Policarpa Salavarrieta (english version)

Heroine of Independence, shot in Bogotá, 14 November 1817. Policarpa Salavarrieta is undoubtedly the most popular heroine of the period of terror imposed on the Nueva Granada during the Spanish reconquest in the early nineteenth century. There is no certainty about her full name, nor about the date and place of her birth. Regarding her name, there are several sources: Her father called her Polonia in his power of attorney to issue his will, and the priest Salvador Contreras made her appear under that name when formalizing the will on 13 December 1802. However, her brother Bibiano, the closest in her affections and who was her companion in Santafé, called her Policarpa. She was also called Policarpa by Andrea Ricaurte de Lozano, in whose house she lived and in whose company she was at the time of being reduced to prison. Ambrosio Almeyda, who conspired with her and received her protection, called her Policarpa. In her false passport issued in 1817, she was called Gregoria Apolinaria. Her peers, such as Almeyda, José María Caballero, José Hilario López and Francisco Mariano Fernández, simply called her “La Pola”. However, the name with which she is best known and has subsequently been called in all posthumous tributes is Policarpa Salavarrieta.