Soldaderas in the Mexican Military: Myth and History

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Description

Since pre-Columbian times, soldiering has been a traditional life experience for innumerable women in Mexico. Yet the many names given these women warriors—heroines, camp followers, Amazons, coronelas, soldadas, soldaderas, and Adelitas—indicate their ambivalent position within Mexican society. On this original study, Elizabeth Salas explores the changing role of the soldadera, both if truth be told and as a cultural symbol, from pre-Columbian times as much as the present day.

Drawing on military archival data, anthropological studies, and oral history interviews, Salas first explores the actual roles played by Mexican women in armed conflicts. She finds that a few of the functions performed by women easily equate to these performed by revolutionaries and male soldiers within the quartermaster corps and regular ranks. She then turns her attention to the soldadera as a continuing symbol in Mexican and Chicano culture, examining the picture of the soldadera in literature, corridos, art, music, and film.

Challenging many traditional stereotypes, Salas finds that the fundamental realities of war link all Mexican women, irrespective of period of time, social class, or nom de guerre.

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