Isabel Cerruti
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Isabel Cerruti | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 August 1886 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Died | 1 January 1970 (aged 83) São Paulo, Brazil |
| Other names | Isa Ruti |
| Philosophical work | |
| Region | Brazil |
| School | |
Isabel Cerruti, also known by her pseudonym Isa Ruti (1886–1970) was a Brazilian weaver, journalist, activist, and anarcho-communist, feminist, and anarcho-syndicalist intellectual. A significant figure in the Brazilian anarchist movement and more broadly in the Brazilian left of the time, her thought remains difficult to grasp due to a lack of studies and the abundance of writings she left behind. Additionally, she co-founded the International Feminine Federation (IFF) alongside Maria Lacerda de Moura.
From 1911 until her death, she regularly wrote for anarchist publications.
Isabel Bertolucci was born in São Paulo[1][2] on 19 August 1886.[2] Her mother, Maria Emília Ferreira da Silva, was a Brazilian who worked as a domestic servant, while her father, Luigi Bertolucci, was an Italian born in 1860 who also worked in the same profession.[1][2] Her maternal grandfather, Joaquim Ferreira da Silva, is said to have participated in the Paraguayan War.[2] She was baptized in the parish of Bon Jesus de Brás on 10 October 1886.[1] She subsequently worked as a weaver, as well as a teacher and piano instructor.[3]
Between the ages of 17 and 20, she became politically active, particularly by reading anarchist literature.[3] She quickly acquired a solid general knowledge and developed a strong interest in sociology.[3] This political formation coincided with her engagement to Américo Cerruti, an anarchist with whom she exchanged ideas.[3] During this time, she was still Catholic and participated in religious congregations when they appeared at her workplace.[3] Her fiancé then gifted her the anarchist newspaper A Lanterna, and since she enjoyed it, he arranged for it to be sent to her weekly.[3] Gradually, she adopted more pronounced anti-clerical positions and began to support free unions.[3]
She married him in 1908 and adopted his last name.[2] Their relationship lasted until his death in November 1954.[2] When A Lanterna ceased publication and she began reading A Plebe, she found it to be even more to her liking.[3] She became an avid reader of the newspaper before starting to write articles under various pseudonyms, the most well-known being Isa Ruti.[3] She began writing for the newspaper in 1911, initially producing anti-clerical texts,[4] and gradually moved on to openly anarchist writings.[5] Her activities led to her being recognized in the streets by fellow anarchists.[3] Cerruti was connected to the Italian anarchist community in Brazil and wrote for some of their publications, such as La Difesa.[6] She feared being deported to Italy by the Brazilian police, who spied on her and used such methods to eliminate political opponents.[6] From the 1920s onward, she participated in various revolutionary syndicalist or anarcho-syndicalist organizations.[6]
Her actions made her an "important figure of the left in Brazil" and within the Brazilian anarchist movement.[7] Cerruti also co-founded the International Feminine Federation (IFF) with Maria Lacerda de Moura.[8]
She continued her activism and publications until her death in São Paulo on 1 January 1970.[2]
