Las Soldaderas

28. August - 10. October 2010

Stories of the female soldiers from the Mexican revolution are shown through historical photos from the archives of the Casasola family. A tribute on the occasion of the centenary of the first armed social revolution between 1910 and 1920. The exhibition is arranged in co-operation with the Mexican Embassy in Denmark.


Women - las soldaderas - played an active part in the revolution: some fought side by side with the men in the insurgent armies; others lined up at the back of the troops or supplied food and other necessities.

Women carried guns; women rode horses; women took care of the wounded and helped the dying to maintain their dignity. You could meet them in all functions. Like the nameless soldiers the many soldaderas also functioned as active rebels and defenders - and in this way wrote themselves into history.

The revolution comprised all of Mexico. It was bloody and long and the death toll was large.

The revolution started in an uprising against Mexico's dictator through 30 years, the 80-year-old Diaz. In 1911 Diaz was overthrown after bloody fighting. After a transitional period, the rebel leader Francisco Madero was democratically elected for the presidency with much support from the masses. 
However, Diaz' supporters continued to resist; a resistance which grew and became organized in attacks and arrests, leading to President Madero being shot in 1913. 

Emiliano Zapata in the south and Pancho Villa in the north were prominent leaders of the revolutionary army. They too had their disagreements with Madero, but overall they were on the same side. Zapata in particular fought for the liberation of the peasants from the landowners and for their right to the land. He and Villa, but also Diaz' government army had many soldaderas followers. 
In 1915 civil war broke out between different fractions of the rebels. This was the bloodiest year of the revolution; the year that also brought the death of countless soldaderas.

The revolutionary years end in 1920 with the election of Obregón for President after both Zapata and Villa had lost most of their power.

Journalist and photographer Agustín Casasola (1874-1938) was interested in everyday life and with his camera caught what he saw happening between people. Today - through his photos - we have handed-down testimony of las soldaderas and their participation as soldiers and as helpers.  

At the early age of 13, Gustavo Casasola (1900-1983, son of Agustín Casasola) accompanied his faster as a photograper. Later he founded the famous Casasola Archives that owns the photos of this exhibition.

Fernando de Fuentes (1894-1949) was originally a journalist, but during the 1930s he became the leading film director of Mexico, with among other things the films of the revolution trilogy which we show here.
El Compadre Mendoza, 1933 deals with the paradox of loyalty to Zapata's army and survival. Prisoner 13 (El Prisionero 13, 1933) shows how protective mothers can lead to fathers' unwilling assaults on sons´. Let's go with Pancho Villa (Vamonos con Pancho Villa, 1936) deals with the solidarity and the division of the revolution.