About a poor but distinguished young man, representative of the Chilean colonial tradition where distinction, honor and other virtues were more important than money and that at that time (1835 onwards) began to change with the emergence of the mining industry. and capitalism promoted by the English, areas that promote a new social class that imposes money as an element of social value. Rivas is ambitious because despite his poverty he decides to continue university studies, which in the 19th century was only for the upper classes. For this, Rivas moved from Copiapó in the north of Chile to study law in Santiago. His diminished economic condition forces him to stay at the house of Don Dámaso Encina, leader of a wealthy Chilean family.