Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson

María Josepha Petrona Sánchez, known universally as Mariquita, was born on November 1, 1786, in Buenos Aires into a wealthy patrician family. Showing extraordinary independence from her youth, she legally defied her parents in court in 1804 to marry the man of her choice, Martin Thompson.

During the struggle for independence, her salon at Calle Florida 273 became the intellectual and political headquarters of the May Revolution. In May 1813, the Argentine National Anthem (written by Vicente López y Planes and composed by Blas Parera) was performed for the first time in her living room, with Mariquita singing the verses. In 1823, she co-founded and led the Sociedad de Beneficencia, directing hospitals, orphanages, and female schools for decades.