Love Without Borders! 1822: The Liberator meets Manuela Sáenz

Published at: 16/06/2024 08:19 AM

On June 16, 1822, Simon Bolivar saw Manuela Sáenz for the first time amidst chants and ringing of bells, as El Libertador entered Quito victorious.

Bolívar , president of Colombia, and Antonio José de Sucre were passing by in a caravan, Sáenz, who saw them approaching from the balcony, grabbed a wreath of roses and bay leaves “and threw it so that it would fall on the front of H.E's horse; but with such luck that it ended up with all the force of the fall into the jacket, right on H.E's chest...”, Manuelita wrote in her Diary of Quito.

When Bolívar saw the gesture, he looked at her and showed her a wide smile accompanied by a greeting with his hat.

On the night of June 16, during the dance in honor of the triumph of the Battle of Pichincha, Bolívar recognized the 24-year-old girl immediately.

“(...) H.E. Bolivar stared at me with his black eyes, who wanted to discover everything, and smiled. I apologized to him for the morning, and he replied to me by saying: 'My dear lady, if you are the beautiful lady who set fire to my heart when she touched my chest with her crown! If all my soldiers had that aim, I would have won every battle,” Sáenz wrote.

Since then, both began to establish their passion for seeing the Great Homeland free, and a love that crossed borders.

Mazo News Team