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they “were unanimous in expressing their respect for

the high character of Miss Urrea, and their belief that

she is possessed of extraordinary healing powers.”³⁰

Teresita soon became the most famous woman in

El Paso. Her name appeared regularly in the gossip

columns of the local newspapers. El Pasoans couldn’t

get enough of her. One postcard salesman did a

“hefty business” selling pictures of Teresita through-

out the area, as far as the neighboring town of Las

Cruces. It wasn’t just

“Mexican peons”—as the

Anglo press called them—

who gathered around

Teresita. The sick of all

races, the curious, the

insane, thieves, peddlers,

upper-class admirers, anti-

Díaz rebels, newspaper

reporters, law-enforcement

officers and paid govern-

ment informants from

both sides of the border,

all hovered around

Teresita’s Segundo Barrio

home. The newspapers

kept their readers

informed about every new

development. They pub-

lished regular dispatches

about her healings, her

dress, and about every

important guest who

stopped by to chat with

her—such as El Paso

Mayor Richard Campbell

or the ex-governor of

Chihuahua, Lauro Carrillo.

The El Paso Times reported on June 27, 1896—

only two weeks after Teresita’s arrival—that the for-

mer Chihuahuan governor brought a message from

president Porfirio Díaz for Teresita:

The message was an invitation to the young

lady and her father to visit Mexico and

remain as long as they wished…The presi-

dent would extend to them the protection of

the government and guarantee to them per-

fect liberty to go and come at will. It was the

wish of the president that the erroneous

impression should not go out that Santa

Teresa was expatriated from her native coun-

try. After consulting with her father, she told

the president’s messenger that she would

never set foot on Mexican soil so long as Mr.

Díaz was in power.

Reading about Teresita in the El Paso newspapers

was almost like watching a modern day soap opera,

except with an added dose of international political

intrigue. News of the young lady’s suitors immediate-

ly made the front pages. On November 19, 1896, the

El Paso Times informed its

readers that Dr. Apolonio

Rodríguez of Cuba had

asked for Teresita’s hand in

marriage. He was armed

with a letter of recommen-

dation from President Díaz

certifying the young physi-

cian’s “good moral character

and ability.” The El Paso

Times wrote:

Soon after his arrival

here the young doc-

tor began paying

court to Santa

Teresa. He wanted to

wed her. She had

taken his proposition

under advisement

with the promise to

give him an answer

in a few days. Dr.

Rodríguez said

Teresa at first refused

to listen to him, but

the doctor persuad-

ed the coy maiden to

listen to his wooing, and a wedding dress

was ordered...He believes that a matrimoni-

al alliance with the young lady would give

him an immense practice and at the same

time he admits that he admires the young

lady very much.”³¹

The next day, the El Paso Times published Teresita

Urrea’s disclaimer plus reports that many of her sup-

porters believed that Rodríguez was an agent of the

Mexican government who wanted to kidnap her back

to Mexico where she would be placed under arrest:

I have not said a word to that gentleman [Dr.

Apolonio Rodríguez] that would authorize

26

Teresita Urrea, ca. 1897.

(Southwest Collection, Texas Tech University.)

30

El Paso Herald, June 23, 1896.

31

El Paso Times, November 19, 1896.