Conchita Arguello And Her Long Wait For Love
We don't have any contemporary images of Conchita. This is based on von Langsdorff's description.
María de la Concepción Marcela Argüello y Moraga, more commonly called Conchita, lived in a fortress at the edge of the world and met very few men, except monks and soldiers under the command of her father, the Comandante Don José Darío Argüello.
One day, she met Nikolai Rezanov. He was a sophisticated, world-weary man of 42, his great soul wounded by misfortune. He was a Count, a Chamberlain of a great Court, an explorer, a favorite of mighty emperors, the leader of a great trading company. He knew ladies of Russia, China, and Japan - and he loved her! He would take her away from the foggy Presidio and bring her to St. Petersburg where she would shine at Court!
She was 15, and beautiful. Georg von Langsdorff, Rezanov's personal physician, wrote: “She is distinguished by a majestic bearing, her features are beautiful and expressive, her eyes charm everybody. Moreover, she has a fine figure, superb natural curls, wonderful teeth and thousands of other extraordinary fascinations.”
No difference of religion, language, upbringing, culture, or age could stand in the way of their love! They walked on the beach and planned their future life in Madrid, when the Tsar would appoint Rezanov ambassador to the court of Spain. They even took a boat to La Bellissima, now known as Angel Island. There Conchita cut and wove together a lock of her hair and his. She placed them in a gold locket and hung it around his neck. He gave her a gold cross and a portrait of himself.
Eventually Conchita's father consented. All that was lacking for the marriage were the personal approvals of the Pope, the King of Spain, the Patriarch of Moscow, and the Emperor of Russia.
Rezanov swore to obtain these, and left. Conchita swore to wait for him. He never returned. She waited. Some say that she lit a lantern at Land's End every night for 40 years so that he would see it from his ship.
Years later she learned that he died of a fever in Siberia, his letter to the King of Spain still unanswered. A letter (in Russian) bwas sent to notify her father in 1808, a year and a half after Rezanov's death, but there's no evidence that it was received or conveyed to Conchita Concepción.
Forty five years after meeting Rezanov, their meeting Concepción Conchita left her family's home and her long wait to enter the Dominican Order in Monterey as Sister Maria Dominica, California's first native-born nun. She was loved by other nuns and by the children she taught, and known as "La Beata.".
Six years later, she died surrounded by her friends, and is now buried in Benicia. The Police Chief of Monterey, Gary E. Brown, brought a rose from Conchita's grave to Rezanov's grave in Siberia and earth from his grave to hers.
There are many beautiful tellings of Concepción Argüello's story, in any medium you can wish for, from a mural to an ice dance to a musical.
My favorite is Bret Harte's poem: https://allpoetry.com/Concepcion-De-Arguello
The one known to most people is probably the rock opera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wpl0jaDByo
One day, she met Nikolai Rezanov. He was a sophisticated, world-weary man of 42, his great soul wounded by misfortune. He was a Count, a Chamberlain of a great Court, an explorer, a favorite of mighty emperors, the leader of a great trading company. He knew ladies of Russia, China, and Japan - and he loved her! He would take her away from the foggy Presidio and bring her to St. Petersburg where she would shine at Court!
She was 15, and beautiful. Georg von Langsdorff, Rezanov's personal physician, wrote: “She is distinguished by a majestic bearing, her features are beautiful and expressive, her eyes charm everybody. Moreover, she has a fine figure, superb natural curls, wonderful teeth and thousands of other extraordinary fascinations.”
No difference of religion, language, upbringing, culture, or age could stand in the way of their love! They walked on the beach and planned their future life in Madrid, when the Tsar would appoint Rezanov ambassador to the court of Spain. They even took a boat to La Bellissima, now known as Angel Island. There Conchita cut and wove together a lock of her hair and his. She placed them in a gold locket and hung it around his neck. He gave her a gold cross and a portrait of himself.
Eventually Conchita's father consented. All that was lacking for the marriage were the personal approvals of the Pope, the King of Spain, the Patriarch of Moscow, and the Emperor of Russia.
Rezanov swore to obtain these, and left. Conchita swore to wait for him. He never returned. She waited. Some say that she lit a lantern at Land's End every night for 40 years so that he would see it from his ship.
Years later she learned that he died of a fever in Siberia, his letter to the King of Spain still unanswered. A letter (in Russian) bwas sent to notify her father in 1808, a year and a half after Rezanov's death, but there's no evidence that it was received or conveyed to Conchita Concepción.
Forty five years after meeting Rezanov, their meeting Concepción Conchita left her family's home and her long wait to enter the Dominican Order in Monterey as Sister Maria Dominica, California's first native-born nun. She was loved by other nuns and by the children she taught, and known as "La Beata.".
Six years later, she died surrounded by her friends, and is now buried in Benicia. The Police Chief of Monterey, Gary E. Brown, brought a rose from Conchita's grave to Rezanov's grave in Siberia and earth from his grave to hers.
There are many beautiful tellings of Concepción Argüello's story, in any medium you can wish for, from a mural to an ice dance to a musical.
My favorite is Bret Harte's poem: https://allpoetry.com/Concepcion-De-Arguello
The one known to most people is probably the rock opera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wpl0jaDByo
The gravestone of Concepcion Arguello