Elena Arizmendi Mejía (18 January 1884 – 4 November 1949) was a Mexican feminist who established the
Neutral White Cross to care for casualties of the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
that the Red Cross would not aid. Participating in the first wave of
Mexican feminism, she established two international women's rights organizations: the "Mujeres de la Raza" (Women of
the Race">ispanicRace) and the
International League of Iberian and Latin American Women International League of Iberian and Latin American Women (Liga Internacional de Mujeres Ibéricas e Hispanoamericanas) is an international organization of Latin American and Iberian women founded in 1921 by liberal feminists from both regions.
Ear ...
.
Arizmendi was born in 1884 to a prominent and well-connected family in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. After completing her studies, she had a brief marriage which ended in divorce. As options for women were limited, she decided to study nursing at the
School of Nursing of the Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Shortly before her graduation in 1911, Arizmendi returned to Mexico to found a medical relief organization. Since the
Mexican Red Cross
The Mexican Red Cross (Spanish: ''Cruz Roja Mexicana'') is a non-governmental humanitarian assistance organization affiliated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help those in dangerous situations, such as n ...
refused to provide care for revolutionaries, Arizmendi used her contacts to raise funds and organize the Neutral White Cross. The organization was apolitical and established field hospitals to care for any wounded combatants involved in the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
. During the war, she sought legal advice from
José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities ...
and their relationship turned into a long-term love affair.
In 1915, the political climate in Mexico caused Arizmendi and Vasconcelos to go into exile. The couple lived briefly in the United States and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. When he made plans to return to see his wife in Mexico, Arizmendi broke off their affair and moved to New York City in 1916. She began working as a music teacher and journalist and married a German national, who later became a US citizen. Arizmendi lost her Mexican nationality because of nineteenth-century legislation which required married women to have the same nationality as their husband. Though the marriage was brief, Arizmendi remained in the United States working in feminist causes from 1921 to the mid-1930s. In addition to founding two feminist organizations, she founded the magazine, ''Feminismo Internacional'' (International Feminism), to publish feminist information by and about Spanish and Latin American women and combat the stereotypical views held about them from Anglo-American feminists. In 1927, she wrote a fictionalized autobiography, ''Vida incompleta'' (Incomplete Life), to explain her views on feminism and the double standards women faced in living their lives.
Returning to Mexico in 1938, she helped the White Cross change its direction into an organization to benefit children. At the time of her death in 1949, she was remembered primarily for her philanthropy. The White Cross, which still operates as a children's health organization, named its dispensary in the
Xochimilco
Xochimilco (; nci, Xōchimīlco, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') of Mexico City. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the ...
borough of Mexico City after her and persuaded the government to name a street in
Colonia del Valle in her honor in 1985. Scholarly interest in her life emerged in the 21st century, recovering her legacy as a feminist and writer.
Early life and education
Elena Arizmendi Mejía was born on 18 January 1884 in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
to Jesús Arizmendi and Isabel Mejía. Her well-to-do family was connected to those involved in the modernization of Mexico. She was the granddaughter of , who served as
Mexican Secretary of War and was a Division General under the regime of President
Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
. Her great-grandfather was Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Cristóbal Mejía, who fought in the
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
in the army of
Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín de Iturbide (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), full name Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu and also known as Agustín of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built a ...
. Arizmendi spent some of her early years with her grandfather in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
and then returned to Mexico City at about the age of eight. She was schooled in Mexico City, likely at
Colegio La Paz, where girls could attend for six years. When her mother died in 1898, Arizmendi became responsible for caring for her siblings and looking after the household. When her father remarried in 1900, Arizmendi hastily married Francisco Carreto that same year in
Chilpancingo, Guerrero. The union quickly crumbled because of
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
and the death of their only child to
meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
in 1903. She was able to secure a divorce because she had the financial means to leave their home and did not demand his continued financial maintenance.
Career
Nursing
After her separation, Arizmendi returned to Mexico City to care for her siblings and evaluate whether she wanted to become a nurse or a teacher, the limited options available to women of her era. To supplement her education she read widely, including Greek classics, and was influenced by Swedish feminist
Ellen Key
Ellen Karolina Sofia Key (; 11 December 1849 – 25 April 1926) was a Swedish difference feminist writer on many subjects in the fields of family life, ethics and education and was an important figure in the Modern Breakthrough movement. She was ...
's views on women's sexuality. Her family connections protected her from the repercussions and typical social stigma of divorce. Choosing nursing, she decided to study at the School of Nursing of the Santa Rosa Hospital (now the School of Nursing at the
University of the Incarnate Word
The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located o ...
) in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
. Her family had close ties with
Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'etat in February 1 ...
, who would later become President of Mexico, and the school in which Arizmendi was enrolled was near Madero's Texas retreat. In 1910, while she was studying, the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
began. On 17 April 1911, a few weeks prior to her graduation, Arizmendi returned to Mexico City to help wounded combatants, as the Mexican
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
refused to provide aid to insurgents. She viewed her involvement as a patriotic duty, to serve her country in war as her grandfather had done. Arizmendi arranged a personal meeting with the head of the Red Cross, who reiterated the refusal to support revolutionaries. Determined to help her countrymen, Arizmendi founded an aid organization and, with her brother Carlos, rallied medical students and nurses to organize
Cruz Blanca Neutral (Neutral White Cross).
![Elena Arizmendi Neutral White Cross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Elena_Arizmendi_Neutral_White_Cross.PNG)
Forming an association under the guidelines of the
Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
, Arizmendi became the fundraiser, enlisting the help of celebrities like
María Conesa
María Conesa, also known as ''La Gatita Blanca'' (The White Kitten) (December 12, 1892 – September 9, 1978), was a Spanish-born Mexican stage, television, film actress and '' vedette''. She was one of the principal stars of the Revue and Vaude ...
,
Virginia Fábregas
Virginia Fábregas García (17 December 1871 – 17 November 1950) was a Mexican film and stage actress active in the early 20th-Century. She appeared in films between 1931 and 1945.
Personal life
Virginia Fábregas García was born on 17 Dece ...
, and
Leopoldo Beristáin. After numerous appeals, they collected sufficient funds for a field hospital and on 11 May 1911, set off for
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju ...
. Arizmendi and Carlos formed the first brigade with doctors Ignacio Barrios and Antonio Márquez, and nurses María Avon, Juana Flores Gallardo, Atilana García, Elena de Lange, and Tomasa Villareal. The second brigade, led by Dr. Francisco, left the following day, and on the 14th a third brigade followed, headed by Dr. Lorenzo and ten nurses, including Innocenta Díaz, Concepción Ibáñez, Jovita Muñiz, Concepción Sánchez, María Sánchez, Basilia Vélez, María Vélez, and Antonia Zorilla.
Arriving in Juárez, they found devastation, and again Arizmendi had to rally for funds. By the end of 1911, the Neutral White Cross had established 25 brigades across Mexico. Arzimendi was elected as the first woman partner of the
Sociedad Mexicana de Geografía y Estadística
Sociedad Mexicana de Geografía y Estadística (Mexican Society for Geography and Statistics) is a national organization founded on 18 April 1833 to promote the mapping and boundary demarcation of the newly independent Mexican state. The aim of it ...
, but she rejected the honor. She did accept a gold medal presented to her for dedication to helping the wounded by the ''Gran Liga Obrera'' (Grand Worker League). Arizmendi was both revered for her philanthropy and disliked for her leadership at a time when women were expected to be docile and submissive. Tensions arose with the medical students over her role as the public voice of the organization in light of her limited medical training and because of her connections with elite donors. There were attacks on her leadership of the White Cross, such as when she had a photograph taken as a joke with the crossed cartridge belts of male revolutionary soldiers and
soldaderas
''Soldaderas'', often called Adelitas, were women in the military who participated in the conflict of the Mexican Revolution, ranging from commanding officers to combatants to camp followers. "In many respects, the Mexican revolution was not o ...
and was accused of violating the neutrality of the health organization. She was also accused of mismanagement of the organizational funds. Arizmendi asked Madero for assistance with her role in the White Cross, and was referred to seek legal council from
José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities ...
. He successfully defended her of the accusation of mishandling the organizational funds.
![Jose Vasconcelos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Jose_vasconcelos.jpg)
The working relationship of Arizmendi and Vasconcelos, who was married with two children, turned into a long-term affair. Historian
Enrique Krauze
Enrique Krauze (Mexico City, September 16, 1947) is a Mexican historian, essayist, editor, and entrepreneur. He has written more than twenty books, some of which are: ''Mexico: Biography of Power'', ''Redeemers'', and ''El pueblo soy yo'' (''I a ...
described Arizmendi as "the first of many lovers in his life but certainly his most intense and madly beloved liaison". Upon the assassination of Madero in 1913, Arizmendi and Vasconcelos joined the faction known as
convencionistas, who were against President
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...
. When
Álvaro Obregón
Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...
defeated the convencionistas in 1915, she and Vaconcelos went into exile. Though at one time Arizmendi had taken refuge in a convent in
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...
, to hide from the public scandal of her relationship with Vasconcelos, when she left Mexico in mid-1915 it was with the intent of maintaining her relationship with him. They first lived in the United States and she accompanied him to Lima, Peru. Arizmendi broke off the relationship in 1916, tiring of being the other woman, as Vasconcelos prepared to return to Mexico. He wrote about her in his autobiography, ''La Tormenta'', giving her the pseudonym "Adriana". Vasconcelos's description of the relationship "is the most famous depiction of 'mad love' in Mexican literature", according to Krauze. Vasconcelos described Arizmendi as a perfect lover until she left him, when she became a "
femme fatale
A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...
", a "
harpy
In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; lat, harpȳia) is a half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems.
Descriptions
They were generally depicted as birds with the hea ...
", and a "devourer of men".
Activism
Arizmendi made her way to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where Vasconcelos attempted an unsuccessful reconciliation with her. He remained in exile, traveling between California and Texas until he was able to return to Mexico in 1920. Helped by
Pedro Henríquez Ureña
Pedro Henríquez Ureña (June 29, 1884 – May 11, 1946) was a Dominican essayist, philosopher, humanist, philologist and literary critic.
Biography
Early works
Pedro Henríquez Ureña was born in Santo Domingo, the third of four siblings. He ...
, she began working as a journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines, and giving music lessons. On 24 December 1918, she married Robert Duersch, a German national, acquiring his nationality. Under the
1886 Mexican Law of Alienship and Naturalization, women automatically took the nationality of their spouse upon marriage.
German nationality law
German nationality law details the conditions by which an individual holds German nationality. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 1 January 1914.
Germany is a member state of the Europ ...
s required the entire family to follow the nationality of the husband and father. If a man naturalized all members of his family were considered to have naturalized. Duersch naturalized as a United States citizen in 1924 and Arizmendi became a US national under Mexican law, despite the fact that she identified as Mexican. In a series of letters exchanged with Mexican
Consul General
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
in New York,
Arturo M. Elías, Arizmendi replied to his chastisement of her political involvement in the United States, that under the Mexican statute she was a US national because her husband was and thus she had a right to be politically active.
Laurie Fransman, a leading expert on British nationality law, pointed out that the legal practice of changing a woman's nationality upon marriage based upon her husband's nationality assumes that a nation has the ability to confer the nationality of another nation upon a subject. Under the terms of the
1922 US Cable Act, foreign women could not automatically acquire a husband's status. She would have been allowed a preferential process, which waived residency requirements, but required her to complete an individual application and pass the naturalization examination in order to become a United States citizen.
Arizmendi was one of the founders of the
International League of Iberian and Latin American Women International League of Iberian and Latin American Women (Liga Internacional de Mujeres Ibéricas e Hispanoamericanas) is an international organization of Latin American and Iberian women founded in 1921 by liberal feminists from both regions.
Ear ...
(Liga Internacional de Mujeres Ibéricas e Hispanoamericanas) and served as its first vice president from 1921. The following year, she attended the
Pan-American Conference of Women
Pan-American Conference of Women occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, US in 1922. It was held in connection with the third annual convention of the League of Women Voters, National League of Women Voters in Baltimore on April 20 to 29, 1922. Cooperat ...
, held in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, as a private attendee rather than part of the official Mexican delegation, which included among others,
María Luisa Garza
María Luisa Garza Garza (August 25, 1887, Cadereyta Jiménez – 1980) was a Mexican journalist and novelist, who wrote under the pen name "Loreley".Juanita Luna Lawhn''María Luisa Garza''in ''Double Crossings'', 2001, pp. 83-86.
Biography
G ...
,
Eulalia Guzmán
Eulalia Guzmán Barrón (1890–1985) was a pioneering feminist and educator and nationalist thinker in post-revolutionary Mexico. She was one of the first women to work in the field of Mexican archeology. She was the lead investigator of the re ...
,
Julia Nava,
Elena Torres, and
Luz Vera. Though the official delegates did not resent the racism and superiority displayed by attendees such as
Lady Nancy Astor, who declared she would never visit Latin America because of the prevalence of violence there, Arizmendi was angered by such assertions. When
Carrie Chapman Catt
Carrie Chapman Catt (; January 9, 1859 Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt ...
abandoned a proposed trip to Latin America because of stereotypical ideas, Arizmendi realized that European and American feminists did not grasp the cultural realities of
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
women. She and other Latin American feminists saw matrimony and motherhood as an integral part of their identity. They believed that well-educated wives and mothers, without leaving the domestic sphere, could engage in professional and political activities. In her view, Spanish custom, culture, history, language and Catholicism, were the characteristics that united Hispanic feminists. Though she was not Catholic, Arizmendi saw the anti-clerical movement of the post-revolutionary governments as an attack on a central part of her Mexican identity.
To confront these perspectives and to give a voice to
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n women, Arizmeni planned to found a feminist center to disseminate information by and about Spanish and Latin American women. She founded a feminist magazine, ''Feminismo Internacional'' (International Feminism), and began publishing articles reflecting Hispanic versions of feminism. Arizmendi promoted legal reforms, specifically those impacting women's personal and marital rights. The magazine operated from November 1922 to October 1923 under Arizmendi's leadership and was then merged with ''La Revista de la Raza'' (''The Magazine of the Race''), published in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. She published articles about feminist movements in various Latin American countries and included articles written by both women and men to show that the
misogynistic
Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...
and
sexist
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
stereotypes of Latin men were unfounded. Though they sought to unite feminists from Spain and Latin America, Arizmendi's vision did not include
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
heritage as part of their shared culture. As an , she valued Spanish culture and Christianity over the expansion of values from the United States in Latin America and devalued the cultural contributions of indigenous people and Africans. Though she defended United States' culture from unwarranted criticism, believing that it did have some valuable elements. Her views were representative of the upper and middle-class women who saw the wide-spread participation of women in industry as harmful to the family, while simultaneously recognizing that modernization of public and family relationships was needed.
In 1923, Arizmendi co-founded with
G. Sofía Villa de Buentello a co-operative union, Mujeres de la Raza (Women of the
ispanicRace), with aims of uniting Latin American women in the struggle for rights. The operations of both the Mujeres de la Raza and its magazine under the same name were primarily funded by Arizmendi. Mujeres de la Raza rejected feminism as a solely political action, instead maintaining it was focused on moral leadership and an intellectual battle against incompetence. For example, women attaining the franchise was a moral action because it was illogical that illiterate men could vote while educated women could not. At the time, Latin America was seen as the next "staging ground", as
suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
had been gained in Europe and the United States and
Pan-Americanism
Pan-Americanism is a movement that seeks to create, encourage, and organize relationships, associations and cooperation among the states of the Americas, through diplomatic, political, economic, and social means.
History
Following the indepen ...
was gaining ground. Arizmendi and Villa planned a conference for the Mujeres de la Raza funded by the International League of Iberian and Latin American Women, for which Arizmendi had become the secretary general. Arizmendi used her press contacts and secured coverage in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' to promote the event. On 2 March 1924, an extensive article about the feminist movement in Mexico titled "New Women of Mexico Striving for Equality" carried an interview with Villa, who gave an overview of their goals. The meeting occurred in July 1925 in Mexico City with Villa as president of the conference. There were more than a hundred delegates from various Latin American nations. Arizmendi did not attend due to differences of opinion with Villa, whose views were conservative. Villa attempted to close the conference when her view of marriage, that it was a lifetime commitment and divorce would only harm women by giving men their freedom, was rejected. The feminists attending the conference ignored Villa and continued their work to consolidate resolutions to improve women's lives.
By 1927, Arizmendi had separated from Duersch, because of incompatibility, and when Vasconcelos returned to New York that year, she interviewed him for the ''Revista de la Raza''. The interview was focused on the political climate of Mexico and his candidacy for the in the upcoming presidential election. That year, Arizmendi published an autobiography, ''Vida incompleta; ligeros apuntes sobre mujeres en la vida real'' (Incomplete Life: Quick Notes about Women in Real Life), with the purpose of airing her side of the affair and silencing rumors about her public life. Since Vasconcelos had published two works, ''Ulises Criollo'' and ''La Tormenta'', vilifying Arizmendi as a fictionalized character, Arizmendi's fictionalized autobiography is a reflection on the
double standard
A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...
s women encountered and her attempt to explain male-female relationships in a feminist context. She wrote candidly about the conflicts in her relationships with both Vasconcelos and Duersch, but also covered cultural and gender differences between Anglo- and Latin-American society. In later editions of his works, Vacsoncelos expunged some of his most damaging descriptions of their affair from his works. In addition to her writing, Arizmendi continued to administrate the International League of Iberian and Latin American Women through the mid-1930s.
Later life
For the 25th-anniversary commemoration of the organization of the White Cross in 1936, and partly because President
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.
Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the M ...
supported suffrage, Arizmendi returned briefly to Mexico. She returned to New York, but moved permanently back to Mexico City in 1938. At the time she returned to Mexico, the period of social reforms had ended and she distanced herself from the government and feminist organizations. Though the furor over her relationship with Vasconcelos had cooled, it remained a factor in her choice to lead a private life. Throughout her life, she had continued to administer the White Cross, but it had shifted focus to offering services for children, operating as a social assistance center, medical center, children's shelter, and eventually a
polyclinic
A polyclinic (where ''poly'' means "many"; not to be confused with the homonym policlinic, where ''poli'' means "city" and which is sometimes used for a hospital's outpatient department) is a clinic or health care facility that provides both gen ...
. Government indifference led to her seeking private funding in 1942, and
Rodulfo Brito Foucher
Rodulfo Brito Foucher (1899–1970) was a Mexican lawyer and academic who was rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico from 1942 to 1944. He was the father of journalist and feminist activist Esperanza Brito de Martí.
He studied at ...
became the benefactor of the organization. A two-decades-long battle ensued over the funds when the
Secretariat of the Treasury blocked the organization from receiving the funds.
Death and legacy
Arizmendi died in Mexico City on 4 November 1949 and was buried at the
Panteón Jardín in the
Villa Obregón borough of the city. Her funeral was attended by family members and beneficiaries and officials of the White Cross, but no notice of her death was published. At her death, Arizmendi was known mostly for her charitable works, and as the inspiration for the character Adriana, in Vasconcelos works. According to professor
Gabriela Cano Ortega, historians and critics have noted that Arizmendi was known for her physical beauty and the warmth of her personality, despite her privilege as an elite member of society. She was photographed by Salvador Toscano and was the subject of an engraving by
José Guadalupe Posada
José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar (2 February 1852 – 20 January 1913) was a Mexican political lithographer who used relief printing to produce popular illustrations. His work has influenced numerous Latin American artists and cartoonists becaus ...
. The White Cross named its dispensary in the
Xochimilco
Xochimilco (; nci, Xōchimīlco, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') of Mexico City. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the ...
borough in her honor and, in 1985, persuaded the government to rename a street with her name in the
Colonia del Valle. The White Cross organization which she founded still exists in the
Coyoacán
Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic vil ...
neighborhood of Mexico City. It is now dedicated to the care of children with severe malnutrition needs.
Arizmendi was the subject of a 2010 biography, ''Se llamaba Elena Arizmendi'', (Her Name Was Elena Arizmendi), written by Cano, a gender studies specialist who rigorously and critically researches the limited history of Mexican women, who were often obscured behind their male partners. In 2012, Cano wrote a foreword for and republished Arizmendi's autobiography, as the original book had a limited circulation.
Carolina Villarroel, one of the founders of the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
's US Latino Digital Humanities Center, called Arizmendi's ''Vida incompleta'' "the first Hispanic feminist novel". In 2018, Arizmendi was the focus of an academic treatment, ''Mi esposo y mi nación: la nacionalidad de las mujeres casadas en México, 1886–1934'' (My Husband and My Nation: The Nationality of Married Women in Mexico, 1886–1934) analyzing the impact of government policy between 1886 and 1934 of
denaturalizing women, who identified as Mexican and were involved in work they deemed to be for the benefit of the nation.
Autobiography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arizmendi Mejia, Elena
People of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican revolutionaries
Mexican women's rights activists
Mexican feminists
Mexican feminist writers
Writers from Mexico City
Women autobiographers
20th-century Mexican writers
1884 births
1949 deaths
20th-century Mexican women writers
Mexican autobiographers