María Isabel Carvajal facts for kids
Maria Isabel Carvajal (born in January 1887, died May 13, 1949) was a famous writer and teacher from Costa Rica. She was born in San Jose, Costa Rica. Many people know her by her pen name, Carmen Lyra.
Early Life and Education
Carmen Lyra went to school in her neighborhood. She later studied pedagogy, which is the study of teaching. She earned her teacher's certificate.
Her first teaching job was at the El Monte School. This school was in a rural part of the province of Heredia. For a short time in 1906, she also worked at the San Juan de Dios Hospital.
New Teaching Ideas
Carmen Lyra traveled to Europe to learn about new ways of teaching. When she came back to Costa Rica, she used these new ideas. She worked with another teacher to start the very first pre-school in Costa Rica. This was a big step for early education in the country.
Writing Stories
Carmen Lyra's first book was a novel called En una silla de ruedas (In a Wheelchair). It was published in 1918. Her short stories appeared in different magazines. These included Pandemonium Magazine, Ariel Magazine, and Repertorio Americano.
Her stories are still used in many schools today. The most famous one is Cuentos de mi tía Panchita (Stories of my Aunt Panchita). This book came out in 1920. Most Costa Ricans know these popular tales.
Other books by Maria Isabel Carvajal include Las fantasias de Juan Silvestre (1918), Obras Completas (1975), La cucarachita mandina (1976), and relatos escogidos (1977).
Political Actions
Carmen Lyra was also very active in politics in Costa Rica. She was part of the communist party.
In 1919, she helped organize women teachers. They worked together to protest against the government. They even helped to overthrow the dictator of Costa Rica, Federico Tinoco Granados.
She also translated an important political book, The Communist Manifesto, into Spanish in 1920. Later, in 1934, she played a big role in a strike by banana workers. During this time, she wrote a book called Bananos y Hombres (Bananas and Men).
Because of her political beliefs, she was forced to leave Costa Rica in 1948. This happened after the Costa Rican Civil War. She moved to Mexico and passed away there in 1949.
