Revolutionary Women of Texas and Mexico: Portraits of Soldaderas, Saints, and Subversives

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Description

Much ink has been spilled over the men of the Mexican Revolution, but far less has been written about its women. Kathy Sosa, Ellen Riojas Clark, and Jennifer Speed set out to right this wrong in Revolutionary Women of Texas and Mexico, which celebrates the women of early Texas and Mexico who refused to walk a traditional path. The anthology embraces an expansive definition of the word revolutionary by looking at female role models and subversives from the last century and who stood up for their visions and ideals and continue to stand for them today. Eighteen portraits provide readers with a glimpse into each figure's life and place in history. At the heart of the portraits are the women of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) -like the soldaderas who shadowed the Mexican armies, tasked with caring for and treating the wounded troops. Filling in the gaps are iconic godmothers like the Virgin of Guadalupe and La Malinche, whose stories are seamlessly woven into the collective history of Texas and Mexico. Portraits of artists Frida Kahlo and Nahui Olin and activists Emma Tenayuca and Genoveva Morales take readers from postrevolutionary Mexico into the present. Each portrait includes a biography, an original pen-and-ink illustration, and a historical or literary piece by a contemporary writer who was inspired by their subject's legacy. Sandra Cisneros, Laura Esquivel, Elena Poniatowska, Carmen Tafolla, and others bring their experience to bear in their pieces, and Jennifer Speed's introduction contextualizes each woman in her cultural-historical moment. A foreword by civil rights activist Dolores Huerta and an afterword by scholar Norma Elia Cantu bookend this powerful celebration of women who revolutionized their worlds.

Reviews

"History buffs, look no further! This beautiful volume begins to fill in gaps in collective Texas and Mexico history with eighteen portraits of revolutionary women. Some were soldiers, others were artists, all were badass." Ms. Magazine "Offers a feminist take on our states history. " Texas Monthly "Reclaims names that should be known for history." San Antonio Express-News "A revelatory journey about female power in Texas and Mexico." Southwestern Historical Quarterly "These women were revolutionaries who changed San Antonio and beyond." Texas Public Radio "A multi-genre approach." San Antonio Report"Military history is often told from a male perspective. But a new book about the Mexican Revolution aims to change that.... Learning and sharing this history is important because, after all, its Texas history, too." Texas Standard "It's a rare and vibrant genre puzzle that mixes non-fiction with personal stories and illustrations to draw the portraits of women who were relevant before, during and after the Revolution." AL DA "The collection is built around the oft-overlooked women heroes of the Mexican Revolution but also celebrates the Virgen de Guadalupe, nun and writer Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz, labor leader Emma Tenayuca, iconic painter Frida Kahlo and 14 others through the eyes of authors including Sandra Cisneros, Carmen Tafolla, Elaine Ayala, Laura Esquivel and Amalia Mesa-Bains." San Antonio Current "Celebrates women who refused to walk a traditional path." Houston Public Radio

Author Bio

Kathy Sosa is an artist and educator from San Antonio. She received national recognition for her traveling exhibition Huipiles: A Celebration, which debuted at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., as part of the Smithsonian Latino Centers 2007 summer season. Her work has been featured on CNN and in Fiberarts Magazine, Skirt!, San Antonio Woman, Country Lifestyle, and Destinations. Sosa and her husband, Lionel Sosa, recently produced the documentary Children of the Revolucin: How the Mexican Revolution Changed Americas Destiny, a twenty-part series chronicling the history of the Texas/Mexico borderland.