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Olavarría, José Valentín de

Index: La señora mayor, El informe de Brodie, OC,Obras completas. Buenos Aires: Emecé, 1974. 1048.
Type
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Argentine patriot and military man, 1801-1845

Fishburn and Hughes: "An Argentine military leader who joined the Army of the Andes and took part in the battles of the War of Independence, Chacabuco, Cancha Rayada and Maipú. CF375 Olavarría later fought under the command of Sucre in the Peruvian campaign, so he may well have fought at Arequipa and Ayacucho. Back in Buenos Aires, Olavarría enrolled in the action against the empire of Brazil and was wounded in the battle of Ituzaingó in 1827. A supporter of Lavalle in the conflict against the Federalists, he was persecuted by Oribe and forced to flee to Montevideo, where he joined Rivera's forces and died soon after. Many details of his life coincide with details of the life of the fictional Mariano Rubio, with whom he is said to have exchanged swords. This was a romantic custom among generals, and Borges recalls that his own grandfather had exchanged swords with General Mansilla on the eve of a battle in the Paraguayan War (see 26 Agosto, 86)." (143)