The first twenty days of the revolution of Zapata -From the 2nd Friday of Lent March 29, 1911.

By Oscar Cortes Palma


Amid Fair Second Friday of Lent in Cuautla, a group of people who had come from Villa de Ayala, chatted cheerfully. No one suspected that platicaran beyond what they usually talk friends, but yes, they brought something in hand, one of them said:

I have-and the appointment is time we started the Revolution

 Later, they said goodbye and walked away, blending into the crowd of people, but the next day met again in Villa de Ayala, but now they were alone but were accompanied by relatives and friends more.

'Today is the day of no return,' said the one who seemed to be the leader.

Indeed, in the evening, these mysterious subjects disarmed the local police, and called a meeting in the town square, there a speaker read the Plan of San Luis summoning up arms, ignoring the dictator Porfirio Diaz .

Sixty people of those present decided to join the insurgents and together they set out for a nearby village called San Rafael Zaragoza, where Catarino Perdomo was waiting and more followers.

From there the insurgents peasants continued their journey, always marching southward, abetted by Pablo Torres Burgos, who was the visible leader of the group, went through the foothills of Huautla to penetrate deep into the mountains, where they set up camp, and there they waited a week, hidden in reinforcements arrived to join his guerrilla.

But this group of insurgents peasants was not alone in the region, there were groups of peasants who were already up in arms, such as Lucio Moreno, who had revolted in Tepoztlan, Gabriel Tepepa who had his guerrilla in Tlaquiltenango, Ambrosio Figueroa who he was revolted in Huitzuco; and Isidro Alejandro Casales who had revolted by Tilapa and Chietla.

Well, what concerns us is the guerrilla Pablo Torres Burgos, this after a week of being hidden in the hills south of Huautla, within the limits of the states of Morelos and Puebla, decided to act, then commanding his guerrillas who had already increased to about 150 people, they go to San Pablo Hidalgo, a town near Tlaltizapan. Here in the home of a rancher named Jose Rodriguez, met on Monday, March 20, 1911, at the meeting agree Jojutla attack the city and also add more fighters to the cause.

After that meeting Rafael Merino and Emiliano Zapata, jefaturando its guerrillas maneuvered by the first region and the second Porla Jonacatepec Jolalpan-Axochiapan region, was part of the plan, while they distract federal forces and Gabriel Torres Burgos Tepepase preparon to fall on Jojutla before they passed Tlaquiltenango, a distance of only 3 kilometers from its target populated, there was no resistance, and the settlement was made without using a single bullet, was on March 23, 1911.


This unnerved the governor of Morelos, who had arrived the day before in support of the city of Jojutla with a handful of cottages, despised the enemy and then reconsidered, seeing his diminished forces, he decided to flee to take refuge in the state capital .

That is when the revolutionary storm Jojutla City, who was completely helpless. With no enemy to chase Tepepa Gabriel forces, robbed stores, that did not like Pablo Torres Burgos who was the commander in chief of the movement. So grumpy Tepepa told to put in order their people, they argued among themselves.

After Zapata and Merino arrived, and before them and others, Torres Burgos gave the command of movement and went, he argued that violence and shocked him that his orders were not respected. The others watched as Pablo Torres Burgos he walked away, and they realized they needed a new boss.

So while they went into the Puebla mountains that lie to the south of the state of Morelos. And they began to raid villages there are, Huachinantla, Mitepec, Jolalpan, Tlaucingo, Teotlalco up to Axochiapan, Morelos.

To reach every village, their behavior was the same, they were looking for weapons, horses, supporters of the cause, invited them to go with them, in these villages so remote and so poor, so sparsely populated, there was no fighting because there who had to fight, no military detachments in the area, there were only peasants who differed little from the rebel peasants.

Another thing that made the rebels in those towns, was that solicitabanpréstamos for rich people because delos people also altered the modified files and documents that seemed shameful, also destroyed the telegraph, so that nobody will communicate its movements and the government I did not know where they were and they did.

The villagers sympathized with the revolution, for example Jolalpan when the rebels arrived rang the church bells, rockets thundered, were to receive the music of wind, and shouted: 'Long live the revolution! abetting the rebels, therefore, the insurgents farmers decided to establish his camp there, it was a good place because it was surrounded by hills apart offered them protection.

And there they chose to Emiliano Zapata general, signed the Act, 14 revolutionary colonels: Rafael Merino, Próculo Capistran, Margarito Martinez Catarino Perdomo, Jesus Morales, Francisco Mendoza, Gabriel Tepepa, Catalino Vergara, Juan Sanchez, Amador Acevedo, Emigdio Marmolejo, Jesus Jauregui, and Maurilio Mejia.

Pablo Torres Burgoshabía dead, so that Zapata was already the new head, and had about 200 fighters under his command, as in Jolalpan had joined Franco Pliego more followers in Huachinantla Amador Acevedo had joined with two dozen supporters in Tlaucingo Miguel Cortes joined more recruits.


As such, in every town they passed supporters joined them, then continued to Axochiapan populated state of Morelos, there also were welcomed as liberators.

There it was, Octavio Paz Solórzano, father of Octavio Paz, the poet, and realized that Zapata talked with the Mayor and then the village priest called Prisciliano Spirit, who was a revolutionary priest who gave him a horse to Zapata , she advised him and gave him his blessing.

After his guerrillas retirócon Zapata, but not everyone left, a small group of revolutionaries led by Alejandro Casals, who came from Chietla and was said to have shot the Secretary and Mayor of Tilapa stayed.

So, when federal Axochiapan entered quickly captured, and immediately hanged on a tree Mesquite and then burned.


The news soon reached the ears of Zapata, who was lurking nearby. Until then Zapata had not participated in any combat, it is not secure their participation in decision-Jojutla because he had been sent to carry out diversionary maneuvers around Jolalpan to Axochiapan, but in the case if you have participated in that battle , participated as a junior as the commander in chief was Pablo Torres Burgos.

That's why this is the first battle of shoe, he planned, organized and executed the. The March 29, 1911, in Axochiapan Railway Station, fought the guerrillas led by Zapata already numbered several hundred people, against the soldiers of the 18th. Regimientoal command of Colonel Javier Rojas finally these retreated and fled, left arms and ammunition supplies reinforced revolutionaries.

That same day, Gabriel Tepepa attacked the Hacienda de Chinameca, and seized weapons and horses, but Gabriel Tepepa died in the following weeks, as also died Rafael Merino, which added to the deaths of the other revolutionary leaders like Pablo Torres Burgos Alejandro Casales, Zapata left as the undisputed leader of the revolutionary movement that was brewing in the South.

© 2015 Oscar Cortes Palma Lic. UNAM and Research in Dance History of Tecuanes (jaguares) of Morelos and history of the town of Axochiapan. Email oscarcortespalma@gmail.com; cami17_4@hotmail.com