Who was Juan José de Sarratea, the honest and hard-working patriot who gives its name to the street where Pedro Castillo had his controversial meetings?

He was not wrong or exaggerated Trade when exalting the work of Juan José de Sarratea said: “If as a Christian gift Juan José de Sarratea He was a paragon of virtues, he was no less so as a citizen. Patriotism, a sublime precept that enchants every man of heart in his contemplations, was for Sarratea his most tender and constant thought and he carried it out by sacrificing in the most dignified way everything he possessed: a brilliant future and even his own existence ”.

Juan José de Sarratea y Altolaguirre He was born in Buenos Aires in 1775, into a family of noblemen from Oñate. His father held important positions, becoming in 1796 Prior of the Royal Consulate of Buenos Aires. At the same time, he was a prosperous merchant supported by his sons Manuel and Juan José, who had received a solid education. At the beginning of the 19th century, Juan José extended his commercial operations to Upper Peru, at that time the territory of the Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires.

In Upper Peru

When the May Revolution broke out in 1810, the Sarratea embraced the cause of the homeland. Manuel, in 1811, joined the triumvirate that exercised the Executive Power together with Juan José Paso and Feliciano Chiclana. Juan José de Sarratea supported with his important fortune the provisioning of the patriotic armies that had begun a hard struggle of attrition with the royalists in Upper Peru. On October 1, 1813, in Vilcapuquio, the royalists under General Joaquín de la Pezuela defeated the forces of Manuel Belgrano. In his warehouses there was a variety of merchandise, owned by Sarratea, for a value of one hundred thousand pesos. He lost everything without uttering a single complaint.

Later, Sarratea placed himself under the command of General José de San Martín, forming part of his closest circle, even sharing his monarchical ideas. He was a key piece in the provisioning of the Army of the Andes, formed in Mendoza, which would achieve the freedom of Chile. At that time he established a close friendship with Juan Rodríguez Peña, with whom he became associated, and Bernardo Monteagudo. The most important stage of his life would begin in Chile.

Logistics task

Everything related to the logistical task of the liberating expedition to Peru is a story not yet told in detail. I think it is one of the greatest triumphs of General José de San Martín at the same level as the victories of Chacabuco and Maipú. Juan José de Sarratea, Miguel de Riglos, Juan Rodríguez Peña and Estanislao Linch (Argentines), as well as the Chilean Felipe del Solar, were essential in this work, abundant with problems and complications of all kinds, as well as distressing financial shortages. . They signed contracts with San Martín committing themselves to “prepare and pay for the transport necessary for the army, run with their maintenance, as well as with the horses to be transported, both on the way out of the expedition and on the return, gathering for this is all the provisions ”. They also had to prepare complete clothing and footwear for four thousand men, as well as their weapons according to the specifications provided to them.

Juan José de Sarratea, almost alone, prepared the expedition’s transport fleet. His correspondence on the subject with San Martín, O’Higgins, Guido, and others, is extremely interesting. It says, for example: “‘La Jerezana’, after the thousand proposals (sic), was only delivered one day before the general’s departure. The ‘Santa Rosa’ has almost no tweendeck and it took five days to remove the ballast. Sarratea, throughout the day, for many months, remained alert, watching over the work of coopers, carpenters, boatmen, caulkers, etc.

Sarratea in Lima

General San Martín recognized this work and wrote: “Juan José de Sarratea, my friend and worthy of all appreciation for his patriotism and beautiful qualities, is one of the businessmen who with his funds and personal work contributed so much to the preparation of the liberating expedition ”. Shipowners, like Sarratea, were promised to be paid in Lima. Knowing the course of events, we can deduce that they were all almost ruined. Juan José de Sarratea He stayed in our capital and started various companies. He resolutely supported Simón Bolívar in the preparations of the victorious army in Junín and Ayacucho. He opposed the Lifetime Constitution and was deported, returning shortly after to Lima. Here he married doña Josefa Urquiaga and had no offspring. He introduced mulberry cultivation and brought in silkworms, starting the silk industry. On July 28, 1862, he suffered a stroke, dying on the 30th. Trade He devoted ample space to it, praising its many virtues. It also reproduced the speeches made on the day of his funeral by Colonel Juan Espinosa and Francisco de Paula González Vigil. He said: “Peruvian by affection, for having married a virtuous and recommendable Peruvian lady, Argentine by birth and American full of enthusiasm, he was generally loved, he could not have an enemy.” Trade, said goodbye to him with these words: “He has had the happiness (if death can ever be) to die almost on the anniversary of the same day that the holy idea for which he had worked so much was proclaimed in the capital of Peru” . Capital streets and passages remember its clean name.