Maria Josefa
Esguerra

On the roads connecting the salt mines of Zipaquirá with the heart of the Republic, María Josefa Esguerra wove an invisible yet deadly web for the Empire. As an intelligence agent and direct confidante of “La Pola,” María Josefa turned everyday observation into a strategic weapon, deciphering royalist plans before Spanish troops had even set out. She was the messenger of danger and hope, evading patrols so that the voice of freedom would never be silenced. Her sacrifice on the gallows of Machetá, that November of 1817, sealed a blood pact: that of the women who not only awaited freedom, but also watched over it, reported on it, and died protecting its secrets.