Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cq21RmM_3PY/T19ALR8rQ8I/AAAAAAAACx0/-70ZEapEHYM/s1600/domitila.jpg
Source: http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/local/20120313/fallecio-domitila-chungara-la-madrugada-de-hoy_163834_343148.html
Domitila Barrios de Chungara was born on May 7th 1937 in Potosí. She was the daughter of a miner and married a miner. Her mother died when she was young so she grew up raising her five younger sisters. Later, she had seven children. Using her experience with poor conditions for miners, she stepped up and became leader of the Housewives’ Committee in the 1960s. They sought to improve the working conditions for their husbands and their families, along with resolving/improving many other issues. She died on March 13, 2012 at the age of 74. There was a three day mourning for her.
Domitila survived the 1967 San Juan massacre. The massacre had taken place at a tin mine in Bolivia called Siglo XX. While the people were having fun festivities the army came in, dressed as civilians, and opened fire on hundreds and hundreds of people. This included the mine workers, women, and children. The army had massacred these people because the next day there was to be a meeting between all the secretaries-general to discuss the mine workers problems. Amazingly enough, Domitila survived this terrible massacre and encouraged her people to not stand for it.
Source:
Achtenberg, Emily. “Remembering Domitila: Making Bolivian History.”NACLA. N.p., 15 Mar. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <https://nacla.org/blog/2012/3/15/remembering-domitila-making-bolivian-history>.
Chungara, Domitila Barrios De, and Moema Viezzer. Let Me Speak!: Testimony of Domitila, a Woman of the Bolivian Mines. New York: Monthly Review, 1978. Print.