Mrs. Guiomar: Myth, History of Santiago de Cuba
Mrs. Guiomar de Guzman is recalled in Santiago de Cuba as a character of a play entitled “How Santiago Apostol Stepped on the Land (De como Santiago Apostol puso los Pies en la Tierra)”, performed by Relations Theater group in the 1970s. That’s what Mrs. Guiomar has been for many people: a fiction character; but you should know that this woman played an active role during the colonization of the Island.
Click on Santiago de Cuba: A City of 500 Years
Mrs. Guiomar is said to have arrived in Santiago de Cuba in 1521, accompanying her husband, accountant Pedro de Paz. But this Spanish lady didn’t stand out in the public life of the colony during the time she was Pedro de Paz’s wife. After his passing, she married Governor Juanes de Avila.
People say that when her husband died, Mrs. Guiomar was in Seville and she empowered Brother Domingo Sarmiento, Bishop of Cuba, to collect her substantial incomes. But when she realized that her properties were envied by another important Spaniard on the Island, she decided to return to Santiago de Cuba in 1540.
Ever since, her name frequently appeared on official documents because of her influence on the political life of the colony.
A new governor arrived in Santiago de Cuba in February 1544, young Juanes de Avila, who moved to Mrs. Guiomar’s house as she owned one of the best mansions in the village.
She was a mature woman, who had lost two husbands and was the mother of four, but she was very nice and physically attractive.
Mrs. Guiomar was a smart lady that transcended traditional lines in times when women only devoted their time to sewing and taking care of children.
By means of her charms she made the governor support her and won lawsuits against Bishop Brother Domingo Sarmiento, who had managed her properties.
The presence of Governor Juanes de Avila in her house made people talk and the Bishop backed up that gossip, since he was upset by Avila’s decisions on behalf of that woman.
In 1545 the widow and the young governor got married. She had a significant influence on her neighbors and the politic circuit in Santiago de Cuba at the time.
Mrs. Guiomar was an exceptional woman, whose courage and intelligence made her win a place in the history of the colonization of Cuba, so we shed light on this figure within the framework of the 500th anniversary of the village.
