On top of San Sebastian Hill in Cochabamba, there is a monument
of a woman standing on a stone pedestal surrounded by defenders. Dedicated to
The Heroines of Coronilla, the statue commemorates the events of May 27th...
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On top of San Sebastian Hill in Cochabamba, there is a monument
of a woman standing on a stone pedestal surrounded by defenders. Dedicated to
The Heroines of Coronilla, the statue commemorates the events of May 27th,
1812—right in the thick of the South American wars of independence—when a group
of Cochabamban women, children, and elderly heroically defended their turf
against Spanish Royalist troops. The rebels were led by a nearly-blind,
60-year-old woman named Josefa Manuela Gandarillas.
The Spanish troops massacred the defenders,
but the heroines are remembered every year on May 27th, which was
declared Mother’s Day in Bolivia in their honor. These days the monument is
more visible that ever: in 2012, to mark the 200-year-anniversay of the
heroines’ bravery, the landmark was tricked out with multicolored LED
floodlights.
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