Her commitment to the cause superseded any fear she may have had of battle. She became the official keeper of Bolivar’s personal archive, guarding his private papers and personally maintaining the secrecy of the army’s military strategy. Sáenz and Bolivar’s romantic partnership could not be distinguished from their political alliance. She followed him and integrated herself into his life. When Bolivar left Quito, Sáenz did not retreat back to her family, or even her marriage, as a spurned lover. As scandalous as their affair was, the couple had an immediate deep, passionate connection. That evening, the two met at a reception and began their legendary love affair.įOLLOWING HER HEART At first, Sáenz was assumed to be another notch on the belt of a great womanizer. She had the decidedly female job of beautifying the homes along the parade route to make a good impression on the esteemed soldier. On a fateful day, Sáenz’s participation was not militant.
Bolivar was to parade through town to celebrate victory in the battle that gave Quito independence. There Sáenz met Simon Bolivar, “ El Libertador” of South America.īack in her hometown, Sáenz again immersed herself in the independence movement. She unapologetically abandoned her marriage in a time when women had few options in life. Her appetite for political adventure having been whetted, Sáenz left her husband and moved back to Quito in 1822. For her involvement, Sáenz received the Order of the Sun, an award given to those who made an exceptional contribution to the campaign.
She became sympathetic to the rebel cause, and against her husband’s orders, she joined the patriots to liberate Peru from the tyranny of Spain. As a young wife, Sáenz socialized with Peru’s social, political and military elite. Sáenz’s father took responsibility for his daughter’s future by arranging a marriage to a much older, wealthy Englishman, and the newlyweds moved to Lima. A scandal could have ruined his life, but to his credit, he acknowledged Sáenz, paid the one thousand-peso dowry for his daughter to be given a proper upbringing in the convent, and introduced her to his legitimate children, giving her life some family context. Simón Sáenz de Vergara was a wealthy businessman and successful politician with a wife and six children. To avoid the humiliation of such bad judgment, Aizpuru was sent away to keep her pregnancy secret, and forced to relinquish her daughter to the care of nuns in a convent in Quito. Her mother, Joaquina Aizpuru, was not married when she became pregnant with Sáenz, the result of an affair with a family acquaintance in a higher social class. Manuela Sáenz would learn very early in her life that marriage was not as important as love.
Watercolor of Manuel Saenz wearing the Order of the Sun Medal
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