Alaíde Foppa

Alaíde Foppa (3 December 1914 – disappeared 19 December 1980) was a Guatemalan academic, feminist, poet, human rights defender, and translator who fled to Mexico after the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and was eventually disappeared during a return visit to Guatemala in 1980. Born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1914, Foppa came from a wealthy liberal family. She moved to Italy around 1930, where she began writing poetry in Italian and later studied literature and art history at the ( 'Sapienza University of Rome'). She then moved to Guatemala in 1943, where she was deeply moved by the social injustice she perceived under the regime of Jorge Ubico. She became a Guatemalan citizen in 1944 and developed connections with the revolutionary movement that forced Ubico's resignation that year.

At some point, Foppa married labor activist Alfonso Solórzano, who fled to Mexico after the 1954 coup. She eventually joined him in Mexico City in 1957, where she became a prominent figure in academic and artistic circles. While in Mexico, she co-founded the magazine ''Fem'' and hosted ( 'Women's Forum'), a radio program discussing women's issues in Mexico. In addition, she established an Italian literature department at the (UNAM, 'National Autonomous University of Mexico'), where she also taught the first course on women's sociology in a Latin American university. In December 1980, Foppa traveled to Guatemala and was abducted by members of the G-2 intelligence unit. Her disappearance prompted immediate action from her family, her friends, colleagues, artists, academics, and human rights advocates. However, despite ongoing efforts, official investigations and legal proceedings have yielded no definitive results in her case.

Foppa published several poetry collections throughout her life. These collections explore themes of motherhood, female agency, and departure through aestheticist and feminist frameworks. She also published several notable translations, including a Spanish translation of the poetry of Michelangelo and a French translation of the book ''El libro vacio'' ( 'The empty book') by Josefina Vicens. A poetry prize was established in her honor in 1998, as was a dedicated international academic chair in 2011. She has been the subject of both a radio program, ''Un encuentro con Alaíde Foppa: Voz y palabra'' (2014, 'An encounter with Alaíde Foppa: voice and word'), and a documentary, ''Alaíde Foppa: La sin ventura'' (2014, 'Alaíde Foppa: The unfortunate'). Her life and legacy have been discussed by journalists and scholars such as Elena Poniatowska, Karina Leyte Chávez, and Nathalie Ludec, who highlight her significance as a feminist icon and a symbol for human rights struggles. Provided by Wikipedia