March 2008

Viva la Revolución! 

The countdown has begun for the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution
— which not only changed Mexico but also El Paso forever.

Story by Lisa Kay Tate

 

Nearly 100 years ago, El Pasoans watched from their rooftops as the most important battle of the Mexican Revolution was fought just across the Rio Grande. Now as the centennial celebration approaches, the revolution will grab El Paso’s attention again — but at least this time, no one has to worry about stray bullets.
The countdown to the centennial began in late 2006 with a photography exhibit, followed in 2007 with the tours of revolution sites and even a “revolutionary camp” in Cleveland Square. Planning is well under way for many more events to capture the increasing worldwide interest in the civil war that not only transformed Mexico but El Paso as well.
The actual anniversary is Nov. 20, 2010, a century after Francisco Madero issued his call to arms against the Mexican government, led by dictator Porfirio Diaz.
In El Paso, centennial events likely will peak from October 2009, the 100th anniversary of the meeting in El Paso between Diaz and U.S. President William Howard Taft, to May 2011, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Juárez, which directly led to Diaz’s resignation.
El Pasoans and tourists already may have noticed newly placed
historical markers Downtown, highlighting sites related to the revolution.

The Planning Process

The City of El Paso Museum and Cultural Affairs Department has been acting as a kind of clearinghouse for ideas, suggestions and plans for observing the centennial on the U.S. side.
According to MCAD Cultural and Heritage Tourism consultant Angela Mora, the city’s official “Countdown to the 100th Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution” events began November 2006 with a photo exhibition at the Mexican Consulate. This was soon followed with binational historic tours of historic sites in El Paso and Juárez, lecture and film series, and other special events. The monthly tours, now highlighting only El Paso sites, will continue through November this year under the guidance of historian Fred Morales.
“Fred has been our guide since the beginning,” Mora said. “He does a wonderful job and knows so much about this topic.”
The tours, lasting about two-and-a-half hours, will now also include living history talks with Chautauqua-type appearances by Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, El Paso’s “Gringo Doctor” Ira J. Bush (a revolution sympathizer), and a woman revolutionary. The Juárez portion of the tour was dropped due to time constraints, and also because several of the revolution-related sites are no longer visible.
About 20 Downtown sites are highlighted on the tour, from the El Paso Laundry, whose rooftop was the unofficial viewing stand for El Pasoans watching the Battle of Juárez, to the Roberts-Banner Building on Mills, location of the offices of several spy rings hoping to decrease Orozquista arms smuggling.
The next tour is set for May 11, with upcoming 2008 tours in July, September and November. More are likely to be scheduled later.
In addition to the tours, an ongoing lecture series has been featured at El Paso Public Library’s Main Branch, featuring topics covering not only significant events, but also day-to-day revolution-era life. In one recent lecture, Historic Preservation Officer Troy Ainsworth presented a glimpse of the United States National Guard and the militarization of the post-revolution Texas-Mexico border circa 1916 in “Boredom, Fatigue, Illness and Death,” while a lecture at El Paso Museum of Art focused on revolution-era art.
In November 2007, during Binational Mexican Revolution Month, MCAD offered several activities, including a Mexican Revolution Camp reenactment in Cleveland Square; a binational panel on the intertwining histories of Juárez and El Paso; a historic tour of Columbus, N.M.; ballet folklórico presentations; and a Spanish-language film festival hosted by movie and documentary film professor Yolanda Mercader, of Universidad Autónoma Metopolitana of Mexico.
Mora said that the Mexican Revolution is an ideal steppingstone to ignite interest in the region, as she has received inquiries on the area’s connection to the event from hopeful visitors from as far away as Shanghai. If handled and promoted correctly, the draw could be huge.
“There’s a need to do a really big campaign, so people can know what our history here is all about,” Mora said. “We encourage people with any interest in our history to come together to celebrate the event. Right now is a good time to start.”
Likewise, Brenda Muñoz of the Consulate General of Mexico said that there are already plans for special events this fall.
“In November 2008, the Consulate General of Mexico, in partnership with the Cultural and Heritage Tourism of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, and other local institutions, will schedule binational activities towards the celebration of the 98th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, such as lectures on the role played by Mexican women during the movement, as well as art exhibits and book presentations,” she said.
“For the last three years, the Consulate General of Mexico at El Paso has promoted the rescue of facts and historic characters through book presentations, film series, lectures and art exhibits related with the Mexican Revolution to celebrate El Paso-Juárez’s rich heritage and heighten community awareness on the important role the sister cities played in the beginning of the Mexican Revolution,” Muñoz said.
By 2009 and 2010, more and more facets of the celebration will be added to cumulate in November 2010, coinciding with the actual starting date of the revolution. In El Paso, attention also will focus on the October 1909 Diaz-Taft meeting as well as the May 1911 Battle of Juárez. The centennial also ties into the bicentennial of the Mexican War of Independence, which bega in September 1810.
By using Mexico’s own bicentennial and revolution centennial celebration plans as her guide, Mora anticipates events that cover cultural, historical, artistic and even ecotourism opportunities, including a traditional Mexican Revolution–music school-choir contest; the Aguila Real (Golden Eagle) conservation and awareness program; a commemoration of Emiliano Zapata’s 90th anniversary; culinary-arts events; book discussions; charreria (Mexican rodeo) exhibits; live theater; lectures on such aspects as women during the revolution, the role of the press, and Native Americans; movie caravans featuring screenings and roundtable discussions; and various radio and television documentaries, programs and audiovisual contests.
Mora stressed that successful centennial planning involves many partnerships with state and city governments, and private organizations: “If we combine our resources, we can come up with something really big by 2010, and also something that will continue past that date,” she said.

A Walk through Time

With Downtown walking tours as a primary focus of events, a series of El Paso County Historical Commission markers have been cropping up, creating a visible sign of centennial preparations.
El Paso Community Foundation Program Officer Gary Williams said that the idea for the markers was inspired by the need to highlight local places and people of interest who may not qualify for the Texas Historical Markers Program, although the state has been very supportive of the local markers series.
“The purpose was to complement the state program with a local program unique to the area,” Williams said. “We met with (State) Sen. Elliot Shapleigh, and he wanted to do something to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.”
Williams said that they gathered a group of dedicated volunteers for the task, including Bernie Sargent of the county’s Historical Commission and El Paso Community College history professor George Torok. The markers differ from state markers as they provide information in both English and Spanish and include photo etchings of the site or events as they were a century ago.
“This is a great way to showcase the history in the city, as markers are tangible and long-lasting,” Williams said.
Torok said that much credit for the markers should be given to El Paso Community College honor students, who gathered and archived information on the revolution as well as other aspects of the city’s history. Williams noted that 11 of the Historical Commission plaques deal directly with the revolution. The Mexican Revolution markers, which range from well-known events to less-obvious sites, will highlight the Elite Confectionary, La Patria Newspaper, United States Courthouse (original site), Popular Dry Goods, Teresa Urrea, Emporium Bar, El Paso Laundry Company, Caples Building, Madero Camp, Hotel Sheldon and Toltec Club. Future marker projects may include the Peace Grove, located in Juárez across from the former La Hacienda Restaurant near Downtown, where the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez was signed and Diaz ceded his reign to Madero in 1911.
“The Elite Confectionary (Downtown) was one of the first ones we did,” he said. “It has a great Otis Aultman photo with it.”
Sargent said that some of the more notable markers include the confectionary, where a nondrinking Villa enjoyed his favorite indulgence — ice cream — as well as the Peace Grove and Teresa Urrea (“Santa Teresa”).
“She was not directly involved with the revolution, but a lot of her history was in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the revolution took place,” Sargent said. “She was a healer and was very important to many people in the area at the time.”
Sargent said that there would be events tying into the marker series during the celebration.
“We’ll have a trolley tour planned and an official unveiling of all the markers sometime during the celebration,” he said.
In addition, a permanent brochure featuring a walking or driving tour of the markers, many of which are in the Downtown area, will eventually be made available.
Capstone Productions filmmaker Jackson Polk has also released the first in a series of Mexican Revolution films for those wanting to tour Downtown from the privacy of their own home.
A glimpse of Fred Morales’s expertise, as well as that of fellow historian Leon Metz, can be seen on “Mexican Revolution Sites of El Paso, Vol. 1,” the first in the video series celebrating the revolution. The video features a walking tour with both Metz and Morales, each of whom offers their own take on this era.
“(These are) two historians that know the stories of the Mexican Revolution and the amazing connections to locations in downtown El Paso,” Polk said.
The video interweaves footage of Morales’s and Metz’s walks with archive photos from the El Paso Library’s Southwest Collection of the El Paso County Historical Society. In the video, both Metz and Morales stress the importance of El Paso to the revolution.
“The Mexican Revolution was planned right here in El Paso,” Metz said. “Pancho Villa purchased a lot of the army clothing and equipment here in El Paso, sometimes paying in gold that he stole from the Mexican banks. It was a rough time.”
According to Morales, it was risky being in the area during the battles, even for those with no association to the war. Despite continual warnings to stay away from the “danger zone,” spectators continued to flood the Downtown area and border, lining the roofs of buildings and railcars just to witness a bit of the battles. One man was struck with a bullet while sitting in San Jacinto Plaza, and several Downtown structures were damaged from stray explosives and bullets.
“Even the Downtown buildings suffered bullet wounds,” Morales said.
Morales also focuses on the revolution’s most visible figure, Pancho Villa, who frequently was seen in El Paso from 1908 to 1916.
“He liked to socialize in a lot of places where people could go and meet him,” Morales said, but noted that Villa shared details of the revolution to only a few close friends.
Metz and Morales said that the Southwest is an ideal region to see both sides of Villa’s character.
“Villa had a good and a bad side,” Morales said. “If you got along with him, he could be your best friend, but if you double-crossed him, he could be a vengeful beast.”
Metz agreed, saying that Villa will also be thought of a “contradictory” individual.
“If you want to see him as a servant, a good-hearted individual, there’s plenty of evidence for that, but if you want to liken him to something akin to a murderous individual who had no pity and no mercy, there’s evidence for that, too.”
An audio podcast of the tour can also be downloaded for those wanting to take the narration on their own walking tour.
Sargent feels the videos are a good way to get the word out, and would like to work with Polk in incorporating the marker project into the DVD series.

A Melting Pot of Ideas

Susan Novick, an archival consultant who has worked on heritage tourism projects with El Paso Community Foundation, said that the one factor of the revolution that should be included in the celebration is the impact it had on immigration to the United States in the early 20th century.
“El Paso was the gateway for people moving north to seek a better life,” Novick said. “In addition, I’d like to see education modules for El Paso–area students so they can learn about this important part of our history and its relevance to issues today,” Novick said.
UTEP will also be planning events through various departments, including the Department of Chicano Studies. Department director Dennis Bixler-Marquez said he would like to see events like a photographic exhibit and talks by historians, or even area graduate students, on their research. “For example, Dr. Yolanda Leyva of the history department has done work on the children of the Mexican Revolution,” he said.
The historic and cultural aspects of the event will also be accompanied by both artistic and literary offerings.
El Paso Museum of Art Director Michael Tomor said that both the Museum of Art and Museum of History have plans for the celebration. While the Museum of History will focus on the actual event, he hopes to see the Museum of Art create an exhibit reflecting on the art world in revolutionary times. “What I’ve been looking at doing is an exhibit of what’s happening in Europe and in Mexico in 1910,” he said. “The Mexican Revolution launched a spark to the rest of the world of what it means to fight for a specific freedom of purpose.”
Although the details aren’t set, Tomor explained, the exhibit could not only focus on how history was affected, but also how artistic styles were changing worldwide.
By working with Mexico, through both their revolution centennial and independence bicentennial, Tomor said the possibilities for exhibits at either the museum or other museums and galleries is vast.
“We certainly will build on that,” Tomor said. “It would be a great opportunity to look at Mexican Colonial art.”
Area book publishers are already being affected by the pending celebration.
John Byrd, publicist for Cinco Puntos Press, said Cinco Puntos will make an “extra push” during the centennial events with their more popular topical books. Most notably, El Paso author, historian and artist David Romo’s “Ringside Seat to a Revolution” has been a bestseller since its release in 2006.
“Our publishing output for the last couple of years has had a distinct revolution feel to it,” Byrd said. “We’ve got ‘Ringside Seat to a Revolution,’ ‘Soldaderas,’ ‘Faces of Pancho Villa’ and ‘Shadow of a Shadow.’.”
In Columbus, N.M., Pancho Villa State Park Heritage Educator Sylvia Brenner said that the park is also looking forward to the centennial celebration, and will host its 6th Annual Camp Furlong Day, March 7, 2009, with the Cabalgata Binacional Villista, featuring entertainment, music, folklórico dancers, special speakers on the Mexican Revolution, and more.
Columbus, 65 miles west of El Paso, is best-known as the site of the deadly raid by Pancho Villa, March 9, 1916. Although that was not directly a revolution battle, fascination with Villa as both hero and criminal links Columbus to the revolution commemorations as well.
The park’s new museum/interpretation center focuses on the 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution, Brenner noted.
Torok of EPCC said that he hopes the celebration focuses on how important El Paso was to the significant events in Mexican history, as El Paso was the site of much of the revolution’s planning and networking. In addition, the close proximity to the American border made it a desirable destination for American news media wanting to cover the event without having to travel too far into Mexico’s interior.
“We were basically the public-relations department for the revolution,” Torok explained, stressing that even though the actual battles took place in Mexico, a significant amount of strategy was created in El Paso. “Also, we were also the location of much of the exile movement. People came here to escape the fighting or to organize their political movement.”

Revolutionary sight-seeing

El Paso County Historical Commission has placed, and is in the process of placing, several markers in the Downtown area commemorating the Mexican Revolution. Here’s a glimpse of what to look for now and in the near future:
• Popular Dry Goods Company (102 N. Mesa, at Union Fashion Center) — Opened by Hungarian immigrant Adolph Schwartz in 1902, the store served several “rebel” clients, including Pancho Villa and Francisco Madero. Federal Mexican General Juan Navarro even took refuge at the store after rebels captured Juárez in 1911.
• El Paso Laundry and Cleaners Company (901 S. Santa Fe) — The building is noted as being the observation deck for journalists and spectators viewing the fighting across the river.
• Site of United State Courthouse (100 Mills, at Oregon) — The original courthouse was the location of hundreds of arraignments, hearings and trials during the Mexican Revolution, including the initial proceedings after arrest for violating United States Neutrality Laws of deposed Mexican President Victoriano Huerta and revolutionary Pascual Orozco. The official Texas Historical Marker for Huerta can be seen at Evergreen Cemetery.
• Caples Building (300 E. San Antonio) — The building was the site of provisional president Francisco I. Madero’s junta, a sort of “government-in-exile” during the revolution. Installation pending.
• La Patria Newspaper (317 S. El Paso) — Published by Silvestre Terrazas, the paper was the leading pro-Villista Spanish-language newspaper. Terrazas, originally a supporter of Porfirio Diaz, changed his allegiance (and location from Mexico to the United States) when he was detained and threatened with imprisonment for criticizing the police handling of a bank robbery in an editorial.
• Site of Emporium Bar (423 S. El Paso) — With Pancho Villa among its frequent patrons, this “Mexican club” was the site of choice for spies, revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries planning their intrigues, as well as newspapermen carefully observing the clientele. Villa’s drink of choice was strawberry soda.
• Elite Confectionary (201 Mesa, at Texas) — Although a staunch teetotaler, Villa possessed a sweet tooth and was often seen at the confectionary enjoying such indulgences as ice cream, soda and peanut brittle.
• Site of Teresa Urrea House (500 S. Oregon) — Urrea was a legendary healer who helped inspire early revolutionary movements against Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. She lived in El Paso for only three years, 1896–1898, but was portrayed by local newspapers as the “Mexican Joan of Arc.” She was forced to leave El Paso after several death threats by Diaz sympathizers.

Revolutionary LORE

Everyone with El Paso roots has some memory of the Mexican Revolution, including my own family’s early version of “reality television.” The oral-history anecdotes were common among my grandparents, but two of them have always been standout stories for me.
I don’t know all the details, as likely they have changed from storyteller to storyteller, but the spirit is still intact.
My grandfather and his brother were at the border watching the fighting when a soldier was killed right across the river from them. Being boys, their first thought was “there’s a gun over there,” and one of them ran across a bridge to get a personal souvenir. I heard it was a modified French La Belle, so it most likely belonged to a revolutionary soldier. Of course, the gun itself is long gone, possibly part of some museum or private collection somewhere, but the story still belongs to the family.
Another time, a great-uncle had traveled with his family into Mexico to watch a battle and had obtained a pretty good “viewing spot” behind a sand dune the Mexican Army was using as a barricade. When the soldiers looked up to fire, they all looked up as well. When the soldiers ducked, so did my family.
Soon, it became evident that the side my family was behind was losing, and they high-tailed it to their old “chain-drive” Buick and hit the road with bullets flying overhead. Along the way, they saw a motorcycle with a flat tire broken down along the road. All my uncle could do was toss him a patch kit without stopping. Sometime later, the motorcyclist came into my uncle’s shop and returned the kit. He told my uncle, “You saved my life.”
— Lisa Kay Tate

Copyright 2008 Cristo Rey Communications