La Guera Rodriguez: The Life and Legends of a Mexican Independence Heroine

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 Bolíva...