In Guanajuato, Mexico stands a stone statue commemorating the brave actions of one of the earliest heroes of the Mexican movement for independence. The large pink stone statue depicts a man with a torch held high in the air. Each stone before his feet is said to represent 100 years of Spanish rule over Mexico (3 steps to represent 300 years). This brave man’s name is Juan Jose de los Reyes Martinez Amaro, better known as El Pípila. El Pípila helped set the first victory of the struggle for independence as well as inspired the masses towards the Mexican independence movement. Juan Jose de los Reyes Martinez Amaro, a Nahuatl Indian, was born in San Miguel de Allende January 3, 1782. His parents were Pedro Martinez and Maria Rufina Amaro. He learned to read and write in his hometown. He is said to have been a very muscular and valiant man. At a young age he worked in a mine called “Mellado” near Guanajuato. He received his El Pípila (turkey) nickname from his companions on account of his pockmarked face. …show more content…
During that time México was known as “New Spain”. New Spain was the main source of gold and silver for the Kingdom during its 300 years of Spanish domination. The Spanish ordered New Spain to be divided into 12 provinces in the year 1786. One of those provinces was what is now known as Guanajuato. Governor Juan Antonia de Riaño y Barcena began the construction of the storehouse formally known as “Alhóndiga de Granaditas”. Locals were treated unfairly from that arose the idea of independence and reforms that would make the territory a new