Songs and Women Fighters of the Mexican Revolution
Tara A. Spears
One of the great symbols of the Mexican Revolution were the Adelitas, also called soldaderas, who were women that actively participated in the armed struggle by fighting in different military contingents. (2018 la Publimetro) One group of women soldiers was created by Adela Velarde a young warrior who fought in many battles. 
While Adele was not recognized for her performance or her great contribution at the time, later she was recognized when the composer Antonio del Río wrote songs like “La Charrita” and “La Adelita”. These historical songs are still popular in the 21st century.
To say “corrido” is to evoke the Mexican Revolution. The corrido is a popular musical genre, fundamentally combative and the most committed to the great social causes of historical movement. Modern cartel actions are the subject of contemporary corridos. According to Mexican historian Rafa Reina (2018) “By the time the Mexican Revolution broke out, corridos were an inherent part of the culture and became the way to spread news of battles. These songs were a means to communicate with the people.” This retelling of events or about people represented an important link between the people and the national political happenings. The main function of the original Mexican corrido was to disseminate fresh news about important events not to be entertainment. The Mexican corrido can be likened to the signing minstrels in the Middle Ages.
In Mexico, centuries later, the corrido will reach its height of popularity with the revolutionary fighting when battles and heroisms, executions and betrayals were the daily occurrence. All these events were told in great detail by the traveling troubadours that informed the citizens in the squares, fairs and markets, only accompanied by his guitar.
Along with the great troops of Francisco Villa, Emiliano Zapata and Venustiano Carranza, an anonymous crowd of women known as the Soldaderas or the Adelas played a very important role in the armed struggle of the Mexican Revolution. They were cooks, washerwomen, mothers and wives who joined the revolutionary cause with courage, strength and sensitivity.
The soldaderas also acted as nurses, collecting the wounded and burying the dead. In addition to taking care of the family, they also took care of the ammunition and prepared the cartridge cases for the hour of battle. Some of them acted as smugglers of weapons and ammunition between the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, these women carried out espionage and information exchange tasks. In the words of the writer Elena Poniatowska “Without the soldaderas there would have been no Revolution. The women soldaderas kept the rebellion alive and fruitful like the earth.”
Poniatowska says that the prominence of the soldaderas in the Mexican Revolution has been little disclosed by official history. “These characters are almost mythical and they are only known for as the corridos and for the photographic archives; when actually these women are really an essential part of the history of Mexico.”
And although the adelitas were mostly forgotten for years, today in the primary schools of Mexico every November 20th, the little girls dress in traditional peasant style and wear bandoliers in honor of those brave women who fought in the Mexican Revolutionary war.
History is in debt and demands a version that proves that women were key figures who achieved more than a theme for corridos like “La Adelita.” During the Mexican Revolution, many women stood out for their participation. Gracias Adelitas!
Bring your camera and watch the La Penita revolutionary parade Sunday 20 November down the main avenida concluding at the town square.
