The Most Famous
SOCIAL ACTIVISTS from Colombia
This page contains a list of the greatest Colombian Social Activists. The pantheon dataset contains 840 Social Activists, 3 of which were born in Colombia. This makes Colombia the birth place of the 51st most number of Social Activists behind Vietnam, and Serbia.
Top 4
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Colombian Social Activists of all time. This list of famous Colombian Social Activists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Camilo Torres Restrepo (1929 - 1966)
With an HPI of 62.35, Camilo Torres Restrepo is the most famous Colombian Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.
Camilo Torres Restrepo (3 February 1929 – 15 February 1966) was a Colombian Catholic revolutionary, guerilla, priest, politician, author and a leader of the National Liberation Army (ELN). A major and highly influential figure of the ELN, during his life he attempted to reconcile revolutionary socialism and Catholicism, an ideology which became known as Camilism and would significantly influence the later Liberation Theology movement, as well as being adopted by the Montoneros. His social activism and willingness to work with Marxists troubled some. As part of the academic staff of the National University of Colombia, he was a co-founder of the Sociology Faculty together with Orlando Fals Borda, as well as some intellectuals such as Eduardo Umaña Luna, María Cristina Salazar, Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda, Carlos Escalante, Darío Botero and Tomás Ducay, in 1960. His involvement in several student and political movements during the time won him a large following as well as many detractors, especially from the Colombian government and the church itself. Due to the growing pressure to back down from his radical politics, Camilo Torres requested to be and was laicized (although he never abandoned his faith and he remained a devout Catholic). He founded the socialist United Front, which lasted only a month. After the failure of the United Front, he joined the Marxist-Leninist ELN in Colombia. He mostly served as a low-ranking member of the movement, to which he also provided spiritual assistance and inspiration from a Catholic point of view. After becoming a leader of the ELN, he was killed in his first combat engagement when the guerrillas ambushed a Colombian military patrol. After his death, Camilo Torres was made an official martyr of the ELN. He is perhaps best known for the quote: "If Jesus were alive today, He would be a guerrillero". Despite being labelled a communist by the press, Torres, for at least the majority of his life, rejected that label, declaring instead that while he will fight with the communists for common goals, he does not want the press to identify him with the communists, while also declaring that he is not an anti-communist. Camilo Torres, along with Helder Camara and Des Wilson, is one of the most important figures in the history of liberation theology. He was a friend of fellow socialist Luis Villar Borda, Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez and founder of Liberation Theology Gustavo Gutierrez. In the Dominican Republic in 1970, a revolutionary group that included Catholic clergy members and university students was founded under the name CORECATO, which stood for Comando Revolucionario Camilo Torres (Revolutionary Command Camilo Torres). In New York City, San Romero of the Americas Church-UCC has founded the Camilo Torres Project in 2009. This project works for social justice and peace for the people of the Washington Heights community.
2. Policarpa Salavarrieta (1795 - 1817)
With an HPI of 61.31, Policarpa Salavarrieta is the 2nd most famous Colombian Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Policarpa Salavarrieta Ríos (c. 26 January 1795 – 14 November 1817), also known by her nickname of La Pola, was a Neogranadine seamstress who spied for the Revolutionary Forces during the Spanish Reconquista of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. She was captured by Spanish Royalists and ultimately executed for high treason. The Day of the Colombian Woman is commemorated on the anniversary of her death. She is now considered a heroine of the independence of Colombia.
3. Xiomara Acevedo (b. 0)
With an HPI of 55.86, Xiomara Acevedo is the 3rd most famous Colombian Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Xiomara Acevedo is a Colombian climate change activist. As founder and CEO of the NGO Barranquilla +20, she has argued for the inclusion of women and young people's voices in climate justice.
4. Tess Asplund (b. 0)
With an HPI of 33.85, Tess Asplund is the 4th most famous Colombian Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Tess Asplund (born 1974) is a Swedish activist who gained attention following her protest against neo-Nazis in Borlänge, Sweden. David Lagerlof photographed a viral image of Asplund, which showed her facing uniformed members of the Swedish Nordic Resistance Movement with her fist in the air.
People
Pantheon has 4 people classified as Colombian social activists born between 1795 and 1929. Of these 4, 2 (50.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Colombian social activists include Xiomara Acevedo, and Tess Asplund. The most famous deceased Colombian social activists include Camilo Torres Restrepo, and Policarpa Salavarrieta. As of April 2024, 1 new Colombian social activists have been added to Pantheon including Tess Asplund.
