Called by many, the Mexican “Gone with the Wind”, the novel covers three transcendental decades in Mexican history: 1900 to 1931. The story unfolds through the life of an extraordinary Mexican woman who defied tradition and class to bring change to her country and the price she paid for her quest.
The “scandalous” Antonieta consorted with the likes of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Tina Modotti, Garcia Lorca, bullfighters, communists and Ambassadors. She dared seek a divorce: her ill-fated marriage to Albert Blair, an Anglo-American revolutionary, and her obsession with a homosexual painter became Antonieta´s personal “vía crusis”. In 1928 she entered the political arena and led the cause for women´s right to vote in the campaign of presidential candidate, José Vasconcelos.
Antonieta ‘s 1931 suicide in Notre Dame Cathedral brought an end to her dream of creating an educated Mexico, immersed in the new world culture of the Arts after the tumultuous Revolution of 1910 left Mexico 25 years behind Europe and the United States. This book traces the life and work of Antonieta Rivas Mercado, defender of women´s rights, and promoter of education and the arts for all Mexicans .
