Luisa Caceres Arismendi was a Venezuelan heroine known for playing a significant role in the Independence of Venezuela. She was born to Jose Domingo Caceres and Dona Carmen Diaz on September 25, 1799 in Caracas. His father was a grammar teacher who taught her to read and write, as well as the moral principles during her time.
Following her father and brother’s assassination by the Royal forces, the rest of Luisa’s family moved to Isla Margarita in 1814. Before turning 15, she married Venezuelan military officer Juan Bautista Arismendi who was at the time, the isla’s provisional Governor, initiating a campaign against the royalists.
In 1815, Luisa Caceres Arismendi, who was pregnant at the time, was taken hostage by the Spaniards to press her husband. She was also tortured and humiliated to make her renounce her ideals. Yet, she never gave up her desire for freedom. She was taken to Cadiz where she refused to declare her to the King of Spain. In 1818, she returned to Venezuela and carried on with her ideals of independence.
Luisa Caceres de Arismendi is featured on the obverse of the Venezuela 20 Bolivar Fuerte as well as Venezuela 5,000 Bolivar Fuerte banknotes.
The Venezuela 5,000 Bolivar Fuerte is part of the 2016-2017 Series issued by the Central Bank of Venezuela, when hyperinflation needed larger denominations. On the reverse of the green paper bill are the Venezuelan arms and two hawksbill turtles with the Montanas de Macanao in the background. The heroine is also depicted on the banknote’s watermark area along with an electrotype 5000.
The obverse of the Venezuela 20 Bolivar Fuerte from 2011 also portrays the Venezuelan War of Independence heroine. The note has a pink and aqua color combination and shares the same reverse design as the 5,000 Bolivar Fuerte note. Just like the 5,000 Bolivar Fuerte banknote, the 20 Bolivar Fuerte paper money also shows the heroine’s portrait and an electrotype 20 on its watermark.
