He was born on February 8, 1785, a product of the family formed by the Spanish Gabriel de Güemes Montero and María Magdalena de Goyechea y la Corte, from Jujuy and of Spanish and Portuguese descent.
Martín Miguel Juan de Mata Güemes Montero de Goyechea y la Corte was a military man and politician who led the “gaucho war” and died as a hero, on June 17, 1821, shortly after the Declaration of Argentine Independence (9 July 1816).
However, just a few years ago (August 22, 2006), he was recognized in the country as a national hero. Through Law 26,125, promoted through a project presented in the National Congress, in September 2004, by the national senator from Salta Sonia Escudero, a member of the Justicialist Party (currently, in the Frente de Todos).
During his feat, Güemes contained no less than 9 Spanish invasions along with his gauchos known as “Los Infernales”, who wore red ponchos and belonged to the most vulnerable sectors. With the strategy of attacking by surprise with small groups, he won fundamental battles to get rid of the invaders. Without his commitment to the Homeland in the struggles that he led in the north of the country, Independence could not have been achieved.
Furthermore, and in the years following the feats he achieved, Güemes was the first governor of the province of Salta to be elected. He ruled for almost six years (May 6, 1815-April 24, 1821) and was part of the struggles against the Spanish that took place even after Independence.
In 1806, Güemes traveled to Buenos Aires to take part in the defense of the first invasion by the English. As aide-de-camp to the viceroy, Santiago de Liniers, he fought against the Justine, a schooner (boat) that was bombarding the city. The then young soldier led a group of horsemen and took advantage of the downflow of the Río de la Plata to board the boat, capture it and take the English troops prisoner. This fact is known as a true feat, taking into account that it is unprecedented to find a similar case: men on horseback who captured an enemy ship.
Martín Miguel de Güemes came from a wealthy family, with a good economic position. He was the son of Gabriel de Güemes Montero, who was highly respected in Salta and served as treasurer of the Royal Treasury of the Spanish crown. At the age of 14 he began his military career and joined the “Fijo de Infantería”, located in Salta. He was part of the defense of the first English invasion as aide-de-camp to the Viceroy, Santiago de Liniers, on a trip to Buenos Aires and returned victorious.
On several occasions, Güemes tried to be bribed by the royalists. They offered him money, land and even promised to make him a marquis in Upper Peru. In any case, he was always faithful to the country. In fact, following one of the letters that the viceroy of Upper Peru sent him, the hero explained to him why he would never betray his country.
.jpg)
Güemes’ response to the attempted bribery of the viceroy of Alto Perú
“My dear sir and relative: Upon reading your letter of the 19th of this month, I formed the idea of not answering it, so that my silence would prove my just indignation; but since I am animated by honest feelings, children of a noble birth, I will tell you that From now on and forever I renounce and detest that decanted good that you want to provide me. I do not want favors to the detriment of my country: it must be free despite the entire world. What more do you want me to tell you? I am convinced that you are delirious. and for this reason I do not criticize, as I should and could, the scandalous attempt to seduce me with lies, lies, that make me stupid. I have only honest and brave gauchos. They are not murderers but of the tyrants who want to enslave them. I only wait for you, your army and everyone you command from Spain. Be convinced that you will never be able to seduce not even the officers, but not even the most unhappy gaucho. In the magnanimous hearts of these men, neither interest nor any other reward is accepted. their freedom; for it they fight with energy, which they have demonstrated on other occasions and which they will display now more than ever. You are already satisfied. You already know that I am obstinate, and you also know that such an indecent proposal should not be made again to an officer of character, to an honest American, and to a citizen who knows beyond the evidence that the people who want to be free, There is no human power to hold him down. Without prejudice to this, see if your most affectionate servant Martín Güemes can be useful in anything else.”
