La Guera Rodriguez

The Life and Legends of a Mexican Independence Heroine
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-0-520-38342-5
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, 264 Seiten, Cloth Over Boards, Format (B × H): 237 mm x 160 mm, Gewicht: 532 g

Fact is torn from fiction in this first biography of Mexico’s famous independence heroine, which also traces her subsequent journey from history to myth.

María Ignacia Rodríguez de Velasco y Osorio Barba (1778–1850) is an iconic figure in Mexican history. Known by the nickname “La Güera Rodríguez” because she was so fair, she is said to have possessed a remarkably sharp wit, a face fit for statuary, and a penchant for defying the status quo. Charming influential figures such as Simon Bolívar, Alexander von Humboldt, and Agustín de Iturbide, she utilized gold and guile in equal measure to support the independence movement—or so the stories say.

In La Güera Rodríguez, Silvia Marina Arrom approaches the legends of Rodríguez de Velasco with a keen eye, seeking to disentangle the woman from the myth. Arrom uses a wide array of primary sources from the period to piece together an intimate portrait of this remarkable woman, followed by a review of her evolving representation in Mexican arts and letters that shows how the legends became ever more fanciful after her death. How much of the story is rooted in fact, and how much is fiction sculpted to fit the cultural sensibilities of a given moment in time? In our contemporary moment of unprecedented misinformation, it is particularly relevant to analyze how and why falsehoods become part of historical memory. La Güera Rodriguez will prove an indispensable resource for those searching to understand late-colonial Mexico, the role of women in the independence movement, and the use of historic figures in crafting national narratives.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Arrom, Silvia Marina

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Biographien & Autobiographien: Historisch, Politisch, Militärisch
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One The Life
1. La Gu¨era as a Young Woman, 1778–1808
2. La Gu¨era on Her Own, 1808–1820
3. Independence Heroine?
4. An Aristocratic Lady, 1825–1850

Part Two The Afterlife
5. The First Hundred Years after Her Death
6. The Legend Crystallized in Valle-Arizpe's La Gu¨era Rodríguez, 1949
7. La Gu¨era after Valle-Arizpe: The Power of Fiction
Conclusion

Appendix A. Chronology of a Life
Appendix B. Genealogy
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Silvia Marina Arrom is Jane’s Professor Emerita of Latin American Studies at Brandeis University. She has published widely on Mexican social history, with books and articles focusing on women and gender, the family, social welfare, and the poor.