On April 1, 1880, the Battle of Locumba took place, in which a Chilean cavalry detachment led by Dublé Almeyda was unexpectedly attacked by Gregorio Albarracín.

Dublé Almeyda and three soldiers managed to mount and escape towards Moquegua, leaving eight Chileans dead and the rest prisoners, who were sent to Tacna and then La Paz.

Albarracín attacked a Chilean outpost led by Ensign Souper, who withdrew from the valley, to return with 450 men under the command of Tomás Yávar.

Then Albarracín withdrew to Tacna, leaving the sameños in the valley, those who, without weapons, were decimated in the grasslands of Sama.

Just 3 kilometers south of Buenavista, the Chilean army would be concentrated a few weeks later, in the so-called Las Yaras camp, prior to the Battle of Tacna.