Leona Vicario was an only child, the daughter of a wealthy businessman from
Castilla la Vieja,
Spain. Her mother was Camila Fernandez de San Salvador, from
Toluca. Leona acquired an extensive education in the
sciences,
fine arts,
painting,
singing, and
literature. Upon the death of her parents in 1807, she remained in the custody of her uncle and legal guardian Agustín Pomposo Fernández de San Salvador, a well-known lawyer from Mexico City and an enthusiastic supporter of the Spanish crown. Her uncle allowed her to live alone but bought a property adjacent to hers, something scandalous in the custom of the time. Her uncle arranged an engagement to Octaviano Obregon, a
lawyer and
colonel, but he was sent to
Spain as a deputy to the
Cortes of Cádiz. Following her liberal political ideas—and despite her tutor's pro-royalist leanings—Leona soon began to be in contact with groups that advocated—and eventually began to fight for—Mexico's independence. In 1809 Leona met
Andrés Quintana Roo, whom she would later marry in 1815. Quintana Roo was also an important figure in the Mexican independence process. She worked with a secret society called
Los Guadalupes to receive and distribute insurgent correspondence for the independence movement. She served as a messenger, helped
fugitives, sent money and medicine, and helped in all she could. Leona also had an important role as a propagandist of insurgent ideas. In 1812 she persuaded some of the armourers of Vizcaya to take the side of the rebels. Leona Vicario and her husband are buried together at
Independence Column in
Mexico City. She was named the "Sweet Mother of the Motherland" (Benemerita y Dulcisima Madre de la Patria) by a special commission ordered by then President
Antonio López de Santa Anna in August 1842, only days after her death. She was buried in
Mexico City and is the only civilian woman to have received a State Funeral. In 1910, Leona Vicario and
Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez were the first women to be depicted on Mexican stamps and the second women to be depicted on stamps in
Latin America. In February 2010, seven months before
Mexico celebrated its 200 years of independence,
Mexican writer Carlos Pascual published the novel "La Insurgenta." In this novel, in which he uses historical facts and fictional events, Pascual tells the story of Leona Vicario as well as the story of many others who participated in the war for and against Mexican independence from the
Spanish Empire. Vicario, Leona (1789–1842) of
Mexico City. Her profile also appears on a version of the $5 Mexican
coin, surrounded by the words "BICENTARIO DE LA INDEPENDENCIA", meaning "Bicentennial Anniversary of Independence." ==See also==