Policarpa Salavarrieta & Alejo Sabaraín
La Pola and her love, shot for independence
The seamstress and patriot spy known as "La Pola" and Alejo Sabaraín, the soldier she loved: the incriminating papers found on him gave her away, and the Royalists shot them on the same day, making them martyrs of Colombian independence.
01Why it matters
Policarpa is Colombia's national heroine: the Day of the Colombian Woman is celebrated on the date of her death and her face appeared on its banknotes. Her love with Alejo forever entwines patriotic sacrifice with the sacrifice of love.
02The conflict
The Spanish Reconquista of New Granada. Policarpa sewed and spied for the patriots; when Alejo was captured on his way to join the Casanare guerrillas carrying lists she had given him, both were doomed.
03The iconic moment
La Pola, on the way to the scaffold, crying out to the crowd to avenge her death and that such a people did not deserve to be enslaved; Alejo was shot beside her that same morning.
04What survived
Her statue and her name in squares, banknotes and the telenovela "La Pola" (2010); the Day of the Colombian Woman every 14 November. She is the most remembered woman of independence.
05What to watch, read & listen
06Where to travel
07Frequently asked questions
Why is the story of Policarpa Salavarrieta & Alejo Sabaraín famous?
Policarpa is Colombia's national heroine: the Day of the Colombian Woman is celebrated on the date of her death and her face appeared on its banknotes. Her love with Alejo forever entwines patriotic sacrifice with the sacrifice of love.
How does the story of Policarpa Salavarrieta & Alejo Sabaraín end?
La Pola, on the way to the scaffold, crying out to the crowd to avenge her death and that such a people did not deserve to be enslaved; Alejo was shot beside her that same morning. Her statue and her name in squares, banknotes and the telenovela "La Pola" (2010); the Day of the Colombian Woman every 14 November. She is the most remembered woman of independence.
Where can you visit the story of Policarpa Salavarrieta & Alejo Sabaraín?
You can visit Plaza de Bolívar, in Bogotá. Near where she was shot in 1817.
Related loves
Simón Bolívar & Manuela Sáenz
The Liberator of the Liberator
The Quito-born revolutionary who left her husband to fight and love alongside the Liberator, saved his life in 1828, and earned the title "Liberator of the Liberator."
Read the story
Che Guevara & Aleida March
Love and revolution in Santa Clara
The Cuban fighter who battled alongside Che in the taking of Santa Clara and became his wife; she stayed in Cuba raising their children while he left to make revolution on other continents.
Read the story
Zumbi & Dandara
They loved and fought for freedom
The leaders of Quilombo dos Palmares, the great refuge of self-liberated enslaved people in Brazil: warriors and lovers who resisted the slave empire side by side.
Read the story