“Las balas del Niño Dios”: La batalla de Tarapacá y la formación de la nación en el extremo sur del Perú (1822-1842)

On January 6 and 7, 1842, Peruvian and Bolivian troops fought in the town of Tarapaca as a consequence of a permanent border conflict originated within the complex process of formation of the republic in both countries. This fact was instilled in the memory of Peruvians and Tarapaca inhabitants through the prose of Ricardo Palma, and the present article addresses this event by seeking to go beyond the mythical, heroic and literary rhetoric that has been so far dominant in order to understand the local socio- political dynamics regarding the formation of the nation and the national territory in the southernmost province of Peru at that time, and that were expressed in this event. Keywords: Peruvian and Bolivian border, border conflict, invasion, battle, Tarapaca.