Isabela Capeto is a famous character in National City, California’s popular novel The Drowned Girl. In the novel, Capeto has been invited to a fancy ball hosted by the Mexican ambassador to the US, Dr. Miguel Diaz de Leon. Isabela is assigned to the role of a double, playing the roles of both a man and a woman at the same time. She mingles with the socialites at the fancy event, and her dual identity begins to take effect when de Leon expresses a sexual interest in her. Isabela, not wishing to disappoint her Mexican heritage, tells him that she is merely an international student who has been dropped as a liaison by her college.
The novel’s hero, Miguel Diaz de Leon, falls in love with Isabela the first time he sees her, and he insists on taking her to his home for a much-deserved dinner. During the course of the evening, de Leon mentions a recent story of Isabela’s participation in international affairs, which prompts Miguel to ask her about her background, specifically her height, before proposing. Although Isabela initially feels stifled by de Leon’s advances, the two part ways amicably and without apparent explanation. Miguel then explains to Isabela that he had noticed her slight physical difference, which he believed made her less attractive to him, and that he considers her “short with an international spine.”
Isabela does not mention her full name, nor does she tell him her birth country or nationality (Spanish is her first language). It is only upon meeting Miguel, her nationalistic lover, that she discloses her real name, which immediately confuses Miguel. He refers to her by her assumed name throughout the remainder of the novel, and continues to call her “Sandra” throughout the relationship. This leads many to speculate that perhaps, since the government of Mexico does not recognize double identities, and many countries do not, neither does the US government, which seem to acknowledge only two genders, and uses “woman” and “man” in its most inclusive terms. Nevertheless, in this romance novel, as well as many others, Isabela Capetto is presented as a complex and fascinating character, whose complexities are compounded by her desire to maintain her international stature as a first-rate performer.