Francisco Antonio de Zela y Arizaga is notable for proclaiming the first cry for independence in Peruvian territory, in the city of Tacna, on June 20, 1811. For this reason, he is considered a hero of Peruvian independence. Zela died in the Chagres prison in Panama in 1821. It is significant and beautifully symbolic that the first Peruvian leader to rise up against European power over the inhabitants of America died in the same year that marked the beginning of its decline and eventual dissolution. His efforts would henceforth be considered the first to point the way to the independence for which the people of Peru would fight and ultimately achieve. A work by Augusto Tamayo.
