BBC: Venezuela honours Simon Bolivar's lover Manuela Saenz

"In a state burial, the remains of Manuela Saenz were laid to rest alongside those of Simon Bolivar. ... Inside are what the government of Hugo Chavez calls the "symbolic remains" of one of the country's 19th Century independence heroes, Manuela Saenz. Known as the Liberator of the Liberator, Saenz was the lover of the forefather of modern Latin America, Simon Bolivar, whom she once helped save from assassination. On Monday, her remains were laid alongside those of her lover in the national pantheon building. The story of Bolivar's mistress - a woman who was born an illegitimate child of a nobleman, but rose to the rank of general in Bolivar's rebel army - has captured the imagination of Latin American historians for years."

URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10504821.stm