Before Her Name Was on a Salsa Bottle, Valentina Was the Latina Warrior Who Came to Be Known as the Mexican Mulan

The name Valentina may now call to mind a bottle with a yellow label and a slow burn, but long before it flavored all types of foods and beverages, it belonged to a girl from Durango who rode into revolution dressed as a man.

Though her life may have faded from history books, it did not fade from kitchens, where a spicy tribute continues to carry her story across borders.

The Mexican Mulan

Valentina Ramírez Avitia was born in 1893 in the mountain town of Norotal. Her father had dreams of joining the revolution to challenge Porfirio Díaz but died before he could. So, as the brave Latina that she was, she picked up where he left off. Soon after, she disguised herself as a man named Juan Ramírez and joined the troops of General Iturbe. These troops were aligned with Francisco I. Madero’s uprising in 1910.

Much like the fabled Mulan, she practiced her brothers’ habits, altered her voice, and hid her braid beneath a hat. With her identity concealed, she fought alongside the men. She gained their respect. Her battlefield performance led to her promotion, and for a time, her secret held.

A Discovery and a Return to the Shadows

Sadly, one day, her disguise began to unravel. A loose braid prompted suspicion. She was exposed. The punishment she faced did not involve execution, but her role in the revolution came to an end. She was dismissed from the regiment and returned to her family, only to be met with rejection. Her absence during her mother’s death had caused resentment. Alone and unwelcome, she drifted.

She later married a colonel, who died not long after. All these series of unfortunate events led for her financial struggles to grow. Without access to a military pension, she began working as a housemaid and laundress. In the final chapter of her life, she turned to begging outside a church. A fall during the 1960s sent her to a senior home, which she eventually left to return to the streets. Unfortunately, Valentina died in obscurity in the late 1970s.

Valentina Is Now a Name Preserved in Heat

Her story faded from public memory, but not from every heart. A man named Manuel Maciel Méndez believed she deserved recognition. When naming a hot sauce, he chose to honor the bravery of the woman who had once gone to war dressed as a man to fulfill her father’s dream. He called it Valentina.

Today, that bottle is found on kitchen tables across Mexico, the United States, and many other countries around the world. It is not accompanied by plaques or medals, but it does carry a name that once belonged to a fighter. Through the sauce, Valentina Ramírez Avitia returns to homes that never knew her face. And somewhere in between the tang and the heat, her story still finds its way in.