During my wandering around Mexico City, I occasionally find plaques on the street corners which tell the origin of the street's name. Not far from my apartment, in the neighborhood of Colonia del Valle, is a street named Luz Saviñón. It is also the name of a chain of pawn shops in Mexico City. A few days ago, I found a plaque explaining who Luz Saviñón was.
Luz Saviñón came from a wealthy family from Puebla and married a wealthy man from Mexico City. (Both her maiden name and the name of her husband were Saviñón, so I wonder if they were distant cousins.) Luz never had any children, and her husband preceded her in death, so she left her entire fortune to establish charitable foundations.
Part of her money was used after her death to establish the "Colegio Luz Saviñón", a private elementary, junior high, and preparatory school which offered scholarships and low tuition to students who would not be able to afford a private education. It was ranked academically as one of the top schools in the country. It continued to operate until 2015.
Her fortune was also used to establish the "Montepío Luz Saviñón", chain of non-profit pawn shops which give low-interest loans to those in need. That institution is still very much in existence with locations throughout the Mexico City area.
I tried to find a picture on the internet of this woman after whom a Mexico City street is named, but all I could find is the stylized logo that is used on the Luz Saviñón Metrobus stop.
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