Simón Bolívar, one of the leading figures in getting rid of Spanish rule in South America, was remembered last Saturday on the 186th anniversary of his death.

Also known as El Libertador, Bólívar was a wealthy Venezuelan who played an instrumental role in the formation of ‘Gran Colombia’, the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831.{{more}}

Speaking at the Remembrance Day ceremony, Venezuelan Ambassador Yuri Pimentel noted that Bolívar was not only the father of independence in Venezuela, but in many nations.

“Bolivar was one of the biggest leaders in the struggle for independence for freedom.…when he understood the struggle for independence was not just a struggle for one country, it was a problem of all the regions, so he started to fight in lots of places and that’s why he was the father of the independence of what we know now as Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Bolivia and Peru.”

Pimentel stated that apart from being a great solider, Bolívar was a ‘kind of prophet’ who saw the necessity of integration of all Latin American countries and the Caribbean.

He noted that it was Bolívar’s futuristic vision and ideals which saw the formation of today’s ALBA and Petro Caribé.

Pimentel explained that it was former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who rescued Bolívar’s ideas of justice, freedom and integration in our region.

“It is important to know this man, but not as something in the past. His ideas are with us; his strength is here with us to fight for a better future for all our region.”

Last Saturday’s event was attended by President of the Venezuelan Vincentian Friendship Association Mike Browne, other locals and Venezuelans working in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Bolívar passed away on December 17, 1830 of tuberculosis, at the age of 47.(CM)