Adela Zamudio (1854-1928) was a highly intellectual Bolivian writer, feminist, and educator. She wrote verses from her adolescence under the nom de plume “Soledad” and lived her entire life in the city of Cochabamba, dedicated completely to education and literature. She was a formidable debater, using her talents often to defend the rights of women in the official debates of her time. According to her biography in the Antología de la Poesía Hispanoamericana (1965), in 1926 she was officially crowned for the government of her country. She is credited with beginning Bolivia's feminist movement and remains one of its most famous poets.
When encircled by a thirst of soul
man, a desert traveler, wishes
to gather armfuls of laurels,
having reached the gates of glory;
“Stop right here,” however, he says to the woman…
Returning, then, to his march,
if he feels himself waver, and lose his valor,
“Come, come,” he tells her,
“You are my partner
in the hours of combat and agony…”