The Underdogs (21 page)

1
Most Holy Mother of Guadalupe:
A sixteenth-century Mexican icon of the Virgin Mary, said to have appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City from December 9 through December 12, 1531. The Virgin of Guadalupe is Mexico's most famous religious and cultural image. A key element of the Virgin of Guadalupe's uniqueness and importance is that she is a mestiza Virgin, and thus representative of Latin American mestizo culture and Mexican identity in particular.

2
Villa:
Francisco “Pancho” Villa (1878-1923). The foremost leader of the Mexican Revolution in the northern area of Mexico, especially in the state of Chihuahua, where Villa was provisional governor in 1913 and 1914. Often referred to as
El centauro del norte
(the centaur of the north) because of his celebrated cavalry attacks as a general, Villa organized an army of twenty thousand men during the height of the revolution. Most of these soldiers were vaqueros and peasants, and Villa's own humble origins contributed to what would become his legendary fame.

3
“We get lousy paper money”:
Reference to the issue of the different denominations of money with which soldiers—both Federales and revolutionaries—were paid during the Mexican Revolution. “That murderer” refers to Victoriano Huerta and the (probably accurate) rumors circulating during the revolution that he ordered the assassination of Francisco Madero in February 1913.

1
“before long she was addressing him informally”:
In the Spanish original, Camila begins to address Luis Cervantes in the informal
tú
instead of the formal
usted.

2
the federation:
refers to the official government of Mexico, consolidated under the authoritarian presidencies of Porfirio Díaz until the revolution, and then reinstated during Victoriano Huerta's dictatorship, 1914-15. The reference to Huerta's friends and family fleeing Mexico City, which preceded Huerta's own exile from Mexico, places the action of the novel at this point right around July 1914, at the fall of Huerta's dictatorship.

1
nixtamal:
Blue corn ground by hand—usually with a metate (see chap. II, n. 5)—to make tortillas.

2
“Well, María Antonia has got her the 'curse' ” :
As part of their gossip, the women here are saying that another character, María Antonia, is currently having her menstrual period (the euphemism they use for this is “the curse”), from which she apparently suffers cramps (which they refer to as “the colic”).

3
palomo:
In the Spanish original, the small pigeon is a
palomo,
which is meant to resonate with the beginning of the novel and the name of Demetrio's dog.

1
Spanish flies:
Dried beetles formerly considered an aphrodisiac.

1
madroño:
A small, attractive evergreen tree with dark, lustrous green leaves, red berries, and hard wood.

2
“La Adelita”:
The most famous
corrido
[ballad] of the Mexican Revolution. Intimately associated with the revolution and sung especially by the Villistas, the song tells the story of a soldier in love with a girl named Adelita. “La Adelita” was almost as much a defining image as the sombreros worn by the revolutionaries.

3
atole:
A kind of corn or other meal, or gruel or porridge made of this.

1
aguardiente:
A very strong distilled liquor, such as brandy or pulque, usually made from the sap of the agave or maguey.

2
“The Federales had fortified El Grillo and La Bufa”:
The news that Demetrio Macías and his men hear corresponds to the historical moment right before the revolutionaries attacked and took Zacatecas, capital of the state of Zacatecas. At this point in the novel, the federal armies, under Huerta's leadership, are preparing to defend Zacatecas, while the revolutionaries, under the leadership of Villa and including Villa's general Pánfilo Natera, are preparing to attack the city. El Grillo and La Bufa are summits overlooking the city; the fighting over these was central to the outcome of the battle. The battle itself (
Toma de Zacatecas
[taking of Zacatecas]), in June 1914, was one of the bloodiest of the Mexican Revolution and the turning point that would lead to Huerta's defeat.

3
Pánfilo Natera (1882-1951
): A veridical revolutionary leader who would become one of Villa's generals. Interestingly, Natera is the only historical figure who actually appears as a character in the novel; the other major ones (Villa, Huerta, Carranza, etc.) are referred and alluded to many times but do not actually make an appearance per se.

1
“the one about how they killed Señor Madero”:
Macías is referring to the assassinations of Madero and his vice president (Pino Suárez), but is confusing several key names here. In what was known as
La decena trágica
(the ten tragic days), in February 1913, Huerta usurped power from Madero in a military coup and in all likelihood ordered Madero and Suárez killed. Félix Díaz was the nephew of Porfirio Díaz and an old political crony from the
Porfiriato
period with whom Huerta conspired as part of his coup.

2
“
Sayin' that I was a Maderista”:
A supporter of Francisco Madero (1873-1913), the wealthy landowner who started the revolution against Porfirio Díaz in November 1910, and became president of Mexico, 1911-13. Promising land and agrarian reform, he had broad popular support at first. He was arrested and then assassinated when Victoriano Huerta seized power in February 1913.

3
“I was about to rise up and join the revolution”:
From Macías's account of his “run-in” with Don Mónico, and in particular from this reference to Madero, we can deduce that this occurred during Madero's presidency, between May 1911 and February 1913.

4
“And once it is over, they will say to you”:
Cervantes is referring to the fact that after Madero came to power, following his successful overthrow of Porfirio Díaz's regime, he did not deliver on his promises of land and agrarian reform, which led to a quick rift with leaders such as Zapata in the south and Villa in the north.

5
“That is what Villa, Natera, and Carranza are fighting for”:
At this stage of the revolution—and of the novel—in 1913, Villa is still aligned with Carranza. Natera, one of Villa's generals, will remain loyal to Villa throughout the revolution; Villa and Carranza will begin fighting each other in late 1914.

1
mezcal:
A strong alcoholic spirit distilled from the fermented sap of the agave cactus; similar to tequila or pulque.

2
General Álvaro Obregón (1880-1928):
At first, an important supporter of Madero's revolt against and overthrow of Porfirio Díaz. Then, when Huerta overthrows Madero (in 1913), Obregón joins forces with Carranza to eventually help defeat Huerta in July 1914. After that, as Carranza's minister of war, Obregón fights against Villa's armies in 1915.

3
Owl
: Owl's name in the Spanish original is Tecolote.

1
“he would invariably recall the deeds at the Ciudadela”:
A historical reference to Huerta's overthrow of Madero in 1913, which led to Madero's murder and Huerta's proclaiming himself provisional president of Mexico. Huerta would stay in power from 1913 to 1914, establishing a harsh military dictatorship. The Federale captain in the novel is here fondly remembering his participation as a cadet in the coup (on Huerta's side).

2
General Aureliano Blanquet (1849-1919
): A military officer from the time of Porfirio Díaz, in 1913—during the overthrow led by Huerta—he is the one who apprehends Madero. Huerta then promotes him to division general and then minister of war and the navy, a post Blanquet holds from 1913 to 1914.

3
“Long live His Honor General Don Victoriano Huerta”:
From this imagined letter (which the Federale officer drafts in his mind), and the officer's evocation of Huerta, it is evident that the actions in this section of the novel are set while Huerta is still in power, between February 1913 and July 1914.

1
“the same day that Pánfilo Natera was commencing his advance”:
This battle, on June 23, 1914, known as the
Toma de Zacatecas
(taking of Zacatecas) between the federal armies of Victoriano Huerta and the Constititutionalist troops of General Francisco Villa, was one of the bloodiest of the Mexican Revolution. Villa's victory would lead to the end of the Huerta regime.

2
Tepic:
Capital city of the state of Nayarit.
Durango:
Capital city of the state of Durango.

3
“the time of Madero”:
Solís is referring to the period when Francisco Madero was president, from November 1911 (shortly after his successful revolt against Porfirio Díaz) to February 1913 (when Huerta overthrows Madero).

4
El Regional
:
Both
El Regional
and
El País
are veridical newspapers that were published during and covered the Mexican Revolution.

5
northern division:
A reference to Francisco Villa and his legendary army.

1
weight of his “advance”:
The revolutionaries in Demetrio Macías's group refer to what they have gathered—ostensibly their loot—as an “advance,” as a way to say that this is what they deserve to be paid (in lieu of any formal payment) for their service.

1
“Mexican Napoleon”:
One of the nicknames attributed to Villa; the most famous of these was “The Centaur of the North.”

2
“Oh, Villa! The battles of Ciudad Juárez”:
Natera's men are telling stories from some of Villa's most famous and spectacular victories. In particular:

3
Villa's aeroplanes:
The Mexican Revolution was the first war in which airplanes played a decisive military role. Although in this section of the novel it is Villa's use of airplanes that is evoked with passion and glory, the use of airplanes would actually be a decisive factor in Huerta's defeat of Villa, beginning in 1915.

1
“The machine guns did all the work”:
First reference in the novel to the use of machine guns by the federal army. In the Mexican Revolution, Álvaro Obregón would use these successfully to defeat Villa in several key battles in 1915, including the Battle of Celaya in April.

2
“to defeat a wretched assassin”:
Solís could be referring to the original revolutionary uprisings against the dictator Porfirio Díaz, or to the revolt (led by Villa and others) over Victoriano Huerta, who is said to have had Madero assassinated in February 1913.

1
chorro
:
A vaquero; a Mexican cowboy.

2
Towhead Margarito's name in the Spanish original is el güero Margarito.

3
War Paint's name in the Spanish original is Pintada.

4
Torreón:
City in the state of Coahuila. Torreón was taken by the Maderista forces on May 15, 1911, and then by the Villista forces on October 1, 1913. Torreón would also be taken and sacked by Villa in 1916.

5
Hidalgo del Parral:
Town in the state of Coahuila. On March 24, 1912, Villa takes this town. This is also the town in which Villa would be assassinated, on July 20, 1923.

6
“'cause he slipped two bills from Huerta”:
Another reference to the various bills printed during the revolution (see part 1 chap. VI, n. 3).

7
Chihuahua:
The capital of the state of Chihuahua.

8
Seven Sisters:
A colloquial expression for the Pleiades.

1
menudo:
A thick, spicy soup traditionally made with tripe, calf's feet, and hominy.

2
Tierra Blanca:
Small town in the state of Chihuahua.

1
Antonio Plaza (1833-82
): Poet and journalist from the state of Guanajuato, Plaza studied law in Mexico City. He wrote impassioned journalistic pieces defending liberal ideas, and very sentimental Romantic poetry. His work has not been translated into English.

2
“and a few bills, of the kind issued by Huerta”:
Another reference to the different currencies printed during the revolution. The women in Don Mónico's house have but a few of the “Huerta bills”—i.e., from the time of Huerta's presidency (1913-14)— which would have lost essentially all their value by July 1914, when Huerta went into exile.