Rosa 'Mary Magdalene' - 8 September 2025

Ruminating this morning I was thinking about the name Mary and in particular that of María in Spanish.

My grandmother was called María de Los Dolores Reyes de Irureta Goyena. Her first name was shortened to Dolores and further to Lolita which is the diminutive of the last syllable of Dolores.

I want to explain here that in Spanish there are no plain Marys. The Marys with the longest possible name are either Santa María del Perpetuo Socorro or worse Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepcíon. Thus any Mexican woman called Lupe is really Santa María de Guadalupe.

I have figured out that there are two exceptions. One of them I illustrate with my fragrant English Rose, Rosa ‘Mary Magdalene’.  English originator of the rose David Austin I am sure knew what he was doing as the rose emerges pink (Magdalene the harlot) and in a few days changes to white (Magdalene the saint).

The other Mary is Mary Nobody a João Gilberto song.

Of further interest is the problem that Marías de la Inmaculada Concepcíon have when they travel to Argentina. These Marys are usually called Concepcíon and more often than that with the diminutive Conchita. We do know that Linnaeus identified the sexual parts of a conch with that of human women. In Argentina concha and conchita are what women have down there that men don’t.   

My favourite version of Maria Ninguém (and Rosemary's) is by handsome Carlos Lyra