More than seven thousand gauchos from different parts of the country paraded this Friday in the city of Salta 201 years after the death of General Martín Miguel de Güemes in an act where Governor Gustavo Sáenz affirmed that he is an example “to continue in the direction that we lead to a fairer, more dignified and more humane society”.
“It is a very important day for the people of Salta and the Argentines, with a lot of emotion,” said Sáenz, who led the official activities for the 201 anniversary of the death of General Güemes that is commemorated in Argentina with a national holidayl as the Day of Latin American Freedom.
The president of Salta added that Güemes is “the example of our national hero, he is the north to which we must look to continue in the right direction, which leads us to a fairer, more dignified and more humane society.”
“He left his mark on the province and the country, giving his life to defend the sovereignty and freedom of our people,” he said and maintained that “Today more than ever General Güemes is Argentina”.
The activities began in the Pantheon of the Glories of the Northlocated in the Cathedral Basilica of the city of Salta, where the remains of the general rest.
Sáenz arrived there, accompanied by the chief of the General Staff of the Army, Division General Guillermo Olegario Pereda; Lieutenant Governor Antonio Marocco; the mayor of Salta, Bettina Romero; and other provincial officials and legislators.
After the placement of offerings, in a ceremony led by Archbishop Mario Cargnello, a religious invocation was made and then the authorities moved to the foot of the monument to the general.
There, the governor led the review of troops, greeted the group “June 17”, and the flags of Argentina and Salta were raised, to make way for the placement of offerings and a touch of silence.
Then, the Pilgrim Virgin and the Güemes Silver Pretal, an accessory of the mount that belonged to the national hero and that is guarded by Los Infernales (an army of gauchos from the province), entered the Historical Museum of the Cavalry Regiment. of Exploration 5 General Güemes.
Later, the National Anthem and the hymn to Güemes were sung.
The president of the Gauchos de Güemes Traditionalist Group, Francisco Aráoz, asked to honor the memory of the Salta general and commented that “after almost three years of pandemic, which is still lurking, we meet again the people of Salta and the Argentines”.
“We come today to commemorate a new anniversary of the death of Martín Miguel de Güemes. We passed the bicentennial year, where we had many twists and turns”, but in which “his gauchos, his people, came out spontaneously to commemorate and honor him , which is the greatest of tributes”.
For Araoz, andn Jump “there are no cracks” on this date but “the sentiment of the Homeland and of Argentina is hoisted as Martín Miguel de Güemes prayed, who was proud of his army, of his infernal ones”.
“When he rejected medical help, fortune and everything that was offered to him, Güemes knew that he sealed his destiny, but he never hesitated to give us the homeland,” he said.
After recalling that “Güemes was born and raised in Salta, he trained as a cadet and as a soldier”, he stressed that “he was the first governor elected by the clamor of the people and he has left us all his work so that today we have what we love so much and we call Argentina”.
After the word of Aráoz, began the traditional parade, which could not be held during the previous two years due to the pandemic of coronavirus, and was attended by educational and civil institutions, and members of the military and security forces.
Likewise, more than seven thousand gauchos mounted on horseback from different forts throughout the province and from other localities passed in front of the monument to pay honors to General Güemes.
Traditionalist groups from Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, Córdoba, Jujuy, Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja, Salta and Santa Cruz, among others, came to Salta to participate in the parade, which was witnessed by a large number of people, including A lot of tourists.
On Thursday night, at the monument to the national gaucho hero, the traditional Guard Under the Starsin a ceremony presided over by the governor and the participation of the music band of the General Bonifacio Ruiz de los Llanos Cavalry Regiment, after which a touch of silence was executed and the guard was changed by Los Infernales de Güemes , which today are part of the Mountain Exploration Cavalry Regiment 5.
After the official act, Sáenz toured the stoves and greeted the members of the different forts carried out by the Guard under the Stars, recalling the vigil made by the gauchos in 1821, accompanying the general in his last hours of life, during his agony of ten days, after being shot by royalist troops.
Güemes was born on February 8, 1785 and died on June 17, 1821. He was the only general of the independence process killed in combat.
He was a career soldier and led an army of gauchos in the north with strategies that made it possible to stop the Spanish advance on Salta and prevent royalist invasions of the rest of the country.
In this way, Güemes became a central figure in the war for Argentine independencefor which he was recognized as a national hero and, since 2016, June 17 was incorporated into the calendar of national holidays.
