The slogan of José Félix Ribas «Necessary is to Overcome!» keeps the patriot people on their feet, working for the prosperity and future of the country, as expressed the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, regarding the 243 anniversary of the birth of the distinguished hero, who beat the royalist forces with a group of young people in La Victoria, Aragua state.
José Félix Ribas, a military and hero of the independence of Venezuela, was born in Caracas on September 19, 1775.
He was one of those who encouraged the people to participate in the events of April 19, 1810, according to the information gathered from different sources.
He was part of the Supreme Government Board in Venezuela at the departure of the Spanish military and politician Vicente Emparan.
As a fighting man he participated in the meetings of the Patriotic Society in support of the absolute independence of Venezuela.
Ribas accompanied Simon Bolivar, Mariano Montilla, José Ángel Álamo, among others, in his struggles against the oppressor.
In the events of April 19, 1810, he was acknowledeged as «representative of the pardos (1) «.
During the Admirable Campaign he was covered in glory in the battle of Niquitao (Trujillo), where he defeated the Spanish leader José Martín, and then had a prominent participation in Los Horcones (Lara).
The Liberator entrusted him with the command to defend La Victoria, where he pushed back José Tomás Boves and managed to stop the royalist forces with some inexperienced troops, formed mainly by young students and seminarians that Ribas had recruited and in whose preamble he pronounced the famous harangue: «We cannot choose between winning or dying, it is necessary to overcome».
In honor of the Venezuelan hero, Commander Hugo Chávez created Mission Ribas in 2003, an educational program that aims to include all those people who could not complete their high school studies.
Later, in 2012, he proposed the construction of a monumental park with his name located in La Victoria, Aragua state, on the Cerro La Juventud (Youth Hill), at the entrance of this city.
Two years later, the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, decreed the historic complex as the José Félix Ribas Monument of the Nation and the Paseo de la Juventud (Youth Stroll) to honor Ribas and the rebellious youth who defeated the royalist army on February 12, 1814
The monument contemplates two 14-meter high monoliths alluding to the Bicentennial of the Battle of La Victoria.
(1): Pardo is a term used in the Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Europeans, Indigenous Americans, and West Africans.
