Aguas Santas Ocaña Navarro
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Aguas Santas Ocaña Navarro (born April 23, 1963 in Brenes, Seville, Spain) was the first lady of Honduras. Aguas Santas, her double given name means "holy waters" in Spanish.
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[edit] Marriage and first lady
Ocaña Navarro was the wife of former President Ricardo Maduro, marrying him when he was already President in October 2002 after meeting him during a 2 year stint working in the Spanish embassy in Tegucigalpa. She received dual Spanish-Honduran citizenship in 2004.
[edit] Working with and adoption of children
She and her husband legally adopted five children, two of whom had their families murdered but she now has 13 children in her care, all of whom accompanied her to Nicaragua on January 27, 2006, the day she ceased being first lady. She will work there with Nicaraguan children in need, and will help the wife of Nicaragua's President Enrique Bolaños. The five children legally adopted are called Leidy Jackeline, Kevin Josué, Francis, Joan and Jackie.
As first lady of Honduras she was particularly known for her work with Street children and visiting jailmates. She created a program, "Cero Niños en las Calles", which is geared towards eliminating children working in Honduras' streets. This program has been severely criticized by her husband's political opponents. Ocaña Navarro continues fighting for children's rights, by denouncing a U.S.-based organisation that was allegedly involved in the selling of adoptive children by using the internet to lure prospective clients.
[edit] Domestic life
During 2003, Ocaña Navarro returned to live in Spain for a short period of time, sparking rumours that she and her husband were about to divorce. The separation was allegedly provoked because Ricardo Maduro named a former girlfriend, Mireya Batres, to be Honduras' Minister of Culture. Batres was sacked and she returned.
In 2004. Ocaña Navarro travelled to Los Angeles, California, in the United States, where she befriended Tom Cruise and John Travolta, celebrity members of the Scientology religion. She made them promise to pay a visit to Honduras, so that they could raise awareness among Scientologists about the poor conditions in which many Hondurans live.
When she returned to Spain in 2004 she was pursued by paparazzi. She declared that she was there to visit political personalities in order to try to gather charitable aid for Honduras' poorest from the Spanish government.
In December 17, 2005 she protagonized a scandal at the Presidential House of Honduras when her husband, Ricardo Maduro, President of Honduras invited members of the press to a Christmas lunch. Aguas Ocaña took the podium and invited the journalist Ninfa Arias to leave the Presidential House because of a dispute they had about an article published on the newspaper (El Heraldo).
She announced the end of her marriage to Maduro to Hola magazine on January 25, 2006, two days before the end of her term as first lady. After that the local press has referred to her as a gold digger.
[edit] External link
- Information on Aguas Santas Ocaña Navarro (in Spanish)
