Margarita Maza

Margarita Eustaquia Maza Parada (March 29, 1826 – January 2, 1871), later known as Margarita Maza de Juárez, was the wife of Benito Juárez and First Lady of Mexico from 1858 to 1864, and then from 1867 until her death from cancer in 1871.

Margarita Maza de Juárez
Personal details
Born	Margarita Eustaquia Maza Parada (1826-03-29)March 29, 1826 Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Died	January 2, 1871(1871-01-02) (aged 44) Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality	Mexican
Spouse(s)	Benito Juárez (m. 1843)
Children	12
Occupation	First Lady of Mexico

She was born in Oaxaca, Oaxaca to the Genovese agriculturist Antonio Maza and his wife Petra Parada Sigüenza. Benito's sister Josefa Juárez García worked as a maid in the Maza-Parada household. After Benito left San Pablo Guelatao, he went to Oaxaca seeking his sister's help. Benito had a close relationship with the Maza family, and also witnessed the birth and raising of Margarita as he was 20 years older than her.

Benito and Margarita married on July 31, 1843 in San Felipe Neri, Oaxaca. Benito was 37, and Margarita was 17. They had 12 children, of whom seven lived to adulthood.[1] During the French Intervention in Mexico while her husband was leading the resistance against the French and the Second Mexican Empire under Maximilian, she and her family were in exile in New York and met several times with U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who received her as the First Lady of Mexico.