Rosas’ sister, a woman who captivated the society of her time

She was said to be the most beautiful in the Federation, that with her charm she reigned in the halls and that she liked parties. Features that They made her worthy of praise and poemsbut which also led her to gain a reputation for being frivolous.

However, Agustina de Rozas, younger sister of Juan Manuel de Rosas (who would change the z to the s in his surname when he left home after a strong argument with his parents) and wife of General Lucio Norberto Mansilla, She had an atypical personality, which was going to stand out among the Buenos Aires women of her social class.

When she married General Mansilla in 1831, she was barely 15 years old and the man was 41. In addition to being a widower and grandfather, Mansilla enjoyed a well-earned fame as a hero of independence: He had fought in the English invasions and crossed the Andes with San Martín.

This is how the writer José Mármol describes Agustina in his novel Amalia: “The importance of that young woman, in 1840, was not given to her by her brother, nor by her husband, nor by anyone on earth; God had given it to him.

In 1840 he was barely 25 years old. Nature, prodigal, enthusiastic about her own work, had poured out upon her a shower of your richest thanksalready under its influence the flower of youth had opened its leaves that radiated with all the splendor of beauty.

The chisel would break the details of the marble before hitting the statue the contours of that woman’s breast and shoulders; and the brush would not find how to combine in the inks the indefinable color of her eyes, sometimes bright and velvety, and other times with the indecisive shadow of the half-light of that color; nor where to find the carmine of her lips, the enamel of her teeth, and the milky and pink color of her complexion.”

The same year as the wedding, Lucio Victorio was born, the couple’s first child, who would become a celebrated writer. Mother Agustina was still such a child that In his childhood memories, Lucio V. says that he took away his toys to entertain himself.

Then five more children arrived, among whom Eduarda Mansilla stood out, who would also be a writer like her older brother. To all his descendants, but in particular to Lucio and Eduarda, Agustina would strive to give them an education far superior to that which was common in Buenos Aires in those years.

In this regard, they say that in 1845, as governor, Rosas had to negotiate with a French count but, since he did not speak the language, It was Eduarda, barely 11 years old, who served as his interpreter. Nothing to be surprised if we consider that the girl, in addition to French, knew three other languages.

For his part, Lucio V. narrates in his Memoirs that since there was no “maternal library” in the house, and that the one that belonged to the father was out of reach of the childrenAgustina, to teach her children to read, used family letters.

At the same time, Responding to the elite to which she belonged, Agustina carried out works of charity and also, during the Rosas government, he presided over the Benevolent Society following the directives of his brother. However, when he was overthrown, neither she nor her relatives were persecuted.

The beautiful Agustina Rozas died old, accompanied only by her son Carlos.

The others had already died, except for Lucio Victorio who was in Europe and who, remembering her, would write: “My mother’s memory is accentuated. I’m already beginning to realize that she was beautiful. The time will come when I usually look at her in ecstasy saying to myself: What a beautiful woman, she looks like a goddess!”