November 20, 1998
By Daniel L. Muñoz Sr.
History is what the historians and writers of a particular era write. The victors generally write it and not the losers of the conflict that changed that epoch. History is also passed on by a society through "leyendas," legends that are passed on orally throughout a society.
In the case of the Mexico, history is also expressed through "Corridos" a song form that was created spontaneously by the folk people that were mostly non-literate. They sang their version of history as they saw and felt it.With guitars in hand they roamed the countryside bringing to life their heroes as well as their villains. Be it a campfire out in the lonely hills, or valleys of the Mexican countryside, or the small cantinas that could be found in every pueblo, cantors would strum their guitars in the familiar four verse cadenzas. They sang about their history as they saw it and felt it.
El Porfirismo: laid the roots for Revolution
General Porfirio Diaz had ruled Mexico from 1876 as a total dictatorship until 1910.
Peace and order was maintained under the iron control of Diaz and the Catholic Church.
Ninety percent of the people lived in poverty, unschooled and practically enslaved by the totalitarian regime of the Dictator Diaz and the rich and powerful church.
Foreign capitalists enjoyed special privileges and protections from Mexican laws. American capitalists raped the countryside of all its natural resources. Foreign corporations owned the oil fields, mines and lands and the nations only railroad was owned by American interests.
The Mexican elite's, i.e. the Gachupines, European mixed bloods, and Spaniards lived in comfort and splendor. There were no middle classes only the desperately poor indigenous, Mestizos and Creoles. The Church, upper class elite, and Spanish Hacen-dados owned all lands. Ranches in some cases were over one million acres. Indians, Mestizos, and Creoles worked in conditions of slavery.
Francisco Madero, 1911
Francisco I. Madero, supported by the new generation of liberal Mexican politicians, intellectuals, workers and peasants, rose up and issued a call for a general uprising against the oppressive regime of General Porfirio Diaz. The date: November 20, 1910!
Maderismo was a social and political movement whose avowed purpose was to obtain Democracy for Mexico. The roots of the revolution occurred when Madero defeated Porfirio Diaz in the presidential election. Diaz, a sore loser, jailed Madero, however, he escaped and then called for an armed uprising to rid the country of Diaz.
In nineteen hundred and ten,
in the city of San Luis (Potosi)
Madero set up his plan
to battle Porfirio
he set out from Ciudad Juarez
on a nationwide campaign
What a man Madero was!
I know his deeds,
he went straight to the jails
and set free the prisoners,
may the Saintly Virgin of Guadalupe
fill him with blessings
Here I sit to sing
these familiar lyrics.
I'll begin with deaths
of Madero and Pino Suarez
and how those federal forces
betrayed Mexico.
The widow (of Madero) told Huerta
not to assume the presidential seat,
because it would end up
breaking his heart ,
and Carranza was coming right behind
with another revolution.
Caranza sent (Huerta) a message
saying he didn't lose hope
of toppling his government
by sword and knife,
so that everyone would shout
"Viva Carranza."
Pancho Villa and Mytorena,
who switched sides up North,
acknowledged those they had
originally fought against
and joined the forces
they had once defeated.
En mil novecientos diez,
en la suidá de San Luis
expidió su plan Madero
pa' Porfirio combatir;
empezó por Ciudad Juarez
a recorrer el país.
¡Ah, qué Madero tan hombre,
le conozco sus acciones!
Derecho se fué a la cárcel
a echar fuera las prisiones;
Virgen Santa `e Guadalupe
lo llene de bendiciones.
Aquí me siento a cantar
estos versos familiares
comenzaré con la muerte
de Madero y Pino Suárez,
que a México traicionaron
esas fuerzas federales.
La viuda le dice a Huerta
que no subiera al sillón,
que no después anduviera
con dolor de corazón
porque allá viene Carranza
con nueva revolución.
Carranza le puso un parte,
que no perdía la esperanza
de tumbarlo de la silla
con su puñal y su lanza,
para que gritaran todos:
—Muchachos, ¡viva Carranza!—
Pancho Villa y Maytorena,
que en el norte se voltearon,
reconocieron las causas
que de un principio pelearon,
y se unieron al partido
que ellos mismos derrotaron.
(Song from Nuevo Corrido de Madero by Manuel Camacho and Regino Los Angeles , Ca. 4/25/1930)
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