María Santos Corrales. As the inspiration of Peru's famous poet and patriot soldier, Mariano Melgar

Mariano Melgar

Mariano Melgar was a Peruvian patriot, poet, artist, and warrior for the cause of independence from Spain. As a poet, Melgar became one of the most prominent romantic poets of Peru in the 19th century history, best known for his famous poetic love songs known as yaravíes...

, she is forever immortalized as "Silvia" in his poetry.

Biography

María Santos Corrales was born on November 1, 1797 (All Saint's Day) in Arequipa, Peru. She was the daughter of José Corrales y Sanabría and Manuela Salazar. María Santos and Mariano Melgar knew each other due to their kinship – their fathers were first cousins. Their bonds of kinship were reinforced on February 8, 1812 with the marriage of María Santos's brother (Romualdo) and Mariano's sister (María Josefa). Only 14 years old at the time, María Santos rejected any romantic advances by Mariano Melgar (who was 21). Disillusioned, Mariano left Arequipa and eventually joined up with the pro-revolutionary forces. He fought at the battle of Umachiri, where he was captured by the royalist forces and then executed on March 13, 1815.

On November 24, 1819, María Santos Corrales married a veteran of the battle of Umachiri and soldier in arms of Mariano Melgar – Dr. and Col. Manuel Amat y León. They had nine children. María Santos Corrales died on March 8, 1881 in Arequipa, Peru at the age of 83.

Sources

"Coronel y Dr. Dn. Manuel Amat y León, Biografía Histórica,"
Artemio Peraltilla Diaz,
Arequipa, 17 de Mayo de 1969,
Imprenta Editorial “El Sol” – Sucre 306

External links

• Historia y Leyenda de Mariano Melgar 1790–1815 (Spanish)
• La Familia Amat y León (English/Spanish)