What remains of this house is structures of stone that were previously walls. Back then it was a big house from the colonial times, now they are just rubble. This house has a history, a past of death, pain and struggle. From both libertarian men and women, wives of those libertarians who also had a desire for freedom for their homeland.
In the rubble of this house are the frustrated lives of thousands of people who wanted freedom for themselves and their children.
They say this house was first a convent and then it became a hospice. Missionaries who came from all the towns around Barcelona were served, but then it became the place of care for the wounded and sick from the libertarian wars that occurred in all the nearby towns, later ending as barracks when Simón Bolívar took it. Due to the location it has, it was conducive to carrying out its libertarian and protective work for the people.
There remains Bolivar until he decides to go to continue fighting on other populations, leaving this strong wall, and entrusted it to the General Pedro María Freites and Chamberlain.
Once the Spanish forces learn that the fortress is left without troops, they decide to penetrate the town. All of the townspeople are hidden in the fortress but inside there were only a few patriots, the rest of its interior was made up of women, children, elderly and sick who were cared for at that time.
It's said that the royalist forces, the enemy, penetrated with more than 6 thousand soldiers and killed everyone they found inside.
This strong house succumbs to the attack of the Spanish. Those who enter are the ones with weapons, the barracks and the people inside are defended to the death by the rest of the patriots and anyone willing to fight. This happened during April 7, 1817.
Maria Eulalia Buroz, 21-year-old heroic woman and wife of Simón Bolívar's aide Willians Chamberlain, fights for her life. Many things are said about her death, but all agree that she fought until the end. A Spanish soldier took her life, she struggles while the officer is careless, she takes the soldier's gun and kills him, while shouting "Long live our country, death to tyrants!" she's annihilated by the royalists' blows.
Her husband dies and Pedro María Freites is caught, he is later shot.
And that is how the remains of this old house became a national historical monument of the Republic of Venezuela. Because of the tragic events that took place on that fateful date.
When you walk inside and learn about the events that occurred in those remains of stone walls. One can't help but feel a chill on their body, as you pass through the same corridors and rooms where so much innocent blood was shed. Just because they wanted to be free from the Spanish colony.
You can see the monuments to the heroine Eulalia Ramos or Eulalia Buroz De Chamberlain and that of the patriot Pedro María Freites, who guard for eternity the fort entrusted to them by the father of the country, Simon Bolivar.
I find the article hard to follow, mainly because of the translation I assume. There are some strange words used in it.
I wonder how many people will still care about monuments like these in 5 or 10 years time. I noticed activists fight it. Once heroes, days to remember are turned into moments of shame. I wonder why.