Ángela Jiménez, alias Lieutenant Ángel (1886–1990, Jalapa del Marqués) was a soldadera (woman fighter) during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

. She performed different duties such as a flag bearer, spy and sometimes cook. She was also an expert in explosives. Angela left the state of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

and fought in the center and north of the country with the villaistas and Zapatistas.

Biography

Jiménez was the daughter of a Zapotec mother and a Spaniard. Some sources indicate that she held a political position in

Tehuantepec Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre-Hispanic per ...

. Others indicate that it was her father who held that position. In 1911, federal soldiers searched her home for rebels and tried to rape her sister, who with a pistol first killed the soldiers and then shot herself. After witnessing this, Ángela Jiménez swore to kill federals. She dressed as a man and called herself Angel. She joined the Mexican Revolution along with her father and reached the position of lieutenant even though her colleagues knew she was a woman. With a gunshot wound, she left the army and emigrated to Texas and then California, where she was one of the founders of the organization "Veterans of the Revolution" in California (1910 – 1990). She was also a defender of Chicano Rights in the United States. It is believed that her revolutionary life was the model used by

Elena Poniatowska Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Amor (born May 19, 1932), known professionally as Elena Poniatowska (), is a French-born Mexican journalist and author, specializing in works on social and political issues focused on ...

to draw the character of Jesusa Palancares in "". Ángela Jiménez died in 1990.

References

20th-century Mexican women Mexican revolutionaries 20th-century deaths 1886 births 1990 deaths {{Mexico-activist-stub

Biography

See also

References