Anacona: The Taina leader who faced Cristóbal Colón
The Tainos were an Arawak people belonging to the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Florida. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the main inhabitants of most of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Puerto Rico. Anacaona in the Taino language means "Golden Flower". She was a Haitian princess of the Taino race who was born in 1474 on Bohío Island, as its first inhabitants baptized her, and who would later be divided into two Caribbean countries: the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
After the death of her brother Bohechío, Anacaona assumed as chieftain, ruling the Chiefdom of Jaragua. She had a natural talent for poetry, which she sang in the areitos, dances and songs with which the Taino Indians celebrated their religious festivities and rites. This Taino leader has been recognized on multiple occasions as a strong and sensitive leader at the same time, an example of this was mentioned that, when Christopher Columbus arrived, she felt great admiration for all the knowledge and skills that they brought with them from the European continent.. But the harmony would not last long. Abuses of the natives began, especially women who were abused and raped without qualms. Anacaona would not accept the oppressive tyranny and convinced Caonabo, her husband, to destroy the settlement where the invaders were based and from this moment on she would become a fugitive from the Spanish forces until in 1504 she would die condemned to the gallows. Multiple historical media praise the courage and spirit of this war, in which Anacaona is mentioned as a natural and noble person, with plenty of features such as beauty based on her heroism.
The indigenous peoples have been peoples who faced multiple injustices: looting of land, jewelry, loss of identity, slavery, among others. For this reason, it is important to commemorate their struggles and heroism of all those who dared to give their lives in order to preserve their freedom, Anacaona proved not only to be a sensitive and noble woman, but also to be a warrior leader in times when chieftains women they acquired greater prominence thanks to their bravery.