[1] She was born to Raymond II, Count of Ribagorza, and Garsenda Fesenzac.

Ava has been the subject of several legends that depict her in a negative light, and involve her in several of the conflicts and rebellions which occurred in Castile during the reign of her spouse.

In one known legend, named la llegenda de la comtessa traïdora ('The Legend of the Traitorous Countess'), she betrayed García Fernández, who was captured in a raid by the Moors and killed, after having committed adultery with Al-Aziz Billah.

[3] According to the legend, after the death of her spouse, she attempted to poison his successor and her son by handing him a cup of poison, because she wished to marry Al-Aziz Billah; he, however, forced her to drink it herself, which resulted in her death.

The legends can probably be linked to hostility towards her as a foreigner in Castile: she is also identified as the leader of a more pacifist line at court, in opposition to the military line of her spouse against the Moors, which could also account for her bad publicity.