Author | Eduardo Blanco |
---|---|
Country | Venezuela |
Language | Spanish |
Subject | Venezuelan War of Independence |
Genre | Epic |
Publication date | 1881 (first edition) 1883 (second edition) |
Pages | 352 |
Venezuela Heroica (English: "Heroic Venezuela") is an epic novel written by Venezuelan author Eduardo Blanco and published in 1881, with an expanded second edition in 1883. It is Blanco's main work, and presents a classic romantic view of history as an epic. Venezuela Heroica is structured in five vignettes that depict the main battles and heroes of the Venezuelan War of Independence. It was from General José Antonio Páez himself that Blanco heard the stories of the Battle of Carabobo, during an encounter with Marshal Juan Crisóstomo Falcón to end the Federal War (1859–1863) near the site of the battle. Páez was so moved from his memories of youth, the anecdote goes, that he could not stop telling his aide-de-camp, Blanco, the details of the battle. It was Falcón who then told Blanco "you are listening to the Iliad from the very lips of Achilles".
Venezuela Heroica is written in prose. It is a story about the country’s emancipation in which the author uses his skill to portray the bloody war while paying tribute to the deeds of those who successfully and unrelentingly fought for Venezuelan freedom.
The first edition is structured in five vignettes that depict the most memorable battles, those of La Victoria, San Mateo, Las Queseras del Medio, Boyacá and Carabobo. It was from General José Antonio Páez himself that Blanco heard the stories of the Battle of Carabobo, during an encounter with Marshal Juan Crisóstomo Falcón to end the Federal War (1859–1863) near the site of the battle. Páez was so moved by his memories of youth, the anecdote goes, that he could not stop telling his aide (Blanco) the details of the battle. It was Falcón who then told Blanco "you are listening to the Iliad from the very lips of Achilles".
In the second edition, six further battles have been added: Sitio de Valencia de Venezuela, Maturín, La invasión de los Seiscientos, La Casa Fuerte, San Félix and Matasiete.
All the critics and historians of Venezuelan literature agree that Venezuela Heroica is a work with clear Romantic characteristics. The style is subjective and Blanco bases the narrative events in the world of historic Venezuelan facts. By using a revealing and exciting tone and also expressive devices, his intention is to impact the reader and amongst other things, to justify the work being considered a declaration of literary Venezuelan romance.
The epic tone of Venezuela Heroica succeeds through the use of wide coverage of space and time and lyrically with its basis of comparisons, epiphanies, hyperboles and other devices. The wideness in space succeeds by highlighting the heroes in relation to the people around them. Each hero is portrayed in relation to their own environment with interactions between them and other heroes. As regards the development of time, the events are often magnified through comparison with specific facts from the past, from antiquity or the Middle Ages, and this contributes to give a greater dimension. [1]
Venezuela Heroica was adapted into a seven-episode animated series for children, produced by Estudio Metrópolis and broadcast in 2012 by ViVe and later by 123TV.
José Antonio Páez Herrera was a Venezuelan leader who fought against the Spanish Crown for Simón Bolívar during the Venezuelan War of Independence. He later led Venezuela's independence from Gran Colombia.
Valencia is the capital city of Carabobo State and the third-largest city in Venezuela.
Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco was a Venezuelan military leader, statesman, diplomat and politician. He was the president of Venezuela for three separate terms, from 1870 until 1877, from 1879 until 1884, and from 1886 until 1887 and General during the Venezuelan Federal War.
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The Battle of Carabobo, on 24 June 1821, was fought between independence fighters, led by Venezuelan General Simón Bolívar, and the Royalist forces, led by Spanish Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victory at Carabobo led to the independence of Venezuela and establishment of the Republic of Gran Colombia.
Julián Castro Contreras was a Venezuelan military officer and the president of Venezuela between 1858 and 1859.
Ezequiel Zamora was a Venezuelan soldier and leader of the Federalists in the Federal War (Guerra Federal) of 1859–1863.
Martín Tovar y Tovar was a Venezuelan painter, best known for his portraits and historical scenes.
Venezuelan literature is the literature written by Venezuelans or in Venezuela, ranging from indigenous pre-Hispanic myths to oral or written works in Spanish or other languages. The origins of Venezuelan written literature are usually held to date back to the documents written by the first Spanish colonizers, its date of birth being sometimes set at August 31, 1498, when Christopher Columbus called the Venezuelan territory in his Diaries "Tierra de gracia".
The National Pantheon of Venezuela is a final resting place for national heroes. The Pantheon was created in the 1870s on the site of the ruined Santísima Trinidad church from 1744 on the northern edge of the old town of Caracas, Venezuela.
Eduardo Blanco (1838–1912), Venezuelan writer and politician, was aide-de-camp to General José Antonio Páez, independence hero and first president of Venezuela after the breakup of Gran Colombia in 1830.
The Federal War — also known as the Great War or the Five Year War — was a civil war (1859–1863) in Venezuela between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party over the monopoly the Conservatives held over government positions and land ownership, and their intransigence in granting any reforms. This drove the Liberals – known as the Federalists – to look for greater autonomy for the provinces: a new federalism for Venezuela, as it were. It was the biggest and bloodiest civil war that Venezuela had since its independence from Spain on 5 July 1811. Around a hundred thousand people died in the violence of the war, or from hunger or disease, in a country with a population of just over a million people.
Pedro Camejo, also known as Negro Primero, was a Venezuelan soldier that fought with the Royal Army and later with the Independence Army during the Venezuelan War of Independence, reaching the rank of lieutenant. The nickname Negro Primero was inspired by his bravery and skill in handling spears, and because he was always in the first line of attack on the battlefield. It is also attributed to his having been the only black officer in the army of Simón Bolívar.
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The Treaty of Coche was an agreement that formally established the end of the Federal War in Venezuela.
The Battle of Matasiete was a battle in the Venezuelan War of Independence that took place on 31 July 1817 near the city of La Asunción on Isla Margarita in Venezuela. It was fought between pro-independence Republican revolutionaries led by Francisco Esteban Gómez and Spanish Royalist forces under the command of Pablo Morillo. The outcome was a Spanish defeat.
The battle of La Victoria took place during the Venezuelan War of Independence when Royalist forces under José Tomás Boves tried to take the city of La Victoria, held by General José Félix Ribas.
The United States of Venezuela was the official name of Venezuela, adopted in its 1864 constitution under the Juan Crisóstomo Falcón government. This remained the official name until 1953, when the constitution of that year renamed it the Republic of Venezuela. In 1999 under newly elected president Hugo Chávez and his modification to the Constitution, Venezuela's official name became the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The State of Venezuela was the official name of Venezuela adopted by the constitution of 1830, during the government of José Antonio Páez. The name was maintained until 1856 when in the constitution promulgated in that year it changes the official name of the country to Republic of Venezuela. In the Constitution of 1864, the United States of Venezuela was established.
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