In the 1930's, through the decision of President Lazaro Cardenas, the image of Estel Ruiz Velazquez, La Tehuana, graces the 10 peso banknote for almost four decades. In that period of time she never once received one bit of recognition in accordance with the declaration that she made last April, a little before dying at the age of 92 in poverty without one cent to her name.

In his article "A Estela Estelita Ruiz Velazquez" which appeared in the El Boletin Numismatico, number 202 (January - April, 2004), Dr. Luis M. Gomez Wulshner tells that Estela did not accept nor receive any type of payment for having her face being placed on these banknotes which circulated by the millions in Mexico.

In Mexico and abroad, the brown face of Estelita, at 25 years of age, was made famous and was a symbol of the history of the Mexican banknote. A few months ago at 92 years of age, death overtook the woman who left Cardenas very impressed with her native beauty and demeanor.

It all began when Cardenas ordered the design renovation of all of the Mexican banknotes with illustrations of his own country. That is, they should take into account the "agreements of national and indigenous thinking of the period." For the ten peso banknote a regional dress contest was held in 1936. It was organized by the Pensions Agency (a precursor of the ISSSTE), according to Dr. Gomez Wulshner.

The contest took place in the Fonton Mexico, and when they showed General Cardenas the winning photo, he became charmed with the image of La Tehuana.

After seeing it reproduced millions of times, she liked to mention with pride and sauciness that "no woman has ever been in as many male hands as I," And she was right.

The history and image of Estela are linked with the path that Mexican numismatics has taken, says Jose Antonio Batiz Vazquez, a historian who has dedicated many years of his life to the study of the economic history in general and in particular to themes related to money and banking in Mexico.

Batiz spoke with La Cronica in his Bancamex office, relating the many anecdotes related to banknotes in which a gereat part of Mexican history can be summarized. But not only that, but also there are stories of impossible romances, like the one of the banker who, because he was not written back to, ordered the image of the woman who scorned him to be printed by the thousands on this banknote.

At 25 years of age this woman posed for a photo that would carry her to fame. The anecdotes relating to this banknote did not stop here. The whole thing began, as Jose Antonio Batiz (the present president of the Numismatic Society of Mexico, A.C.) told, in the times of the first Mexican empire when Iturbide made the first experiment of issuing the first banknotes in denominations of one, two, and ten pesos with a very simple manufacture and format. The idea was to finance the nascent regime. The banknotes only circulated that year and they were not accepted very well by the population, which for more than 300 years was accustomed to using and managing only silver coins. One of the important things that came out of all of this was that the denominations were made in pesos."

It was not until 1865 that banknotes began to circulate again, this time issued by the Bank of London and Mexico (Banco de Londres y Mexico). At that time the majority of the notes were printed abroad, primarily by the American Banknote Company of New York. It was for many years the most recognized steel printing company. This was the same company that worked for Mexico until 1969, which was the date that a Mexican manufacturing plant was founded along these same lines.

Steel engraving was a very complex operation; it was what constituted an element of security along with the type of paper and the ink, according to this specialist.

Beginning in 1925, another stage in banknote history was begun with the creation of the Bank of Mexico (Banco de Mexico). It was the only one authorized from this date to issue paper money. Thus began the modern period of Mexican paper money in which illustrations based on national heroes, monuments, and buildings in the country prevailed.