Esperanza Valdez

"Leo, listen to me. Fire is a tool, like anything else, but it's more dangerous than most. You don't know your limits."

- Esperanza to Leo in The Lost Hero

Esperanza Valdez was a Hispanic American mechanic and the mother of Leo Valdez, whom she had with Hephaestus.

History
Esperanza Valdez received a college degree in mechanical engineering, but never received a job in that field because she was never taken seriously. Sometime in 1995, Esperanza had a relationship with Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire, resulting in the birth of Leo.

From 1997 to 2000, the Queen of the gods, Hera (in the form of Tia Callida) came to her house and babysat her young son to prepare him for his life as a demigod. Esperanza was enraged by this, insisting that Leo was far too young, that he was still her baby.

It was stated by Leo that while Esperanza did not have a lot in life and lived in poor conditions, she was always happy, because she had Leo.

Death
Three years after the departure of Hera, Esperanza Valdez was killed in a fire caused by Gaea, when the Mother Earth faced eight-year-old Leo Valdez. Her death resulted in Leo running away, and his eventual enrollment in Wilderness School.



Trivia

 * Esperanza always called Leo "mijo" (me-ho), which is an endearment term used for males in the Spanish language. It is often used by parents to address his or her son; as well as other close family relations. It is a contraction of "mi hijo", meaning "my son".
 * In Spanish, Esperanza means "Hope."
 * She is possibly related to Sammy Valdez, Hazel's old boyfriend, and if she is, then he is most likely her father, as he lived in the 1940s.
 * She is similar to Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson's mother and a lover of Poseidon in the aspect of only wanting their son's father around to be with their respective children, not for themselves.