María Gertrudis Teodora Bocanegra Mendoza (11 April 1765 – 11 October 1817) was a woman 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 ...

. She was arrested, tortured and executed in 1817.

Life

Gertrudis Bocanegra was born in

Pátzcuaro Pátzcuaro () is a city and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Purépecha Empire and later its ceremonial center. After the Spanish took over, Vasco de ...

in what is now the Mexican state of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

, to Pedro Javier Bocanegra and Feliciana Mendoza (d. 15 November 1783). She married Lieutenant Pedro Advíncula Lazo de la Vega, a soldier in the Spanish provincial forces of Michoacán; they had six children (two sons and four daughters). Unusually for a woman of her time, Bocanegra had read the principal authors of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

. When Mexico's War of Independence began, she was quick to take sides. Her husband and eldest son joined the forces of

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Don (honorific), Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader ...

when the insurgents passed through Valladolid (now

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

) in October 1810. Both died at the Battle of the Puente de Calderón. She then served as a messenger for the insurgents in the region of Pátzcuaro and Tacámbaro, helping to form a communications network between the principal locations of the rebellion. During the guerrilla war, she was sent to Pátzcuaro to aid the rebels in the capture of the city. However, she was betrayed and taken prisoner by the royal army in 1817. She was subjected to torture to get her to reveal the names of other rebels, but she refused to give information to the Spaniards. Finally she was tried and found guilty of treason. Sentenced to death, she and one of her fellow insurgents were executed on 11 October 1817 at the Plazuela de San Agustín in Pátzcuaro. Facing the firing squad, she harangued her executioners before she was shot. She was 52 years old.

Legacy

She is known in Mexico as "''La Heroína de Pátzcuaro''" (The Heroine of Pátzcuaro). A plaza was named in her honor in that city, and a bronze statue was erected of her.

In popular culture

Bocanegra was portrayed by

Ofelia Medina María Ofelia Medina Torres (born 4 March 1950) is a Mexican actress, singer and screenwriter of Mexican films. She was married to film director Alex Philips Jr. and actor Pedro Armendáriz Jr. Biography She was born in Mérida and has four ...

in the Mexican

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

'' Gertrudis'' (1992).

References

Sources

*This article is a loose translation of the Spanish Wikipedia

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

*Salmonson, Jessica Amanda (1991). ''The Encyclopedia of Amazons.'' Paragon House. page 35. * "Bocanegra de Lazo de la Vega, Gertrudis," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 2. Mexico City, 1988. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bocanegra, Gertrudis 1765 births 1817 deaths Executed Mexican people Executed Mexican women Women in 19th-century warfare People from Pátzcuaro Mexican independence activists Women in the Mexican War of Independence People executed by Spain by firing squad 19th-century executions by Spain 18th-century Mexican women 18th-century Mexican people 19th-century Mexican women 19th-century Mexican people