What Does Y Si Adelita Represent

670 Words2 Pages

Y si Adelita se fuera con otro la seguiría por tierra y por mar. Si por mar en un buque de Guerra si por tierra en un tren militar. The most popular line from this iconic folkloric song reads as a beautifully tragic melody from a soldier who found the love of his life, then lost her during the war. The war this song emerged from is the Revolución Mexicana (1910-1920). The story behind the song changes depending on whom is asked, but as journalist Elena Pontiwoska narrates it, a northern Sargent (from General Francisco Villa’s army) falls in love with Adelita. Adelita is a soldadera for the Villa troops. One night, a fellow soldier sang this tune to the beat of a harmonica and the song spread among the soldiers. From then on, different northern troops adopted the song as part of their folkloric songs, their military identity. Adelita became the beloved symbol of the troops, and in a way a symbol of every beloved woman that the soldier left behind at home. The adoption of this song amongst different troops raised the image of the Adelita. The image the Adelita portrayed was that of a strong, beautiful and a revolutionary woman. The symbolic meaning behind the Adelita speaks greatly to the view of women during the Revolution in Mexico. Women were expected to be strong, courageous, support their men, all while not …show more content…

The duties included cleaning, childrearing, taking care of the family, and tending to the men of the family. The role of women was quite limited in the larger scope of society. The agency and voice they had in the public space was restrained. Few women had the opportunity to make their voice heard in the male centric society. The silence among Mexican women was thought to change when the revolution started, however, the change did not occur. They were silence continued despite the ideology of freedom from the Revolutionary

Open Document