Hortensia Bussi
Chilean educator, activist and First Lady (1914–2009)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mercedes Hortensia "Tencha" Bussi Soto (22 July 1914 – 18 June 2009), also known by her married name Hortensia Bussi de Allende, was a Chilean educator, librarian, activist and First Lady between 1970 and 1973.[1][2][3] Following the 1973 coup d'état, Bussi lived in exile in Mexico.[1][2]
22 July 1914
Hortensia Bussi | |
|---|---|
Bussi in 1970 | |
| First Lady of Chile | |
| In role 3 November 1970 – 11 September 1973 | |
| President | Salvador Allende |
| Preceded by | María Ruiz-Tagle Jiménez |
| Succeeded by | Lucía Hiriart |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mercedes Hortensia Bussi Soto 22 July 1914 Valparaíso, Chile |
| Died | 18 June 2009 (aged 94) Santiago, Chile |
| Resting place | Santiago General Cemetery |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, including |
| Relatives |
|
| Education | University of Chile |
| Occupation | |
Awards | Lenin Peace Prize |
Early life and family
Mercedes Hortensia Bussi Soto was born 22 July 1914 in Valparaíso[a] to Ciro Bussi Aguilera, a merchant marine, and Mercedes Soto García (died 1917).[1][2][4][5] One of three siblings, Bussi grew up on an upper-class family.[1][2][4]
Moving to Santiago, Bussi enrolled at the Pedagogical Institute at the University of Chile and later graduated as a history and geography teacher.[2][4][5][6] Initially working as a teacher, Bussi later worked as a librarian at the National Statistics Institute.[2][5]
On the day of the 1939 Chillán earthquake, Bussi meet her future husband Salvador Allende, a physician, politician and future President of Chile, on the La Alameda.[1][2] Bussi married Allende on 17 March 1940 and had three children, including Beatriz Allende and Isabel Allende.[1][2][3]
Health
Soon after Allende's failed presidential bid in the 1952 presidential election, Bussi developed pulmonary tuberculosis.[7] In February 1953, the Allende Bussi family moved from there home in Santa Lucía Hill, to the Casa de Guardia Vieja 392.[7] Bussi was able to buy the home using a loan from the National Statistics Institute.[7]
Exile
After the military coup which overthrew her husband, Bussi went into exile in Mexico, and campaigned against the Pinochet regime. In 1975, she was a member of the jury at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival,[8] and in 1977 she stood as a candidate for Rector of the University of Glasgow,[9] losing to the student John Bell.[10]
Bussi returned to Chile in 1988 after 17 years in exile and led a quiet life.
Personal life
Bussi was the sister-in-law of the politician Laura Allende, and was the aunt of Andrés Pascal Allende, a sociologist, former Secretary General to the MIR and a prominent member of the Chilean Resistance and Solidarity Movement, and Denise Pascal, a politician.[3][11]
On 18 June 2009 Bussi died in Santiago, aged 94, and was buried at Santiago General Cemetery.[1][2]
