Before his departure, Rezanov asked for Concepcion's hand in marriage. The two spent the weeks they had together exploring the Presidio and planning their future lives in Russia.
The infatuation was mutual, as Concepcion quickly grew enamored with Rezanov as well. However, the journey was not a complete failure Rezanov soon caught the eye of fifteen-year-old Concepcion.ĭoctor von Langsdorff wrote of Concepcion's beauty in his journal: "She was distinguished for her vivacity and cheerfulness, her love-inspiring and brilliant eyes and exceedingly beautiful teeth, her expressive and pleasing features, shapeliness of figure, and for a thousand other charms besides an artless natural demeanor." Von Langsdorff went on to detail Rezanov's interest in Concepcion: "The bright sparkling eyes of Dona Concepcion had made upon him a deep impression, and pierced his inmost soul." Unfortunately for the Russians, the Spanish Comandante would not allow trade with Sitka.
Though communication remained rather shaky, Don Luis welcomed the Russian soldiers to the Presidio.
The language barrier was broken by Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff, the Juno's doctor, and the Presidio's Franciscan Father Uria, who were able to converse in Latin. At the time of the Juno's arrival, Comandante Arguello was away and his son, Don Luis, was in temporary command. Rezanov's intention was to establish a barter system with the Spanish in order to secure provisions for Sitka. Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov-Chamberlain of Tsar Alexander I of Russia-had brought the Juno to San Francisco from the struggling fur-trading settlement at Sitka, Alaska, where the Russians were in desperate need of supplies.
Raised near the modern-day Officers' Club, Concepcion was only a teenager when the Russian ship Juno arrived in the San Francisco Bay in April 1806. On February 19, 1791, Maria de la Concepcion was born to Spanish Presidio Comandante Don Jose Dario Arguello and his wife Maria Ygnacia Moraga. Though challenged by different languages and cultures, the romance of Maria de la Concepcion Marcela Arguello and Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov spawned a legend that continues to capture the hearts of people today. In the late eighteenth century, a young Spanish girl and a Russian explorer fell in love at the Presidio. Concepcion Arguello and Nikolai Rezanov as depicted on a mural in the Post Interfaith Chapel.
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