Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923 - Softcover

Romo, David Dorado

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0938317911 ISBN 13: 9780938317913

Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press, 2005

Synopsis

El Paso/Juárez served as the tinderbox of the Mexican Revolution and the tumultuous years to follow. In essays and archival photographs, David Romo tells the surreal stories at the roots of the greatest Latin American revolution: The sainted beauty queen Teresita inspires revolutionary fervor and is rumored to have blessed the first rifles of the revolutionaries; anarchists publish newspapers and hatch plots against the hated Porfirio Diaz regime; Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa eats ice cream cones and rides his Indian motorcycle happily through downtown; El Paso’s gringo mayor wears silk underwear because he is afraid of Mexican lice; John Reed contributes a never-before-published essay; young Mexican maids refuse to be deloused so they shut down the border and back down Pershing’s men in the process; vegetarian and spiritualist Francisco Madero institutes the Mexican revolutionary junta in El Paso before crossing into Juárez to his ill-fated presidency and assassination; and bands play Verdi while firing squads go about their deadly business. Romo’s work does what Mike Davis’ City of Quartz did for Los Angeles—it presents a subversive and contrary vision of the sister cities during this crucial time for both countries.

David Dorado Romo, the son of Mexican immigrants, is an essayist, historian, musician and cultural activist. Ringside Seat to a Revolution is the result of his three-year exploration of archives detailing the cultural and political roots of the Mexican Revolution along la frontera. Romo received a degree in Judaic studies at Stanford University and has studied in Israel and Italy.

About this title

From the Publisher

David Romo’s Ringside Seat to a Revolution is a fascinating glimpse into unknown scenes of the Mexican Revolution of 1911. He takes us into El Paso and Juárez—facing one another across the Rio Grande—in the years just before and just after the exciting events of the revolution itself. It is close up and personal history—through the eyes of an extraordinary cast of characters. It is "people’s history" at its best. —Howard Zinn

David Romo’s micro-history is brilliant. Here you’ll find what official history seems to ignore: the salt of the earth, the surprising anecdote, rumors, the absurd. The odd relationship between El Paso and Mexico makes this book all the more fascinating. —Paco Ignacio Taibo II

About the Author

David Romo, the son of Mexican immigrants, is an essayist, historian, musician and cultural activist. The Mayor's Silk Underwear is the result of his three-year exploration of archives detailing the cultural and political roots of the Mexican revolution along la Frontera. Romo received a degree in Judaic Studies at Stanford University, and he has studied in Israel and Italy.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0938317911
• ISBN 13: 9780938317913
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 293