Valentina Ramírez Avitia
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Valentina Ramírez Avitia (14 February 1893 – 4 April 1979) was a Mexican revolutionary and soldadera. She was known as "La Valentina" and "La leona de Norotal". She fought against the
Federales ''Federales'' (singular ''Federale'' or, rarely but aligning with Spanish, ''Federal'') is a Spanglish word used in an informal context to denote security forces operating under a federal political system. The term gained widespread usage by E ...
in the Mexican Revolution at a time when women were not allowed to join the army. Her parallels to the story of
Hua Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...
lead to her modern nickname of "The Mexican Mulan" ( es, "La Mulán mexicana").


Biography

Ramirez was born in Norotol, Durango on 14 February 1893. Inspired by her father who was killed early in the Mexican Revolution, she decided to enlist. Wearing her brothers clothes, hiding her hair, and assuming the name of Juan Ramírez, Ramírez joined the Maderista Army under
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 ...
in 1910. She quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant after a victorious battle in
Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both the Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531, by the Spanish conquerors Lázar ...
. However, after participating in the conflict for only five months and ten days, it was discovered that Ramírez was a woman. On 22 June 1911 she was dismissed from the army. Upon her return home, Ramírez was shunned by her family. She moved to Culiacán and lived there for over twenty years. In 1969, she was hit by a car in the city of
Navolato Navolato is a city in Navolato Municipality in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It is located on the central coast part of the state bordering the Gulf of California. The municipality reported 135,603 inhabitants in the 2010 census, while the cit ...
. She was placed in a nursing home before she escaped. Crippled and without a wheelchair, she lived in a small scrap-metal hut and begged for food. On 4 April 1979, Ramírez died of burn wounds received after a fire in her home.


Legacy

The
corrido The corrido () is a popular narrative metrical tale and poetry that forms a ballad. The songs are often about oppression, history, daily life for criminals, the vaquero lifestyle, and other socially relevant topics. Corridos were widely popular ...
was composed as a tribute to Avitia. The film '' La Valentina'' and the 1966 remake were later inspired by the corrido. Valentina brand hot sauce is named in her honor.


See also

*
Amelio Robles Ávila Amelio Robles Ávila (3 November 1889 – 9 December 1984) was a colonel during the Mexican Revolution. Assigned female at birth with the name Amelia Robles Ávila, Robles fought in the Mexican Revolution, rose to the rank of colonel, and lived ...
* Petra Herrera * Ángela Jiménez * María Quinteras de Meras


References

{{authority control Mexican revolutionaries Female revolutionaries 1893 births 1979 deaths