La Güera Rodríguez

In the 1840s, she became friends with Frances Calderón de la Barca, whose published observations of Mexico helped fuel interest in Rodríguez's story.

The marriage was unhappy, but María Ignacia was nevertheless frequently pregnant, giving birth to seven children in just ten years, six of whom survived to adulthood:[5] Among those she counted as a friend was Prussian naturalist and explorer Baron Alexander von Humboldt.

From here the first rumors of La Güera's adulteries were born, but in the long years, her first husband could not prove anything, and the evidence rather suggests that she was a long-suffering and mistreated wife.

In fact, José Gerónimo's relatives, friends and colleagues took the side of his wife, who claimed to be the innocent victim of his volatile and violent character, and some had even found her "bathed in blood" from the frequent beatings he gave her.

The annulment petition was dropped after four months, and the couple eventually reconciled and went on to have another daughter, who they named María de Paz (Mary of Peace).

María Ignacia remarried on 10 February 1807 to Juan Ignacio Briones Fernández de Ricaño (1753–1807), a wealthy, much older man who died six months later on 16 August after falling victim to a cold from uncovering blankets.

[8][13] In the early 1840s, one traveler claimed that La Güera had not lost her beauty nor charm: She was "very agreeable, and a perfect living chronicle...in spite of years and of the furrows which it pleases Time to plough in the loveliest faces, La Güera retains a profusion of fair curls without one gray hair, a set of beautiful white teeth, very fine eyes, and great vivacity.

Following the news that Napoleon I's army had invaded Spain in 1808, arrested the Spanish king, and replaced him with his brother Joseph Napoleon, members of the city council, including her father, proposed a provisional royal government with the pro-criollo viceroy José de Iturrigaray at its head to rule in the name of the legitimate king of Spain, Ferdinand VII.

Peninsular-born Spaniards in Mexico led by Gabriel de Yermo saw this as a dangerous step towards home rule in New Spain and staged a coup, ousting Iturrigaray and arresting many criollos in the process.

When Hidalgo issued his Grito de Dolores that sparked the first major uprising in September 1810, she might have balanced her pro-criollo outlook with that of a wealthy property owner whose estates were endangered by insurgents.

[17] She established a long-standing friendship with the royal army officer Agustín de Iturbide, the future emperor of Mexico, after he reversed his loyalties and forged an alliance with the insurgents.

"[19] Rocafuerte alleges that the origin of his Plan of Iguala, uniting disgruntled royalists and rebels in the fight for independence, was strongly influenced by La Güera.

According to La Güera's biographer, historian Silvia Marina Arrom, most readers considered the text as being "true tales about an interesting historical figure.

But in shaping her narrative for his purpose of presenting an entertaining and accessible view of the independence period for Mexicans, Valle Arizpe added elements that are pure fiction.