On April 4th 1793 Vicente Bustamante was born, who later became Cornel Vicente Bustamante, liberator and defender for the independence of not only Colombia but for Venezuela as well. At the age of 17 he began his military career as a soldier and quickly rose to become Colonel because of his many military accomplishments. After becoming Governor of Buenaventura (city) and taking over civil and military duties of Popayan (city). He led his troops to more than 30 battles until he was commissioned by General Simon Bolivar (liberator of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador) to travel to Venezuela to stop the marches led by Paez on Venezuelan land. Vincente Bustamante reached many great accomplishments. He marched thru Caracas’s in 1821, and his name is found gloriously throughout the pages of Venezuelan history. Today his monument stands on the famous avenue of the liberators in Caracas. After finishing his campaign in Venezuela Colonel Bustamante returned to his native Colombia in 1831 as commander of the Battalion know as the “Hunters”, of Bogotá (now the capital of Colombia). His military life continued until the republic of Colombia was formed which sadly was the same year of his unexpected death in the city of Caci his home the first week of December. In Caci the Bustamante Family currently holds his actual sword helmet & portrait painted in Oleo.
