The Underdogs (22 page)

1
Orozquistas:
The followers of Pascual Orozco (1882-1915). Orozco supported Madero in the overthrow of Porfirio Díaz, and in the early stages of the revolution, after a series of victories over the federation, he was a hero in the north, especially in the state of Chihuahua (in particular, on May 10, 1911, when Orozco and Villa seized Ciudad Juárez). However, Orozco eventually has a falling-out with Madero and revolts against him. But Orozco's revolt is unsuccessful, as Madero has Victoriano Huerta put it down (in 1912, before Huerta turns on Madero, to seize control of the federation himself). Orozco is forced into exile in the United States; from there, he eventually recognizes Huerta's presidency and, as the commanding general of all Mexican Federal forces, leads attacks against the revolutionaries and Pancho Villa. During this stage of the fighting, after Villa takes Zacatecas (in 1914), Huerta resigns and Orozco flees into exile again (along with Huerta). This leaves a number of “Orozquistas” for Villa's supporters to go after, which is what Macías has just been ordered to do in the novel.

2
The Indian confuses Orozco with Huerta. He is apparently thinking of the events of February 1913, which led to the assassination of Madero a few days after Huerta, the commander of the armed forces, conspired with Félix Díaz (Porfirio Díaz's nephew), Bernardo Reyes, and U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, against Madero, which culminated in the ten days known as
La decena tragica
[the tragic ten days]. Huerta took over the presidency on February 18, 1913, and Francisco Madero was shot four days later.

1
Tepatitlán de Morelos:
Town in the state of Jalisco.

2
Cuquío:
Small town in the state of Jalisco.

3
Aguascalientes:
Capital of the state of Aguascalientes.

4
four crisp, brand-new two-faced bills:
Once again, a reference to the various bills printed during the revolution, in this case, the bills known as
billetes dos caritas
(two-faced bills) that Villa had printed during his brief period as governor of the state of Chihuahua in 1914-15.

1
Lagos de Moreno:
City in the state of Jalisco, Lagos is where the author was born.

1
“To cast your vote, General, for the provisional president”:
As a revolutionary leader, Demetrio Macías has been invited to the Convención de Aguascalientes (Convention of Aguascalientes) , held in November 1914, at which the revolutionary leaders (who had just defeated Huerta) met in an attempt to reconcile their differences and plan for the future. This effort would fail, however, and a rift would develop between Villa and Zapata on one side, and Carranza and Obregón on the other.

1
Silao:
City in the state of Guanajuato.

2
Irapuato:
City in the state of Guanajuato.

3
“Now it's Villa against Carranza”:
Natera is informing Macías that the Convention of Aguascalientes has failed, and part of the resulting rifts is that Carranza and Villa will now begin to fight against each other, in what would in essence be a civil war.

4
“the convention won't recognize Carranza”:
When the discussions at the Convention of Aguascalientes of November 1914 break down, Carranza is deposed and a provisional president (Eulalio Gutiérrez) is installed. After this, Villa (in the north), as well as Zapata in the south, now fights a civil war against Carranza. Soon thereafter, Carranza and Obregón will flee to Veracruz, and Villa and Zapata will occupy Mexico City. However, the urban centers continued to be powerhouses of constitutionalist support for Carranza, and Villa's actions in the capital soon force him to leave in 1915. Constitutionalist (i.e., Carranza's) forces will continue to hound him until he is defeated in battle in April 1915.

5
“So on which side are you going to fight?”:
After explaining the political fallout of the Convention of Aguascalientes, Natera asks Macías if he will side with Carranza or with Villa. Macías apparently does not know or does not care about the political details, and seems unable to make an informed decision. Macías chooses to remain loyal to Natera, who earlier made him a general, and thus in turn remains a Villista (since Natera will keep fighting on Villa's side).

1
“El Paso, Texas, May 16, 1915”:
As is evident from this letter's date and setting, Luis Cervantes's “move” to El Paso neatly parallels the move that Mariano Azuela made after Villa was defeated by Carranza and his troops in 1915.

2
“Didn't we already defeat the federation?”:
Anastasio Montañés is expressing his frustration over the fighting between the various revolutionary factions well into 1920, even though “the federation” had already been defeated (Porifirio Díaz's federation was defeated in 1911; Victoriano Huerta's federation was defeated in 1914).

3
“Os ex ossibus meis et caro de carne mea”:
In Latin in the original, Valderrama is quoting from the Bible, Genesis 2:23. In English, this verse is usually rendered as “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.”

1
Durango:
Capital of the state of Durango.

2
Carranzista scorpions:
In the Spanish original, the term for “Carranzista scorpions” is
carranclanes,
a pejorative way of referring to Carranza supporters during this period of the revolution. The term is a neologism combining “Carranzistas” with “alacranes” (scorpions).

3
Celaya:
City in the state of Guanajuato, and also a reference to Villa's defeat to Huerta in the Battle of Celaya in April, 1915.

4
General Tomás Urbina:
Known as “El león de Durango” (The Lion of Durango), a Villista leader who tended to evoke more fear than admiration. Later in the revolution, in September 1915, Urbina would desert Villa and devote himself primarily to banditry.

5
Villa's tremendous defeat in Celaya:
Refers to Villa's defeat in the Battle of Celaya (April 6-15, 1915), at the hand of the constitutionalist troops, led by General Álvaro Obregón. Obregón lost one of his arms in the fighting, but defeated Villa's army. This battle was the beginning of Villa's decline.

1
“The trail of blood of the first revolutionaries of 1910:
Valderrama is evoking the memory of the first revolutionaries who challenged the regime of Porfirio Díaz in 1910.

2
“Juchipila, crib of the Revolution of 1910
”
:
Still evoking the memory of the first revolutionaries, Valderrama in particular associates Juchipila (in the state of Zacatecas) as the birthplace of the revolution.

1
a year had passed already since they had taken Zacatecas:
This reference further establishes the date of the current actions of the novel, since the taking of Zacatecas occurred on June 1914.

1
Absent for nearly two years!:
This line, combined with the date of Luis Cervantes's letter from El Paso at the beginning of part 3, and the reference to how much time has passed since the taking of Zacatecas, allows us to establish that the entire novel covers a span of two years (1913-15). This also allows us to insert and better understand the actions of Demetrio Macías and his men within the historical context of the Mexican Revolution.

1
unleashes its machine guns, and Demetrio's men fall:
This, the final battle of the novel, resonates with the manner in which Obregón was able to defeat Villa (as of April 1915)—through the military innovation, which Obregón imported from Germany, of using machine guns against cavalry charges. From a historical point of view, the novel thus ends as Villa is about to suffer a series of defeats, as Obregón would persevere with this new use of machine guns, a military strategy that proved to overcome the courage of large numbers of Villa's northern division.