Mercedes Godoy Explained

Mercedes Godoy
Birth Date:March 16, 1890
Birth Place:Mexico City
Nationality:Mexican
Occupation:Writer, socialite

Mercedes Godoy (March 16, 1890 – after 1932[1]) was a Mexican socialite in the United States, and author of When I Was a Girl in Mexico (1919).

Early life

Mercedes Godoy was born in Mexico City, the daughter of (1851–1930) and Adela Perrin de Godoy.[2] [3] Her father was a Mexican-born United States citizen,[4] a writer, translator, and diplomat who served in Cuba, Guatemala, and the United States.[5] [6] Her grandfather, José Antonio Godoy, was Mexican consul in San Francisco.[7]

Career

Godoy was a debutante in the 1905–1906 social season in Washington, D.C.,[8] while her father was the Mexican consul in that city.[9] [10] [11] She was described as resembling Alice Roosevelt Longworth.[12] [13] She was a delegation aide to the Women's Auxiliary Committee, at the Second Pan-American Scientific Conference in 1915.[14] [15]

Godoy was a trained singer. In 1915, she sang at a musical evening given by the Musical Harmony Club at the Colonial School for Girls.[16] In 1916, she became vice-president of the Harmony Improvement Society.[17] In 1917, she was on the committee for a Red Cross benefit dance at the Cairo hotel.[18] In 1918, she appeared in a one-act play in Spanish, at a benefit for earthquake relief in Guatemala.[19]

In 1919 Godoy published a memoir of her childhood games, holidays, foods, and other details, When I Was a Girl in Mexico.[20] "This book will be a revelation to those American children who imagine that Mexican is a synonym for bandits," predicted one reviewer.[21] It was part of the "Children of Other Lands" series about childhoods in different cultures, including Hólmfríður Árnadóttir's When I Was a Girl in Iceland, Cornelia De Groot's When I Was a Girl in Holland, Mousa J. Kaleel's When I Was a Boy in Palestine, and Yan Phou Lee's When I Was a Boy in China.[22]

Personal life

Godoy lived in Washington, Havana, and New York as a young woman, with her parents and her siblings.[23] She was living in Mexico City when her mother died in 1923.[24]

Notes and References

  1. News: Godoy. Mercedes. 1933-04-23. Mexican Writers on Mexico's Past; Mexican Letter. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-05-01. 0362-4331.
  2. News: 1907-01-20. Godoys Are Returning to Capital Society Set. 9. Greensboro Daily News. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  3. News: September 27, 1908. Godoys Return to City for the Winter Season. 5. Washington Times. May 1, 2021. NewspaperArchive.com.
  4. News: 1873-04-04. Untitled brief item. 3. The San Francisco Examiner. 2021-05-01.
  5. Web site: José F. Godoy - A Rediscovered Mexican American Writer. 2021-05-01. Downtown Brown Books. en-US.
  6. News: 1930-07-30. Jose F. Godoy Dead. 1. The Lincoln Star. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  7. News: 1869-09-30. Death of the Mexican Consul. 3. The San Francisco Examiner. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  8. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23716275/mercedes_godoy_1914/ "Miss Mercedes Godoy"
  9. https://books.google.com/books?id=U4Rh0knr8UcC&dq=Mercedes+Godoy&pg=PA405 "Affairs at Washington"
  10. News: 1906-01-07. Mexican Beauty Meets Society. 13. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  11. News: 1907-01-12. Godoy to be Counselor. 4. The Washington Post. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  12. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23717195/mercedes_godoy_1906/ "Senorita Godoy"
  13. News: 1907-08-23. 'Princess Alice's' Double. 20. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 2020-01-01. Newspapers.com.
  14. https://books.google.com/books?id=zX1RAAAAMAAJ&dq=Mercedes+Godoy&pg=PA68 Report on the Women's Auxiliary Conference: Held in the City of Washington
  15. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23717274/mercedes_godoy_1916/ "Gala Scene at Pan American Reception"
  16. News: 1915-05-09. Musical Mention. 73. Evening Star. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  17. News: 1916-05-28. Among the Clubs. 67. Evening Star. 2020-01-01. Newspapers.com.
  18. News: April 29, 1917. Cairo Unit to Give Dance. 65. Evening Star. May 1, 2021. NewspaperArchive.com.
  19. News: 1918-04-28. For Relief of Victims of Guatemala Disaster. 14. Evening Star. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  20. Mercedes Godoy, When I Was a Girl in Mexico (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. 1919).
  21. https://books.google.com/books?id=tu4KAAAAIAAJ&dq=Mercedes+Godoy&pg=PA94 "Books and Reviews"
  22. Hólmfríður Árnadóttir, When I Was a Girl in Iceland (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard 1919).
  23. News: 1917-07-27. Society item. 7. The Washington Post. 2021-05-01. Newspapers.com.
  24. News: December 23, 1923. Senora de Godoy Dead. 17. Evening Star. May 1, 2021. NewspaperArchive.com.

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