[WWI] To D and the southern hemisphere contingent

[Helen and Chris]

Diego,

thank you for the history.

Interestingly, and talking of statues in New York, there are only 16 Statues of Liberty in France.  And one of them is in the village in which I live!  Fortunately, it is an awful lot smaller than the one across the water.

Chris.


> 
> Buz!
> > Viva, Jose Martin!  Viva, Argentina!
> 
> Given the amount of answers this post has received, I think it's worthy to
> make an ot comment.
> General José de San Martín (that is this chap complete name) was an
> extrordinary fighter in the rebellion wars against the Spanish in the early
> XIXth century here in Argentina, Chile and Peru. He shared with Simón
> Bolivar the vision of a free, united continent in South America. As things
> turned out, their dreams weren't completely fulfilled, even when they
> achieved great things in their lifetime.
> San Martín wasn't a politician, but a soldier, and that brought him grief
> and misunderstatement which lead him to exile and eventually die far from
> our beloved country (in France) in poverty and almost forgotten by their
> compatriots. Fortunately enough, his memory has survived the petty quarrels
> of his contemporaries and he is now revered here and in the many places he
> helped to free from a foreign rule. If you want to know more about him, just
> type José de San Martín in Wikipedia.
> I have to note, however, that José de San Martín didn't took part of the
> Declaration of Independence of July 9th. That was a polithical event that
> took place far from San Martín's battlefields. And it took us another 37
> years to write a Constitution for our country!
> Speaking of odd places, some 10 years ago when I visited New York city, I
> was surprised to find that in the midst of Central Park, there's a replica
> of the same statue that can be seen in a Buenos Aires square. A few days
> later, I was visiting Washington (not far from the Mall) and lo and behold,
> there was another statue of Don José! Seems like these replicas were given
> at different times as gifts to the USA governement in the 1950s, which is
> logical since 1950 was the centennial of Gral. San Martin's death.
> Well, there goes a bit of trivia for y'all, partners.
> D.
> 
> 
> 
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