Carmen Natalia Martínez Bonilla, known simply as Carmen Natalia, (April 19, 1917 — January 6, 1976) was a Dominican feminist poet, essayist, playwright, and activist in opposition to the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Early life Carmen Natalia Martínez Bonilla was born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, in 1917. Her parents were Andrés Martínez Aybar and Carmen Julia Bonilla Atiles, and she was one of seven children. In 1931, her family moved to Santo Domingo, where she worked for a time in a relative's factory to help support her mother. As a child, she studied at the Salomé Ureña School. Carmen Natalia was an autodidact, having been refused admission to the Universidad de Santo Domingo, where she had hoped to study philosophy and literature, because of her political beliefs. She had signed a letter condemning the firing of her uncle, José Antonio Bonilla Atiles, a professor at the university. Instead, in 1937 she obtained a job as advertising manager for the movie distribution company Circuito Rialto, working to promote radio programs, theater performances, and films. Literary debut In 1939, at just 22 years old, she published her first book of poetry, Alma Adentro. She began writing frequently under the pen name Carmen Natalia for such varied literary journals as Los Nuevos and La Poesía Sorprendida, also contributing to the newspapers La Opinión and Listín Diario. In 1942, her first novel, La Victoria, was honored as the best Dominican novel at the Farrar & Rinehart International Competition in Washington. It openly questioned the social order under the Trujillo regime. Political activity Carmen Natalia was considered one of the driving forces behind the anti-Trujillo youth organization Juventud Democrática Dominicana in the 1940s. In 1946, her brother Andrés was expelled from the Colegio La Salle for being a member of the organization, and she wrote an angry letter to the school's director in response. Her involvement in the underground Vanguardia Revolucionaria movement got her fired from her job at Circuito Rialto, and she was banned from continuing to write for La Opinión. All of her family members also lost their jobs, including her father. Things grew worse in 1949 when her brother, José Rolando Martínez Bonilla, participated in the failed Luperón invasion, an attempted rebellion against Trujillo. Though he survived, it was the final straw that pushed Carmen Natalia and her family into exile. Exile The regime was after Carmen Natalia and