, died Dec. 15 at the age of 85. She died the same way she lived her productive life--getting ready for the struggle.
When she was diagnosed with a serious heart ailment months before, she asked the doctor what her options were. Ismael Guadalupe, leader of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques and Luisa Guadalupe's nephew, proudly recounted: "The doctor gave her two options. He told her that if she did not have surgery and led a relaxed, quiet life, she could handle the illness for some time. With surgery she might have a 40-percent chance of going back to her usual activities.
"She did not think twice," Guadalupe said. "She reasoned that she could have a 40-percent chance of going back to the acts of civil disobedience against the Navy, so she opted for surgery."
Doña Luisa's husband, Carlos Vélez Rickehoff, was a bodyguard for independence leader Albizu Campos. In the 1950s Doña Luisa was in charge of a coffee "hacienda" where the Nationalists who participated in the 1950 uprising against U.S. colonialism often gathered.
She was an active member of the CPRDV and the Peace and Justice Encampment in front of the U.S. Navy base on Vieques. She was arrested during the massive evictions of the encampments last May 4.
Doña Luisa was the matriarch of the Guadalupes in Vieques, who are well known for their commitment to the struggle against the U.S. Navy. To all those working to oust the U.S. military, her life is a beacon that will always shine.
Doña Luisa Guadalupe, presente!
--Berta Joubert-Ceci
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