Antonieta Rivas Mercado: the Mexican woman who committed suicide in the cathedral of Notre Dame

Sitting on one of the solitary wooden benches of Notre Dame Cathedral, Antoinette Rivas Mercado shot in the heart. Eon the February 11, 1931 and the news soon had an international impact.

It was a cold morning and there were few visitors in the famous Parisian church. This is the moment when Antonieta decided to shoot himself using A gun that he had stolen the previous night to his beloved Jose Vasconcelos.

Nail woman of the upper clbad of Mexico, patron of intellectuals, cultural promoter, political activist, He had decided to end his life in the temple. He was only 31 years old.

The daughter of the architect Antonio Rivas Mercado he was not having his best season. He had lost custody of his only son and the relationship with Vasconcelos had cooled. To have lost the presidential elections was a blow for both.

Antonieta had been Vasconcelos' great support throughout the campaign. He supported him financially but also accompanied him to the places where his speech had brought him.

Rivas Mercado was in the United States when he learned electoral fraud in Mexico this gave the presidency to Pascual Ortiz Rubio, in November of 1929.

Antonieta was born in Mexico City on April 28, 1900.. She was the second daughter of architect Rivas Mercado (creator of the famous Angel of Independence) and Matilde Castellanos.

Very young, he had to remain responsible for his house his mother has taken refuge in Europe with a lover.

At the age of 18, he married Albert Edward Blair, with whom he had in 1919 his son Donald Antonio. In their mid-twenties, their marriage was going through a difficult period and they finally broke up. Then he started a fight for the custody of his son who was carrying Antonieta.

From "refined education", Antonieta spoke English, French, German, Greek and Italian. He founded the Teatro Ulises and also he trained the patronage of the Mexican Symphony Orchestra.

Andrés Henestrosa, Xavier Villaurrutia, Salvador Novo, Julio Castellanos and the painter were among the characters he supported as patrons. Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, he had fallen in love with, but could not be exchanged because he was homobadual.

Between 1928 and 1929, he participated in the presidential campaign of José Vasconcelos and also became his sentimental partner.

After the defeat of Vasconcelos, Antonieta went into exile in New York and Paris, where she met him in 1931. It was there that she decided to end her days.

His life inspired a film entitled "Antonieta" of 1982, directed by Carlos Saura and performed by Isabelle Adjani.