Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson

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Sánchez de Thompson in 1854.

Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson y Mendeville (Buenos Aires,1 November 1786 – Buenos Aires, 23 October 1868), born María Josepha Petrona de Todos los Santos Sánchez de Velazco y Trillo, was a patriotic lady from Buenos Aires and its leading salonnière, whose tertulia gathered all the leading personalities of her time. She is widely remembered in the Argentine historical tradition because the Argentine National Anthem was sung for the first time in her house, on 14 May 1811.

She married her cousin, Martín Thompson, in 1805. She authored a description of the failed British invasions of Buenos Aires in 1806 and 1807. Her writings are most valued for their illustration of the ambivalence felt by the locals regarding the invasions. She comments that the British are to be admired for such things as their good looks.

She became a widow in 1817. She re-married in 1820, this time to the French expatriate Washington de Mendeville. During the rule of Juan Manuel de Rosas, she went voluntarily to exile in Montevideo, since her son Juan was among the opposition to the government; she returned after the Battle of Caseros.

Her valuable and extensive correspondence has been edited and published by Clara Vilaseca.