Corrido
Cliff Notes
In a nut shell...
The corrido begins with the upcoming approachment of Inés Chávez García,
a former member of the Mexican federal army under Porfírio Díaz and later under
Francisco I. Madero, to the city of Uriangato, Guanajuato. Under the
guise of a villista general, Chávez García pillaged towns in and around central
Mexico. When word of his impending arrival reached the town of Uriangato the
people rallied together and managed to hold off his take over of the city.
street
in Uriangato today with
city hall (yellow building)
Or, a really big nut shell
In
1918 in the southern part of Mexico or what is now called “Tierra Caliente",
the upheaval caused by the Mexican revolution led numerous amounts of men
to falsely proclaim themselves faithful soldiers of revolutionary leaders
like Francisco Villa and Venustiano Carranza. Under these false banners they
dedicated their time to becoming bandits. They would attack small defenseless
villages raping their women and taking any other valuable possessions. Inés
Chávez García, an assassin born in Michocán in 1889 chose
to dedicate himself to this profession in the northern region of Michoacán
and southern Guanajuato, which includes the city of Uriangato.
Chávez’s
fame had spread like wild fire and the people of Uriangato, who were well
aware of his raids, were prepared and readily awaiting an attack at any moment.
And on the 24th day of June of 1918, there was no need to wait any longer.
Chávez tried to enter town through the east near the village of La
Deseada. When the city government heard the news they rang the bells of the
church tower to congregate the people and set up a plan of defense. The people
of the town responded and along side the civil defense (civil army) they defended
the city from the Chávez García. Chávez García
was defeated and most of his 1500 men were killed.
The city of Uriangato, Guanajuato was founded on February 20th 1604 and received township in 1845. It became an official city by congresional order in 1951. The bell tower belongs mentioned in the corrido is dedicated to San Miguel Arcangel. Its construction began in 1887, and ended in 1910. (The construction took almost as long as Porfirio Díaz was in office, 1884-1911.) St. Michael arcangel served as inspiration for the defenders'triumph. St. Michael is the city’s patron saint and the church of San Miguel Arcangel is the main parish in the city.
Works Cited:
López Martínez, Aureliano. Uriangato, Mi Refugio Tarasco. Publicado por el autor mismo, 1987.
Photo credit:
Martín Nieto @ http://www.uriangatoo.com