Biography of Mariano Melgar

Mariano Melgar was born on September 8, 1791, in Arequipa, southern Peru. His parents were
Juan de Dios Melgar and Andrea Valdivieso. He studied at the Conciliar Seminary San Jerónimo,
where he became a professor of Latinity and rhetoric. At the age of 20 he traveled to Lima to study
law.

In Lima he leaned through literature. He wrote beautiful poems, fables and yaravíes. Among his
works stands out his "Letter to Silvia", dedicated to the love of his life, María de los Santos
Corrales.

In 1814, in Arequipa he joined the independence rebellion of brothers Angulo and Mateo
Pumacahua. The chief Pumacahua appointed him War Auditor, and as such he attended the Battle
of Umachiri on March 11, 1815. Unfortunately, he fell prisoner and was shot the next day on the
same battlefield.