Heroines of our Independence

Josefa Joaquina Sánchez - 1797: The noble wife of the conspirator of 1797 José María España was born.
in La Guaira on October 18, 1765. On July 27, 1783, she married José María España.
Protomartyr of the Revolution called 'Gual and Spain'. He shared his ideas with his husband.
revolutionaries and helped him with the distribution of propaganda and made with his hands the
first badges of the revolutionaries and the flag of the emancipation movement, created by
Manuel Gual.
Following the revelation of the movement, her husband had fled to Trinidad, returning a year later.
after and hidden in his house, where he continued developing his revolutionary ideas. Denounced his
hides, is captured and sentenced to death, an event that occurred on May 8, 1799. Already Josefa
Joaquina has been arrested since April 29 in Caracas, incommunicado. She was tried and
sentenced on February 19, 1800 to eight years in prison, to be paid at the Hospice House where
she was found. She was pregnant when she was taken to prison, giving birth in her cell.

On June 13, 1808, she serves her sentence and is exiled to Cumaná, along with her children, who
they were studying at the University, without the right to take any fortune goods, and with the
prohibition of returning, neither she nor her children to Caracas or La Guaira.

Mariana Santillana: She was born in the Province of Barcelona in the mid-18th century. She participated
actively in the independence cause and for the sake of freedom lost her four children in
defense of the homeland.

Consuelo Fernández - 1814: Native of Villa de Cura, executed by firing squad along with her father at the age of 17.
reject a royalist officer.

After Boves' victory in La Puerta, on February 3, 1814, against Colonel Campo Elías,
this Spanish boss had retired to Villa de Cura, where he imposed his thirst for blood and terror,
killing people and looting homes and temples. Meanwhile, General José Félix Ribas
has formed a defense in La Victoria to stop Boves.

Manuel Fernández, Consuelo's 19-year-old brother, served the patriotic cause alongside
José Félix Ribas. Consuelo remains in the city accompanying her father. An officer of Boves,
Colonel Pérez courts Consuelo and through him learns of the royalists' plans to
attack La Victoria. He sends a message to his brother, but the young messenger is pursued and
found the paper with his name. This letter came into the hands of Colonel Pérez, who was offended
due to Consuelo's rejection, he orders her imprisonment, just like her father. Consuelo claims that
his father is innocent and prefers death to being married to a realist. The father is
released and she sentenced to death.
February 10, 1814 is the day of execution. Colonel Pérez offers to save his life if he ...
house with him, being rejected by Consuelo. He definitely walked to the square, place of the
execution, and at the moment of it, her father bursts into the square, embracing her, both falling father and
daughter before the launched discharge.

Cecilia Mujica - 1813: Shot, although others say hanged, in San Felipe, for belonging,
together with her boyfriend Enrique de Villalonga, to a Revolutionary Committee.

Cecilia belonged to one of the noble families of San Felipe. Her father was Don Martín de Mujica,
noble knight, royalist in favor of the King's cause. Cecilia was engaged to marry
Henrique de Villalonga, a young man of Spanish descent.

Both young people belonged to the patriotic Revolutionary Committee and worked hard in
propaganda tasks. Henrique distributes bulletins and Cecilia makes rosettes and insignias.
tricolors for the chests of the combatants, in addition to composing patriotic songs.
Cecilia becomes orphaned of her father as a result of the earthquake of 1812. Her situation is difficult, but
continues its work for the sake of freedom. Following the Death War Decree of 1813, the
Governor of San Felipe, Don José de Millet, carries out a policy of terror against the
patriotic revolutionaries, Cecilia falling captive as a result of her activities.
Guarded by the soldiers of the Order of Hunters, she was taken to the site of the 'Zunzunes',
On the road to Cocorote. In the Saballo ravine, already sentenced to death, she was dressed,
sold and mounted on a horse for the purposes of enforcement. It was then placed in a thick
trunk. At that moment, he handed a skein to one of the soldiers, Ambrosio Trejo.
hair and rings to be delivered to Henrique de Villalonga, who was in prison.

Screaming for the freedom of her land, Cecilia Mujica died by the fire of the firing squad.

Juana Ramírez, 'The Advancer' - 1813: She was a woman of the people, very beautiful by origin.
humble, born in the year 1790, who earned a living by washing clothes for the families in the city
from Maturín. He initially stood out in the region for his patriotic fervor, generosity, and soul.
humanitarian. In the revolutionary events of Maturín in the year 1813, he/she was dedicated with selflessness
to attend to the wounded in the battles and to the burial of the dead. He was always on watch and
he/she assisted those in need.

Some references we have about her come from Lorenzo Zaraza, grandson of General Pedro.
Zaraza, who fought alongside him in Maturín. He claims he was born in Chaguaramas and that he served
great services to the cause of independence.

When Domingo Monteverde attacks Maturín, General Piar organizes the defense of the city.
forming a battery, which he called "The Women", because it was entirely composed of
women who fight alongside men with the same courage and bravery. Among them is
Juana Ramírez, nicknamed 'The Advancer' for always being the first to move forward.
enemy. Similarly, he fought under the orders of General Bermúdez, in charge of a battalion of
women.
Many legends arose around her, but what is undeniable is her bravery in the
combat and their willingness to be everywhere, encouraging and defending their homeland.

On one occasion, he took the sword from a royalist officer who had died in battle and returned to
Camp with the same high. This is represented in the statue in her honor in the city of
Maturín. Died in 1856.

Barbarita de La Torre - 1814: She was born in Trujillo and from a very young age she began to fight for the cause.
Republican, driven by her father, Vicente de La Torre, a famous guerrilla fighter, who maintained in
a blow to the Spanish authorities of Trujillo and Maracaibo, following the loss of the First
Republic in 1812.
Barbarita stood out in the battles, accompanying her father, due to her boldness and leadership skills.
skill on horseback and guerrilla condition, combined with her beauty as a woman. It was
known in Trujillo as "The Trujillo Amazon."

In 1814 she was captured in a battle and sentenced to be shot, but shortly before the
Don Vicente, his father, presented himself to exchange his life for that of his daughter, condition
accepted by the royalist chief, being shot in the plaza of Chiquinquirá in the city of Trujillo.
Barbarita was released.

Marta Cumbale–1813: In the defense of Maturín, from the attacks of Colonel Lorenzo Hernández
from de la Hoz, Marta Cumbale stood out, being part of the drum corps "The Women", under the command
of Piar.

Marta Cumbale was born in Güiria, marrying Santiago Aristiguieta, with whom she did not.
he had children. Later he settled in Maturín and embraced the cause of independence. He fought
next to Juana Ramírez 'La Avanzadora', reaching her peak performance in the battle of
Maturín, in the Alto de los Godos sector, against Domingo Monteverde.

After the war ended, he moved to Barcelona, where in 1842 he was found collaborating.
in Santa Rosa with the religious works of her parish. Finally, she moves to Maturín, where
he passed away on December 28, 1864, leaving for history the memory of his courage and love for the
homeland.

Josefa Antonia Tovar y Ramírez - 1813: Born in Caracas on January 28, 1761. Married
marriage to Captain Assistant Major Evaristo Buroz López, in October 1782. Brings the
world 14 children, becoming a widow in 1808. Since the beginnings of the revolutionary struggles, she instills in
their patriotic feelings, encouraging them to fight for emancipation. Many of them
They fell in the fields of war.
Josefa Antonia suffers persecutions and in response to the atrocities of Boves, she flees abroad. Her children
Lope emigrates to the Antilles accompanied by Colonel Carlos Soublette, his son-in-law, and in 1816, both
they are part of the Expedition of the Keys.
She is arrested and by order of Governor Moxó, she is imprisoned in the vaults of La Guaira and
she is finally expelled from the country, where she suffers all kinds of hardships.

Returns to Venezuela after the Battle of Carabobo, on June 24, 1821. Dies on the 23rd of...
March 1852, at the age of 91.

Carmen Mercie–1814: Born in the Province of Barcelona and actively worked in the beginning.
of the republican struggles, being subjected to persecutions until the year 1814, when it is
inhumanely sacrificed with spears at the High Altar of the Church of the Virgin of Carmen,
Barcelona, by a wild realist named Pedro Rondón (a) Maruto.

Marta Hurtado–1813: Born in the Province of Barcelona in the year 1795. Fought in the battery
from 'The Women', in Maturín, under the orders of General Piar, always demonstrating courage and
will to fight.

Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi - 1816: She was born in Caracas on September 25, 1799. She was a sister
of the hero of Independence, Lieutenant Colonel Juan Manuel Cáceres and wife of General Juan
Bautista Arismendi.

His father and brother are executed in Ocumare del Tuy by the Spanish commander Rosete.
1814
A prisoner in Margarita gave birth to a girl who died at birth in the filthy cell; she was imprisoned in
the castles of Margarita, in the vaults of La Guaira and in the Convent of La Concepción, in
Caracas, and then confined in Cádiz, Spain, from where she manages to escape; tortured mercilessly, to
she who will reveal the whereabouts of her husband Juan Bautista Arismendi was forced to drink water
contaminated with the blood of executed patriots.

Catalina Monjes - 1817: From Barcelona, she collaborates in the defense of the Strong House, and in the assault.
the realist became disabled in both arms after receiving machete and bayonet wounds.

Ana María Campos - 1823: Maracucha, born in the ports of Altagracia, when the events of
1822, the situation of the royalists is precarious and Ana María, mocking Morales, pronounces the
premonitory phrase that would make her famous as it spread and was repeated throughout the town: 'If Morales doesn't'
, surrender, that is to say that if he did not surrender he would be defeated anyway. The pulper of
Píritu, elevated by circumstances to chief of the royalist army, wounded in his 'honor', ordered that
Ana María was mounted on a donkey, completely naked, paraded through the city and whipped.
cruelly by the executioner Valentín Aguirre. But with each lash, the brave woman repeated with
more strength to the phrase. And Morales, with the realists defeated in the naval battle of Maracaibo, had to
capitular, as the brave woman had warned.
Teresa Heredia - 1818: Born in the Villa de Ospino in the year 1787, in a home of high standing.
social and economic. Teresa, along with her family, decides on independence, being their
parents executed, leaving her orphaned to the care of her aunt.
In 1818, she was arrested in Valencia accused of serving as a courier and collecting money for the
patriots of the Llanos, Governor Dato orders that she be stripped, bathed in honey,
feathered and paraded through the streets of the city. Governor Moxó expelled her to the States
United, where its trace is lost.
Leonor Guerra - 1816: Cumanesa, in 1816 she was denounced for wearing a blue ribbon on her head, which
patriotic women would place themselves at night, hidden, intermittently standing in a
window, as a sign of "friendly house" for the revolutionaries. She is taken prisoner and on a
donkey was paraded through the main streets of Cumaná, after being given 200 lashes!
Despite the punishment, Leonor refused to betray her comrades and with each blow from the executioner, she shouted cheers.
to the homeland. He refused to receive medical assistance or food, and died as a result of his injuries.

Eulalia Ramos Sánchez (Eulalia Buroz) - 1817: Born in Tacarigua de Mamporal, known
erroneously in history as Eulalia Buroz, for having lived with this numerous family in
Cartagena where she took refuge after the Emigration to the East. Her husband, Juan José Velásquez,
he was shot in Río Chico, in 1814. Eulalia returns to Venezuela in 1816, and remains hidden in
his father's house on the outskirts of Cumaná, there he meets the English officer William Charles
Chamberlain, with whom he establishes intimate relations. They both meet at the Strong House of
Barcelona when the siege of Aldama. Chamberlain dies in combat, and about the death of
Eulalia is woven into several versions, one of which refers to the perception of the impossibility of sustaining
for more time the defense of the fortress, Chamberlain calls the priest, marries Eulalia and
then he is shot dead and is placed on the wall where the fighting is most intense and perishes
in action. Another version, more plausible, recounts that, after Chamberlain's death and the assault on the Strong House,
an officer tries to assault Eulalia, she defends herself and in a moment of distraction of the aggressor, she manages to take away the
gun that hangs from the belt, and commits suicide. Another version says that Eulalia kills the attacker and the
soldiers in revenge beat Eulalia to death with the butt of their guns and drag her corpse tied to the tail
of a horse. Eulalia died for love of freedom, showing courage in every trial and only
I was twenty-one years old.

Josefa Venancia de la Encarnación Camejo - 1821: Native of Paraguaná, in 1814, dressed in

man, along with other women, joins the army of Rafael Urdaneta that marches towards the
New Granada where he stays for five years; upon returning to Venezuela, he engages in guerrilla life,
hiding in the mountains, and in 1821 at the head of 300 slaves attacks Coro and is defeated.
launches into the sea to save himself; on March 2 of that same year, at the head of fifteen men, he challenges the
Realist commander Chepino González, in Baraived (Falcón state), and in a violent battle manages to
defeat him and the realistic boss dies. Triumphant, he demands, putting the gun to his chest,
According to Primera, Commander of Pueblo Nuevo, to accompany her to attack the royalists.
stationed in Coro, whom he defeats, takes the population and on May 3, 1821, "the Camejo"
read the proclamation that declares the Province of Coro free, which had remained loyal to the king of Spain
since 1810. On March 8, 2002, Josefa Camejo was elevated to the dignity of the National Pantheon.

Luisa de Arrambide - 1814: From La Guaira, daughter of Juan Javier de Aranda accused of participating in the
Conspiracy of Gual and Spain. Political pro-independence meetings were held in his house.
under the cover of parties and literary gatherings, what attracted him was realist hatred. After the
Upon Boves' entry into Caracas in 1814, Luisa was sentenced to be publicly flogged in the square.
from San Juan, now from Capuchinos. Luisa emigrated to Puerto Rico where she got married and had
five children. She died in 1825, attended in her bed by Doctor José María Vargas. She was 28 years old.

Concepción Mariño 1813: Sister of Santiago, she was responsible for transporting in her boat, by
a route patrolled by Spanish ships, the weapons acquired in Trinidad for the invasion of
East. Later in 1821, he repeats the feat by transporting a shipment from Jamaica.
weapons and ammunition. At his estate on the islet of Chacachacare, forty-five patriots
commanded by Santiago Mariño, they sign the document that serves as the legal framework for the invasion of
Venezuela in 1813.

The heroic women of San Carlos: On April 25, 1812, they confront Monteverde and the
crowd of robbers that looted the town. Bolívar acknowledges them on June 13 of
1813: "The women, yes, soldiers, the women of the country you are stepping on are fighting against the
oppressors and they contest with us the glory of defeating them." And the names crowd in the memory of the
homeland built with its unfading courage:

Juana Antonia Padrón: Mother of the Montilla, like the Spartan mothers, tells them when they go out to
Campaign: "You must not return to my presence, unless you return victorious."

Teresa Toro: Mother of the Ibarra: "Victors or defeated, but always with honor."
Josefa María Palacios: Aunt of Bolívar and wife of José Félix Ribas, she locked herself away for six years in
his house, swearing that he would not leave while his homeland was enslaved.

María Luisa Tubores Coello: Noble guaiquerí who lost her husband, two sons, her father and
Brothers, in the fierce attack of Morillo on Juan Griego, he lamented not having died.
also, defending the homeland, she and her little four-year-old son survivors of the wild
battle.
Teresa Salcedo de Márquez: Publicly whipped for suspicions of collaboration with the
patriots.

Micaela Mejías from Sucre, Teresa Prado and Cesárea Sánchez: Women from Cumaná, confined to Apure,
after infinite humiliations.

María del Carmen Ramírez: From Trujillo, she put her entire fortune at Bolívar's disposal for the
acquisition of war supplies, in one of its houses the Congress of the Rosary was held
Cúcuta, in 1820.

Bárbara Sotillo: Mother of General Juan Antonio Sotillo, hero of Independence and of the
Federation received in the Villa de Santa Ana, Anzoátegui state, the envoys of Boves, a
Frenchman escaped from Cayenne with the surname Molinet and a sergeant from Calabozo named Domingo
Camero, with shouts of long live Bolívar, had his tongue cut out.

Eulalia Ledesma, Úrsula Barrios and Luisa Perdomo: For taking up arms against the attackers of the Villa
from Santa Ana, each of them had an arm amputated. Heroines for the history of a nation that
he decided to be free and did not hesitate to shed his blood to achieve it.

Anastasia: Character from the Merida tradition collected by Don Tulio Febres Cordero: 'Anastasia
There was a girl who lived and worked in the service of the Convent of the nuns of Santa.
Clara in Mérida. Precisely because of her condition as a servant, she could enter calmly until the
prison where the patriots were held, informing them of the news and rumors
received in the City. And one fine day Anastasia shook the Spanish army when she simulated the
entrance of the Liberator drumming the drums of the Convent and firing a few blunderbusses
orange growers. The Spaniards, who knew of Bolívar's proximity, cowardly decided
abandon Mérida, thus clearing the way for the patriotic army that was beginning the
Admirable Campaign