María de Estrada: gypsy conquistadora

The story of the most famous woman in Spain's colonial history in Mexico is given fresh treatment in this fictionalized biography that composes a potential narrative from the disputed accounts of María de Estrada's life. María was the grandchild of a rabbi and physician and who trained with Gypsies in swordplay and horsemanship. After escaping a death sentence imposed by the Spanish Inquisition, María arrived in the New World where she became a warrior fighting alongside Cortés in Spain's military conquest. Once she settled in the area, however, she saw reasons to defend Mexico's indigenous population.