Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplin and this
Speaker 1: is Womanica. This month we're talking about misshipmakers, oddballs, chameleons,
Speaker 1: and nonconformists queens of quick wit. Today we're exploring the
Speaker 1: infamous story of a card dealer and renowned businesswoman who
Speaker 1: amassed a fortune through her gambling house in New Mexico.
Speaker 1: Legends depict her as a powerful fem fatale who led
Speaker 1: men to their ruin in the hot, dry colony of
Speaker 1: Santa Fe. The truth is a bit more complicated. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about Maria Gertrudis Barcelo. Maria Gertrudis Barcelo was born
Speaker 1: around the year eighteen hundred in the Bavispe valley of
Speaker 1: Sonora in modern day Mexico. Her mother was Dolores Herrero,
Speaker 1: her father was wan Ignacio Barcelo, and she had two siblings.
Speaker 1: Maria was known as Tullas, meaning reeds, perhaps for being slender.
Speaker 1: It's unknown if she got this nickname later in life
Speaker 1: when she went by Dounia Tullis, or if she had
Speaker 1: it from a young age. The Mexican War of Independence
Speaker 1: ended in eighteen twenty one after more than a decade
Speaker 1: of conflict and bloodshed. Mexico was now independent from Spain,
Speaker 1: and a large region of current day New Mexico became
Speaker 1: a part of the country. Around this time, Tullas and
Speaker 1: her family moved north to Valencia, a small town in
Speaker 1: that territory. In eighteen twenty three, Tullas married a man
Speaker 1: named Antonio Cisneros. When she got married, she kept her
Speaker 1: last name and the right to her own property, the
Speaker 1: things she owned before she got married. Some attribute this
Speaker 1: to her cunning nature. While that may be true, it
Speaker 1: was also a part of Spanish marriage law, at least
Speaker 1: for Spanish women of means. These rights were not extended
Speaker 1: to indigenous women who lost many of their rights in
Speaker 1: Spain began colonizing their land, or to enslaved women who
Speaker 1: had no rights at all. Card games were quite popular
Speaker 1: in New Mexico during this time, so was gambling, even
Speaker 1: if it was illegal, because usually the only penalty was
Speaker 1: a fine. Tullis took a liking to gambling, and there's
Speaker 1: a record of her getting fined for it. In eighteen
Speaker 1: twenty six. Tulis moved to Santa Fe with her family.
Speaker 1: Sometime in the eighteen thirties, Santa Fe was at the
Speaker 1: western end of a long route called the Santa Fe Trail,
Speaker 1: a kind of trade highway that ran all the way
Speaker 1: to Missouri in the United States. American travelers and traders
Speaker 1: arriving in Santa Fe presented Tullis with a good business opportunity.
Speaker 1: She secretly opened a gambling salon that probably operated like
Speaker 1: a speakeasy, with people playing in back rooms of her
Speaker 1: house and using specific passwords to get in. Then, in
Speaker 1: eighteen thirty eight, gambling was legalized and Tulas up to
Speaker 1: the ante in a licensed establishment. The new space had
Speaker 1: crystal chandeliers and etched glass mirrors. The floor was covered
Speaker 1: in fine European carpets, and the walls were adorned with
Speaker 1: thick drapes. All were welcome in Dounia Tullas's new space,
Speaker 1: and soon it became a popular place for socialites and
Speaker 1: travelers to drink and gamble. Dounia Tulas was quite skilled
Speaker 1: in dealing cards in a game of chance called monte
Speaker 1: or monte. It used a Spanish card deck of forty cards.
Speaker 1: The dealer draws from the bottom and top of the deck,
Speaker 1: leaving them face up. The rest of the cards are
Speaker 1: called the monte, which is the Spanish word for mountain.
Speaker 1: Players have to bet if the cards drawn from this
Speaker 1: deck will match the suit of one or both of
Speaker 1: the first two cards. Betting stakes were said to have
Speaker 1: gone as high as fifty thousand dollars. Dounia Tullas made
Speaker 1: a lot of money from this gambling salon and invested
Speaker 1: it in other ventures. She became one of Santa Fe's
Speaker 1: most influential figures. Rumorsulated that she may have been running
Speaker 1: a brothel as well to amass such wealth, but some
Speaker 1: of these rumors came from Anglo American sources, which was
Speaker 1: more reflective of their prudish attitudes and their distrust of
Speaker 1: a fashionable woman who owned her own business. The more
Speaker 1: Americans passed through her doors, the more Dounia Tullas became
Speaker 1: branded as a sinner. Mexican American War erupted in April
Speaker 1: of eighteen forty six. During the war, Dounia Tullus hosted
Speaker 1: many US army officers, fed them, and even gave them
Speaker 1: money or advanced warning of planned attacks. During before and
Speaker 1: after the war ended in eighteen forty eight, she was
Speaker 1: called the Mexican Queen of Sin in American newspaper articles.
Speaker 1: These and other sources contributed to the myth that became
Speaker 1: Dounia Tullus, a story. When the war ended, New Mexico
Speaker 1: and a lot of other land that now makes up
Speaker 1: the Southwest was ceded to the United States. Dounia t
Speaker 1: list died in eighteen fifty two, leaving behind a considerable
Speaker 1: fortune and several houses to her siblings and adopted daughters.
Speaker 1: All month, we're talking about misship Makers. For more information,
Speaker 1: check us out on Facebook and Instagram at will Manic
Speaker 1: A podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
Speaker 1: and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.