The fight to free Peru from the Spanish yoke began long before the liberating army of San Martín arrived in Peruvian lands to proclaim Independence in 1821. There are various figures who carried out protests and uprisings against the colonial oppressors; and in a way, it is thanks to them that this important fact for the Republic of Peru could be made concrete, they are known as Independence heroes.
Some of the characters in question were of indigenous origin, but within this group, there were two women fighters, who today are remembered as the Independence martyrs since they gave their lives for the freedom of the Peruvian people; They were Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua and María Parado de Bellido, whom we will remember today with a brief review of their honorable and sacrificed lives:
Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua
She was born in the year 1742, there is no exact data on her place of birth, some texts that affirm that the Canas town in Cusco department was the place where she was born, while others indicate that she came to the world in the district from Tamburco in Abancay.
She became the Túpac Amaru II wife at just 16 years old and had three children. She actively participated in the revolution for the Peru Emancipation led by her husband, on November 4st, 1780, the date on which Túpac Amaru revolted and decided to arrest and execute Mayor Arriaga, Micaela gathers armies and draws up proclamations in Cusco; and alternately her husband does it in Puno.
After a series of events led by her and her husband in search of the Peru Emancipation, her husband is arrested and sentenced to death on May 18ht, 1781. That same day she is also sentenced to hang; and they order that his body be dragged through the main streets of the city until he is dismembered.
María Parado de Bellido
He was born in Huamanga, Ayacucho on July 5st, 1761, or 1777; the exact year of his birth is unclear. Her husband Mariano Bellido and four of the seven children she had with him joined the liberating army of the Peruvian Sierra.
It is known that it was a speaking Quechua woman who worked in the Ayacucho post office. For this reason, when a division of the royalist army under the command of General José Carratalá occupied Huamanga, María asked her godfather to write letters with information on the movements of the patriots, which she would later send to her husband to maintain the liberating army aware of everything.
Finally, she was arrested on March 20th, 1822, and later shot in Huamanga Main Square, for refusing to reveal the names of those involved in the liberation movement. According to some chronicles, this woman remained haughty and strong in the face of the terrible death that awaited her and her last words were: «I am not here to inform you but to sacrifice myself for the cause of freedom.»
