Hope Portocarrero

Hope Portocarrero
Hope Portocarrero
	Madame Hope Somoza & Cardinal Francis Spellman at a reception in New York
First Lady of Nicaragua
	In Role; 1 December 1974 – 17 July 1979
President	Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Preceded by	Vacant
Succeeded by	Maria Luisa Muñoz
	In Role; 1 May 1967 – 1 May 1972
President	Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Preceded by	Carmen Reñazco (1966)
Succeeded by	Vacant
Personal details
Born	28 June 1929; Tampa, Florida, United States
Died	5 October 1991 (aged 62); Miami, Florida, United States
Spouse(s)	Anastasio Somoza Debayle; Archie Angelo Baldocchi
Children	Anastasio, Julio, Carolina, Carla, and Roberto
Parents	Nestor Portocarrero Gross (father); Blanca Debayle Sacasa de Portocarrero (mother)
Alma mater	Barnard College (1950)
Occupation	First Lady of Nicaragua

Hope Portocarrero, also known as Madame Somoza (June 28, 1929 – 5 October 1991) was the wife of dictator and president of Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza Debayle and, beginning in 1967, First Lady of Nicaragua for a time. In 1968 she was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. She was the mother of Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero and four other children.

Early life

Born in 1929 in Tampa, Florida, Hope Portocarrero was the daughter of Dr. Nestor Portocarrero Gross and Blanca DeBayle Sacasa de Portocarrero. She had one brother, Nestor.

She was of Spanish, French and Nicaraguan descent. Her grandfather was Dr. Luis Henri DeBayle Pallais, and married to Casimira Sacasa Sacasa. He was a good friend of Rubén Darío. Her maternal great-grandfather was Roberto Sacasa Sarria, former President of Nicaragua. The DeBayles and Portocarreros were among Nicaragua's wealthiest families.

She spoke fluent English, Italian, Spanish, and French and had an appreciation for art and culture. After 1943, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she often spent time with her cousin Lillian Sevilla-Sacasa (née Somoza). She attended Barnard College of Columbia University and was in the class of 1950.[1] Portocarrero spent the summer of 1949 traveling in Europe accompanied by her mother.

Marriage

Portocarrero and her cousin Anastasio Somoza Debayle were married on 10 December 1950 in Managua's Cathedral by Archbishop José Antonio Lezcano. Over 4,000 guests attended the ceremony. The reception was given by her father-in-law, President Anastasio Somoza García, in the luxurious and modern Palacio de Comunicaciones. The couple traveled to South America for their honeymoon.

The Somozas had five children: Anastasio, Julio, Carolina, Carla, and Roberto Somoza Portocarrero. Her daughter, Carolina, is married to James Minskoff Sterling, son of New York real estate developer Henry H. Minskoff and his wife.[2]

First Lady of Nicaragua

When her husband became president of Nicaragua in 1967, Portocarrero became the First Lady. She was covered in the media for her fashionable wardrobe. During her husband's time in office, she served as a hostess for many state visits, among them U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Emperor Hirohito.

Somoza was also president of the Junta Nacional de Asistencia y Previsión Social (National Social Security). She created the National Cultural Center, the General Archives of the National Library, National Conservatory of Music, National School of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes), National Museum, and Plurar Gallery. Her biggest legacies were the construction of Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío (The National Theater of Nicaragua), the Children's Hospital, a clinic for Nicaraguan women, and a Center for Orphans, known as "The Hope".

Final years

Due to continuing marital strife, her husband Anastasio began a relationship with a mistress, Dinorah Sampson. Portocarrero later relocated to London. Since the couple were Catholic, she never divorced Somoza. A year after he died, she married Archie Baldocchi, a wealthy American businessman. She died of cancer in Miami, Florida on 5 October 1991.

References

"Barnard Alumnae Magazine, Fall 1966 | Barnard Digital Collections". digitalcollections.barnard.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
"Miss Somoza Wed to Dr. J. M. Sterling", New York Times, October 16, 1984