A Real Beauty
Today’s note comes from Mexico. It is a 1963 issue 10 Peso note. What I want to emphasize about this note is the woman in the picture. She is the only woman to ever be featured on a banknote as a result of a beauty contest. On September 22, 1937 a beauty contest was held in Mexico to find the woman that would adorne the 10 Peso note, and would remain for thirty years! She is Maria Estela Ruiz Velazquez. She received no compensation for her appearance on the currency, never married, worked for years as a school teacher in Mexico City, and died penniless in April of 2004 at the age of 90. She is shown wearing the traditional costume of “La Tehuana.” The back of the note shows the road to Guanajuato City at the center. The note was printed in New York by the American Banknote Company. ENJOY!