Falucho, the independence hero who chose execution over betrayal and inspired a historic monument

Antonio Ruiz entered history under another name: Falucho, or Negro Falucho. An independence soldier of African descent, he fought across Argentina, Chile and Peru before meeting an epic end in Peru for refusing to betray the cause of emancipation.

His early campaigns came under Manuel Belgrano, with the Battalion of Pardos and Morenos in the Army of the North. Falucho fought the royalists at Tucumán in 1812, then at Salta, Vilcapugio and Ayohuma in 1813. He later joined the forces led by José de San Martín and served with the Andes Battalion No. 8 at Chacabuco in 1817 and Maipú in 1818.

The army then took him to Peru, where he faced the decision that defined his legend. The account presents Falucho as refusing to join a mutiny against the independence movement and choosing execution rather than honor the enemy’s Spanish flag.

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He was one of the so-called 'bozal Blacks,' recently arrived from Africa. He was short, gentle and friendly, with a magnanimous spirit and a cheerful nature. He liked playing with children as an equal. These outward qualities concealed his inner strength and extraordinary courage.

Marcos de Estrada described him as recently arrived from Africa, physically small, gentle and cheerful, with a generous spirit and extraordinary courage beneath his unassuming appearance. Other historians dispute both his origins and birthplace. Some say he came from Africa, while others insist he was born in Buenos Aires.

His memory took concrete form in bronze. Argentine artist Lucio Correa Morales used Falucho as the inspiration for Buenos Aires’ first statue made by an Argentine sculptor. Accounts of San Martín’s army also emphasize the role of Black soldiers, whom the general reportedly warned that a Spanish victory could return them to slavery.

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If the Spanish defeated them, they would become slaves again and be sold for sugar.