La Quintrala

By Javiera Herrera.


Catalina de Rios was the real name of the “Quintrala” a woman that was known for being the cruelest and evilest of the colonial epoch. She was famous, for her beauty, but also because how she abused her servants.


In Chilean history, her figure is mythical, known over the years as an evil woman. The story says, that this woman got married with a spanish soldier, Alonso Campodrío de Carvajar, who was a descendant of the Count Urgel, even though she was married, she had many lovers, that she used and after a while she murdered her lovers.


It is said that back in 1624, Catalina invited, through a loving bill, a wealthy liege from Santiago. When she had him in her arms, she stabbed him and blamed a slave for her crime. Her slave had a trial at the “plaza de armas”. This version is called into question, since, according to what is stated in the will of Catherine, she couldn’t write.


The story also says that she beated and stabbed a man called Enrique Enríquez, an old lover, because he played with her heart (because he refused to hand her a cross, a symbol of nobility, in exchange for a kiss). Enríquez accused Catalina of her supposed love affair with the friar Pedro de Figueroa (her crush). The religious man was married, and she stalked him without success and then she tried to murder him.


She also cut Martín de Ensenada's left ear and that she murdered a gentleman from Santiago, in the presence of another gentleman, after a date. The character of the Quintrala has left permanent marks on the memory and Chilean tradition, and because of that it has written various novels and TV series based on it. In 2011 “ La Quintrala” became a nighttime soap opera based on her story called "La Doña" showing her abusive and her evil personality.


"La Doña" trailer