The highest civil and military honors have been paid today to the figure of General Menacho at the foot of his sculpture on Huelva Avenue, in a ceremony that serves as a prelude to the first historic battle that will be recreated this afternoon in Badajoz.
The event, which brought together the highest civil and military authorities in the city, had two distinct parts. The most solemn and emotional starring the XI Extremadura Brigade who, after a military parade, paid their tribute to the fallen in front of the statue of Menacho, prepared with two rifles of the time, a helmet and a flame.
And a second civil part, which has served to officially inaugurate the sculpture of the hero of the War of Independence and present the re-enactors who will take Badajoz back to the 19th century this weekend.
Military parade of the XI Extremadura Brigade next to the statue of Menacho in Badajoz. /
Presided over by the chief general of the XI Extremadura Brigade, Antonio Matas Balibrea, the military parade with representative uniforms has traveled a section of Huelva avenue, which was crossed by dozens of people from Badajoz who have filled both sides of the promenade and applauded the passage of the different units.
The most emotional moment was when two soldiers wearing the old tanker uniforms placed a laurel wreath at Menacho’s feet, a moment that preceded the performance of the anthem ‘Death is not the end’, broken with a salvo of riflery
From the military to the folkloric
After the military act, the ceremony continued with the official presentation of the 300 re-enactors who this afternoon and tomorrow will revive the Siege of Badajoz, a crucial historical episode in the future of the War of Independence.
Without the martial rigidity, the reenactors of the different regiments and representatives of the troops in contention, have walked through the avenue of Huelva, putting the folkloric note to the act. Their irruption has caused a lot of curiosity among the public, who did not know who they were or what they represented.
To shed light on those present, the official chronicler of Badajoz, Alberto González, praised the figure of General Menacho, recounting his deed with rhetoric and passion and contextualizing the historical moment that the people of Badajoz experienced under him. “Today is one of those days in which Badajoz vibrates in a special way,” he said, thus introducing the public to the biography of General Menacho, whom he described as “a model of the best Spanish soldier.”
Before him, Salvador Amaya, author of the Menacho sculpture, and Lourdes Torres, a sixth-generation descendant of the general, intervened in the act, whose interventions served to make official the inauguration of a statue that the pandemic prevented from uncovering with honors.
Finally, the mayor, Ignacio Gragera, highlighted the link between Menacho and the military past with the history of Badajoz. “More than two hundred years after his death, his name is still alive among us,” he sentenced, before shouting “Long live Badajoz and long live Spain!”
With an intense sun, during the event the health services had to attend to two re-enactors, a minor under 14 years of age and an 84-year-old man, due to heat stroke.
At six, the first battle at Puerta Pilar
This morning’s institutional act will give way this afternoon to the first historical recreation, which will take place in the wall between Puerta Pilar and the bastion of San Roque, which in Badajoz is popularly known as Los Cañones Park.
In this first recreation, the defense of the city against the siege of the French troops and the heroism of Menacho will be staged. To serve as a clue when following the battle, a re-enactor explained to one of the children who was in the audience what to look for: «Look at the circle of hats, the red ones are the Spanish , those who wear it in red, white and blue, are the bad guys, the French».
Before that time, the reenactors will be in the Plaza Alta so that those from Badajoz who want to can come and meet them.
www.hoy.es
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.