María Dolores Bedoya

María Dolores Bedoya de Molina (September 20, 1783 – July 9, 1853) was a Guatemalan activist. She is remembered for her role in the movement for Central America's independence from Spain in the early 19th century.

Biography Bedoya was born in Guatemala in 1783. In 1804, she married physician (and later politician and independence leader) Pedro Molina. The couple moved to Granada, Nicaragua, where Molina served as a battalion doctor until 1811; they returned to Guatemala in 1814. She is said to have travelled the streets of Guatemala City on the eve of September 15, accompanied by Basilio Porras, to garner support for independence.

On September 15, 1821, while nobility gathered to debate the issue of independence, Bedoya led a celebration among a crowd of advocates outside the palace.

Bedoya's brother Mariano was assassinated in 1821and the Molina-Bedoya family left Guatemala City for Verapaz. As a tribute, in part, to her role in garnering support for independence, and to commemorate Independence Day, people in Guatemala parade through the streets on September 14.