MARÍA STOPPED BY BELLIDO: BIOGRAPHY AND WHAT WAS THE HEROIC ACTION - ARTE

María Parado de Bellido was a heroine during Peru's independence process. Born in Huamanga, there is not much information about her life, especially her childhood. It is known, on the other hand, that she married at the age of 15, without having been able to receive any type of studies.

Both her husband and her children enlisted in the patriotic ranks that fought against the last vestiges of Spanish colonial rule. Despite the fact that, by 1821, independence had already been declared, there were still royalist troops trying to reverse the situation.

Portrait of María Parado de Bellido - Source: Museo Fortaleza Real Felipe, Fernando murillo gallegos, September 9, 2012

under the Creative Commons license

Despite being illiterate, Maria Parado managed to send letters to informing about the intentions of the royalist army in the area where she resided. Although she achieved her goals, she was discovered by the royalists, who quickly proceeded to arrest her.

The heroic action starring Maria Parado de Bellido was to refuse the requests of her captors to report on the patriots in exchange for saving her life. Not even through torture were they able to make her change her mind. This cost her to be sentenced to death and eventually executed.

Biography

As with other participants in Peru's independence process, there is not much biographical data on the life of Maria Parado de Bellido. This lack of information is greater if we focus on her childhood, of which hardly anything is known.

Early years

Most historians agree that the birthplace of Maria Parado de Bellido was Huamanga, a town located in the southern highlands of Peru that later received the name of Ayacucho.

However, Carlos Cárdenas, a priest, claimed that he had found Maria's baptismal certificate in the parish of Cangallo, in the current district of Paras.

As with your hometown, there is no agreement on your year of birth. Some experts point out that it was in the year 1777, while others affirm that it occurred in 1761. In what if there is consensus it is in the date: the 5 of June.

María Parado was the daughter of a Creole of High Peruvian descent and of an indigenous woman. From her early years it is only known that, as was usual in her time, she did not receive any kind of education.

Thus, she was only instructed on how to do housework, since the only future that corresponded to her was to marry and take care of her husband and children.

Marriage

As the customs of the time marked, María married very young, with only 15 years. Her husband was Mariano Bellido, a worker in the Paras postal section, in the province of Cangallo. It was there where her family had their domicile, although, temporarily, they were living in Huamanga.

The couple had seven children: Gregoria, Andrea, Mariano, Tomás, María, Leandra and Bartola. The men, like the husband of Maria Parado, enlisted in 1820 in the forces that fought against the royalist troops.

The role played by almost all the male members of the family in the patriotic ranks was to serve as couriers in the Huamanga area. From that position, they had to report on any movement of the royalist army.

For his part, Tomás joined the guerrilla group that had formed in the central highlands, under the command of General Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales.

At that time, San Martín had organized a strategy of attrition to the realistic army through attacks by small guerrilla groups.

Finally, another of María's sons, Mariano, and her own husband, joined the military forces of San Martín.

Historic context

At that time, in 1821, the Liberation Army led by San Martín had already occupied Lima and declared the independence of Peru. Given this, Viceroy José de la Serna, took refuge along with what was left of his army in the mountains, since the coast had positioned itself in a majority with the patriots.

In this way, Cusco became the last bastion of the colonial authorities. From there, de la Serna ordered his troops to head for the central highlands, in order to subdue the rebels.

At the head of these royalist troops were General José Carratalá and Colonel Juan Loriga. The first tried to subdue the provinces, according to the current names, of Parinacochas, Lucanas and Huamanga. To do this, he did not hesitate to use extreme violence, massacring entire populations and burning villages, Cangallo among them.

Carratalá and his men garrisoned in Huamanga. His intention was to link up with the royalist troops that were in Ica, on the central coast. However, when he received the news of the defeat of the latter, he decided to remain in Huamanga and focus his efforts on ending the guerrillas in the area.

Death of his son

In 1822, Carratalá, following the orders of the viceroy, undertook a military campaign to repress the guerrillas in the Sierra de Ayacucho. During these confrontations, Tomás, one of María Parado's sons, was taken prisoner and, later, shot.

Historians point out that this could be one of the causes that led Maria to collaborate more actively with the patriots.

Revolutionary labor

From that moment, María Parado de Bellido, began to carry out espionage work for the patriot movement.

Since she had not been able to study as a child and was illiterate, Maria had to dictate the letters to a trusted friend. In them, she told her husband the news about the royalist troops and he gave them to Cayetano Quiroz, one of the leaders of the guerrillas.

Thanks to one of those letters, the insurgents were able to evacuate Quilcamachay on March 29, 1822, just before the royalists attacked the town.

Some historians maintain that this letter was responsible for the capture of María, since they affirm that, after the town was occupied by the royalists the following day, a soldier found the letter in the abandoned jacket of a guerrilla.

Other experts, on the other hand, affirm that Maria Parado de Bellido was captured after the person who transferred her letters was captured. The culprits of that arrest were, according to these historians, priests loyal to the viceroy who denounced the messenger.

Last letter from María Parado de Bellido

What has transpired is the text of the last letter sent by María, dated in Huamanga, March 26, 1822:

"Idolatrado Mariano:

Tomorrow the force will march from this city to take the one that exists there, and to other people who defend the cause of freedom. Inform the Chief of that force, Mr. Quirós, and try to flee immediately to Huancavelica, where our cousins the Negretes; because if a misfortune happened to you (God forbid) it would be a pain for your family, and especially for your wife.

Andrea "

Capture

The signature on the letter was the clue used by the royalists to catch Maria Parado. Her home was surrounded by soldiers and she, along with her daughter, was captured.

During the interrogations, the royalists tried to get him to expose his companions, but Maria stood firm.

Death

María Parado was led, surrounded by royalist soldiers, to the Plaza de Huamanga. There, she listened to the side of the sentence issued by Carratalá, which justified the sentence "as an example and an example of the later ones for having rebelled against the king and lord of Peru."

Later, on May 11, she was taken to the Plazuela del Arco, where she was shot. At that time, she was 60 years old.

What was the action

In Peru, the so-called Heroic Action of Maria Parado de Bellido is celebrated every year, the moment when she refused to give information to the royalists about the patriotic troops.

Realists offer

As noted above, on March 30, 1822, royalist soldiers captured María Parado and her daughters.

The heroine was subjected to harsh interrogation, during which she was tortured. However, despite that, she refused to reveal any information about her fellow patriots. Her only response was "I wrote it!" Given this, Carratalá sentenced her to be shot.

Before carrying out the execution, the royal warlord tried again to obtain information. To do this, he offered María a pardon in exchange for her denouncing her accomplices. The result was the same: Maria refused to say anything, not even to save her life.

An American writer, Carleton Beals, wrote in his work, Fire in the Andes, the words of Maria after hearing the death sentence: "I am not here to inform you, but to sacrifice myself for the cause of freedom."

Recognition of Bolívar

The remains of María Parado de Bellido were buried in the Iglesia de la Merced. Her daughters, meanwhile, were welcomed into a church, as they were left with no one to help them. In this regard, there is no information on the fate of Maria's husband and that of her sons.

When independence was consolidated, Simón Bolívar issued a decree by which he gave the daughters of María a house and a pension. Shortly after, María Parado de Bellido was named a martyr for independence.

References

Biographies and Lives. Maria Parado de Bellido. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
Your teacher. Anniversary of the Heroic Action of María Parado de Bellido. Obtained from tudocente.com
Bossi, Fernando. Maria Parado de Bellido. Obtained from portalalba.org
The Biography. Biography of María Bellido Parado de (1761-1822). Retrieved from thebiography.us
Starrs, Stuart. Maria Parado de Bellido. Retrieved from enperublog.com
Biografia.co. Maria Parado de Bellido. Obtained from biografia.co
Ecured. María Andrea Parado de Bellido. Obtained from ecured.cu

MARÍA STOPPED BY BELLIDO: BIOGRAPHY AND WHAT WAS THE HEROIC ACTION - ARTE - 2025