Hostess of San Carlos Palace

Hostess of San Carlos Palace
Last in role
Soledad Román de Núñez
until April 1, 1886
StyleMadam
ResidenceSan Carlos Palace
Inaugural holderManuela Sáenz

The Hostess of San Carlos Palace was the unofficial position held by the wives of the presidents in the now-defunct states of Gran Colombia, New Granada, the Granadine Confederation, and the United States of Colombia. This role is considered the precursor to the role of First Lady of Colombia, which was formalized in 1886 with the founding of Colombia. Although the president's spouse was neither elected nor received compensation, the Hostesses of San Carlos Palace played significant roles in Colombian society at that time.

For 89 years, twenty-one women, including the president's wives and partners, served as hostesses at the San Carlos Palace, a position derived from republican tradition and based solely on the prominence and influence of the individual. This role was the subject of debate on two occasions: first, when Manuela Sáenz, Simón Bolívar's partner, was accused of being the president's mistress while still married to Captain James Thorne; and second, when Soledad Román de Núñez was rejected by Bogotá's upper class because her husband, Rafael Núñez, remained married to his first wife, Dolores Gallegos.

List

Portrait Name Tenure President
(Husband or Partner, unless noted)
Manuela Sáenz
December 27, 1797 – November 23, 1856
[1][2]
16 February 1819 – 27 April 1830 Simón Bolívar
María Josefa Hurtado[3] May 12, 1833 – April 1, 1835 Joaquín Mosquera
Dolores Vargas París[4] September 4, 1830 – April 30, 1831 Rafael Urdaneta
Sixta Pontón de Santander
April 2, 1792 – July 20, 1862
[5][6]
October 7, 1832

April 1, 1837
Francisco de Paula Santander
María Antonia del Castillo April 1, 1837 – April 1, 1841 José Ignacio de Márquez
Amelia Mosquera Arboleda April 1, 1841 – April 1, 1845 Pedro Alcántara Herrán
Mariana Benvenuta de Mosquera April 1, 1845 – April 1, 1849 Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
María Dorotea Durán April 1, 1849 – April 1, 1853 José Hilario López
Timotea Carvajal de Oabando April 1, 1853 – April 17, 1854 José María Obando
María Mercedes Cabal
September 25, 1819 – May 4, 1904
[7]
August 7, 1855

August 7, 1857
Manuel María Mallarino
Enriqueta Vásquez de Ospina May 22, 1857

March 31, 1861
Mariano Ospina Rodríguez
Sofía Mosquera de Arboleda July 10, 1861

July 18, 1861
Acting
Julio Arboleda Pombo
Mariana Benvenuta de Mosquera July 18, 1861

April 8, 1864
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
Ana Roma de Murillo April 8, 1864

April 1, 1866
Manuel Murillo Toro
Hermelina Concha de Gutiérrez April 1, 1968

April 1, 1870
Santos Gutiérrez
Sinforosa Florez Mateus April 1, 1870

April 1, 1872
Eustorgio Salgar
Ana Roma de Muerillo April 1, 1872

April 1, 1874
Manuel Murillo Toro
Tadea Triana Silva April 1, 1874

April 1, 1876
Santiago Pérez Manosalva
Lastenia Díaz Murillo April 1, 1976

April 1, 1878
Aquileo Parra
Dolores Carvajal Murillo April 1, 1878

April 1, 1880
Julián Trujillo Largacha
Soledad Román de Núñez
October 6, 1835 – June 19, 1924
April 1, 1880

April 1, 1882
Rafael Núñez
m. July 14, 1877
Dolores Orbegozo de Zaldúa April 1, 1882

December 21, 1882
Francisco Javier Zaldúa
Mercedes González de Otálora December 21, 1882

April 1, 1884
José Eusebio Otalora
Soledad Román de Núñez
October 6, 1835 – June 19, 1924
April 1, 1884

April 1, 1886
Rafael Núñez
m. July 14, 1877

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ Masur, Gerhard (1949). ""The Liberator is Immortal"-An Unknown Letter of Manuela Saenz". The Hispanic American Historical Review. 29 (3): 380–383. doi:10.2307/2508458. ISSN 0018-2168. JSTOR 2508458.
  2. ^ Lyons, Mathew (2020-07-07). "The Liberator's Saviour is 'Buried'". History Today. Vol. 70, no. 7. p. 26. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-06-09. Bolívar called her la amable loca, the dear madwoman.
  3. ^ "The Mosquera and Arboleda families and the Bolivar project (1821-1830)". scielo.org.co. July 1, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Rodríguez Jiménez, Pablo (September 14, 2011). "Las mujeres en la independencia de Colombia". revistacredencial.com. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "Sixta Tulia Pontón y Piedrahita n. 2 Abr 1792 Soacha, Cundinamarca, Colombia f. 28 Jul 1861 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia". www.sologenealogia.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  6. ^ "AMORES CONTRARIADOS DE SANTANDER:". Revista Credencial (in Spanish). 2 October 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  7. ^ Velasco Madriñán, Luis Carlos. Efraín y María: historia y leyenda. Editado por Impr. Márquez, 1954