María Remedios del Valle (ca. 1768–1847) also known as the "Madre de la Patria" ( Mother of the Homeland) was a

pardo In the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas, ''pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') are triracial descendants of Europeans, Indigenous Americans and Africans. History In some places they were defined as neither exclusively ...

soldier who participated in the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

on the side of the

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America (), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán for the region of South America that declared independence in 1816, with the Sove ...

. Although initially a civilian

camp follower Camp followers are civilians who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the spouses and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have histori ...

, she joined the

Army of the North The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...

and participated in several battles. She was captured by Spanish forces after the

Battle of Ayohuma The Battle of Ayohuma ("dead man's head" in Quechua) was a military action fought on 14 November 1813 during the Spanish American wars of independence. The forces of the Royal Army of Viceroyalty of Peru, commanded by Spaniard General Joaquín ...

, but escaped. Her entire family was killed in the war. When the war ended, she returned to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and eventually turned to begging. Discovered by one of the generals under whom she had fought, she was approved for a

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

which was paid over the last decade of her life. Largely forgotten until the turn of the 21st century when Argentine historians began including the contributions of

Black Argentines Afro-Argentines (), also known as Black Argentines (), are Argentines who have predominantly or total Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The Afro-Argentine population is the result of people being brought over during the Atlantic slave trade, transat ...

, she is now widely recognized for her contributions to the independence of the nation. Her portrait is on the 10,000

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several Hispanophone, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol com ...

note released in May 2024.

Early life

María Remedios del Valle was born in

, Argentina and was listed in her military records as a '' parda'', a term formerly applied to triracial descendants of

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

, Indigenous Americans, and

West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

slaves, that later became applied to people of mostly or entirely African descent. Testimony given in the 1828 ''Diario de Sesiones'', a Congressional record, states that she was "sixty or more years old", placing her birth around 1768.

Career

María Remedios del Valle, with her husband and two sons, accompanied the Army of the North, which had been deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata to liberate

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

(now Peru and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

) from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. This was the first military expedition to the interior and left Buenos Aires on 20 June 1810 under the command of captain of the Volante Artillery Battalion's 6th Company. Initially, del Valle was among the '' rabonas'', or camp followers, who were recruited from the urban poor and rural peasantry to follow the troops and provide cooking and nursing services, carry arms and munitions, and gather intelligence which could assist the military. The army arrived in December 1810 at

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

. Del Valle's participation in the battles of " Huaqui (20 June 1811) and the army's subsequent retreat to

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

, the exodus from Jujuy (23 August 1812), the victories at Tucumán (24 September 1812) and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

(20 February 1813), and the defeats at Vilcapugio (1 October 1813) and Ayohuma (14 November 1813)" were recorded. Prior to the Battle of Tucumán, she sought permission from General

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

to tend the troops who had fallen in the front lines. Belgrano denied permission, on the grounds that women were not suited for duty at the front. Ignoring his order, del Valle proceeded with her plan and was later recognized by Belgrano with the rank of captain in the army. During the

, del Valle was wounded when she was shot by the enemy and taken as prisoner by the Spanish forces. During her captivity, she assisted several prisoners in escapes and was sentenced to be publicly flogged for nine consecutive days. She eventually escaped and returned to the army to assist with the battlefield wounded, remaining through the end of the conflict. Little is known of del Valle's history after the war ended in 1818, until around 1826. It is known that her husband and two children were killed in the conflicts, though which specific actions is unclear. On 23 October 1826, she applied for compensation for services rendered by her family during the

, but her claim was denied. Poor health and age limited her ability to provide for herself, and del Valle began begging for food at convents in the city. General

Juan José Viamonte Juan José Viamonte González (February 9, 1774 – March 31, 1843) was an Argentine general in the early 19th century. Life and politics Viamonte was born in Buenos Aires and entered the army in his youth following in his father's footste ...

discovered her in the streets in a deplorable condition and petitioned the legislature on her behalf to provide her with a pension. With the support of other generals, such as Anzoátegui, who was then a captain; General

Eustaquio Díaz Vélez Eustaquio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Eustaquio Escandón (1862–1933), Mexican polo player in the 1900 Summer Olympics *Eustaquio Ilundáin y Esteban (1862–1937), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop of ...

, who testified she served as a

guerrilla fighter Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

, as well as provider of aid to the wounded; and Colonel Hipólito Videla, who confirmed del Valle had been wounded and imprisoned at Ayohuma. An examination of del Valle's body confirmed that she had six scars evidencing she had been wounded by bullets and swords.

Tomás de Anchorena Tomás Manuel de Anchorena (29 November 1783 – 29 April 1847) was an Argentine statesman and lawyer. He was a representative to the Congress of Tucumán which on 9 July 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina. Anchorena was born in Bue ...

, a member of the legislature also presented a case in her defense and the legislature agreed to grant del Valle a salary for the rank of captain of the infantry. This was later elevated to compensation as a sergeant major of the cavalry. Del Valle was placed in inactive status, with full salary corresponding to her rank in 1830. She continued receiving a pension until her death in 1847, though records show that between 1836 and 1847, payment was made to Remedios Rosas. It is thought that she changed her name in gratitude to the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, for the granting of her pension.

Death and legacy

A note dated 8 November 1847 in the military archives pension records indicates Rosas had died. She first appeared in a history book in Argentina in the early 1930s, when

Carlos Ibarguren Carlos Ibarguren (April 18, 1877 – April 3, 1956) was an Argentine academic, historian and politician. As a writer he was noted as one of the foremost academics of the history of Argentina as well as a leading expert on constitutional law. P ...

published her story and in 1944 Buenos Aires named a street in her honour. However, she was largely forgotten until the beginning of the 21st century, when

Afro-Argentines Afro-Argentines (), also known as Black Argentines (), are Argentines who have predominantly or total Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The Afro-Argentine population is the result of people being brought over during the transatlantic slave trade dur ...

, activists and scholars began to include the history of people who had been left out of the historiography of the country because of deliberate discrimination based on gender and race. She is now widely recognized for her contributions and numerous publications have retold her story. Since 2013, 8 November is celebrated in her honor, as the National Day of Afro-Argentines and African Culture. In May 2022, the Mint of Argentina issued a AR$10000 banknote featuring the image of del Valle alongside

. The government website described her as "a hero of the War of Independence. As an afro descendant woman, she faced all the prejudices of her time... Because of her bravery, (del Valle) was appointed captain by Manuel Belgrano... in her honour, Law 26,582 set 8 November as the Day of African-Argentine people". On 8 November 2022, a monument to María Remedios del Valle was unveiled on Plazoleta Castelao, in

. The monument included a statue in del Valle's image sculpted by Alexis Minkiewicz, in collaboration with Gisela Kraisman and Louis Yupanki. The statue was 3D printed in resin and polyurethane lacquer and was 3.7 metres with the plinth and weighed 80 kilos. On the 1 September 2023, the statue of María Remedios del Valle was burned to the ground, in an act of vandalism condemned by the Ministry of Culture.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:del Valle, Maria Remedios 1760s births 1847 deaths People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata Afro-Argentine people Military personnel from Buenos Aires People of the Argentine War of Independence Women in war in South America Women in 19th-century warfare