Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi was born on September 25, 1799. She was the eldest daughter of José Domingo Cáceres and Carmen Díaz. She was baptized in the Church of Santa Rosalía, in Caracas. Her father was an intellectual, a historian and professor of Latin. He taught her how to read, write and the values and moral principles, which became milestones during her years of captivity and exile. She had two brother, Felix and Manuel, who followed her.

 

     From an early age, Luisa Cáceres was notable for her beauty; she drew attention for her features and kindness. In 1814, before reaching the age of 15, the young patriot Juan Bautista Arismendi asked for her hand in marriage, in that same year, her father Domingo Cáceres and her brother Felix were killed by the royalist troops in Ocumare, which drove Luisa’s family to move to Margarita Island where she married Juan Bautista Arismendi. Since then, she became a reference source of Venezuelan history. In 1815, she was captured by the Spaniards in order to exert pressure on her husband who was battling a fierce war against the Spanish forces. Luisa remained at the dungeon in the Santa Rosa Castle where she was tortured and delivered a girl who died during childbirth. Afterwards, she was transferred to the San Carlos de Borromeo Castle in Pampatar, to be later sent to La Guaira and finally, in 1816 she was relocated in Spain where she underwent torture to make her renounce to her republican ideals. In 1818, she came back to Venezuela where she continued to support the ideals of freedom and sovereignty. She lived in Caracas until her dead in 1866. In recognition of her fight for the independence of Venezuela, her remains were buried in the Panteón Nacional in 1876.