boy43
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La Quintrala.
Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, who is better known as “ la Quintrala” was born in Santiago around 1604, and died in 1665. Her parents were Gonzalo de los Ríos y Encío, and Catalina Lisperguer y Flores, naturals from Santiago. Her ancestors from both sides reached the “Conquista ” (colonization), amongst them Bartolomé Flores, who married the daughter of the chief<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
of Talagante, doña Elvira, great-grandmother of the Quintrala.
To comprehend the actions of why Catalina de los Ríos became part of the Chilean history, one must consider her upbringing, specially the personality of her mother and aunt, sisters Catalina and María Lisperguer respectfully. Furthermore, they were accused of trying to poison the governor Alonso de Ribera (1604), fact that apparently happened because Maria despised the marriage of Ribera with Beatriz de Córdoba. Sentenced to prison, Maria received sanctuary from Agustin priests, while Catalina was hidden, first by the Dominicans, and later on by the “Mercedarios”.
The ecclesiastic immunity and the powerful family and social connections of the sisters left the accusation without any effect. María, who was considered a witch and sorceress, married Juan de Añasco with whom she moved to Lima. Nothing else is known from her.
The destiny of her mother
Catalina Lipserguer married Gonzalo de los Ríos, rich inheritor of lands in la Ligua and Longotoma. It seems that after little married time, Catalina murdered a natural daughter of Gonzalo. About this subject, the Bishop Francisco González de Salcedo told the Consejo de Indias in 1633: "It was this madam Catalina cruel woman, because she killed with whippings a daughter of her husband, and likewise she murdered and Indian who supplied the herbs with which she desired to poison the water of the bottle from which the governor drank”. Catalina Lisperguer y Flores had two daughters: Águeda – married to the ambassador of Lima, Blas de Torres Altamirano - and Catalina.
The death of her father
La Ouintrala went down in history accused of having murdered her father with a poisoned chiken she offered him when he was ill, around 1622. The accusation made by her parental aunt never reached the courts, perhaps the family relations with the government had some effect on this. The impetuous and surprising personality of Catalina has been asossiated with a serious of crimes commited thoughout her life. She had been the murder of a Gentleman from la Orden de Malta, whom she invited to her bed where she killed him. Nonetheless, the responsibility of the crime was blamed on one of her slaves, who were hung in the “plaza” of Santiago. In another occasion as bishop Salcedo stated in his record: "She wanted to kill don Juan de la Fuente Loarte, headmaster of this holy Church and general vicar of this sanctuary, running after him with a knife because he had tried to put an end to her promiscuous actions”, which would have happened between 1625 and 1626, when Catalina was 23 or 24 years old.
Her marriage
As her grandmother’s wishes, who became her guardian since her parent’s death, Catalina married (on September of 1626) the gentleman and soldier Alonso Campofrío Carvajal, of little wealth. The bride took to her marriage a dote of 45.349 pesos, a large sum of money for the time. In 1643, Campofrío was chosen Mayor of Santiago replacing Juan Rodolfo Lisperguer y Solórzano, cousin of his wife fact, which shows the influence of the family.
After the marriage, the couple moved to the farmhouse of La Ligua. According to the historiographer Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, the husband was no stranger to the malevolent actions of his wife, obtaining the better part as her accomplice. Alonso and Catalina had the vicar of the region assassinated, by a slave and cousin to Catalina, who curiously was religious.
The Campofrío de los Ríos couple had a son named like his father, but the child passed away at the age of 10. His father died around 1650, leaving Catalina a widow.
Owner
Catalina de los Ríos inherited the rich valleys of Longotoma and La Ligua, to which she added in 1615 vast lands from the department of Petorca, and others in San Juan de Cuyo on the other side of the Andes.
Since 1638 she enjoyed the distribution of Codegua Indian land, that had belonged to her sister, Agueda. It is supposed that Catalina, rich and ambitious ran personally the activities of her properties, mounted on hose back where she loved living with her husband since the town was hateful. According to tradition, in the farm of La Ligua was where she flogged and killed the Natives who worked for her and her slaves, with no mercy toward her victims.
As the legend goes, thanks to the contact Catalina de los Ríos had with her female slaves, they introduced her to the knowledge of black magic and other practices of the sort. The same thing would have happened to her mother, Catalina Lisperguer y Flores.
Other crimes
Towards 1634, Bishop Salcedo asked for an investigation of all 105 bloody events occurred in La Ligua, but it took 30 years to Justice to investigate and inform on these accusations. In fact, the Real Audiencia (Royal Audience) commissioned Francisco Millán to secretive constitute in La Ligua to hear claims of victims without the participation of Catalina, her nephew or her steward.
Having found proofs of the truth of the accusations, Judge Juan de la Peña Salazar moved to the farm and captured Catalina and took her to Santiago to bring her to Criminal Trial. This was not exempt of her names influence and her family relations to the judges, who in term favored the cause of the accused who in total had been charged for more than 40 crimes, as derived from the accusations. Catalina is used to commit such wrongdoing as accounted for in long proven criminal Causes pending in the Real Audiencia. Forty deaths are proven with signs of lashing and burning of her servants. Catalina had a Public record of crimes committed her whole lifelong against free people as Indians and other servants....".
Her death: Remorseful?
On May 10th. Catalina made her Will. All his fortune was donated to her soul so as to be rescued from Purgatory. She ordered too, twenty thousands masses against 20.000 pesos. After her burial other thousands masses should be officiated and 500 more for the soul of the Indians that had died because of her bad treatments.
Through other dispositions she favored some family members and close friends. Finally she donated 6.000 pesos to the Lord of Agony or Christ of May to continue with the Expiation Procession on each 13th. of May, when the Earthquake of same date was remembered. Her funeral was made with great Pomp that included 1000 candles for the Church. Dressed with Saint Augustine clothes, she was buried in that Orders Temple
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