Concepción Ramírez

Concepción Ramírez (born Santiagi Atitlan, 8 March 1942) is a peace activist and from Guatemala and whose portrait appears on the Guatemalan 25 centavo coin - also known as the 'choca'.

Concepción Ramírez
Portrait of Ramírez on 25 centavo coin
Born (1942-03-08) March 8, 1942
Santiago Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala
NationalityTz'utujil
CitizenshipGuatemala
Known forPortrait on the 25 centavo coin; peace activism
AwardsOrden Municipal del Reino Tz'utujil

Biography

Ramírez was born on 8 March 1942 in Santiagi Atitlan, a town in the Tzanjuyú region.[1] Her father was an evangelical preacher and her mother taught her traditional crafts at home.[2] In 1965 she married Miguel Ángel Reanda Sicay and they went on to have six children.[2]

25 centavo

In 1959, at the age of 17, her portrait was chosen to feature on the 25 centavo coin as a result of a competition to find the 'prettiest indigenous woman' in Guatemala.[1] The portrait was prepared from photographs by the artist Alfredo Gálvez Suárez.[3] People refer to her portrait as the "woman of the choca" and is recognised by people across the country.[4]

Sculpture of the 25 centavo coin Ramirez features on in Plaza Concepcion, Santiago Atitlan

Ramírez is a spokesperson for Tz'utujil culture and is passionate about keeping its traditions and language alive.[1] In 2019, the park in Santiagi Atitlan was remodelled to include a monument to her shaped like a 1m choco.[1]

Tocoyal (hair ribbon/head dress), Tz'utujil Maya, Santiago Atitlan, c. 1920, cotton - Textile Museum of Canada

The coin's design features Ramírez wearing a tocoyal head-dress, which is shaped like Lake Atitlan, and made of fabric wound around the head twenty times.[4] Plaza Concepcion in the town was named after her.[5]

In 2018, Ramírez was awarded a pension by the state, as recognition for her life's achievements.[6]

Activism

Guatemala has a violent political past and her family was affected by it: on 7 January 1980, her father was tortured to death with 27 other people; on 22 May 1990 her husband was murdered with three other people in a wave of political violence.[2] In reaction to this, Ramírez has spoken out against political violence and in 2007 she had the honour of laying a white rose, in Palm of Peace at the National Palace of Culture,[7] and in the delivery of a document related to the internal armed conflict.[1]

On March 8, 2016, the General Sub-Directorate for Crime Prevention of the National Civil Police of Santiago Atitlán paid tribute to her on her 74th birthday.[3]

Awards

Municipal Order of the Tzutujil Kingdom (2019)

Films of Concepción Ramírez

Concepción Ramírez, the face immortalized in the 25 cents coin

Doña Concepción Ramírez, representante de la cultura Tz´utujil

References
  1. "Concepción Ramírez, rostro de la moneda de 25 centavos". Santa Cruz Barillas. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  2. "Chonita, el rostro de la moneda de 25 centavos – Prensa Libre" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  3. "Concepción Ramírez Mendoza, rostro de la moneda de 25 centavos de Guatemala". Aprende Guatemala.com (in Spanish). 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  4. "Doña Concepción Ramirez, el rostro de la moneda de 25 centavos". ESU (in Spanish). 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  5. Doña Concepción Ramírez, representante de la cultura Tz´utujil, retrieved 2020-01-03
  6. "Concepción Ramírez, imagen de moneda de 25 centavos, recibirá pensión vitalicia – Prensa Libre" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  7. Susan (2016-12-19). "Monday's Monument: Monument to Peace, Guatemala City, Guatemala". peaceCENTER. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
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