Laura Rapu

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Alarcón and the second or maternal family name is Rapu.
Laura Rapu
Rapu in 2018.
Governor of Isla de Pascua Province (Rapa Nui)
In office
16 March 2018 (2018-03-16) – 29 April 2021
PresidentSebastián Piñera
Preceded byMelania Hotu
Succeeded byRené de la Puente
Personal details
Born
Laura Tarita Alarcón Rapu

(1977-03-02) 2 March 1977 (age 47)
Easter Island, Chile
Political partyIndependent
RelationsLynn Rapu Tuki (uncle)
ProfessionPolitician and anthropologist

Laura Tarita Rapu Alarcón (born Laura Tarita Alarcón Rapu, 2 March 1977) is a Rapa Nui Chilean politician who served as governor of Isla de Pascua Province from 2018 until her resignation in April 2021.[1]

Biography

She was born in Easter Island in 1977 to parents Arturo Orando Alarcón Espinoza and María Hortencia Rapu Tuki.[2] Her cousin, Camilo Rapu Riroroko, is President of the Ma'u Henua Indigenous Community[3] and her uncle, Lynn Rapu Tuki, is head-teacher and founder of the Ma'aranui Cultural Academy.

Laura Rapu, then known as Laura Alarcón Rapu, gained fame during the late 1980s in Chilean media, when she sang her original song "Iorana Presidente" (Hello President), which had both Spanish and Rapa Nui lyrics, during a visit from military dictator Augusto Pinochet, which was later used an anthem for the pro-Pinochet campaign of the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite.[4] Later on, she stated that she does not sympathize to Pinochet's government or policies and was simply honoring the visit from a president, as the island did not usually get such important visitors.[5]

She earned a degree in anthropology and until 2018 was member of the Valparaíso Region Council for the Isla de Pascua Province during two tenures.[6] On 5 March 2018, being a defensor of Rapa Nui traditions, culture, heritage and language, she was appointed by President Sebastián Piñera as the new governor of the Island, succeeding Melania Hotu. She worked in the Te Hokinga Mai project, consisting of the return of local heritage that was abroad.[7][8][9]

Following Spanish naming customs, at birth her paternal surname was Alarcón (of Spanish origin) and her maternal surname was Rapu (of Polynesian Rapa Nui origin). However, she has since legally changed the order of her surnames for more emphasis on her Rapa Nui ancestry.[3][10]

References

  1. ^ Gobernadora Tarita Alarcón Rapu asume en ceremonia pública su nuevo cargo. (in Spanish)
  2. ^ Certificado de nacimiento. Vol. 1. Isla de Pascua: Civil Registry and Identification Service of Chile. 1977.
  3. ^ a b "Rapa Nui se alza contra Camilo Rapu". LOGIN.CL (in European Spanish). 30 April 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ^ Kurdyuk, Kateryna (5 October 2019). "Longread: The "No" Plebiscite That Finished Pinochet". Chile Today. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. ^ Iorana Presidente (Television production) (in Spanish). Televisión Nacional de Chile. 2017.
  6. ^ Conozca a la Gobernadora (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Piñera designa a los 54 gobernadores con mayor presencia de RN (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Laura Tarita Alarcón asumirá la gobernación de Rapa Nui (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Laura Tarita Rapu Alarcón (in Spanish)
  10. ^ Nacional, Biblioteca del Congreso. "ACEPTA RENUNCIA AL CARGO DE GOBERNADORA PROVINCIA DE ISLA DE PASCUA". www.bcn.cl/leychile (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 September 2023.


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