Palencia, Isabel de (1878–c. 1950)

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Palencia, Isabel de (1878–c. 1950)

Twentieth-century Spanish author and diplomat. Name variations: Isabel Oyarzábal de Palencia. Born Isabel Oyarzábal on June 12, 1878 (some sources cite 1881) in Málaga, Spain; died around 1950; daughter of Juan Oyarzábal and Anne Guthrie (a Scot); married Ceferino Palencia Tubau (an artist), on July 8, 1909; children: Ceferino; Marissa.

The first Spanish woman to hold an ambassadorial post, Isabel de Palencia was born on June 12, 1878, in Málaga, Spain, the daughter of Juan Oyarzábal and Anne Guthrie , a Scot. Her well-to-do family had links to important Spanish political figures. Perhaps because her mother was Protestant (she eventually converted to Catholicism) and a foreigner, Isabel never accepted the cultural and religious conservatism of Spain. She found her education at the Convent of the Assumption restricting, and, to the dismay of her family's conservative friends, decided to become a stage actress. Isabel also wanted to earn a living, because of the independence it would give her. Eventually forsaking the stage, she turned to journalism. She was employed as a foreign correspondent for several English-language publications and for two years published Spain's first woman's magazine, La Dama.

By the time she married artist Ceferino Palencia Tubau on July 8, 1909, Isabel had also become concerned about social conditions in Spain. She worked with Spanish women's organizations to fight for female suffrage and education and began associating with Spanish socialists. In the 1920s, Palencia traveled to the U.S. under the auspices of the Institute of International Education, lecturing on gender conditions in Spain. In 1926, she published The Regional Costumes of Spain. Proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931 drew her more and more into politics.

When the Spanish Civil War began in July 1936, Palencia proved a useful spokesperson for the Republic fighting against Francisco Franco, who was backed by Hitler and Mussolini. In October 1936, she went to Scotland to speak to a Labour Party gathering, where she called for repeal of the International Non-Intervention Agreement that prevented the Republic from obtaining armaments. Later that month, she toured Canada and the United States, raising humanitarian funds for the Republic and seeking to dispel anti-Communist propaganda. U.S. Catholics criticized her, pointing to Spanish leftists' attacks on churches and clergy. At the end of 1936, the Republican government named Palencia its ambassador to Sweden, the first time a Spanish woman had served in such a position. It later extended her authority to include Finland.

Palencia remained in her diplomatic post until the war ended with the Republic's defeat in early 1939. Unable to return to Spain, she and her family emigrated to Mexico. There she continued to write, including an autobiography, I Must Have Liberty (1940), fiction, and a biography of Alexandra Kollontai , a Soviet diplomat and friend. Palencia also lectured in the U.S. against the fascist powers during World War II and remained a vocal critic of the Franco regime in Spain.