María de los Ángeles Cano Márquez (12 August 1887 – 26 April 1967) was a Colombian poet and writer who was the country's first female political leader.

[1] Cano participated in a literary circle and magazine called Cyrano with other intellectuals from Medellín.

She abandoned writing purely for artistic reasons and became a social activist and revolutionary leader.

As well as providing food and clothing to people in need, she did readings at the library to raise cultural awareness among workers.

She visited factories and began denouncing the unfair working conditions and organising strikes.

In 1926, the National Workers Confederation gave her the responsibility of organising Antioquia's representation at the Third Labor Congress.

[2] Cano co-founded the party newspaper, La justicia, and wrote for numerous other publications.

[4] In 1928, she led the fight against the government's ley heroica, a law designed to suppress communism.