Mariquita Sánchez

Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson y de Mendeville, also known as Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson (1 November 1786 – 23 October 1868), was an Argentine socialite and activist from Buenos Aires. She was one of the city's leading salonnières, whose tertulias gathered many of the leading personalities of the time. She is widely remembered because the Argentine National Anthem was sung for the first time in her home, on 14 May 1813. Her writing has been characterized as masterful, as a result of her well-educated childhood, with her works being widely received as having a "civilized and enlightened spirit." Her writings included personal letters, poems, memos, a diary and an account on life in colonial Buenos Aires. The Colonial Memoir that she wrote regarding life in Buenos Aires under the Viceroyalty touched on all aspects of life in the city including: the home and furnishings, clothes and shoes, food and restaurants, education, marriage, gender roles, death, cultural experiences and more.

Sánchez's works carried prominent themes of feminism, exploring it from the aspects of equality, education, and female sexual conduct's influence on politics. Her compositions also explore ideas of nationality and citizenship, given her background with husbands from European countries and life in a colonial nation.

Discrepancies in Sánchez's history The nature of Sánchez's relationship with Mendeville has been called into question, as some accounts have her married and pregnant with his child in 1819, the same year that her previous husband Thompson died. Additionally, a fortune was left to her as a result of Thompson's death, which has been used to suggest Mendeville to be a fortune-seeker. Although Sánchez lived in exile in Montevideo, there is evidence of her returning to Buenos Aires multiple times. There is also record that she resided in Buenos Aires from 1847 to 1851, raising uncertainty about the nature of her exile. As dictator, Rosas put many restrictions on the travel of his political opponents, denying them passage to other countries. There are no records of these restrictions being placed on Sánchez, which implies the possibility that her political role at the time was inflated.

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Tribute On 1 November 2014, Google celebrated her 228th birthday with a Google Doodle.