[2] She became interested in art at a very young age, as her family lived across the street from the Spanish sculptor Ramón Barba Guichard [es], who began teaching her.

While in school, in 1930, she joined Dario Achury Valenzuela, Rafael Azula Barrera, Tulio González, Darío Samper and Juan P. Varela in founding the Bachué Movement, an avant-garde art of the Americas, with indigenous roots and influences.

Earning a government scholarship in 1936, she participated in the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne; in 1937, winning a gold medal for her exhibit in the Uruguayan Pavilion and an honorable mention at the Salon d'Automne that same year.

[2][8] However, Rodríguez explained she fled Spain due to the civil war initiated by Francisco Franco's coup, which interrupted her while mask sculpting in a cemetery.

In 1940 she exhibited three pieces in the First Annual Salon of Colombian Artists and in 1942 received an honorable mention in New York City at the Macy's Latin American Fair.

In 1945, she won the bronze medal for her wood carving Cabeza de Negra (Black woman's head) at the 4th Salon of Colombian Artists.

[2] The sculpture, owned by the Colombian National Museum, depicts a strong, proud negress, with sensual, fleshy lips.

[5] Rodríguez primarily worked as a sculptor, in wood, marble and stone;[7] She also painted: Espalda (Back, 1945) that forms part of the Art Collection of the Bank of the Republic.

The painting features the back of a female nude figure, which utilizes a dramatic lighting effect to highlight the contours of her shape and pull it into the foreground.