Guerrera's Revolution

The history of the Mexican Revolution cannot go without talking about its women - in fact,  Guerrera, literally means, "heroic" women. These passionate and courageous, women warriors are often remembered for the violent or sinful acts of war, even though they weren't much different than those by other Mexican Revolution heroes like Carranza or Zapata.

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Take a look at a few interesting Guerrera Bios:

Coronela María de la Luz Espinosa Barrera (how would you like to print that at the top of your school papers?) was one of the very few revolutionaries who received a pension as a veteran of the Mexican Revolution.  Having served the effort with distinction, peaceful times, however, brought a less forgiving stance in her life. For one who smoked, drank, gambled and feared no man to revert to the timid submissiveness expected of women was unthinkable. Like many veterans, Maria found conformity impossible and spent the rest of her life as a restless soul, an itinerant peddler dressed as a man and carrying a pistol.

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Margarita Neri led a force of more than 1,000 in 1910, sweeping through Tabasco and Chiapas looting, burning, and killing. These were hardly unusual events in wartime, except for the fact that this particular groups commander, who brandished a bloody machete and vowed to decapitate Diaz, was a woman. Margarita Neri earned such a reputation for ruthless slaughter that the governor of Guerrero, on hearing of her approach, hid in a crate and was sneaked out of town. Some say that she served as an officer under Zapata. The judgment of popular history is that she deserves the accolade of a superb guerilla commander.

A different sort of bravery was exhibited by the heroic nurse of the Dorados, Beatriz Gonzalez Ortega, who refused to distinguish between federales and villistas despite being whipped and threatened with death. Pancho Villa eventually treated Gonzalez with respect, and numerous primary schools, nursing schools, streets, and villages carry her name, a public acknowledgment of her courage and humanity. 

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