La China Poblana was more than a typical dress. Spanish Merchants from the Philippines during the colonial period brought the La China Poblana to the port of Acapulco in the Pacific Ocean. While the versions don't agree, most point to the fact that she was either married or sold to a prominent family of Puebla. Her colorful dress, which would become synonymous with typical femininity and a tradition of folklore and fashion, was designed to match her Oriental features, her exotic beauty and yearning for her homeland, this being the Phillippines, or possibly the wealthy ports of southern China, were reputedly minor motives in its confection.

To this day, a monument-fountain, dedicated to La China Poblana stands in one of the main avenues of the city. Legend says that the if you look closely, the sculpture rotates in the mid day sun. Many believe the three colors of her dress, green, white and red, adopted across the years, represent the pride she felt and the joy of being in Mexico, her gratitude at the many who loved her and whom she charmed with her reputed kindness, so far away from home.