- Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo Lavalle (
October 17 1797 –October 9 ,1841 ) was an Argentine military figure and political figure.Biography
Lavalle was born in
Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Valle y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for theViceroyalty of the River Plate , a direct descendant ofconquistador ofMexico Hernán Cortés .In 1799, the family moved toSantiago de Chile , to return to Buenos Aires in 1807. In 1812 he joined the Grenadiers' mounted regiment as a cadet, spelling his surname as Lavalle, supposedly to minimize his Spanish origin, something common among young patriots of those days.Lavalle reached the grade of lieutenant in 1813, and moved to the army that, under the orders of
Carlos María de Alvear , besiegedMontevideo . He also foughtJosé Gervasio Artigas in 1815, and theBattle of Guayabos under the command ofManuel Dorrego . A year later he moved to Mendoza to join the "Army of the Andes " of "liberator"José de San Martín , to fight in Chacabuco and Maipú. He continued with San Martín on his way toPeru andEcuador , and took part in the battles of Pichincha and the Ríobamba, after which he became known as the "Hero of Ríobamba".Because of disagreements with
Simón Bolívar , Lavalle returned toBuenos Aires by the end of 1823. He would later governMendoza Province for a short time. He then fought in the war againstBrazil in command of 1,200 cavalry, with great episodes of valour in the battles of Bacacay and Ituzaingó in February 1827, beating the forces of General Abreu and being himself proclaimed General on the field of battle itself. (Lavalle's bravery at Ituzaingó made him a legend.)Back in Buenos Aires, Lavalle organised the Unitarian revolution of
December 1 1828, after which he was chosen governor ofBuenos Aires Province . One of his unfortunate decisions was to execute former governorManuel Dorrego , which ignited a civil war. After the "Convention of Barracas" agreement withJuan Manuel de Rosas , he retired to theBanda Oriental (nowadaysUruguay )In 1839, with support from exiled objectors to Rosas' government, he arrived in
Entre Ríos Province and advanced towards Buenos Aires in order to overthrow Rosas.Rosas however had gathered 17,000 men to face them and Lavalle, with barely 1,100, decided to withdraw northwards to Santa Fe Province, in September 1840. Persecuted, his troops suffered constant attacks and Lavalle was forced to move further and further north, being accidentally shot by a "Montonera" detachment which spread-shot a reputed Unitarian's house, not realising that Juan Lavalle, the very chief of the Unitarians, was staying there. This was in 1841 inSan Salvador de Jujuy .Afraid that his body would be desecrated by the "Federales", his followers fled to
Bolivia carrying Lavalle's decomposing remains with them. Hurrying desperadoes over the Humahuaca pass, they were finally obliged to strip the skeleton by boiling it and, after burying the flesh in an unmarked grave, carried off the bones, which is what is today buried at Buenos Aires' famedRecoleta cemetery.One of the most famous squares in Buenos Aires, "Plaza Lavalle", with an elegant statue of the general standing on top of a long, slender column, commemorates the figure of Lavalle.
Lavalle's death is a favourite subject in Argentine literature and art.
Ernesto Sábato in particular has treated it several times.Bibliography
The classic source on Lavalle is the famous History of Argentina by
Vicente Fidel López . See also Ernesto Sábato's "Sobre héroes y tumbas".External links
* [http://ar.geocities.com/paginajosemariarosa/elcondor.htm the weird death of Lavalle] (Spanish)
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