150th anniversary of the birth of María Espinosa, an activist in the struggle for women’s civil and political rights.

The City Council has organized throughout 2025 different activities to celebrate this anniversary. The next one will be a performance based on her lecture ‘Influence of feminism in Contemporary Legislation’ performed by students of IES Mar de Alborán.

The Estepona City Council informs that today, May 13, commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of María Espinosa de los Monteros y Díaz de Santiago in Estepona. A historical activist in the struggle for civil and political rights of women. Coinciding with this anniversary, the Consistory has organized a series of activities throughout 2025. Thus, last Women’s Day she was posthumously awarded the ‘March 8 Award’ in recognition of her contribution to the achievement of equality and the improvement of the role of women. However, the city of Estepona Estepona, knowing already in his time of his worth, wanted to recognize it, being named Favorite Daughter by the City Council on December 27, 1920.

Ahead of her time, she was an enterprising woman in various business projects. In addition, she was the director for Spain of the Yost House, which marketed typewriters of the same name, for more than 20 years, having among its clients King Alfonso XIII himself.

María Espinosa played an outstanding role as an activist in defense of women’s civil and political rights. Proof of this is that in 1918 she was founder and president of the National Association of Spanish Women (ANME), one of the first feminist organizations in Spain.

Among the activities organized on the occasion of this anniversary is the printing by the Centro de Ediciones de la Diputación de Málaga of an illustrated album on the life and work of this distinguished woman.

Likewise, a group of students in the first year of high school at IES Mar de Alborán has prepared a performance based on her lecture ‘Influencia del feminismo en la Legislación Contemporánea’ read at the Real Academia de Jurisprudencia y Legislación on January 22nd, 1920. The performance will take place on Friday, June 13 at 12:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the CC Padre Manuel. This project is directed by the teacher Cristina García Aragón, who for several years has been working with her students in various co-educational projects to raise awareness of the figure of María Espinosa.

The activities will continue throughout the year, aimed at raising awareness of the legacy of Maria Espinosa among young people in the municipality, as one more of those carried out on the occasion of the Year of Youth in Estepona. In the words of the Councillor for Women and Youth, Julia Simon Ortega, this is a great opportunity to spread among the young people of Estepona the entrepreneurial and vindictive spirit of this woman.