Idania Fernandez
Encyclopedia
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, assassinated in captivity in Leon, Nicaragua
León, Nicaragua
León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...
April 16, 1979. One of the most cherished martyrs of the Nicaraguan Revolution
Nicaraguan Revolution
The Nicaraguan Revolution encompasses the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front which led to the violent ousting of that dictatorship in 1979, and the...
. Scholars in US universities have placed her name next to Camilo Torres Restrepo
Camilo Torres Restrepo
Father Camilo Torres Restrepo was a Colombian socialist, Roman Catholic priest, a predecessor of liberation theology and a member of the National Liberation Army guerrilla organisation...
, Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, José Martí
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
in that they shared a profound sensitivity toward injustice. Religious books and works of columnists and editorials have been dedicated to her memory. Works of testimonial literature like Adios Muchachos , by Sergio Ramirez
Sergio Ramírez
Sergio Ramírez Mercado is a Nicaraguan writer and intellectual who served in the leftist Government Junta of National Reconstruction and as Vice President of the country 1985-1990 under the presidency of Daniel Ortega.Born in Masatepe in 1942, he published his first book, Cuentos, in 1963...
, and We are all awake by Margaret Randall, cite as an example of life. Until today her memory as such is recalled frequently in speeches and editorials in Nicaragua.
- ref Pasher, Camilo & Idania
- ref. Pascher.."Revolutionaries, Prof. Sensitivity. ." Che, Idania, Marti..
- ref Schusler..Revelationhttp://books.google.com/books?id=rdd52VmKW_cC&pg=PP7&dq=Idania+fernandez&ei=W5SeSK-aCaHOjgHcvPH6BA&sig=ACfU3U2MWI126PQwus7w5ubVHqsK0dyfpQ#PPP7,M1
- Seibel, M. Dallas Morning News.
- Sergio Ramirez, manuscripts Princeton Univ., Library Of Congress
- ref Cardenal "Ernesto Cardenal: Poeta, sacerdote y ex sandinista"
The early years
The second of five children. Lived her early years in Leon, NicaraguaLeón, Nicaragua
León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...
. She was 3 years old when her family moved to the neighborhood of Subtiava, in the outskirts of Leon. Her birthday coincides with the anniversary of the Somoza's National Guard massacre on college students marching on the streets of Leon in 1956. This is, each birthday of her life was a reminder of Students Martyrs, for it was a day off in schools in Nicaragua by decree. She lived in Managua between age six and ten. In 1962 her family moved to the town of Jinotega
Jinotega
Jinotega is the capital of Jinotega Department in the north central region of Nicaragua.-About:The capital city of the Department of Jinotega is the City of Jinotega. The Department of Jinotega produces 80% of the nation's coffee. It has a population of about 51,000 living inside a vast valley...
. On Sunday family outings visited San Rafael del Norte and other surrounding towns in the mountains that witnessed Gen. Augusto César Sandino
Augusto César Sandino
Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933...
zaga in the 1930s.
Education
Returning to Managua, finished Elementary and High school at the French School of the Sacred Heart between 1965 and 1972, the same school attended by prominent personalities in Nicaragua today including ex-President of Nicaragua, Violeta ChamorroVioleta Chamorro
Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro is a Nicaraguan political leader, former president and publisher. She became president of Nicaragua on April 25, 1990, when she unseated Daniel Ortega...
.
- ref(1) Idania, Fundadoras, ...Violeta Chamorro,etc....Oblatas, Cien Aňos
(Note:Idania, Far right, second row in the picture)
From Catholic to revolutionary
Mombacho
Mombacho is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, near the city of Granada. It is 1344 metres high. The Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve is one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. Mombacho is an active volcano but the last eruption occurred in 1570...
Volcano and Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada or is a vast freshwater lake in Nicaragua of tectonic origin. With an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world and the 9th largest in the Americas. It is slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation...
for study and discussions on the Liberation Theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
. Idania turned an ardent activist and represented her school among a broad base of organizations engaged in demonstrations demanding the release of political prisoners in 1971–1972. Her activities won her a slap on the face from Sister Nicolle, the school Director, who actually feared for Idania's fate.
- Ref (1).op.cit..El Tepeyac.. oblatas
In 1973, her family moved to Panama and she started her college education in Economics at the University of Panama. Resumed activism joining the Solidarity Committees in support of the Sandinista Liberation Front prisoners. In 1974 She married David Miranda, a Panamanian-Nicaraguan student of Economics also. In August 1975 she gave birth to daughter Claudia, named after Claudia Chamorro another Sandinista fallen years earlier.
Reunion with the Sandinista leadership
Somoza
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
's Elite, Idania had the opportunity she longed for so long. She was finally able to meet personally the Sandinistas she fought so hard for their release since her school days, upon their arrival to Panama.
Because Idania had residence in Panama since 1973, and many friends, she helped in the logistics to provide accommodations and supplies to the Sandinistas; so much, that she donated her personal belongings (furniture, appliances, books, etc.) to the safe houses in Panama where the Sandinistas were staying. It did not take long for Idania to fit perfectly in the "organization" (as they used to call the Sandinista National Liberation Front
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
in Panama where they enjoyed medium security environment.
Idania was considered to participate in the spectacular raid at the National Government Palace in 1978, taking 3000 hostages, which resulted in the release of several Sandinistas in captivity. Ultimately; Dora María Téllez
Dora María Téllez
Dora María Téllez is a Nicaraguan historian most famous as an icon of the Sandinista Revolution, which deposed the Somoza regime in 1979...
was chosen, the only woman in the operative, named after Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez was a Nicaraguan poet and music composer. He was the assassin of Anastasio Somoza García, the longtime dictator of Nicaragua....
.
Military training
In 1978 following the popular insurrection in Monimbo, Masaya, 78), Idania decided to join full time the ranks of the FSLN Command in Panama and Costa Rica, where she frequently met with members of the "Direccion Nacional", the highest ranking of that organization. She trained in Cuba in rocket launching in the middle of 1978. General Omar TorrijosOmar Torrijos
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981...
, and the people of Panama, did not like the Somoza dictatorship and offered logistic support to the Sandinistas and also military training in the Province of Chiriqui (Panama) and she also trained there among other young cadres.
Wounded in the Southern Front
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
on clandestine missions, including one trip to the Northern Front and different operatives, but in September 1978 she was wounded in combat on the left hand in Nicaragua near the southern border. She was taken initially to a Costa Rican hospital near the border, and her pictures appeared in Costa Rican newspapers front page referring to her only as "Angela", respecting her identity. Fearing for her security at the Hospital, Sergio Ramirez
Sergio Ramírez
Sergio Ramírez Mercado is a Nicaraguan writer and intellectual who served in the leftist Government Junta of National Reconstruction and as Vice President of the country 1985-1990 under the presidency of Daniel Ortega.Born in Masatepe in 1942, he published his first book, Cuentos, in 1963...
's wife picked her up and took her to a Sandinista makeshift hospital in Nicaragua near the border.
Ref. Ramirez, Adios Muchachos. pages 81,82
Upon her return to Panama, the Panamanian military had assigned Secret Service security personnel to high ranking or identifiable Sandinistas including Idania. She could no longer use her real name or passport on her missions to Nicaragua either, or visit public places in Panama without escort. She was also required to carry a high caliber Magnum pistol in her purse at all times, which she did.
After a number of spontaneous uprisings in Monimbo, Matagalpa, Estelí and other cites, where the Sandinistas were forced to fight in support of the people's uprising, rather than the opposite, a major shift in Sandinista strategy was developed. In order to take the lead of the Insurrection, two major Insurrectional Commands were organized; the Frente Interno in Managua and the Western command in the city of Leon. Idania was assigned to the newly formed Western Insurrectional Command, which required experience with the communities and base organizations ("trabajo de barrios"), worker unions, students, religious groups and organizing the neighborhoods for the final offensive.
Ref. Ramirez, Adios Muchachos. El Cisne Sobre Las Brasas. pages 81,82
Plans for a final insurrection and a new government junta
In Feb. 1979, Omar TorrijosOmar Torrijos
Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera was the Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard and the de facto leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981...
, head of the Panamenian government invited the Grupo de Los Doce
Los Doce
El Grupo de los Doce, or Group of Twelve, were a dozen members of the Nicaraguan establishment whose support for the Sandinista National Liberation Front struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle played a pivotal role in the acceptance of the Sandinistas by foreign and domestic...
, prominent Nicaraguan businessmen backing up the Sandinistas, for talks in Panama. By this time, arms shipments from Venezuela and Cuba were under way. Dr. Joaquin Cuadra, a member of Los Doce
Los Doce
El Grupo de los Doce, or Group of Twelve, were a dozen members of the Nicaraguan establishment whose support for the Sandinista National Liberation Front struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle played a pivotal role in the acceptance of the Sandinistas by foreign and domestic...
and whose son Joaquin Cuadra
Joaquín Cuadra
Joaquín Cuadra Lacayo, a scion of Nicaragua's elite, joined the rebel Sandinista National Liberation Front in late 1972. After their victory in 1979, he became army chief of staff....
, leader of the Frente Interno Sandinista Command, was in Nicaragua, invited Idania and Oscar Perez Cassar for the talks and dinner. Idania and Oscar were also members of the Frente Interno, and scheduled to go back to Nicaragua via Honduras, to assume the leadership of the Western Regional Command for the final Insurrection. Sergio Ramirez
Sergio Ramírez
Sergio Ramírez Mercado is a Nicaraguan writer and intellectual who served in the leftist Government Junta of National Reconstruction and as Vice President of the country 1985-1990 under the presidency of Daniel Ortega.Born in Masatepe in 1942, he published his first book, Cuentos, in 1963...
, also a member of Los Doce
Los Doce
El Grupo de los Doce, or Group of Twelve, were a dozen members of the Nicaraguan establishment whose support for the Sandinista National Liberation Front struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle played a pivotal role in the acceptance of the Sandinistas by foreign and domestic...
and a member of the upcoming Government Junta, relates that Idania attended with her hand still bandaged from surgery after her wounds in September.
Ref. Ramirez, Adios Muchachos. A Memoir of The Sandinista Revolution. pages 81,82
In March 1979, Idania went back to Nicaragua to resume her new post in the Western Regional Command, the leading Commando of the Insurrection, and was prepared to stay indefinitely until victory or death, as a member of the ill-fated Insurrectional Command "Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez was a Nicaraguan poet and music composer. He was the assassin of Anastasio Somoza García, the longtime dictator of Nicaragua....
" headed by Dora Maria Tellez
Dora María Téllez
Dora María Téllez is a Nicaraguan historian most famous as an icon of the Sandinista Revolution, which deposed the Somoza regime in 1979...
. In late 1978 the Somoza's National Guard had been killing the population without mercy in the towns of Leon, Masaya, Estelí by aerial bombing, reported by the Red Cross. That was too much to bear for the Sandinistas. It was about time to finish the Somoza's regime.
Ref. Univ. Of Minn. Genev. Conv. Red Cross http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iachr/country-reports/nicaragua1978-ch2.html
The Swan Over the Burning Coals
Title chosen by Sergio RamirezSergio Ramírez
Sergio Ramírez Mercado is a Nicaraguan writer and intellectual who served in the leftist Government Junta of National Reconstruction and as Vice President of the country 1985-1990 under the presidency of Daniel Ortega.Born in Masatepe in 1942, he published his first book, Cuentos, in 1963...
for the chapter of his book "Adios Muchachos" dedicated to the memory of the events the day that shook the entire City of Leon, specially, and the rest of the country. On April 16, 1979 the Sandinista war was escalating fast. Combats were taking place in more than twenty cities in Nicaragua. However; most of the leaders of the soon to be Revolutionary Government were in Costa Rica or Panama in safe houses. Their role was to provide the military strategy, negotiations with foreign governments and sketching a plan for the new an imminent Nicaraguan Government Junta. The war was actually run in the field by five Regional Commands. The most important ones were the Western Command based in the City of Leon and the Frente Interno, based in Managua. They were considered critical for a fast victory. The Regional Commands had the future of Nicaragua at hand.
On that day, the Members of the Western Regional Command integrated by Oscar Perez Cassar, Idania Fernandez, Araceli Perez Darias, Ana Isabel Morales, Edgard Lang Sacasa, Roger Deshon Arguello and Carlos Manuel Jarquin were in session in a safe house in the suburbs of Leon. The National Guard was attacking heavily the City of Estelí
Estelí
Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as "the Diamond of the Segovias."...
, near the mountains and they were coordinating the efforts to help them. Reportedly, there was a whistleblower, a supposedly former Sandinista militia who turned police informant. The informant and eighty members of the National Guard
National Guard (Nicaragua)
In Nicaragua, the National Guard was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.-Creation:...
, in jeeps and tanks, surrounded the block, and stormed into the house. The Sandinistas had no chance to escape or to grab their weapons. Ana Isabel put an apron on, grabbed a child form an adjacent house, and passed herself off as a domestic. She was the only survivor. The informant identified positively the men as important cadre, but he argued not knowing the women. So, all men were executed on the spot, Idania and Araceli were arrested, taken to the Fortin of Acosasco, tortured and murdered.
- Ref. Randall Interview Dora M Tellez Idania, Roger, Aracely, six important members
The aftermath
Thousands attended their funeral. The entire city of Leon (not to mention the Sandinista ranks at all levels) was enraged. The Somoza government refused to return Araceli's (who was Mexican) remains to her family. Idania's parents and two youngest sisters were living in Dallas, Texas, and contacted the Dallas Morning News. The paper dedicated a full page article on the events in the Sunday edition. Edgard Lang Sacasa was 23 and he was the son of a first cousin to dictator Somoza and a friend of a Wall Street Journal columnist, and this prompted an editorial.Soon after, as expected, the city of Leon street fighters headed by Dora Maria Tellez
Dora María Téllez
Dora María Téllez is a Nicaraguan historian most famous as an icon of the Sandinista Revolution, which deposed the Somoza regime in 1979...
, Idania's comrade, increased greaty in numbers and fire power. In June the victory over the Somoza forces in Leon was complete, followed by Managua, two weeks later, and the Somoza regime went with it.
The Legacy
"I leave you an example of life, mine" wrote Idania to her daughter in her farewell letters. Reprinted in Margaret Randall's book "Todas Estamos Despiertas"and many columnists' and editorial pages in Nicaragua countless times over the last twenty nine years.
Ernesto Cardenal, Sergio Ramirez and other dissidents of the Sandinistas often quote Idania's writings and ideals. This is a true legacy and probably the best.
After her death, Idania fire power increased thousandfold. In 1984, at the peak of the Contra
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
war, one of the largest battalions of the Sandinista People's Army ( Ejército Popular Sandinista), dispatched to the Northern Front to fight the Contras, was named after her.
Occasionally, they name a nursery or police station after Idania but there are no monuments or statues for her in Nicaragua. She would probably have liked it this way. We have seen so many statues fall in world history, but an example of life lasts forever.
- M. Randall rep. on The Nat. Revol. Mov. press Mother's Letter
- Rodriguez, Revista Envio..Has it been worth all the effort?http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/1442
- C. Tunnermann "El Nuevo Diario, comm. on book "Adios Muchachos"http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/1999/agosto/14-agosto-1999/cultural/cultural9.html