Women in Revolution
In a poem, "Las Soldaderas," by Elena Poniatowska, Jesusa Rodríguez, y Liliana Felipe, the opening line reveals some aspects of the motivation of Mexican women joining the revolution. The poem opens as
"Viudas, solteras, amantes y casadas,
madres y hermanas formaron batallón
al mando de fornida extortillera
las soldaderas se fueron al montón."
The poem ends with specific names of the women who participated in the revolution. It further asserts the fact that the Mexican Revolution could not have been possible if not for the pivotal role of Mexican women. These lines are as follows,
"Carmela Robles, Florinda Lazos, Maria Quinteras y Petra Ruiz Angela Gómez, La Bobadilla
y Carmen Parra la de Alanis, Cadete Clara, la Catalina, La Carmen Velez y Encarnación
Maria Esperanza, La Petra Herrera, La Valentina. Sin soldaderas no habrá revolución."
Source: Poniatowska, Elena, et al. “Las Soldaderas (289).” Debate Feminista, vol. 46, 2012, pp. 251–257. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42625608. Accessed 13 Jan. 2021.
Below are some books and ephemera that can be used to further research the role of Mexican Women in the Revolution. Please see Mexico -- History -- Revolution, 1910-1920 -- Women.
Yo También Adelita.
Las soldaderas.
México's nobodies : the cultural legacy of the soldadera and Afro-Mexican women
De armas tomar : feministas y luchadoras sociales de la Revolución Mexicana.
Las soldaderas : women of the Mexican Revolution.
La Adelita (music score from the first edition of Los de abajo).
The women's revolution in Mexico,1910-1953.
La Soldadera
La Soldadera-Silvia Pinal
Library of Congress provides access code to embed the following soundtrack for educational purposes. The soundtrack is Adelita. Source: "Adelita." Conway's Band, 1918. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara. Inclusion of the recording in the National Jukebox, courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment.
While most of the Soldaderas have remained unknown there were other luminaries whose names can never be forgotten. Some of them are women revolutionaries, and writers.
