Mama Tingo, also known as Florinda Soriano Muñoz, was an Afro-Latina farmer and activist for farmers' rights in the Dominican Republic. She was born on November 8, 1921 in Villa Mella, Dominican Republic to a family of poor farmworkers and would later grow to became a well-respected figure in Dominican History.
In the 1970s, a landowner named Pablo Díaz Hernández claimed ownership of lands that had been occupied for centuries by farmers. Mamá Tingó, who was a member of the Liga Agraria Cristiana, disagreed and fought for her community. The Liga Agraria Cristiana, was an advocacy group for farmers. Mamá Tingó and her husband even went to then-president Balaguer, one of Trujillo's protégés, to fight on behalf of those hundreds of families. She didn’t back down from this fight, even landing herself in jail. Mama Tingo's efforts helped over 300 families reclaim farmland that had been illegally confiscated. Friends gave her the name “Mama Tingo” because of her motherly tendencies.
Mamá Tingó was murdered while fighting against the unjustified removal of land in Yamasá, during the second governing of President Joaquin Balaguer. On November 3, 1974, she and other farmers went to court in Hato Viejo, though Pablo Díaz Hernández was a no-show. When she returned home, one of Hernández’s workers, Ernesto Díaz (Turín), killed her
Mama Tingo's story is told in the Museum of the Resistance in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo. Several institutions in the Dominican Republic and other countries bear her name to honor her activism and bravery.
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