la tierra de zapata

In the second to last weekend of this semester, I finally made it to Zapata's birthplace! And much much more actually, because I went with Jose and Juliana, my two internship supervisors, who have a car so we did not only go to Anenecuilco, but also Chinameca where he was assassinated and Tlaltizapan, which hosted the headquarters of Zapata's army from 1914 to 1918. Not only did we go to these specific historic places, but we drove through the mountains and farmlands of Morelos which was the land of the zapatistas during the revolution. This was the land that the original zapatistas fought to defend and redistribute to those who work it with their hands.

In Anenecuilco we saw Zapata's house where he grew up. There was also an amazing mural of the history of Mexico, Zapata, and the Revolution. Here is part of it:



Also, here is me with Juliana, Jose, and Alejandra who also works at La Comuna and La Comision:



Alo in Anenecuilco we wrote in the museum book, Alejandra in Nahuatl (the indigenous language of the area), Jose in Spanish, and Kelsey and I in English. My friend Kelsey who went along too said that it better be good, because 100 years from now someone is going to write their thesis on us, and US perceptions of Zapata's life. We also wrote in the book at Chinameca.. leaving our traces all around Morelos.

oh, this mural is in Anenecuilco too. if you don't know already, its of Zapata and Subcomandante Marcos, who is the one of the spokespeople for the Zapatistas today, in Chiapas.



In Chinameca, you can actually see the entrance to the Hacienda where Zapata entered and was immediately shot down by soldier positioned around the entrance. The bullet holes are still in the walls, and from how many bullet holes there are all around the entrance, you can tell there were a LOT of soldiers who all shot at the same time and Zapata had no opportunity to defend himself.



We also met two older men there, who I think hang around the arch and talk to visitors who come to see it. One of them gave me a "lucky" stone, to which other students are like, "yeah.. its really lucky, Zapata got shot there" but whether or not it is actually lucky, I really value it because it was out of the goodwill and friendship of people that live in Chinameca and really valued Zapata's life and the ideals of the Revolution.

I had an amazing day travelling around Morelos. Seeing these different towns, talking to the people, and seeing the land really gives you a better sense of what Zapata fought to defend, and it has been one of my most important and best days here.