Soldaderas
Encyclopedia
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
soldiers who went into combat alongside men during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, which initially broke out in opposition to the conservative Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
regime. The term comes from the Spanish word soldada which denotes a payment made to the person who provided for a soldier's well being.The majority of these women led ordinary lives, but took up arms during the war to fight for freedom. Among the soldaderas, Dolores Jiménez y Muro
Dolores Jiménez y Muro
Colonel Dolores Jiménez y Muro was a Mexican schoolteacher and revolutionary. A native of Aguascalientes, Ags., she rose to prominence during the Mexican Revolution as a Socialist activist and reformer and as a supporter and associate of General Emiliano Zapata.Jiménez y Muro was a notable...
, Margarita Neri
Margarita Neri
Margarita Neri was a Zapatista commander and a soldadera during the Mexican Revolution. She was a Dutch-Maya Indian from the Mexican state of Quintana Roo who was one of the few female military leaders to achieve fame during the revolution.-References:*...
, and Hermila Galindo
Hermila Galindo
Hermila Galindo de Topete was a Mexican feminist and a writer who during the Mexican Revolution became a public supporter of Venustiano Carranza...
are often considered heroines in contemporary Mexico.
Today, the term La Adelita
La Adelita
"La Adelita" is one of the most famous corridos to come out of the Mexican Revolution. It is the story of a young woman in love with a sergeant who travels with him and his regiment....
is used with pride among Mexican women. La Adelita was the title of a Corrido
Corrido
The corrido is a popular narrative song and poetry form, a ballad, of Mexico. The songs are often about oppression, history, daily life for peasants, and other socially important information. It is still a popular form today, and was widely popular during the Mexican Revolution and Nicaraguan...
(folk ballad) about a soldadera named "Adelita", and became one of the most beloved songs to come out of the Revolution.
However in most cases, the term soldaderas refers to the wives, children, and relatives of the soldiers in the Mexican army. Soldaderas were allowed to follow the army
Camp follower
Camp-follower is a term used to identify civilians and their children who follow armies. There are two common types of camp followers; first, the wives and children of soldiers, who follow their spouse or parent's army from place to place; the second type of camp followers have historically been...
so soldiers would be less likely to desert.