alicia dussán maldonado was born on 16 october 1920 in bogotá, colombia to lucrecia maldonado parra and agustín dussán quiroga. her father was a landowner, originally from villavieja and her mother was a passionate liberal nationalist, as her father, josé maría maldonado neira, had served as a general in the thousand days' war. another ancestor from her parra line was antonio maría díaz, who had fought in the battle of boyacá. from the third grade, dussán developed an interest in other cultures, particularly those of africa and asia, as well as a curiosity with colombia's indigenous people.