Juan Wallparrimachi Mayta (
Potosí
Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...
, 1793–1814) was a
Bolivian
Bolivian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Bolivia
** Bolivian people
** Demographics of Bolivia
** Culture of Bolivia
* SS ''Bolivian'', a British-built standard cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries ...
poet and pro-independence guerrilla fighter who wrote in
Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language
**So ...
. He worked in his people's tradition while also producing
décima
A décima is a ten-line stanza of poetry. The most popular form is called décima espinela after Vicente Espinel (1550–1624), a Spanish writer, poet, and musician from the Siglo de Oro who used it extensively throughout his compositions.
The d ...
in indigenous language. His work fell into relative neglect.
Biography
Wallparrimachi was born in the village of
Macha
Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') and Armagh (''Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A H ...
, in the
Chayanta Province
Chayanta is a province in the northern parts of the Bolivian Potosí Department. Its capital is Colquechaca.
Location
Chayanta province is one of sixteen provinces in the Potosí Department. It is located between 18° 23' and 19° 6' South and ...
of the
Potosí Department
Potosí (; Aymara language, Aymara: ''Putusi''; qu, P'utuqsi) is a Departments of Bolivia, department in southwestern Bolivia. It comprises 118,218 km2 with 823,517 inhabitants (2012 census). The capital is the city of Potosí.
It is most ...
in Bolivia. The grandson of a Portuguese Jew, and the son of an indigenous mother from
Cuzco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
, Peru, and a Spanish father, who both died shortly after his birth. He was raised by indigenous people and later recruited by the guerrillas
Manuel Ascensio Padilla and
Juana Azurduy de Padilla
Juana Azurduy de Padilla (July 12, 1780 – May 25, 1862) was a guerrilla military leader from Chuquisaca, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (now Sucre, Bolivia).Pallis, Michael “Slaves of Slaves: The Challenge of Latin American Women” (Lon ...
, with whom he fought against the Spanish government. As he only knew the surname of his maternal grandfather, he adopted it.
He died at the age of 20, in an 1814 battle in the
Bolivian War of Independence
Bolivian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Bolivia
** Bolivian people
** Demographics of Bolivia
** Culture of Bolivia
* SS ''Bolivian'', a British-built standard cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries ...
, under the command of his leader and protector, Juana Azurduy.
He has passed into immortality as a "poet-soldier" in Bolivian literature.
References
1793 births
1814 deaths
People from Chayanta Province
Bolivian male poets
Quechua-language poets
19th-century Bolivian poets
19th-century male writers
Bolivian people of Spanish descent
Bolivian people of Peruvian descent
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