Josefa Venancia de la Encarnación Camejo
(18 May 1791 – 5 July 1862)
also known as La Camejo and Doña Ignacia, is recognized in the
National Pantheon of Venezuela
The National Pantheon of Venezuela (''Panteón Nacional de Venezuela'') is a final resting place for national heroes.
The Pantheon (Latin ''Pantheon'', from Greek ''Pantheon,'' meaning " Temple of all the Gods") was created in the 1870s on th ...
as one of the heroines of the
Venezuelan War of Independence
The Venezuelan War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Venezuela, links=no, 1810–1823) was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in Latin America fought agai ...
, supporting the patriotic cause.
Biography
Camejo was born in a distinguished family, the daughter of Miguel Camejo and Sebastiana Talavera y Garcés,
her parents were the owners of the estate where she lived, Aguaque.
She attended school in the city of
Coro
Coro or CORO may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Coro'' (Berio), a composition by Luciano Berio
* Coro (music), Italian for choir
* Coro TV, Venezuelan community television channel
* Omweso (Coro), mancala game played in the Lango region of Uganda
* ...
and then was sent by her parents to
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
to continue her studies. There, she met the beginnings of independence of Venezuela, which occurred on April 19, 1810.
In 1811, at 20 years of age, Camejo moved to live with her mother in
Barinas where her uncle monsignor Mariano de Talavera y Garcés, who was secretary of the Patriotic Society of
Mérida and who had great influence on the education of his niece.
Before the offensive of the
Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
, and encouraged by her uncle, Camejo gathered a large group of women who wanted to participate in the armed struggle, and asked the governor of the Province,
Pedro Briceño del Pumar, to have them for the fight, assuring him that:
In 1813, she married Juan Nepomuceno Briceño Méndez, who had to take refuge from the progress of the royalists moving to Bogotá, where her first son, Wenceslao, was born. Camejo was in charge of vacating Barinas, driving the entire caravan to her destination, although her mother drowned on the voyage. Pregnant, before the
Ocumare del Tuy massacre, she moved to
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
where she remains until the
battle of Boyacá
The Battle of Boyacá (1819), was the decisive battle that ensured the success of Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada. The battle of Boyaca is considered the beginning of the independence of the north of South America, and is considered i ...
in 1819, whose triumph allows her to return and meet with her husband. In 1820, her uncle Mariano ordered her to stop the
Paraguaná insurrection, which she managed to reduce, disposing of weapons and defeating Royalist Chepito González in
Baraived, achieving the incorporation of the
Coro Province
Coro Province (1811 - 1864) was a province in the Zulia Department of Gran Colombia, and later one of the provinces of Venezuela, after Venezuelan independence in 1830. In 1864 it became one of the States of Venezuela, as Coro State, and was renam ...
to national independence on May 3, 1821 and preparing the arrival of the General's
Rafael Urdaneta
Rafael José Urdaneta y Farías (October 24, 1788 – August 23, 1845) was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence. He served as President of Gran Colombia from 1830 until 1831. He was an ardent supporter ...
's troops.
She returned to Barinas where her daughter and her husband, who was already very ill, died.
Acknowledgments
* In 2002 during the
International Women's Day
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
, President
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
held the ceremony of symbolic incorporation of Josefa Camejo to the
National Pantheon.
* The international airport of
Falcón
)
, anthem =
, image_map = Falcon in Venezuela.svg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Location within Venezuela
, pushpin_map =
, pushpin_map_alt =
, pushpin_mapsiz ...
, the state in which Josefa Camejo was born, bears her name
Josefa Camejo International Airport
Josefa Camejo International Airport , is an airport serving the Paraguaná Peninsula in Venezuela. The airport is named in honor of Josefa Camejo, a heroine of the Venezuelan War of Independence.
On May 22, 2018, Aruba Airlines inaugurated what ...
* In
Coro
Coro or CORO may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Coro'' (Berio), a composition by Luciano Berio
* Coro (music), Italian for choir
* Coro TV, Venezuelan community television channel
* Omweso (Coro), mancala game played in the Lango region of Uganda
* ...
, Falcón, the monument to the Venezuelan Federation highlights Josefa Camejo.
* In Pueblo Nuevo, Falcón state, there is Josefa Camejo Square
*Camejo was represented in 2018
currency of Venezuela
The currency of Venezuela has been in circulation since the end of the 18th century. The present currency unit in Venezuela is the Venezuelan bolívar.
Pre-independence currency
Peso = 8 Reales (silver)
Escudo = 2 Pesos (gold)
Venezuela sha ...
in the 2
BsS bill.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camejo, Josefa
1791 births
1862 deaths
19th-century Venezuelan people
Venezuelan revolutionaries
People from Falcón
Women in the Venezuelan War of Independence
Women in 19th-century warfare
Women in war in South America