The "Bogotazo"
By: Carolina González 10 A
Years are full of meaningless days; sometimes, dates go by without us even
noticing them. Sure, everybody understands that it can't be Christmas or New Year’s Eve
every single day of the calendar, but, why is it that all the fun is saved only for the last
month of the year? For instance, there are not any important dates during the month of
April. I bet that even if we took all of its days and examined them one by one, we would't
be able to find a special one. There is April Fool’s day, but pranks are definitely not cool
anymore. There's Friday the 13 th , but that is really just a myth. Oh, look! There is also the
anniversary of “El Bogotazo” on April 9 but, who cares anyway? It happened like 70 years
ago…
Wait, important question: Do you actually know what “El Bogotazo” is? The answer
is probably no.
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Before you google it, allow me to explain.
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“El Bogotazo” is the name that is given to the massive riot that came after the
assassination of the presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in Bogotá, Colombia, 1948.
Gaitán was the leader of the Colombian liberal party, and he was considered the
defendant of the rights of the poor. He was a gifted speaker and had no trouble earning
the hearts of the Colombian working class, who thought he would eventually save them
from their misfortunes. When he was murdered, many of them (under the influence of
alcohol) were consumed by anger and started attacking government buildings, churches,
universities and even historic landmarks. After the riot had ceased, the devastation of
Bogotá was overwhelming.
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The greatest mystery of this iconic date is the true identity and motives of the
person who killed Gaitán. When the riot first blew up, the murder was blamed on Juan
Roa Sierra. The followers of the political leader hunted Roa down, almost beat him to
death, and then dragged his naked body through the streets of Bogotá until he eventually
died. Tragic as it may sound, there is no solid evidence that proves that he actually
committed the murder. There are some theories that blame the Colombian liberal party or the CIA for plotting the attack, and some people strongly believe that Cuban leader Fidel
Castro was directly implicated. I guess we will never be sure of what happened.
What we do know is that “El Bogotazo” kicked off the period in Colombia’s history
known as “La Violencia”, during which the conflict between conservative and liberal
parties became even worse than it already was. Thousands were killed or left the country,
and the guerrilla group FARC that is still haunting the country nowadays was formed.
On the whole, the events that occurred on April 9 th , 1948 had a very important impact on
Colombia's history, and it is our duty to always remember them. We have to understand
that without them, our country wouldn't be as it is today and that we have to work
together to make sure something as horrible and disastrous never happens again.