Project 4AB - Camila O'Gorman by Bobbie Wilson
Camila O'Gorman
Camila O'Gorman was the victim of the harsh laws enforced in the civil war period in Argentina in the early 1800's. Governed by Juan Manuel de Rosas, a wealthy landowner who was known for his oppression and dictatorship, Argentina suffered. Those who rebelled, such as Camila O'Gorman, were made to suffer their fate at Rosas' unforgiving hand.
Rosas was described as a thug who engaged in methods of torture and terror to control his people and to crush those who opposed him. Rosas made the people wear crimson, which was the color of the ruling party. There was a strict curfew, kidnappings in the dead of night were common, and the main square showcased the spiked heads of those who opposed Rosas' government. Males were dominant, and this attitude was in keeping with the general atmosphere within the area homes. Thus being, Camila was raised in a very male-dominated and strictly unforgiving household.
Camila O'Gorman was born in 1828 in Buenos Aires. She was the daughter of an influential family, and was accepted into the social realm and was received at official functions. Her father, Aldofo O'Gorman was married to a high class Spanish woman, with whom he had six children.
Aldofo was a second-generation Irish immigrant. He was obsessed with religion, honor and morality. One of his sons became a priest, another a police chief. His father, Miguel O'Gorman, a physician, moved the family to Argentina in search of land and freedom. The Irish immigrated to Argentina in small numbers, where they settled in the large open spaces to raise and breed sheep. The Irish community shared the Catholic religion of those in their new land, and the Socorro church was where the O'Gorman family worshiped.
Camila was a beautiful, well-educated young woman with excellent manners and a kind disposition. She was doomed to live in a land where terror reigned, where she was fearful of not making it home it time to meet the strict curfew. Camila was rebellious of these rules, choosing instead to live by her heart.
Uladislao (Ladislao) Gurierrez was from Tuscan, born into a well-known family. He was a young priest who arrived in Buenos Aires and was assigned to the Socorro church. Camila's brother, Eduardo, introduced the pair. Camila and Ladislao soon fell in love. Due to Rosas' harsh laws and the scandal their love would cause, the two young lovers eloped. When Adolfo, Camila's father, learned of the event, he claimed it to be a most atrocious and unheard of act. Adolfo reported the elopement to Rosas, and Rosas ordered an urgent plea for the arrest of the couple, and stated that Ladislao was to be sentenced to a public prison, and that Camila was to be sent to a convent. Rosas made the decision to set a precedent, to satisfy religion and to prevent further disobedience.
Camila and Ladislao escaped safely, and traveled to Goya, where they posed as teachers. After setting up the town's first school, they soon earned the respect and love of the residents. Camila became pregnant with Ladislao's child, and the townspeople decided to have a celebration in her honor. Unfortunately in attendance was a priest who knew the couple from the Socorro church, and he immediately informed authorities of their whereabouts.
Rosas decreed that the two should be executed without trial. This was due in part to the fact that Rosas himself was being slandered as being responsible for this immoral elopement. Camila never showed remorse or repentance over her actions. Instead, she spoke of her love for her husband, adding that it was her idea to elope, and not that of Ladislao, who had been accused of kidnapping her.
On the day of their execution, Camila and Ladislao were in different cells. A priest approached Camila's cell, and proceeded to baptize her unborn baby. He made Camila drink holy water and sprinkled ashes on her head. Camila and Ladislao were then blindfolded and led to the prison yard, where they were tied to chairs. The couple was shot to death by a military firing squad on August 18, 1848.
The murder of Camila O'Gorman was recorded as the most unlawful and atrocious act in a century where murders were common and went unnoticed. There was, in fact, a law governing the execution of a pregnant woman, stating that she was not to be killed until after the birth of her child. Rosas and his disciples ignored this law. As a pawn in a political game, the daughter of an unbending and fanatical father, her crime was to love too much. Curiously, after the execution, many of the people who were so critical of the young lovers, acted appalled at Camila's savage murder, and spoke of the repression of love.
The Freiran aspect of this time emphasizes the political power of Rosas and his followers, and how he governed through terror and fear. The men were oppressed, and they, in turn, treated their families in the same manner. Those who would challenge him and his rules would be dealt with swiftly and lethally.
Component B
The following is a story of Camila awaiting execution in her prison cell on August 18. 1848. Although not a true story, it follows the events of documented history:
I am so frightened! I am condemned to die, along with my beloved Ladislao and our sweet unborn baby, who has done nothing! Why? Why are we to perish? I would gladly give myself to save my baby - I cannot bear to think of it, and am lost in despair. I huddle in a corner of my cell, my thoughts fragmented; listening intently for the dreadful sound of approaching footsteps.
At length, two officials arrive to read the proclamation sent from Buenos Aires, signed by Rosas. There is no escape. We are to die. I hug my stomach, where my baby rests contentedly, and anguish over what I cannot change. I sob, and wait.
Presently, a priest arrives, asking for my confession, and blessing my child. I drink the holy water and receive the ashes that will guarantee my little one a place in heaven. My eyes are covered, and I am led to the yard. I sense Ladislao beside me, and we are each tied to a chair. I cannot even try to shield my baby from what is to come. A great injustice is done, and it is over. As my soul is separated from my earthly body, I pray for those who have wronged me, for they are destined to spend their eternity far from heaven.
The Story of Camila O'Gorman
The Dog Who Knew Camila
Pictures of Camila
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