This article examines the testimonial condition of Juan Manuel Beruti (1777-1856).To do so, it provides a brief theoretical review about autobiographical writing and its characteristics in late 18 th century and early 19 th century, and then performs a discourse analysis of Memorias curiosas, an extensive chronicle about the main events ocurring in the city of Buenos Aires from 1717 to 1855.The definition of "witness", proposed by Paul Ricoeur, is used to understand the text as a testimony.