María Elena Moyano

María Elena Moyano was one of the most famous and loved Peruvian Afro-Latinas in the 20th century. Born in 1958 in an immigrant-heavy neighborhood, she joined a youth movement very early to organize and help her community. While organizing and holding leadership roles in community-based groups, “her contribution to her society came at a time when Afro-Peruvian communities were working hard to improve their lives,” hence her impact on Peruvian history (Waweru).

While she continued giving back to her community and those in need through the soup kitchen and mothers’ clubs, the Shining Path’s popularity and success were continuously growing. Due to taking over the government, they were not supporters of grassroots efforts such as Moyano. Interestingly, Moyano was initially a supporter and member of the group. However, she soon left “because of its policy of violence and terror” (Gariwo). 

In 1992, Moyano’s community program teamed up with another larger organization “serving 30 thousand meals a day [and]… serving some 60 thousand rations of milk to children and the elderly” (Gariwo). Due to this, the Shining Path was suspicious of Moyano’s intentions and whether she worked with the government, hence them refusing to have a peaceful revolution or demonstration with them. After learning this, Moyano continued to defend her work and spoke out against the Shining Path publicly. She was later named “woman of the year by the Lima newspaper ‘La Republica’” (Waweru). 

Though Moyano knew that leaders who spoke against the Shining Path were killed, she continued to do so as she believed it was the right thing to do. In a statement she made shortly before her death, she stated, “I shall continue to stand alongside my people, women, youngsters, and children; I shall continue to struggle for peace in the name of social justice” (Gariwo). She hoped to seek asylum in Spain once her murder seemed more likely. 

The day before she was supposed to lead a peaceful protest against the Shining Path, February 15, 1992, they shot her to death in front of her son and husband, in which they then blew up her body afterward, still in front of her loved ones. Almost 300,000 Peruvians visited her coffin, symbolizing how loved and appreciated she and her work was to a community that is often overlooked. Attached is a link to Moyano speaking with those in her community. I believe it gives a better picture of her spirit, energy, and love for her work and her people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLTi4nMPyM4&feature=emb_title

Works Cited:

“Maria Elena Moyano.” Gariwo, November 24, 2012. https://en.gariwo.net/righteous/the-righteous-biographies/civil-courage/exemplary-figures-reported-by-gariwo/maria-elena-moyano-7635.html.

Waweru, Nduta. “Maria Elena Moyano, the Fearless Black Woman Whose Brutal Murder Peru Will Never Forget.” Face2Face Africa, January 26, 2019. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/maria-elena-moyano-the-fearless-black-woman-whose-brutal-murder-peru-will-never-forget.