Heroes of the War of the Pacific
Yesterday I wrote about the Dia
del Mar, which celebrates the heroes of the War of the Pacific. Today, I want you to meet a few of Bolivia’s
heroes of that war: Genoveva Rios, Pascual Mariano Mamani, and Juancito Pinto.
Genoveva lived in Antofagasta,
when, at the age of 14, Chile occupied the town. When the Chilean soldiers surrounded the
prefecture, they ripped the Bolivian seal from the building and proceeded to
rip the Bolivian flag. When they hoisted
the Chilean flag to the flagpole of the prefecture, they failed to notice that
another Bolivian flag was flying a few doors away at police headquarters.
Genoveva’s family was fleeing,
fearful of the atrocities that the Chileans were already famous for. Seeing the flag, Genoveva ran from her
parents. Being careful not to be
noticed, she climbed the flagpole and took the flag. Once on the ground, she folded it neatly and
hid it under her dress. Minutes later,
she was back with her terrified family, fleeing their home for safety. Genoveva explained to her family that she
could bear to see the dishonor to this flag that she had seen to the one above
the prefecture.
Mamani was just 16 when he
enlisted to fight in the War of the Pacific.
He was a highland boy with little experience except in blowing his
bugle. It was reported that his bugle
blowing could make you forget the beauty of the birds singing.
He was not in the war very long,
when his battalion, along with a Peruvian battalion, engaged the Chileans at
Arica. The Chileans were occupying San
Francisco Hill and the Bolivians had the task of taking the hill, almost
impossible because of the superior weapons of the Chileans. Yet, they were making the advance. Young Mamani saw an opportunity. He fought his way up the hill and stood on
top of the Chilean canon, signaling the advance and calling for help from the
Peruvians.
Mamani was shot. The battle was lost. Arica became part of Chile.
Juancito Pinto was just 12 years
old when he entered the war. As troops were
leaving La Paz, a group of boys followed them, refusing to go home. Juancito was among them. It was not an easy life crossing the mountains
and deserts between La Paz and the war zone.
When they reached the battle, he
was instructed to use his skills with the drums to indicate the direction of
the enemy and inform the troops the direction to march. The Chileans came
closer and he watched his comrades die. Refusing to be captured, he grabbed a gun and
fought into the thickest part of the battle, becoming lost in the smoke and
dust. He was never seen again.
Have you caught the connection
between these three heroes? They were all
children.
Thank you, Anna, for information
on these heroes.
No comments:
Post a Comment