Francisco "Pancho" Ramírez, also known as "El Supremo Entrerriano" was a Warlord of the province of Entre Ríos during the Argentine war of independence.

He gained notoriety for fighting alongside Federal leader José Gervasio Artigas with Ricardo López Jordán and Eusebio Hereñú.  They fought in the Eastern band against the Portuguese invasions in the region, and in the taking of the province of Santa Fé in alliance with Don Estanislao López, however, when Hereñú together with the supreme director Juan Martín de Pueyrredón agreed to reincorporate the province of Entre Ríos into the faction of Buenos Aires (which was under Centralism), "Pancho" Ramírez rebelled against him and defeated him in 1817, becoming Artigas' lieutenant in the Uruguay River region.

Ramírez joined forces with those of Estanislao López and the Chilean general José Miguel Carrera and in February 1820 he defeated the Directory's army at the Battle of Cepeda, which soon reached the gates of Buenos Aires; right after the "Treaty of Pilar" was signed by the three provinces, which established Federalism as a form of government, and a simple generic reminder of the fight against the Portuguese invaders in the Oriental Province, devoid of obligations on the part of the contracting parties, this was the trigger of the subsequent war between "Pancho" Ramírez and José Artigas who had been defeated by the Luso-Brazilians at the Battle of Tacuarembo, Artigas accused Ramírez of treason for having reached an agreement with his enemies to his detriment.

With war now declared, Ramírez engaged in a quick succession of battles against his former boss, winning and forcing him into exile in Paraguay until his death more than twenty years later. After that, "El Supremo Entrerriano", the name given by the people of Entre Ríos to Ramirez, reorganized the territory of Entre Ríos and Corrientes under the Republic of Entre Ríos, which sought to strengthen national unity and for that it planned to reconquer Paraguay and expel the Lusitanians from the Eastern band.

However, the intrigues of the Buenos Aires government caused enmity with Estanislao López to explode. Having signed the Treaty of Benegas in November of the same year with the governor of Buenos Aires Rodríguez, López promised to stop the "Supremo". Ramírez and Carreras then decided to take the offensive, after a series of victories, Ramírez would finally fall dead in combat at Arroyo Seco, on July 21, 1821, while trying to rescue his beloved "Delfina" who had been captured in Santa Fe (On the day of Ramírez's death, Delfina was rescued by Medina and saved her life, managed to return to Concepción del Uruguay, where she lived until her death in 1839, and soon I will delve into this love story between the Warlord and the Portuguese Amazon). After his death, Ramírez was beheaded and his head exposed in the Cabildo de Santa Fé.  The Republic fell apart shortly after López invaded Entre Ríos.  However, his achievement was reflected in his men who fought alongside him and kept his memory alive, to this day in force among his in his province.

PS: • "Ceibo" or "ceibal": It is such a magnificent tree that it is a symbol of two countries Argentina and Uruguay, it is also native here in southern Brazil.

  • "Dragones": On September 29, 1820, Ramirez created the "Escuadrón Dragones de la Muerte".

"Para Don Pancho" • Los leñeros

▪ Lyrics:

Palpita ya la cuchilla su atardecer
Enreda en el horizonte su piel el sol
Calla la calandria, marchita el ceibal
Mientras las estrellas vela Don Pancho tu sueño están.

La espina del Río seco te atravesó
En pos de aquella Delfina que fue tu amor
Tu sangre rebelde la muerte selló
Le costo a Entre Ríos canta, Supremo, tu rebelión.

Cabalga tu nombre, glorioso Pancho, por tus cuchillas
Revendando soles, florece en Montiel
Mientras la Calandria retoma en trinos tus esperanzas
Entibia Delfina la flor de tu piel

Supremo entrerriano aquí está tu patria para cantarte
Junto a tus dragones, centauros del sol
Y sentir la sangre renovarse a tu memoria
Indio bravo piel de puma en la lucha y el amor.

La espina del Río seco te atravesó
En pos de aquella Delfina que fue tu amor
Tu sangre rebelde la muerte selló
Le costo a Entre Ríos canta, Supremo, tu rebelión.

Cabalga tu nombre, glorioso Pancho, por tus cuchillas
Revendando soles, florece en Montiel
Mientras la Calandria retoma en trinos tus esperanzas
Entibia Delfina la flor de tu piel

Supremo entrerriano aquí está tu patria para cantarte
Junto a tus dragones, centauros del sol
Y sentir la sangre renovarse a tu memoria
Indio bravo piel de puma en la lucha y el amor.

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