The Lisperguer Wittemberg's: Lights and shadows of a singular German family present in the history of Spain and Chile

Abstract

For over four centuries the Lisperguer family has maintained the status of being the first colonial family of Chile, with great implications in History, Literature and Sociology. A descendant of this family was Catalina de los Ríos Lisperguer, nicknamed "La Quintrala", a highly mythologized figure, who embodies many topics of what today represents the Chilean idiosyncrasy. New research has permitted us to identify "the Lisperguers' ancestors" in Germany, which together with the discovery of their Hispanic cousins, the Wittemberg's, has shed much light on their common origin but not without some shadows.