Hero of the Latin American war for independence, Rafael José Urdaneta y Faría was born on October 24th, 1788, in the province of Maracaibo in Venezuela from an aristocratic family of spanish descent. Prior to the independence war he was a student of latin and philosophy, and an officer for the Royal Houses of Spain .

After the 1810 declaration of independence, Urdaneta, from Bogotá, joined the patriotic ranks in the war against Spain. A few years later, through illustrious gallantry he became Simon Bolivar's right hand and General of the Patriotic Army.

Secretary of Military and Defense, Senator of Congress on numerous occasions until the end of his days, Urdaneta "The Brilliant", died in Paris on August 23, 1845, due to kidney stones. [Image:]