In the gallery of heroes of our country, the name of Andrés Rázuri He has always gone unnoticed, as if he deserved to be in the background compared to the obvious glories of names like Grau, Bolognesi, Ugarte and others. However, his decisive participation in the battle of Junín, one of the most critical moments of the campaign for independence in the first half of the 19th century, made him a protagonist in the formation of our nation. His name, which identifies a large number of schools in Lima and provinces, is widely mentioned in northern Peru but practically unknown in other regions of the country. For this reason, in this new chapter of our biographical series “And who was it?”, Spill Magisterial, through his virtual blog, rescues his figure from oblivion. Let's find out who was Andrés Rázuri :
The name of Andrés Rázuri It is closely related to the joint efforts made by all the liberating armies to end the hegemony of the Spanish Crown in the occupied territories of South America.
Andrés Rázuri was born in San Pedro de Lloc, department of La Libertad, in northern Peru, in 1791. Son of Juan José Rázuri and María Severina Estéves, Andrés Rázuri He decided to join the forces that were preparing to face the Spanish army at a time when the viceroy, imposed by the King of Spain, had the last word on the fate of the colonial territories. This decision disappointed his parents who expected Andrés to embrace the faith and pursue a priestly career (he had been enrolled in the seminaries of San Carlos and San Marcelo de Trujillo).
At the age of 29, this daring Peruvian patriot appeared before the Liberator General of Argentine nationality, Don José de San Martín, to offer him his assistance in the difficult undertaking that this had been proposed:the expulsion of the royal Spanish forces from the territory of Peru. Don José de San Martín sent Rázuri to the place of his birth so that he could get in touch with the patriotic organizations that were already beginning to form at that time.
The knowledge that Razuri possessed of the geography of northern Peru (Trujillo, Lambayeque and Piura) was well used by San Martín, who sent him to this region in order to obtain a strong cohesion with the insurgent forces that were forming there. On his way through his native San Pedro de Lloc, Rázuri entrusted his brother to make use of a personal patrimony and buy cattle, equipment and weapons with the aim of providing everything necessary to a cavalry unit that was named Los Pacasmayo dragons.
This small military group was later incorporated into the Húsares del Perú, later known as Los Gloriosos Húsares de Junín. All the soldiers who joined the famous Dragons did so completely voluntarily, convinced of their important liberating mission.
José Andrés Rázuri he participated in the transcendental battle of Junín, which determined the defeat of the Iberian forces in Peru and caused his consequent withdrawal from the nascent Peruvian republic. This battle took place on August 6, 1824 in the highlands near Lima. In a context in which the central highlands and the south of the country were still controlled by the royalist army, the Venezuelan liberator Simón Bolívar mobilized his military forces in order to expel the Spanish from these territories.
The armies met in Junín, northwest of the Jauja valley. In Junín, the intervention of the Hussars of Peru, a cavalry founded by Andrés Rázuri tipped the balance towards liberating interests. The battle of Junín was bloody, there were fierce clashes with sabers, hand-to-hand and without any type of firearms being fired, which is why strategic military decisions were decisive for the outcome of the armed confrontation.
In circumstances in which General La Mar had made the express request to Commander Suárez to save, as possible, a national squadron that had been left completely unprotected, Andrés Rázuri he lied to Suárez and transmitted a non-existent attack order. It was thanks to this ruse of Rázuri, that the Hussars of Peru managed to defeat the Spanish military power, a great achievement had been achieved.
After the battle of Junín, the Hussars of Peru were invested with their new name:The Hussars of Junín, the name by which they are known to this day. After the battle, La Mar called Andrés Rázuri , in order to inform him that, in reality, he deserved to be shot but that this incident would be ignored because, thanks to his patriotism, the battle had been won.
Upon ceasing his military activities, Andrés Rázuri he dedicated himself to agriculture, a job that he had also practiced before joining the liberating military forces. Rázuri ceased to exist on January 4, 1883 at the age of 92. Seventy years after his death, his remains were transferred to the Panteón de los Próceres in Lima .
Andrés Rázuri He was one of the most outstanding patriots and thanks to his unwavering determination to destroy the colonial yoke that Peru had endured for three hundred years, results were obtained that consolidated the birth of a new republic in South America, the Republic of Peru.