Jose de la Torre Ugarte , was born in Ica on March 19, 1786. Son of José Estanislao de la Torre Ugarte, a Spaniard who arrived in Peru a few years ago and settled in Ica, where he met Mercedes Alarcón, José's mother. He entered the University of San Marcos as a boarding student, where between 1809 and 1812 he was in charge of the chair of Arts . Despite having received authorization to carry out his forensic practices to opt for his title as a lawyer, he is prevented from doing so due to various circumstances. He exercised the functions of judge of Chancay when the liberating expedition established its headquarters in Huaura, joining the patriot ranks. His poetic vein, inflamed with patriotism, led him to compose the verses of the national anthem as soon as the Huaura act was signed. In 1821 he served as senior officer of the Ministry of War and also as deputy secretary of San Martín during the protectorate.
Life of Jose de la Torre Ugarte in the Republic
During the government of Riva Agüero (1823), Torre Ugarte traveled to the city of Trujillo and was secretary of the Senate . The struggle unleashed between the republican factions for the ambition of power placed him in a difficult situation and he was sentenced to death. Colonel Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente, commissioner to carry out the sentence, spared his life. He then decided to limit himself to his professional tasks and from Trujillo he requested authorization from the University of San Marcos to take his bar exam that he had left pending a few years before. Once the authorization was obtained, he took his exam before the superior court of the capital of La Libertad on May 14, 1825. He was then able to serve as a war auditor (1827-1829) and, by appointment of Gamarra, as a member of the superior court of La Libertad. (1830). Elected deputy, he could not take office due to his premature death, which occurred on September 1, 1831 . In addition to the lyrics of the National Anthem, he is responsible for the authorship of a patriotic song, La chicha , also with Bernardo Alcedo. He first married Manuela Valdivieso y Riso (1812), with whom he had three children; then, in 1826, he joins Juana Manrique de Lara. His remains are found in the Panteón de los Próceres, a sanctuary located in the old chapel of the convictorio de San Carlos, next to the old mansion of San Marcos, in the Parque Universitario.