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Oral Narratives of Elena Lezama de Rodriguez: A Female View of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1928 Jaime Sanchez A dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Doctor of Arts May 1998 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9830085 UMI Microform 9830085 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Oral Narratives of Elena Lezama de Rodriguez: A Female View of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1928 APPROVED: Graduate Committee VT Major Professor Critical Readér ' y Critical Reader /]/ Chair of the Department o^nglish '/oyKdt Dean of the College of Gradi e Studies Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Oral Narratives of Elena Lezama de Rodriguez: A Female View of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1928 The main objective of this dissertation is to transcribe into written form a series of oral narratives dealing with the Mexican Revolution. The historical period that they cover goes from 1892, eighteen years before the initiation of hostilities between the revolutionary forces of Francisco I. Madero and the government of Porfirio Diaz, through the end of the Revolution in 1928. The original narrator of the stories is Elena Lezama de Rodriguez, and she provides a female perspective on the conflict. The purpose of this project is to preserve a literary creation. The stories are based on historical facts, but Elena Lezama de Rodriguez embellished them with fictional elements. Nevertheless, they reveal a deeper reality than historical narratives/accounts because they deal with people’s emotions during a serious crisis. The dissertation is divided into four distinct sections. The first one provides an historical background for the narratives. It shows how the social turmoil of the Revolution ironically facilitated the emancipation of some women who belonged to the aristocracy. The literature consulted includes views by members of different political factions of the various historical events. The second section explains the methodology used to transcribe the stories. The process followed three steps. First, the stories were recorded in writing, initially in Spanish and then in English, trying to maintain all the elements of the original oral narrative. Secondly, through an immersion into Elena Lezama de Rodriguez's world, the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Jaime Sânchez stories were edited and expanded in an attempt to place them in their historical perspective. This immersion included reading personal correspondence, interviewing family members, and visiting actual settings. Finally, the stories were organized in a narrative structure that basically follows a chronological order. The literature consulted includes sources dealing with cultural studies, post-colonial theory, feminist narratives and discourse, alternative forms of representation, anthropological narratives, and fiction dealing with the Mexican Revolution. The third section, the stories themselves, forms the bulk of the dissertation. Finally, the fourth section analyzes the artistic importance of the stories and the achievements and limitations of the emancipation of aristocratic women during the Mexican Revolution as seen through Elena Lezama de Rodriguez's eyes. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements I dedicate this project to the memory of my grandmother, Elena Lezama de Rodriguez, who made my childhood pleasant I want to thank my mother. Dr. Margarita Rodriguez de Sanchez, for her help in the creation of this work. I also want to thank my aunts Marfa Elena, Josefina, and Marta, and my cousins Graciela and hnelda for the invaluable information that they gave me to fill some gaps in my grandmother's stories. I owe immense gratitude to Dr. Robert Petersen, Dr. Marion Hollings, and Dr. Patrick Conley for their guidance and encouragement. I also express my gratitude to Betty Palmer Nelson for her invaluable suggestions and encouragement. Finally, I thank my wife, Annette Ragland Sânchez, for her continuous support and her help proofreading my work. She has my eternal love. u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Chapter Page L Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 n. Historical Background ............................................................................... 7 in. Methodology and Justification ................................................................ 25 IV. Stories......................................................................................................... 52 A Confusion of Names 53 José Maria 56 Memo 59 Papa Chuchito I 63 Scandal I 67 Papa Chuchito n 71 The Man of the White Moustache 73 The Crossing 78 Homophobics I 81 Aquiles Serdan 84 The Wheel of Fortune 88 Scandal II 93 Scandal HI 96 Homophobics II 99 Aunt Lupe 104 The Three Lupes 108 ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Two Miracles 112 Homophobics IH 115 Elena 118 Androcles and the Lion 122 Why Grandpa Hated Balloons 126 Breasts 131 Children 133 The Female Soldier 139 Zapata 142 The Priest 147 The Chicken 150 A Hot Tortilla 153 Adela the Cook 158 The Banquet 164 A True Christian 168 Siblings I 171 Siblings H 174 Perhaps the End 177 ïcance and Conclusion 179 Works Cited 195 Consulted 201 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Glossary 203 Main Historical Figures 205 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 1 Introduction In Spanish colonial Mexico, the Procession of the Royal Flag was a celebration that commemorated the fall of the Aztecs at the hands of the Spaniards headed by Hernan Cortés on August 13, 1521. This holiday was celebrated until 1821, the year when Mexico won its independence from Spain (Gonzalez Obregon 47-58). In 1822, Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi wrote an article entitled "The Life and Funeral of Mr. Royal Flag," in which he argued that it would be inappropriate to continue celebrating the fall of the Aztec Empire. He proposed the celebration of September 15,1810, the date when Mexican patriots began the Independence War (qtd. in Gonzalez Obregon 56). This simple example shows how the winners are the ones who write the history of the events, and the losers usually remain silent. The Mexican Revolution of 1910-1928 was a social movement joined by many individuals with a wide variety of ideologies. Furthermore, it can be stated that what began as a revolution evolved into a civil war, and then into an oligarchy. Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were some of the losers in this conflict while Alvaro Obregon and his followers retained power. It is not surprising, therefore, that the most widely circulated historical accounts of Villa and Zapata present a very negative image of these individuals. It would be interesting, however, to know their side of the story to obtain a better perspective on what actually took place. In addition, women participated very actively in the Revolution of 1910-1928, but accounts of their contribution to the Mexican Revolution are not very common (Meyer 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright