Although there are no records of Maria Isabel Riquelme y Meza’s exact date of birth, it is known that she was baptized in 1759 in the city of Chillan.
She came from an aristocratic family, reason for which she was used to receiving illustrious visitors at home. One of them was Ambrosio O’Higgins, who arrived to Chillan in 1777. The illustrious 57 year old Irishman was enchanted by young Isabel, with whom she had a brief romance. Although the promises of marriage never came though, the father of our nation was born from this relationship, Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme.
Despite the fact that Isabel was a single mother, Ambrosio O’Higgins was always concerned in providing support. This way, after Bernardo’s birth on August 20th 1778, he granted him his last name and looked over his education at all times.
Isabel Riquelme’s life continued at her father’s hacienda. Two years later, she married Felix Rodriguez Rojas, with whom she had a daughter named Rosa. After becoming a widow in 1782, Isabel Riquelme got remarried, this time to Manuel de Puga y Figueroa, with whom she would have another daughter named Nieves.
Despite the fact that their son Bernardo was taken away from her mother at a young age in order to receive quality education, their bond and communication never ceased. For this reason, once Bernardo O’Higgins returned to the country, he took his mother and half sister Rosa with him to the hacienda of Las Canteras.
Their peace was violently interrupted by the independence movements taking place in the country as of 1810. At all times, Isabel Riquelme was a supporter of her son’s cause. After the Spanish re-conquering, she even fled to Argentina with him and performed different trades, like seamstress or cigarette maker, all to pay for their expenses.
With the victory of the patriots at Chacabuco in 1818, the liberator’s mother returned to Chile and moved in with his son. She lived glorious moments along with him, like his appointment as supreme director; and she also followed him during his downfall after his abdication in 1823. She didn’t hesitate to accompany him during his exile in Peru, taking charge of her grandson, Demetrio.
She passed away in Lima on April 21st, 1947. Her remains were brought to Chile in 1947.
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