Genaro García’s Leona Vicario, heroína insurgente (1910). A Centennial Revision of the Mexican Woman’s Place in the Public Sphere

Abstract

As the centennial anniversary of Mexican independence, 1910 was not only a peak year for representations of Mexican national identity, but also for debates on feminism, the “Mexican woman,” and the nature of her role in society (Cano 1998: 106). Concerns regarding feminism and nationalism dovetail in Genaro García’s centennial biography of independence figure Leona Vicario, an exception to the standard publications emanating from the Mexican literate sectors between 1880 and 1911 in terms of its portrayal of women and nation. This largely unexamined biography sheds light on feminist Mexican thought, and viewed in conjunction with García’s writings on women’s legal rights in Mexico, stands out at as a formidable re-writing of the position of woman in the Mexican nation.