In his speech, the mayor of San Salvador de Jujuy, Raúl “Chuli” Jorge, thanked the attendees and the institutions that worked on the organization of the event, especially the General Manuel Eduardo Arias Institute of Historical Studies, who achieved a great gaucho display artistic and cultural, to pay homage to the Jujuy hero of Independence, giving a festive framework to the reception of the symbolic remains of the gaucho general that now rest in a receptacle at the foot of the monument that immortalizes him.
“This space that celebrates having heroes and gives us Jujeña identity revalues our fight for freedom, symbolized by the life of this great hero, General Manuel Eduardo Arias, symbol of Jujeños, jujeñidad and all those who left the life and the effort with exceptional events so that the country becomes a country of peace,” defined the mayor.
He also made reference to the arrival of the symbolic remains of General Arias, the land from the place where he died, which now rest at the foot of his monument, “we have deposited them with this permanent commission that has to do with a general who does not have to pass unnoticed, not only for the people of Jujuy but for all of Argentine History”, and added, “celebrating Arias is celebrating history, federalism and the fight for independence, so we are happy to be able to be with all the gauchaje and everything the General Arias neighborhood, paying tribute to a hero and martyr from Jujuy.”
Present, representing the Provincial Government, was the Secretary of Culture, José Rodríguez Bárcena, who described the occasion as a “very important commemoration for Jujuy; always revalue the figure of General Arias, our greatest gaucho hero from Jujuy, and on this occasion reiterating this tribute that is carried out year after year, with a varied activity in tribute at this site where this monument that commemorates his figure and that goes to be a legacy for future generations as well.”
The Secretary of Culture and Tourism of the Municipality, Luciano Córdoba, referred to the details of the commemoration, which began a few hours before the main event and culminated with the now traditional Evening. “During the afternoon we shared what we call Tradition Time, which is an activity that we do in conjunction with the traditionalist gaucho institutions of the city; Then, in the central event, we enjoyed the screening of the documentary in tribute to the Battle of Humahuaca and the staging of artistic, folklore, ballet and live music numbers to give a setting consistent with this evening in the context of the new anniversary of the death. by Manuel Eduardo Arias.”
Finally, the president of the “Manuel Eduardo Arias” Institute of Historical Studies, Isidoro Cruz, commented, “it is the idea of the Institute to be able to make visible our hero, our greatest hero, General Arias, and to fulfill that objective we have symbolically left in the capital of the province the remains of the general”, and announced that a new objective is underway which is to achieve the recognition of Arias as a national hero, “It already began from the bicentennial of the Battle of Humahuaca, there were two half-sanctions, both from the Senate of the Nation as well as the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation, and there is a space for us to work with the declaration of national heroes in our next meeting.”
During the event, a short film was screened, a historical recreation of the Battle of Humahuaca in which General Arias participated in 1817, directed by Jujeño filmmaker Adrián Silisque.
