La Adelita

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Depiction of two soldaderas

La Adelita was a legendary soldadera during the Mexican Revolution , symbolizing the courage and strength of Mexican women in general. Adelita was sung about in several corridors , and she appears as a motif in several pictures (e.g. in José Guadalupe Posada ) and films.

The historical person

It is not certain whether the Adelita actually existed or whether it is just a legend. Regardless of this, the name Adelita is used today to refer to all Soldaderas .

The name of the real Adelita was probably Altagracia Martínez, who came from the upper class of Mexico City and still sympathized with the revolution. To mark this break with her own origins, she was baptized Adelita by General Francisco Villa and Coronel Rodolfo Fierro . Presumably she was later murdered on behalf of Pascual Orozco .

The corrido

La Adelita is an extremely famous corrido of the Mexican Revolution that has been passed down orally and therefore knows different texts. Originally it probably comes from Sinaloa or Durango . However, the following stanzas are typical and the best known:

Si Adelita quisiera ser mi esposa,
Si Adelita fuera mi mujer,
Le compraría un vestido de seda
Y la llevaría a pasear al cuartel.

If Adelita wanted to be my wife,
If Adelita were my wife,
I would buy her a silk dress
and take her for a walk in the barracks.

Si Adelita se fuera con otro
La seguiría por tierra y por mar,
Si por mar en un buque de guerra.
Si por tierra en un tren militar.

If Adelita ran off with someone else
, I would chase her by land and sea.
At sea, in a warship;
and in the country on a military train.

Si acaso yo muero en campaña
Y mi cadáver en la tierra va a quedar,
Adelita, por Dios te lo ruego
Que por mi muerte tú vayas a llorar.

And should I die in the campaign
and my body should stay in the ground,
then, Adelita, I ask you for God's sake
that you weep for my death.

cult

Today the Adelita in Mexico has a similar status to z. B. Joan of Arc in France . On November 20th , the day of the Mexican Revolution, they dress up for example. B. many girls for the celebrations as Adelita. In the feminist movement, the Adelita has become a symbol of strength, courage and willingness to fight, although women largely disappeared from the military after the successful revolution and have not achieved social equality in Mexico to this day.

painting

The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo depicted herself next to the two revolutionary heroes in the painting Pancho Villa and Adelita from around 1927 .

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