Respuestas
María Manuela Dominga de Espejo y Aldaz, name that appears in the baptismal faith that rests in the parish church of El Sagrario, was born on December 20, 1753 in the city of Quito, at that time capital of the Real Audiencia of the same name, part of the Spanish colonial Empire. It was the fifth and last daughter of the marriage formed by Luis Espejo (Chusig) and Catalina Aldaz, who provided a severe education focused especially on medicine and natural sciences, although not formally due to the limited access of women to universities at that time.
He married the lawyer José Mejía Lequerica, 22 years younger than her, in the church of El Sagrario. The sponsors of the link were Juan de Dios Morales and his wife, María Oleas. Despite the sympathy for the independentist and scientific causes that marriage had in common, when Mejía moved as a deputy to the Cortes of Cádiz he established a relationship with the young Andalusian Gertrudis Sanalova and Benito, whom he left as his universal heir to die. Manuela would live next to the family of Juan de Dios Morales.