Mercedes Pinto

Feminist journalist, writer, poet, and orator born and raised in an affluent and highly educated family. Her mother was Ana María de Armas Clós, and her father was Francisco María Pinto de la Rosa, a writer and literary critic. She started writing poetry as a child, and by age 14 had become locally prominent. In 1909 she married Navy Captain Juan de Foronda Cubillas and the union produced three children. Miss Pinto had to assume the role of head of household when her husband developed a mental disorder and she was forced to place him in an institution. In the early 1920s she moved with her family to Madrid intending to find a place in the literary community. Soon her first book of poems, Brisas del Teide, was published to great sales and critical acclaim. She wrote articles on the rights of women and other social issues for various newspapers and magazines.