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Juana Velasco de Gallo (ฆวนอาน่า เบลาสโก เด กาโญ่)

Juana Velasco de Gallo (Tunja, Boyacá, Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada- Santa fe de Bogotá 1819), more known as 'La heroina de Toca'.

She was a heroine who spied for the criollo independence forces during the Spanish Reconquista, she is considered a heroine of Colombian independence. Unfortunately she died in the Plaza Mayor of Bogota.

Juana was vital for Simón Bolívar's troops in the days leading up to the Battle of Boyaca, leading an immense group of Tunjan women who endowed the liberator's army with shirts and trousers, attending to the difficulties that these men faced in their journey under the cold of Boyaca at that time​.

Biography

Regarding the place and date of his birth, there is no document that proves the veracity of these data because at the time the participation of women in politics was not taken into account. However, Juana Velasco De Gallo lived with her husband Andres Gallo in the hacienda of Toca, in Tunja, both of distinguished families of the place. Doña Juana,thanks to her political status and influence, maintained a large circle of women around her.

Her family, who was tunjana, owned a ranch in the town of Toca. Her husband was Don Andres Gallo, and her children were: Andres Maria, Fernando and Manuel. His son Andres Maria Gallo Velasco was a canon and author of the Memoirs on the War of Independence​.

On July 7, 1819, this family received a private email in which it was announced that the Liberator Simon Bolívar had arrived two days ago and that he was on his route through the Paso de los Andes and the cold in the Paramo de Pisba; the liberator witnessed problems due to the shortage of clothes, food and horses, and most of his men perished in the ascent to the mountain range.

This patriotic feast was held in the historic House of  Holguin,current Club Boyaca, where the Army General Staff had been housed, and which at that time belonged to the family of the governor Jose Cayetano Vasquez, executed in 1816, famous wall of the martyrs in Tunja.

The example of Doña Juana Velasco de Gallo and the patriotic ladies of Tunja, was famous in Gran Colombia, for her affection and support to Bolivar and the Liberation Army. She was highlighted at the time along with many other women for unconditionally supporting the cause of the independence.

Historical significance

This heroine helped Bolivar and the Patriot Army in the Liberation Campaign of 1819, and especially in the days before the Battle of Boyaca. His contributions for independence were to deliver his two youngest sons, Fernando and Manuel, and a group of workers from the hacienda to join the Liberation Army.For the liberating feat because the liberator was in need of supplies, food, clothes and some others were sick and without horses.

Juana was vital for Simon Bolivar's troops in the days leading up to the Battle of Boyaca,leading an immense group of women from Tunja who provided the liberator's army with shirts and trousers, attending to the difficulties these men faced in their journey under the cold of Boyaca of the time.

To mention it, she bought and designed the shirts for the 2,000 soldiers who fought in the Battle of Boyaca. Well, La 'Heroina de Toca' helped the Liberation Army with the production of 2,000 shirts, since the soldiers manifested their problem of the immense cold due to the shortage of clothes. The Patriot Army was made up of 2,850 soldiers under the command of the Liberator Simon Bolivar; the vanguard division commanded by General Francisco de Paula Santander, consisting of 1,000 patriotic soldiers; and the rearguard division, by 1,250 soldiers, commanded by General Jose Antonio Anzoategui. In a hurry, the insurgent women, led by Doña Juana and the tailors tunjanos, sewed the 2,000 shirts in a single day​.

Besides the clothes, this woman gave Simon Bolivar his horse "El Muchacho", with which the Liberator was the winner in the Battle of Boyaca.

Bolivar was inspired by this woman to make the so-called proclamation of the woman, where she exposes and leaves high the status and courage of the Colombian women in their struggle to obtain freedom.

During the Liberator's stay in Tunja, an act of homage was made to him, where several welcoming patriots attended this welcome ceremony, and with Doña Juana they expressed to the Liberator their support for the just cause of Independence. This patriotic social event was reported by his son, the canon Andres Maria Gallo, in his Memoirs on Independence​.

On August 5, 1819 the Liberator arrived in Tunja, the same day Juana  received him with a great meal to which she invited many women of the town, in this small meeting she learned about the difficult situation of Simon Bolivar. Because of the great welcome and welcome that Simon Bolivar gave him, he held a party in honor of Doña Juana and the tailors on August 6, 1819, on the eve of the battle of Boyaca, this feast was held in the house of the Holguin, today Club of Boyaca where the great majority of the Liberation Army had stayed. In the 20th century, the “Baile de Gala”  was a tradition in the Boyaca Club as a reminder of the party of the liberators of the fatherland​.

Political activity

Juana Velasco de Gallo, participated in several strategic meetings of the patriotic army before the battle of Boyaca. So she lead the women who flooded the plaza supporting the patriots in the conformation of the Governing Board.

The understanding she had of his political environment based on her political consciousness and participation was expressed in the interaction they maintained through petitions with the republican and royal authorities, through letters and subsequent communication with information to Simon Bolivar's army.With the advent of war, women intervened in the conflict in an invisible way for history but not for patriots ​.