![\"Luis](\"http:\/\/www.recoletacemetery.com\/images\/200911D01.jpg\" "\\"Luis")
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Born in Buenos Aires in 1822, not only did Luis Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a have to choose sides during the difficult period of national organization under Rosas, but he also had to choose a career. His parents wanted a doctor in the family while he had a preference for law. Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a did both. Some of his illustrious classmates in med school were Guillermo Rawson<\/a> & Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Bosch while he was accompanied in law school by Bernardo de Irigoyen<\/a> & Rufino de Elizalde<\/a>.<\/p>\n Only after the expulsion of Rosas did Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a come into the public eye. In 1860 he formed part of the Convenci\u00f3n de Buenos Aires<\/em>, responsible for a new draft of the constitution & firmly believed that BA should form part of the Argentine Confederation.<\/p>\n Twenty years later, Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a held a variety of provincial & national posts —too many to mention here— with the most important being a representative\/diputado<\/em> in the National Congress, then head of the Supreme Court. After the 1890 Revolution<\/a>, he sided with Roca<\/a> & Pellegrini<\/a>\u2026 & as a result later became involved in a family scandal.<\/p>\n During 1892 presidential elections, the liberal UCR party thought Bartolom\u00e9 Mitre<\/a> would be a sure win while conservatives under Roca\u2019s influence thought it best to continue to support Pellegrini. Some conservatives broke away from Roca & presented Roque Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a<\/a>—the son of Luis—as their candidate. Intimidated by the change Roque would bring, Mitre, Pellegrini & Roca formed an alliance to present Luis Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a as their alliance candidate. Tricky, tricky.<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course Roque would not run against his own father, so Luis became President. His term is known for modernizing the nation, but eventually Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a lost Roca\u2019s support, faced a series of uprisings & eventually resigned to let his Vice-President Jos\u00e9 Evaristo Uriburu take over in 1895.<\/p>\n Leaving public life for good, Luis Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a quietly passed away in 1907\u2026 three years before his son became President. The tomb has been neglected for a long time but remains interesting for its history & a Biblical quote in Latin above the door from Job 19:25:<\/p>\n Scio enim quod redemptor meus vivit et in novissimo die de terra surrecturus sum.<\/em><\/p>\n I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Born in Buenos Aires in 1822, not only did Luis Sa\u00e9nz Pe\u00f1a have to choose sides during the difficult period of national organization under Rosas,…<\/p>\n![\"Luis](\"http:\/\/www.recoletacemetery.com\/images\/200911D02.jpg\" "\\"Luis")
<\/p>\n![\"Luis](\"http:\/\/www.recoletacemetery.com\/images\/200911D03.jpg\" "\\"Luis")
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