La China Poblana
by Mildred Boyd

    Just who and what was she really, this woman who has become symbolic of Mexican womanhood? Was she an Oriental Princess or just a lowly slave? Was she a candidate for sainthood or only a common whore? Was her style of dress elegant or did she dress like a tart? Was she a real person or merely the product of someone’s overactive imagination?

    Though some claim she never actually existed, her story is amazingly detailed for pure fiction and many of those details are easily verifiable. To begin with, the title by which she is known translated as “The Chinese Pueblan,” is not correct. In those days, “China” was a term used for all Asians, so it does not conflict with the recorded story. In it, her name was Mirra and she was born in India to a noble family but was kidnapped by Portuguese pirates while still a child. She later escaped, took refuge in the Jesuit Mission of Father Francisco Javier and was converted to Catholicism. At her baptism Mirra took the Spanish name of Catarina de San Juan.
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