Francisca Graciela del Carmen Barraqué Nicolau

A pedagogue who is part of Cuba's most relevant educators. In charge of developing a Special Didactics of Geography. Her pedagogical contribution provided future generations with valuable elements for its study.

She was born in Ciudad de La Habana, on June 7, 1925. Her father was an accountant and her mother was a nurse, although she did not practice due to health problems.

She completed her first grades in a public school (1931-1933). Subsequently, she transferred to a private school (1934–1939), since her admission to this education coincided with a period of difficult situation for the country in political, economic and social indices.

In 1939 she enrolled in the Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza de La Habana to pursue her secondary studies and graduated in 1944 with a bachelor's degree. That same year she began her university studies at the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras of the Universidad de La Habana, with outstanding grades and an excellent average.

Daughter of professionals, her mother was unable to practice her profession as a nurse due to illness of her son, Graciela's only brother, who died in his youth.

Due to the situation the country was going through, from 1949 onwards she taught classes in her own home, because at that time the immediate perspective for Philosophy and Letters graduates was teaching. Graciela, upon completing her studies, founded the "Colegio Academia Barraqué", where she served as director and social sciences teacher.

Her will and desire to be a teacher came together in such a way that she enrolled in 1952 in the Facultad de Educación of the Universidad de La Habana, and in 1957, at only 32 years old, she became a Doctor in Pedagogy.

That same year, despite the difficult economic and political situation the country was going through, the expansion of her curriculum with two university degrees gave her the possibility of obtaining a contract as a professor of the Chair of Geography and History at the Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza del Vedado, alongside the prestigious geographers Sarah Ysalgué and Antonio Núñez Jiménez.

Thus she remained as a professor of Social Sciences and director of the "Colegio Academia Barraqué" until 1960, when she handed it over to the revolutionary government during the nationalization of education.

The most relevant aspects of her work activity and entire professional life occurred with the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, and after. That same year, she took competitive examinations to obtain a teaching position in secondary education institutes and business schools in La Habana. The high results obtained in both led to her being appointed auxiliary professor of the Chair "G" of Economic Geography and History of Commerce, at the Escuela de Comercio de la Víbora, which later became the Instituto de Administración y Comercio of that locality.

From a professional point of view, 1964 marked a milestone in her life, as she became part of the teaching staff that founded the Instituto Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona", under the direction of Dr. Dulce María Escalona Almeida, at the request of Dr. Pedro Cañas Abril, then president of the Consejo de Universidades. At the Instituto Superior Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona" Dr. Barraqué played a leading role in the updating and improvement of the different programs, curricula and textbooks.

In the years 1970–1971, with continuous improvement, a national commission was created for the permanent review of curricula, programs and textbooks for education, of which the Doctor was a member and in which she advised the different teachings.

In the early years of the creation of the Pedagogical Institute, Dr. Barraqué held the position of head of the Geography Department and, from there, she waged a hard battle to make the Didactics of Geography prevail as one of the basic subjects of the curriculum.

At that time, she encompassed a wide range of teaching activities, from direct attention to students in teaching practice, to the elaboration of materials that would be used in Directed Studies meetings, a modality adopted by Pedagógico Varona, to provide continuity of study to its students, located in the western provinces, Las Villas, Camagüey and Isla de la Juventud.

As a result of the creation in the country of three pedagogical institutes: "Enrique José Varona", at the Universidad de la Habana; "Félix Varela", at the Universidad Central de Las Villas; and "Frank País", at the Universidad de Oriente, Dr. Barraqué participated in the elaboration of curricula for the Geography and History major, which resulted in her being a founding member of the National Sub-commission of Geography of the Instituto Central de Ciencias Pedagógicas (ICCP), of the Central Scientific Council of Pedagogical Sciences; of the Scientific Council of the Instituto Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona", and of the National Commission for the Elaboration and Review of Plans and Programs of MINED, as well as of its Advisory Council for the review of texts, which at that moment were beginning to be developed in the country. She was a member of the Sociedad Cubana de Geografía and of the Asociación de Pedagogos de Cuba.

From then on, her scientific and teaching activity was prolific. She contributed to initiating scientific conferences of students and professors at Varona. She developed postgraduate courses and training for recent graduates of the institution and for practicing teachers in the western provinces. She founded, together with part of her teaching team, the Facultad de Superación de Profesores of the Institute, which was attended by teachers, methodologists and education officials from throughout the country. She was at the head of the Collective that developed the Program with requirements similar to those of a master's program today.

She was incorporated into the Commission for the elaboration and improvement of Study Plans and Programs at different stages, but it should be noted, for its significance, that she directed and actively participated in the conception of the Teacher Training Plan for General Secondary Education (PFPGM), for whose assurance she carried out intensive work in the production of texts and study guides for the subjects of Geography Teaching Methodology.

In 1976, the educational center became an Instituto Superior Pedagógico and Dr. Barraqué was appointed Full Professor and Head of the Department of Geography Teaching Methodology.

Dr. Barraqué was in charge of developing a Special Didactics of Geography. For this reason, it is important to deepen her work, to provide future generations with valuable elements for study, since it is not possible to prepare geography teachers and professors for Cuba without considering her formative work.

Her profound cultural and scientific pedagogical training involved her in the system of improvement of the teaching-educational process. Hence, she always studied and researched with fervor.

Analysis of the effectiveness of the program of the elaborated contents of Geography Didactics at different levels of education, 1975.
Analysis of the contents for the Methodology of Geography Teaching by school grades, Facultad de Geografía, Instituto Superior Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona", 1979 – 1982.
Branch Research of the [Ministerio de Educación] (MINED), theoretical section, Instituto Central de Ciencias Pedagógicas, 1981 – 1985.
Research on the improvement of study plans and programs, Instituto Superior Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona", 1990.
Below we present a summary of her main publications since joining the Institute:

History of Geography, 1968. Seven guides for the directed study course of the basic section of the Instituto Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona", Universidad de La Habana, 1968.
Didactics of Geography. Ten study guides for students of the regular higher plan (Directed Studies). Instituto Superior Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona", 1975.
The Cuban experience in the application of the study-work method in the training of teaching personnel for Geography education (paper). It was presented at the XXIII International Congress of the International Geographical Union in Moscow.
Introduction to the Specialty. Program for the Bachelor's Degree in Education, specialty Geography. Department of Improvement and Development of Pedagogical Personnel, MINED, La Habana, 1978.
Methodology of Geography Teaching. Program for the Bachelor's Degree in Education, specialty Geography. Department of Improvement and Development of Pedagogical Personnel, MINED, La Habana, 1978.
"Methodology for the elaboration of a textbook. Report of research. Revista Varona of the Instituto Superior Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona" No. 2, January-June, 1979.
Study of the locality. Lectures printed in pamphlets as texts for the Bachelor's Degree in Education, specialty Geography. Department of Improvement and Development of Pedagogical Personnel, MINED, 1980.
Among her published books stand out:

Methodology of Geography Teaching. Editorial Libros para la Educación, La Habana, 1978.
History of Geography. Co-author (1984).
Study of the locality. Study guide and content. Editorial Pueblo y Educación, 1985 (in collaboration).
Significance of her revolutionary work

In 1981 she fulfilled an internationalist mission in the República Popular de Mozambique, and in 1983 in Nicaragua.

She conducted the second mission as an advisor and professor at the School of Geography and History of the Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación of the Universidad Autónoma de Nicaragua (Managua) and at the Universidad de León. She also received diplomas with excellent ratings for this mission.

She received the scientific degree of Candidate for Doctor, by award of the Consejo de Estado of the República de Cuba, in well-deserved recognition of sustained work in the field of her respective specialties; likewise, she was conferred, by the Rector of the Instituto Superior Pedagógico "Enrique José Varona", the Special Category of Meritorious Professor, a condition only awarded to those personalities who stand out exceptionally in their professional performance.

She left no descendants. She married very young to a doctor, who left the country in the early years following the revolutionary triumph; later, in full maturity, she married A. Alonso, who was her exemplary companion who accompanied her until her last moments, and today, he remembers her as "the great woman that Graciela was".