Esperanza López Mateos
| Esperanza López Mateos | |
|---|---|
Picture taken in a photo studio. The exact date is unknown, although the hairstyle places it in the 1940s.
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| Born |
January 8, 1907 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Died | September 19, 1951 (aged 44) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Occupation | Translator, political activist, syndicalist, mountaineer, literary agent |
| Spouse(s) | Roberto Figueroa |
Esperanza López Mateos (January 8, 1907 – September 19, 1951) was a Mexican translator, political activist, syndicalist, and mountaineer. She translated several of B. Traven's novels and was his literary agent in Latin America from 1941 to 1951. She was the sister of politician Adolfo López Mateos and sister-in-law of cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. She participated in the strike by the miners of Nueva Rosita (1950–1951) and worked with Vicente Lombardo Toledano; together they supported many Jewish exiles fleeing European wars and seeking refuge in Mexico.
Esperanza López Mateos was born in Mexico City on January 8, 1907. According to her baptismal certificate dated January 19, 1907 at the church of San Cosmas, the girl María Esperanza Adolfina Mateos is the natural daughter of Elena Mateos. The name of her father is not mentioned. These dates are consistent with those of her birth certificate, in which her name only appears as Esperanza Mateos, natural daughter of Elena Mateos. The baptismal certificate of her half-brother Rafael Fernando López Mateos, born March 12, 1904, states that at that time Elena Mateos was a widow and Rafael Fernando was the son of her late husband Mariano Gerardo López; the vital records reveal that the father's death date was the same as the son's birthdate. The latter died a year later, on April 27, 1905. Regina Santiago argues that the father of Esperanza and her younger brother Adolfo was Gonzalo de Murga. In either case, Esperanza and Adolfo took the name of Elena's late husband, Mariano López. This marriage produced two older sons, Mariano (born 1900) and Elena.
Esperanza's illegitimate birth gave rise to many legends to protect the reputation of Elena and her two minor children, Esperanza and Adolfo. According to a story told by Gabriel Figueroa in his Memorias, the Spanish Gonzalo de Murga had a daughter with an aristocratic English woman who left him; he later entrusted this child to Elena Mateos, who named her Esperanza.
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