The Mexican Revolution is full of stories and larger-than-life characters like Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, José María Morelos, and Venustiano Carranza. Less known are the thousands of women who joined the revolution to fight on the front lines and provided critical support services. They would set up camp, do all the cooking and washing, but also cared for the wounded, handled the logistics of arms and ammunition transportation, fought alongside the men, and even served as spies behind enemy lines.

By joining the Mexican Revolution, women were able to challenge the stereotype of women as weak, submissive, and incapable of holding important roles in society.  These were not weak women. They did the heavy lifting on the battlefield, carrying arms and ammunition long distances, foraging for food which they used to prepare meals for hundreds, dragging wounded soldiers to safety so they could tend to their wounds.  Many performed these tasks while pregnant or carrying a small child on their back.

When the front line moved, it was the women who tore down the camp, carried the tents and bedding, pots and pans, food rations, and ammunition. The men carried their rifle astride a horse, the women walked beside them laden with all the supplies they would need for the next battle.

These women demonstrated strength, bravery, and resilience. From their experience in the revolution, they gained confidence, self-respect, and the respect of others.  They became known as the “Adelitas”.

The Adelitas

The Adelitas were named after Adele Velarde Perez. According to the Mexican government, Velarde was the granddaughter of the prominent Juarez general Rafael Velarde who fought against French troops. She was a mere teenager when she joined and is said to be the first woman to join the fight.  She became a revolutionary hero and a muse to the troops, embodying the essence of the national spirit and the brave revolutionary Mexican identity.  

Velarde first joined the Mexican Association of the White Cross providing nursing services. She then became a member of the Northern Division of the Constitutionalist Army commanded by General Pancho Villa, and later joined the Northeastern Army Corps.

Most Mexican stories contain a tragic romance, and this one is no exception. Velarde fell in love with a soldier wounded at the front lines. As he lay in her arms dying while she tended his wound, he asked her to pull a piece of paper from his satchel.  On the paper were the lyrics to a song he had written for her. The words became the corrido “La Adelita” which was sung obsessively by the revolutionaries and is still popular today.

The Adelitas played a critical, fundamental role in the revolution and the war might have turned out differently if not for their participation. In addition to the support services they provided, many fought side-by-side with the men, acted as spies behind enemy lines and took on other dangerous roles. Some women reached powerful positions and fought on the battlefield.

These women faced not only physical risks, but discrimination, exploitation, and violence, but were not intimidated. They were strongly committed to the revolution and the social justice and equality it represented.

Adelitas known as fierce and fearless warriors

Only a handful of the Adelitas were recognized as true heroes of the revolution, but for many Mexicans, their names are now synonymous with bravery and duty: 

Col. Maria Quinteros de Meras

Pancho Villa highly respected Quinteros de Meras who became a high-ranking officer reaching the rank of Coronela.  In her three years in his rebel army, she fought heroically in ten battles. She could shoot as well as the men and dressed as they did wearing khaki suits and cartridge belts. The El Paso Morning Times wroton May 7, 1914, that “some of her followers have come to believe she is endowed with some supernatural power.”  She and her husband both fought voluntarily in the same outfit.  When they left, Pancho Villa offered to pay them for their services – as he did all his troops – but both refused.

Margarita Neri

Neri was singled out during the revolution as a fearless fighter. When the war broke out, she was a landowner in Quintano Roo but was left behind by male forces because she was a woman. Undaunted, Neri raised her own troops — first numbering only 200 but growing to 1000 in just two months — who realized she could ride and shoot as well as they could. She led looting raids throughout Chiapas and Tabasco. It is said that her approach instilled fear in the federal troops, who fled before her.  Allegedly, her arrival frightened the Governor of Guerrero so thoroughly that he hid in a crate to flee her onslaught. She was eventually executed but where and when remain unknown.

Elisa Griensen Zambrano

At the age of 12, Griensen was already a devout fan of Pancho Villa and was passionately opposed to the U.S. troops.  She lived in the town of Parral, Chihuahua.  When Pershing’s troops — under the command of Major Frank Tompkins — approached Parral in 1916, the men of the town refused to fight. Griensen gathered up the women and children and confronted the troops themselves. Armed with sticks and guns they forced the troops to retreat, ordering the major to proclaim, “Viva Mexico, Viva Villa” on his way out of town.

Encarnacion Mares “Chonita” de Cardenas

Cardenas was also described as fearless and was known for wearing her hair cut short and donning ragged men’s clothing. After her heroic fighting at the Battle of Lampazo, Nuevo Leon, she was promoted from corporal to lieutenant.  She left the war in 1916 after the fighting died down in the north.

The Feminist Movement for women’s rights emerged from the Mexican Revolution

Among the women heroes of the Mexican Revolution two female journalists stand out for their outspoken opposition and criticism of Porfirio Diaz: Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza, and Hermila Galindo.

Born in Durango, Gutierrez de Mendoza wrote radical feminist literature against Catholicism, political corruption, and social injustices under Díaz, who had her imprisoned numerous times to prevent her from writing. Each time after being released she continued to broadcast her beliefs that the political parties and leaders were illegitimate.  She strongly believed in democracy for Mexico and faulted the Mexican people for not insisting on their rights.  She ultimately became disillusioned when Carranza assassinated Zapata — who she considered the only real leader — in 1919.

Hermila Galindo continued to grow more famous and well-known after the war ended. During the war she was the editor of the radical journal Mujer Moderna. She would encourage women’s groups to fight for their rights. She advocated for not only general education for girls but also sex education. As an early suffragette, she also proclaimed that women should have the same rights granted to men, including the right to vote.  After the war she fought to include women in the 1917 constitution, was the first woman to run for elected office and was seen as the leader of the feminist movement and continued to fight for women’s rights.

The Adelitas have never received appropriate recognition for their contribution to the Mexican Revolution.  Women who were heroes were largely overlooked in history.  In 1941, Adele Velarde was recognized as a “Veteran of the Revolution” by the Mexican Ministry of National Defense. In 1962, she was named a member of the Mexican Legion of Honor.

Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive, researcher, writer and editor. She has been writing professionally for 35 years. She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance writing. She can be reached at AuthorSherylLosser@gmail.com and at Mexico: a Rich Tapestry of History and Culture.