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<\/a>Born in the small town of Lerdo<\/a> in 1896,
Galindo was still young when Mexico began its long period of revolution in
1910. This didn’t stop her from quickly becoming a political writer
and advocate for Venustiano
Carranza<\/a> – she was a gifted writer and public speaker,
producing many political tracts. Following the removal of Victoriano
Huerta<\/a>, Galdino gained Carranza’s attention whilst giving a
speech to welcome him into the city. Recognising her eloquence, and the
importance of having women support his cause, Carranza made her a part of
his new government.<\/p>\n
As a part of Carranza’s government, Galindo pushed heavily for improvements to women’s rights. She argued for the provision of sex education and increased rights with regards to divorce, both topics that caused friction with the influential Catholic church. Indeed, Galindo repeatedly prompted controversy by openly opposing the social influence of the church and describing Catholicism as one of the main barriers to female progress in Mexico. Although unsuccesful, she also campaigned for female suffrage in Mexico.<\/p>\n
Ultimately Galindo grew disillusioned with politics as it became apparent
that Carranza would not bring about the changes she had hoped for, and as
the corruption of the new regime grew more evident. Although she ceased to
be politically active after 1919, her tactics, and the arguments she put
forth in her journal,
Mujer Moderna<\/strong>, would continue to be used by Mexican feminists
of the ’20s and ’30s.<\/p>\n
Hermila Galindo did not suffer imprisonment for expressing her
ideas. However, she did have to face a great deal of hostility,
scorn and ridicule from both men and women for expressing unpopular
views and for speaking up on subjects which still remain taboo in
Mexico. Her willingness to face strong opposition gave heart to the
more advanced feminists of her own, and to the succeeding generation
<\/p>\n
– Anna Macias,
Women and the Mexican Revolution<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As well as the political contributions of women like Galindo,
the Mexican revolution saw many women taking part in the armed
conflict itself, known as the soldaderas (‘soldier
women’). From their ranks emerged the figure of
Adelita<\/strong>, almost certainly a composite of the
deeds of many different female soldiers. (Indeed, many of
her reported feats are mutually exclusive. Josefina
Niggli<\/a>‘s play about the soldaderas shows Adelita
sacrificing herself to protect vital supplies from the
Federales early in the revolution, for example.)<\/p>\n
Adelita functions as something of a folk hero, an example
of bravery in combat and the extraordinary will to fight
for one’s cause. The term became something of a
label of courage in post-revolutionary Mexico: The young
Marisol Valles Garcia, for example, was nicknamed
‘Adelita’ after becoming the police chief of
one of Mexico’s most dangerous regions in late 2010,
a job no one else dared take.<\/p>\n
Modern depictions of the Adelita figure vary, ranging from
the cold and efficient soldier, no different to her male
counterparts, through to a hypersexualised figure reminiscent
of the pin-up girls<\/a> painted on American planes. This
contrasting representation is due in part to the
unfortunate lack of records regarding a lot of the actual
soldaderas, making it hard to know the true scope of their
activities and easy for later writers and artists to
impose their own spin on the tales of Adelita.<\/p>\n
Soldaderas<\/h3>\n
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