Born on the streets of New Towne, Maria Cristina was a commoner and Creole to boot, with rumors of Voodoo associations. That all changed when she wed Governor Rodrigo Gonzalez Davila and became First Lady of the The Republic of Haven. Extremely charismatic, rather then abandoning her lower class roots upon her elevation, she has embraced them. Her popularity with the middle and lower classes of the republic has become a major asset for her husband.
While it was a surprise to almost everyone when she ended up the wife of Governor Rodrigo Gonzalez Davila the two have proven an extremely powerful combination, uniting the middle and lower classes of the Republic to form a power block that challenges the merchant oligarchy that is the real power in the Republic.
Lady Maria has used her popularity with the masses to form her own personal guards (called the Queens Men). Wearing the white rose of Erzulie, and drawn from the poor and downtrodden they are swelling in numbers daily, revolutionary muttering of “restoring the republic” are becoming more and more of a concern among the ruling classes.