There is a place that fills us with pride in the mountains of our country. La Pampa was the site where the Battle of Ayacucho took place on December 9, 1824, a confrontation that forever sealed the independence of Peru and much of Latin America from Spanish rule.
On the 196th anniversary of this important event, we tell you that in honor of all the heroes who gave their lives in this battle, a gigantic marble obelisk was built there in which six sculptures made of stone stand out that represent the generals who led the contest: José María Córdova, José de la Mar, Antonio José de Sucre, Guillermo Miller, Jacinto Lara and Agustín Gamarra.
The curious thing is that the 44-meter-high obelisk was designed by a Spanish artist named Aurelio Bernandino Arias, who in 1968 stated that his work represents “close to half a century of struggle for American freedom and independence, since the Túpac revolution. Amaru II in 1780, until the victorious culmination in the pampas of Ayacucho.”
40 years ago this destination was recognized as the Historical Sanctuary of the Pampa de Ayacucho and has become one of the most visited attractions in this region. In this place you can contemplate the beautiful blue sky with clouds that look like pieces of cotton, and along the way you will see the flight of local birds such as the puna partridge, the guarahuau, the huallata, the lique lique and the kulle kulle.
This 300-hectare historic Peruvian sanctuary is located at 3,396 meters above sea level. n. m. and is located at the foot of the Condorcunca hill, while on its right side is the waterfall and the Apu Amaru hill, where there is a great variety of flora species, among which the wild clover, the plantain and the pinco pinco stand out, as well as herbs such as ichu, peccoy and chilifrutilla.
When you visit Ayacucho later, be sure to go to this tourist attraction, which for many is the best place in this region to take panoramic photos, and in the process you will feel more Peruvian than ever.
It has a quadrangular base 15 meters wide and 19 meters deep, on which the pyramid stands; It is surrounded by a platform 34 meters wide and 58 meters long, with a perimeter wall 0.90 cm high; both the platform and the perimeter wall are covered with slabs."1 The obelisk is made of marble and is 44 meters high, designed by the Spanish Aurelio Bernandino Arias, who in 1968 stated that his work represents “close to half a century of struggle.” for American freedom and independence, from the revolution of Túpac Amaru II in 1780, to the victorious culmination in the pampas of Ayacucho.”2?
In honor of the victors of the Battle of Ayacucho, the front of the obelisk houses sculptures, three meters high, of the marshals Antonio José de Sucre, Agustín Gamarra, José de la Mar, José María Córdoba, Jacinto Lara and Guillermo Miller . There is also the harangue of Marshal Antonio José de Sucre to the troops of the United Liberating Army before the battle. Elsewhere the composition and distribution of the patriot forces is described.
General Juan Mendoza, in charge of the National Commission for the Sesquicentennial of the Independence of Peru (CNSIP), describes the monument: "It is made of reinforced concrete, veneered in national marble, travertine type. It consists of a pyramid 44 meters high, which It symbolizes the years that passed between the Tupac Amaru Revolution in 1780 and the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824. It has a quadrangular base 15 meters wide, 19 meters deep, on which the pyramid stands and is surrounded by a 34-meter platform; meters in front by 58 meters long, with a perimeter wall 0.90 cm high; both the platform and the perimeter wall are covered with slabs.
On Monday, December 9, 1974, the epicenter of Latin America was the Monument of the Liberators, a 44-meter obelisk, white as glory, erected in the middle of the Quinua pampa, in the heart of Ayacucho.
At 9:30 in the morning of that day, but in 1824, on those same slopes of the Condorcunca hill, 5,780 patriotic soldiers faced 9,310 royalists. A battle began that, three hours later, would achieve the definitive emancipation of Peru and America from the Spanish yoke.
One hundred and fifty years later, Quinua had dawned with rain that threatened to overshadow the celebrations of the sesquicentennial of the historic battle.
Around ten in the morning, the chancellor, General EP Miguel Ángel de la Flor Valle, gave permission to the head of the line, artillery colonel Federico Uriarte, to start the parade that began with the participation of the delegation of the Grenadier Regiment Horse General San Martín, from Argentina.
They would be joined by Bolivian cadets, officers and 31 ensigns from the Colombian Military School; nineteen non-commissioned officers and twelve cadets of the Second Division of the Chilean Army and their Panamanian counterparts, in addition to the officers, cadets and grenadiers of the presidential escort.
The event was recorded by journalists from Peru and Latin America, who were joined by journalists from West Germany, the Soviet Union, Poland and the United States. From Washington, the Organization of American States saluted the 150th anniversary of the military feat. And in Quito, Buenos Aires, Caracas, La Paz, Cali and Madrid there were ceremonies for the epic in Peru.
De la Flor said: “Ayacucho is the symbol of fraternity, unity and solidarity of our countries and Armed Forces. "It constitutes the most eminent example of swords at the service of the liberation of their people."
The day before, Sunday, December 8, Presidents Banzer, of Bolivia, and Carlos Andrés Pérez, of Venezuela, and the Head of Government of Panama, Omar Torrijos, met at the Government Palace in Lima. Each received the Order of Ayacucho, Peru's highest military decoration.
The Sheraton hotel had become the “safe” where the main international guests arrived. And the agents of the Peruvian Investigative Police (PIP) would be in charge of their security.
The Ayacucho airport, Coronel Alfredo Mendívil Duarte, had only recently been inaugurated, and that Sunday 48 years ago it received, from 7:20 a.m. m. to the different military and diplomatic representations that arrived since Sunday in jets, twin engines and helicopters for the celebrations of the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Ayacucho.
But the main plane, Aeroperú's Fokker F-28, carrying the foreign ministers of Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Guatemala and Nicaragua, and Cardinal Juan Landázuri Ricketts, was delayed three hours due to bad weather.
What situation was Ayacucho in? With the arrival of the government of the Armed Forces, the department had begun a process of revaluation. Ayacucho had become the “favorite daughter, to revive it as a point of union between the mountains and the coast with the places of our intricate jungle,” as the president's wife, Consuelo González de Velasco, who hosted the first ladies, said. from Venezuela, Bolivia and Panama.
Since November of that year, various works had been inaugurated in Ayacucho with a view to the sesquicentennial, such as the expansion of the Tourist Hotel. The main thing, the capital of Ayacucho finally had electricity service and, incidentally, telephones and television.
These were times of the rise of state companies such as AeroPerú, Centromín Perú and Cofide, and the government's advertising said that the country had just completed five years of the Agrarian Reform project "with 5 million hectares awarded" and "800 associative companies established ”.
Cadets from the three armed forces, the commandos, joined the parade in the historic setting on December 9. The famous Morochuco horsemen and the Ayacucho peasants could not be missing.
The Quinua pampa was filled with martial steps, also with tradition and music. They were ways of the people to remember the triumph of the men led by General José Antonio de Sucre in this same geography, where the independence of Peru and America was sealed in 1824.
Three hours later, students from Ayacucho schools joined in to relive the main events of the battle. Meanwhile, Sucre spurred his horse giving orders and encouraging his army until, finally, the Spanish general Canterac came down from Condorcunca with a white flag raised to surrender.
The story goes that the next day, on a stone fulling mill, in a house in the nearby town of Quinua, the capitulation of Ayacucho would be signed. But on December 9, 1974, everything would be broadcast live and direct, via satellite.
After the celebration in memory of the heroes, the cadets from the eight countries went to the Tinajeras hacienda, where there was a tasting of the Ayacucho pachamanca. The general commanders of Peru and Colombia were encouraged to give the honorary play for the parade, which, at that time, was only danced on very special occasions in Ayacucho.
The next day, Tuesday the 10th, in Lima, General Juan Velasco Alvarado offered the presidents and foreign delegations a picnic lunch at the Hacienda Villa de la Campiña, where the show was put on by the National Folklore Ensemble, directed by Victoria Santa. Cross. This is how the celebrations of the battle of Ayacucho ended.
That December 9, at 8:33 p.m. m. The official events for the Sesquicentennial culminated with the signing of the Declaration of Ayacucho, in the Túpac Amaru room of the Government Palace, in Lima.
The document was signed by the rulers of Peru, Panama, Bolivia and Venezuela and the representatives of Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile.
They were committed to completing the task begun 150 years ago with the feat of Ayacucho. Latin American nationalism was proclaimed and colonial situations were condemned. General Velasco, manager of the event, said: “Our people look to their governments and leaders for the necessary guidance and the indispensable decision to resolutely face this complex reality. "We cannot ignore that demand nor should we avoid that responsibility."
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