UN General Assembly
1980

229. Now, may I pay a very warm tribute to the history of two brother peoples: Bolivia and Peru. This is the second time that Bolivia has been called upon to speak in the General Assembly at a memorable moment in the history of our two countries. Yesterday we commemorated the immolation of Admiral Miguel Grau on the bridge of the warship Huascar. The figure of Admiral Grau is loved and respected by the people of Bolivia. His glorious feats performed in an unequal battle on the coasts of Angamos, in defence of part of the Bolivian coastline, are a symbol and a mandate that the people of Bolivia will never forget. 230. My country, land-locked in the centre of South America, with a diverse geography which is a challenge to the creative imagination of man, struggled with a history at once turbulent and heroic. It would appear that our mysterious and changing landscape has been reflected in the past of a small but proud nation, determined to overcome the vicissitudes that fate had in store for it.