The General in His Labyrinth Chapter 6

Introduction

The General is currently in Turbaco, waiting for his passport to leave.

The men with him were, Jose Palacios, General Montilla, and his military men.

Waiting in Turbaco

In June 16th, the general received his pension for life. And he said “We are Rich". This is ironical because the great Liberator is living from a little amount of money given by the government.

June 22nd , finally receives his passport, “We are free,” said Bolivar, again ironical because he is free from the country he liberated.

Going to Cartagena

He immediately leaves from Turbaco to Cartagena, and left without advice.

He did not stop or talk during the whole trip, contrary to order trips were he stopped and talk to the people.

CartagenaCartagena was full of pilgrims, because the seasons of prayers.

There was panic in the city, because of a dog with rabies were biting people.

A party was waiting for the General at Cartagena organized by Montilla.

All the people gathered around to receive the General entrance to Cartagena, and he could not stop thinking about the great entrance he did in Caracas in August in 1813 when he was named the Liberator.

Cartagena

Cartagena de Indias one of the most beautiful and rich cities of Colombia was now destroyed because of the independence war, and he felt the same, from glory to worthless.

“What a price we’ve had for an independence that’s not worth shit!,” said the angry General.

Many Grenadiers did not liked Bolivar and Montilla anymore.

Cartagena

Montilla did not want the General to leave, he was sure that the General would die because of his health during the long trip.

He would create excuses to the General, for example, he would tell him that the captain of the ship was not going to leaf, because they were too many women that were going to board the ship.

CartagenaHis Deliriums

The bad health of the General made him have deliriums

His deliriums:

He woke up and said to Montilla to free a man in prison of justified homicide.

The barks of the dogs that were been killed in the street, made him sad, because he loved dogs, and he remembered Nevado. And Montilla promised he would not kill more dogs, but they still kill the dogs.

Cartagena

Montilla begs the General not to leave Cartagena, and to convince him, he revealed him a secret. The General Rafael Urdaneta, Bolivarist, is preparing a coup in Santa Fé de Bogotá.

The General heard him, even interested about it, so he told him to talk to Sucre. The General told him that he should not waste time talking to this old man.

The General made his choice, he commanded to load the boat, and he will leave.

CartagenaMany people gather to farewell, and Montilla prepared a military party. The house was full with people.

The General curiously went closer to Camille and flirted with her. He talked about the party and the people.

Camille accepted him with grace

Suddenly, no one knows why, The General decided to stay! Every one notice this, because he would say that what would he do with all the women in a boat with the state of health he has.

Palacio said, “Only my master knows what my master is thinking.”

La Popa Hill

Montilla wanted a better climate for the General, so he rented a simple house in La Popa Hill, a suburb near Cartagena

The General liked the house, the house’s colorful walls, the roof, and the backyard filled with fruit trees attracted his attention.

The climate was less humid, so it was better for his health.

Paintings

He only went to Cartagena three times to pose for Antonio Meucci for a portrait.

Jose Maria Espinoza the New Granadian artist painted the General before his assassination attempt, in this portrait the General look very old and wasted

His oldest painting was made in Madrid when he was 16, and another 2 were painted in Haiti when he was 32.

Many painters idealized the General in his days of glory.

Paintings This is a contrasts of paintings by two artists, and at the same time, which can be covered by Boulton Foundation in Plaza Pantheon of Caracas: The Decrepit Bolivar or Bolivar Espinoza Meucci Gallardo. The difference is, when Bolivar posed for Meucci, while Spinoza drew

This was painted Jose Maria Espinoza for July 1830: sick and dying!

They saw and painted for Antonio Meucci July 1830: Arrogant and Lofty!

Strange GirlOne night, the General woke up an there was a beautiful woman in the room.

He ask the mysterious girl, what the people thought of him? And she answered that the people thought you are not sick.

To prove he was ill he took his shirt off to show her how skinny he was.

“The only thing lacking is for me to die,” said the General.

She left as well as all of the other girls.

The General never had a strong relation ship with a woman.

IturbideIturbide was one of his soldiers

He ask Iturbide, what are they saying in Mexico? “I don’t have anyone there,” “I am in exile,” said Iturbide. The General replied “All of us are in exile.”

The war of independence eliminated the bonds between Spain, and for a while the people felt they did not have identity.

Iturbide wanted to feel the battles, but they were all over. The General reminded him that the only wars were the civil war, were the same people kill each other.

Antonio José de SucreThe general received the news from General Machado that a group of military opposition of anti-separatists, who wanted the General to be the head of the group

The General was not exited, and he ask were was Sucre, and he was told that he went by land to Quito.

That same night, the General received the horrible new that on June 4th the Marshal Sucre had been ambushed and killed.

The General´s Mourning

The General had the feeling that something bad will happen to Sucre, and he was correct.

He damns Sucre´s death, and his soul did not found comfort, and he imagined him on his horse before he die.

That night he vomited blood.

That same night, the General pondered about how old he had become.

To deal with his grief, he talk to his soldiers about the same topic again and again: Santander, the separation, Panama’s congress, he had to be a dictator and decree the death sentence to create order, spend all his money on war, he divided his lands among his slaves, he reject 1,000,000 that the Peruvian government gave him, and he was frustrated that nothing worked out.

The General´s Mourning

Nothing seem to take the General out of his sorrow, they were his worst days.

Not even the integration movements would take him out.

He only received as a visit of the Colonel Miecieslaw Napierski.

The General told him, “There is nothing left, you had come too late there is nothing here.”

Everyone was trying to protect the General from more bad news.

More EventsManuela Saenz did a revolt in Santa Fé de Bogota.

Her sister wrote him to come back to Venezuela to put order.

The congress of Venezuela decreed the fully separation from the Gran Colombia.

His birth day came, he became 47, this was a special age for all the bad things that had happened. “Forty-seven years old, damn it,” he murmured. “And I´m still alive!”

With his his small inner strength, he told his soldiers if they wanted to fight for Venezuela go ahead.

Laorencio Silva, Iturbide, Fernando, and Andres Ibarra stayed.

The General said good bye to the rest of them, with the hope of winning.