Project 5AB Augusto Sandino Bobbie Wilson
Augusto Sandino, Revolutionary
Sandino was a revolutionary whose cause was to liberate the oppressed. In 1934, during one of his political pursuits, he was ambushed and killed by his enemy. We know how he died; let us learn how he lived.
Augusto Nicholas Calderon Sandino was born on May 18, 1895 in the village of Niquinohomo. He is the illegitimate son of Margarita Calderon, a peasant worker, and Gregorio Sandino, her boss. In 1904, when Sandino is only nine years old, his mother abandons him. He goes to live with his grandmother for awhile, then to live with his father and family. Sandino is never really accepted by the family, and he is made to work to earn his keep. In 1921, Dagoberto Rivas, the son of a prominent citizen, makes a slanderous remark about Sandino’s mother. Sandino shoots him, then flees to his home village of Niquinohomo in fear of retribution. He wanders for a couple of years, trying different jobs, and his journeys finally lead him to Cerro Azul, in Mexico near the port of Tampico. It is during these wanderings that Sandino forms his opinions and ideas about radical revolution, and makes his decision to fight imperialism, socialism.
In 1926 when Sandino’s statute of limitations is up on his shooting crime, he returns to Niquinohomo planning to set up his own business. When he gets there he finds that Rivas is now in a position of authority in that village. Of course, Sandino does not stay. He goes to the city of Leon, where he meets up with a troop of migrating workers. They travel together to the North, and while traveling Sandino agitates the miners and influences them to take part in deeds of theft and sabotage. His cause is what he feels to be unfair foreign intervention in the affairs of Nicaragua. The Conservatives are oppressing his people. Thus Sandino forms a militia army called the Liberal Command. He obtains better weapons, and goes on the attack, harassing government troops. After retracting his agreement led by the United States to end the conflict between the Conservatives and the Liberals, Sandino is deserted by many of his troops. He goes into hiding in the mountains to San Rafael del Norte, where he meets and marries his wife, Blanca Arauz.
In 1928 Civil War ensues in Nicaragua. Sandino names his troops The Army in Defense of the National Sovereignty of Nicaragua. He declares that anyone against Sandino would be an enemy. In late 1930 Sandino is seriously wounded in battle. More bad luck, his wife is deported and sent away. By late 1931 Sandino adopts a religious zeal, and fueled by that zeal, he proclaims he is the "Incarnation of God", and that his wife is the incarnation of Mary, Mother of Jesus, He announces that the end of the world is near, and that Nicaragua would be the seat of judgement for those who were unjust. Sandino and his men do battle and come to control almost the entire northern region of Nicaragua. As civil war in Nicaragua intensifies, Sandino flees to Mexico and to the Honduras. As the battles rage, both physical and political, Sandino is determined to create a commune that would welcome revolutionaries from all over the world. His determination goes unfounded.
In 1934 Sandino goes to Managua, to the Presidential Compound, and publicly challenges the National Guard. He reaches an agreement with the President, an agreement that will be to Sandino's favor. It will reduce the power of his enemy, Somoza. He and his men make their way out of the presidential compound, satisfied with their gain of power. Caught unaware, Sandino and his men are ambushed by Somoza's men and are executed that same night. The next day the National Guard descends on Sandino's commune and executes most of the men, their wives and their children.
Sandino was a champion for the working class. His outlook was focused on the needs of the popular class. He was religious, energetic and positive thinking. He never hid his anti-imperialism, nor was he apologetic about his faith in the leading role of the social class. Sandino did not believe that only bureaucrats and the enlightened would succeed in life. He devoted his life to his cause, and many Nicaraguans honor today. He lived and he died for the liberation of the people.
Component C
The following is an account of the courtship of Sandino and Blanca. Although the story is fictional, it is based on actual facts.
I was nineteen when Augusto Sandino came to San Rafael del Norte, the town where I lived. Augusto and his men had come to my town to escape the impossible cold the Yucapuca plains. I was a telegraphist, and Augusto installed a Telegraphic Office in my home. He and his general staff stayed at my home, where Augusto would sit near me long hours of the day and night while I worked.
One day Augusto came to my quarters hoping to find me there. My sister, Lucila, invited him in, and asked him to stay for dinner. When I came into the room, I greeted Augusto with a kiss, and our fondness for each other grew. Augusto and his men began attending mass, and it was a peaceful and happy time.
On the day Augusto became 32 years old, we were quietly married in a small temple. I was dressed in a white suit and veil, and I wore beautiful, fragrant orange blossoms in my hair, shaped as a crown. It was two o'clock in the morning when we reached the church for our secret wedding. We found the church to be brightly lit on that cold and hazy morning. It smelled of incense and candles, and of sweetly perfumed flowers.
Augusto and I stood calmly and sincerely in front of the priest, blessing our union and praying for a wonderful life together.
Sandino in Detail
Sandino Commemorated
Pic of Sandino
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