Strange Plants of Mexico

In a megadiverse country, you are spoiled for choice in looking at plants. There are 23,424 known, different variaties here, with more being discovered all of the time. We have selected just a few of the interesting ones to show you.

Bladderpod


Cleome Isomeris, aka Bladderpod, is mostly found in Baja California. By 'found', we mean whole fields and hillsides bathed in a vibrant yellow, as the Bladderpod spreads as far as the eye can see. They grow up to 6.5ft (2 meters) and they are gorgeous.

To the disappointment of small children everywhere, the 'bladder' part refers only to the shape of its seed-pod. Inside each of them, there are dozens of tightly packed seeds, just waiting to pop out.

Burro's Tail


Burro is the Mexican word for a donkey, hence the common name for Sedum Morganianum (though this is surely a missed opportunity to name it 'Knatty Dreadlock Plant'). It takes a second look to realise that those tendrils aren't woven. It's just a visual fallacy caused by the shape of the blue-green leaves. In season, there is also a red flower at the end.

The tendrils grow to nearly 2ft (60cm) and are often exported for use as foliage houseplants. It can be found throughout Southern Mexico.

Fishbone Cactus


It looks like it's all leaves and the occasional magnificent flower, but those green parts are actually branches. This is Epiphyllum anguliger, also known as the fishbone cactus. It flowers at night, and then only for a handful of nights each year.

In the wild, it is only found in the rainforests of Chiapas, at a high altitude. However, people do successfully cultivate it as a rare houseplant.

Jelly Bean Plant


Doesn't it look good enough to eat? This is Sedum Rubrotinctum, better known by its nicknames, the Jelly Bean Plant or Pork and Beans. Despite those tasty sounding names, it's better not to attempt to eat this plant. The 'jelly beans' are actually poisonous. Either ingesting or touching them might cause irritation.

It grows easily throughout Mexico and is one of the popular gardening exports. It will grow in any soil, except mud or swamp; however, it can't cope with frost. The leaves change color, from green to red, during the course of the year. Its flowers are bright yellow.

Little Hermit of Mexico


In 2005, a botanist, from St Louis, Missouri, in the USA, was on holiday in Mexico. He climbed up into the mountains east of Acapulco and found a strange, parasitic plant growing all over a tree. George Yatskievych, with a botanist's instinct, cut off a segment, then pressed and dried a whole specimum. Once he returned home, he attempted to find out what it was called. The world's experts didn't have a clue.

Wayt Thomas, from New York's Botanical Garden, did have a sneaking suspicion that it matched another specimum. That had been found in 1985 and hadn't been seen before nor since. They compared their plants and they matched. It's still being studied, but it appears to be an extremely rare, undocumented plant. It currently wears the moniker, 'Little Hermit of Mexico'. They are working on the Latin name.

It can be found in the Guerrero mountains, though you may be looking for days before you spot one.

Old Man Cactus


Ok, that's cheating just a little, as you're only seeing the top of Pachycereus Schottii, aka Senita Cactus, Whisker Cactus and Old Man Cactus. As it grows up to 21ft (6.4 meters) in height, and congregates in clumps around 15ft (4.6 meters) wide, you're unlikely to actually see the summit of the mature plants. It's very pretty though.

Here is the rest of it, growing around the base of a dead Ironwood Tree, in the Pinacate Biosphere Reserve, Sonora.


It is in bloom right now, with pale pink flowers showing from April until August. However, they only appear at night. Another feature of this cactus is that, as it ages, the spines at the top become quite large, in comparison to those at the bottom. These top heavy spines hang down, giving the impression of a long, flowing, white beard. Hence its nicknames of whisker cactus and old man cactus.

It can be found throughout Northern Mexico, including on the Baja California.

Shrimp Plant


This is Justicia Brandegeana, also known as the shrimp plant, because its flowers, well, look like a shrimp.

The flowers are white, but they grow from red bracts, which give it the illusion of a pink color. The bracts keep on extending for most of the year, until they reach around a foot (30cm) in length. Then the weight snaps it off and it falls to the ground.

This plant is a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies. It can be found all over Mexico.

Teddy Bear Cholla


Is anyone else getting the impression of a load of cacti, who just saw the camera come out and rushed forward to pose? That one at the front definitely has a, 'Hey Mum!', aspect to it. Or maybe it's just me on one two many tequilas.

Despite the cuddly name, it's better not to hug a Teddy Bear Cholla. They are covered in spikes and so it might hurt. Not least because they have a habit of detaching ends of their stems to embed themselves into bare flesh; hence you should wear long trousers while walking anywhere near them. (Stong language warning for the below video.)



The spikes are about an inch long, densely covering a plant that is between 3 to 7 feet (1 to 2 m) tall. The jumping segments are around 10 inches (25 cm) long.

Teddy Bear Cholla can be found in the Sonora Desert.

A Taste of Mexico: Salsa!

You have never tasted salsa, until you've entered Mexico. Just saying. In some countries, the salsa is the dressing. It's something that's plonked on top, that you can take or leave. Not so in Mexico. In Mexico, meals get formed around the salsa. It's never the same twice. It evolves. It's personal. For many cooks, their most prized knowledge is the salsa recipe that got passed down from grandmother. If this is your first time in Mexico, then you must eat salsa. (If it's your second, you won't need telling.)


On a recent trip abroad, I visited a theater complex. Among the snacks on offer were nachos, with hot cheese sauce, jalapeño peppers and salsa. It arrived and I stared in askance at the little, plastic pot of red stuff. "What's this?" "That's your salsa. Enjoy your day." That wasn't salsa. That was a few chopped tomatoes, shoved through a blender, with a spring of coriander. If that is your experience of salsa, then you are in for a serious treat in Mexico.

Admittedly, Mexican salsa does often use tomato (or green tomatillos) as its base. Coriander (or Chinese parsley) does have its place too. But there's more! Even the most basic salsa will have garlic, onions and a choice out of literally thousands of chiles, ranging from the mild to the blow your socks off strong. It never stops there. What gets added next can often be a jealously guarded secret; or it can be up to individual tastes. Chocolate in the mole; carrots; sesame seeds; paprika; nuts; any number of spices; sweetcorn; olives; peppers; fruits (mango is popular); lime juice; you name it and someone in Mexico will have experimented with it.

Making salsa is an art. Some of the fast food restaurants will use a blender for speed, but in the homes, and in the quality establishments, salsa is made in a molcajete.


The molcajete is used just like a pestle and mortar, though it is made out of basalt. It was used as a cooking utensil, in Mexico, way before the coming of the Spanish. The ancient Maya used one. Its very name comes from the Nahuatl language. The Atzec had something similar, though their's was made from ceramic. The point being that when a item has been used for over a thousand years, with no sign of being given up any time soon, you know that there's a reason. And that reason is the taste of the salsa coming out of it.

Each of the ingredients are added in separately and pounded into submission by the cook. The subtle flavors depend upon when they were added, and in which quantities, and how long they were allowed to influence the dish. You just don't get that in a blender.


Salsa, in Spanish, means 'sauce'. Most of these are served cold, though some recipes do call for cooked salsa. It can be eaten on its own, or as a dip with tortilla chips, or as a spread (think tacos).

The actual recipes can differ from restaurant to restaurant, and certainly from home to home. But there are regional variations too. The salsa served in Monterrey may be nothing like that presented in Guerraro.

For more information about salsas, plus some recipes, visit: Mexican Salsas by Luis Dumois.

Rodolfo Neri Vela: A Mexican in Space

Over the years, there have been several astronauts of Mexican descent involved in the international space program. NASA have nine Mexican-American astronauts, while another three have played key roles on the ground.

However, there has only ever been one born and bred Mexican in space: Prof Rodolfo Neri Vela. After years of campaigning for it, he is thrilled that Mexico is finally getting its own space agency.

It was on November 26, 1985, that Neri Vela joined his crew on the STS-61-B Atlantis Space Shuttle. They launched from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, USA, under the command of NASA. Their mission was to deploy three communications satellites, as well as conducting several experiments. These were to inform later missions and to advance our technology to further explore the solar system.



Neri Vela flew as a Payload Specialist. He had worked for the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation, as its Head of the Department of Planning and Engineering of the Morelos Satellite Program. The MORELOS-B was one of the communications satellites that was deployed by this mission, hence Neri Vela getting his moment amongst the stars.

By the time he returned, on December 3, 1985, Neri Vela had orbited the Earth 108 times and clocked up 165 hours in space. He had travelled 2.4 million miles (3.8 million km) . Though not an astronaut, he had ungone rigorous training and had to pass a clearance program by NASA. The mission was declared a complete success.


Neri Vela was born, on February 19, 1952, in the city of Zumpango del Río, in Guerrero. He received his Bachelor's degree, in Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, University of Mexico. In 1975, he travelled to England, in order to complete his Masters, Doctoral and Postgraduate degrees, at the universities of Essex, then Birmingham. Several high profile jobs ensued, all in Mexico, before he was picked for the NASA mission.

"From space I see myself as one more person among the millions and millions who loved, live, and will live on Earth. Inevitably, this makes one think about our existence and the way in which we should live to enjoy, to share, our short lives as fully as possible."

Neri Vela's work didn't end with him landing back on Earth. In 1989, he moved briefly to Holland, where he took up a position within the European Space Agency. Here he was responsible for planning part of the International Space Station. A year later, his contract completed, he returned to Mexico to join the radio communications research group, at the Institute of Electrical Research. He was also inaugurated into the International Space Hall of Fame. Neri Vela is currently a Professor, in the Faculty of Engineering, at the University of Mexico.


Over the years, Neri Vela has campaigned tirelessly for Mexico to have its own space agency. Now that this is becoming a reality, he is right there at the forefront, having reviewed the draft proposal on behalf of the Mexican government.

Christmas in Mexico: Deck the Halls with Poinsettia

There is a legend told in Mexico about poinsettia. Two young children, Maria and Pablo, were walking into town. They had heavy hearts. In the center of town was a nativity scene, where everyone was going to leave gifts and tokens of their esteem for the Holy Family. Maria and Pablo had nothing. They were too poor. But they wanted to give something.



Then Pablo had an idea. All along the side of the road were weeds, ubiquitious to this part of Mexico. He picked an armful of them, explaining to Maria that, as long as their gift was given with love, it would be alright. It had to be alright. What else had they got?

So the children continued into town, to where the people were amassing around the nativity. As Pablo and Maria passed through them, eyes turned to what gift they had brought to honour the Christ child. Nudges and sniggers filled the space around them. The children had brought weeds. Weeds! Pablo straightened his shoulders, raised his chin high and refused to cry. He was doing what he could. That was all.

They reached the manger, wherein lay baby Jesus. Mary and Joseph smiled down kindly. The shepherds, wise men and angels watched them. The livestock crowded in. Here Pablo and Maria took their time arranging the weeds around the manger, hemmed in by the richer, better, prettier offerings of everyone else. Those people who tittered with derision, pointing to what the children thought was a worthy gift.

Once they had finished, Pablo whispered, "We give this with love." Then he took Maria's hand and turned with her to face the townspeople. Head held high against their jeers, they were in a perfect position to see the changing expressions on those staring back. Smirks gave way to dropping jaws and wide eyes. Giggles turned to gasps of awe and shock. The children turned slowly around, to see what was happening behind them.



The topmost leaves of the 'weeds' had transformed into beautiful, star-like flowers. All in vibrant red. The most wonderful flowers they had ever seen. The plant became known as Flor de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve flower) in Mexico. For some, it is called the Star of Bethlehem Flower. Most of the world knows it now as poinsettia.

At this time of year, many homes in Mexico are festooned with poinsettia. It is easy enough to find, as the plant is native to the country. We have vast fields and mountain-sides filled with them, as far as the eye can see. When they are in bloom, they are a breath-taking sight.


Poinsettia overlooking Baja California

It was vistas like this which so entranced an early American ambassador to Mexico. In 1829, Dr Joel Roberts Poinsett was touring Taxco del Alarcon (modern day Taxco, in Guerrero), when he spotted the flower. He fell in love with it. In fact, he started shipping cuttings of Flor de Noche Buena back to his mansion home, in Georgetown, South Carolina, USA. When he returned home, in 1831, he was amazed to discover that the whole town now had the flower blooming in their gardens. They were already calling it after him. The poinsettia is still the name used for the flower outside Mexico.

Poinsettia was already well known before the coming of Christianity. The Nahuatl called it Cuitlaxochitl (star flower). They prized it for its curative properties (great for heart problems) and the red dye that can be extracted from it. (It is an urban myth that poinsettia is toxic, as endless tests in American laboratories have proved.)

Today, it not only grows wild around Mexico, but is used in many Christmas tableaus and as decorations in homes and plazas. Anyone visiting Mexico, this time of year, is bound to spot it everywhere.


Poinsettia around a nativity scene in Mexico


Poinsettia as Christmas lights in Mexico City

Los Insurgentes: "A Little Body of Unconquered Men."

"Even in the darkest days of the long revolution, (Guerrero) was the leader of a little body of unconquered men, who kept alive the cause of independence."
Rives

Vicente Guerrero had only just turned 18, when he left home to fight for Morelos. He had been learning his craft, as a gunsmith, in his native Tixtla, but he carried only a sword. Like many flocking to the cause, he came from humble beginnings. This, ultimately, was to be his true tragedy.


Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was born, on August 10th, 1782, as the son of Juan Pedro Guerrero and María de Guadalupe Saldaña. His father was a mule driver. They were not rich, living in Tixtla's poorest quarter of Tlaltelulco. None of the children had any formal education at all. Vicente had spent most of his childhood helping his father on the drover trails. For Juan, getting his son into the gunsmithing trade had been a huge coup for his family. It had involved seeking the patronage of distant cousins, who had made their own money in the cannon and gun trade of southern Mexico. Their agreement, to take on their improverised relative, helped enormously in other ways.

In the strict social hierarchy of 18th century Mexico, Juan's family were registered in the Criollo (aka creole) class. These were people with pure or mostly Spanish blood, who were disdained by the Peninsulare elite (people born in Spain, but living in Mexico). However, the Criollos out-ranked everyone else: the indigenious people; those of mixed blood; the peasants; and the slaves. No-one with even a drop of African blood could count as a Criollo, even if the rest of their veins coursed with pure Españoles.

This was a problem. María de Guadalupe Saldaña was mostly African, with a strain of indigenious Mexican Indian blood. Before her marriage, she had been categorised as a Negro and was subject to all of the heavy restrictions that that entailed. For a start, she was forbidden, by law, to even wear jewellry nor fine linen. That would have been ornamentation beyond her station. Not that the family could afford such luxuries. Her husband may have had enough Spanish blood to be considered a Criollo, but Maria's status condemned her children, and Juan by association, to the lowest class of all.

As the rich, landowning Guerrero relatives intervened, bribes were paid, registrars tipped off and papers signed. Juan and Maria breathed a sigh of relief. Their boy was legally Criollo and enlisted in a trade that would see him rise above his beginnings. They had done their absolute best for him and it had worked better than they could have imagined in their wildest dreams. Then Morelos brought his army into nearby Acapulco and laid siege to the San Diego fort. It was November, 1810, and, as his horrified parents looked on, Vicente threw it all away.


Tixtla, looking towards Acapulco
Guerrero was placed into Hermenegildo Galeana's regiment, fighting alongside Nicolás Bravo. He distinguished himself well in battle and was quickly promoted to the rank of captain. Now under Morelos's direct orders, he was placed at the helm of a band of men. Armed almost solely with clubs, they nevertheless achieved considerable victories against the Realistas (Spanish army in Mexico). In a series of sortees in south Mexico, Guerrero's peasant class army managed to take 400 prisoners, from a Realista army that had only numbered 700 in the first place. He was also to seize a large consignment of weapons.

The humble boy from Tixtla had so impressed Morelos that, in November 1812, Guerrero was elevated to the rank of lieutenant colonel. When Morelos was shot, in 1815, that left Guerrero as the most senior officer still standing.

This was the insurgency's darkest hour. Three years of defeats had already knocked the wind out of the rebellion. Many of those who had left their fields to take up arms, now crept back to renew their lives. The Spanish were winning. Morelos was dead. Hidalgo's resounding battle cries now rang as hollow memory, in the defeated dreams of the populance. For a bitter majority, the war was over and they had lost. They had no option but to take up the viceroy's offer of a pardon, to all who surrendered. It was against such mass despair that Guerrero stood. But he refused to go home.


Vicente Guerrero
For the next six years, Guerrero led his tiny army through South Mexico. They were not large enough for those great, grandstanding battles that had marked the campaigns of Hidalgo and Morelos. But they could still take cities and towns, in the name of the rebellion. They managed to hold the entire of the region, now known as the state of Guerrero, until independence was won. They scored addition victories in taking Ajuchitán, Santa Fe, Tetela del Río, Huetamo, Tlalchapa and Cuautlotitlán. In time, the army's ranks swelled from 100 to over 1,000.

The stories are legion. The odds were stacked against them. Guerrero's bravery was often reckless. It sometimes bordered upon the suicidal. Like the time when the way forward was a river, peppered with Spanish bullets. Guerrero threw his sword to the opposite bank and, screaming out, "I follow my sword!" He plunged into the water. Gunfire blazed and the river became a death-trap of shrapnel. But none of them hit him. He made the bank and whipped up his sword. It was like he had divine protection! The army followed and the town was taken.


In 1819 came one of the most poignant scenes of the whole insurrection. Guerrero was a thorn in the side of the Spanish, who had nearly succeeded in stamping out the rebellion for good. Viceroy Apodaca called in Juan Pedro Guerrero and made him an offer. If he could persuade his son to surrender, then Vicente would be pardoned and allowed home. Moreover, the viceroy would personally bestow upon the old man a plot of land, and the finances to maintain it. The family would be rich. They'd soar in hierarchy of their people. They would be made. All he had to do was make his son stop.

It must have broken Vicente's heart to look into his father's eyes. The old man had sought him out in the mountains, where the rebel army were concealed from the Realistas. There was the poverty of his childhood, represented in the lines of his father's face. All of the struggles and doing without, that had allowed his parents to put food into the bellies of their children. The humiliation of having to ask distant relatives for charity, to give their son a trade. It could be over; and his father wanted it to be over. It was either that or a hopeless cause, where the end was almost inevitably going to be the firing squad.

Guerrero's men were watching him. His defection would probably be their defection too. His was the reckless spirit, which kept them going. Guerrero hesitated for a long time before answering. When he did, he addressed the small army, "Compañeros, this old man is my father. He has come to offer me rewards in the name of the Spaniards. I have always respected my father, but my country comes first." Juan broke down into tears. He knelt in the dust and wrapped his arms around his son's legs. In front of them all, he begged. It had been a heart-wrenching decision, but Vicente stuck with it. "My motherland is first."


Agustín de Iturbide
A year later, the viceroy sent a renewed force, under the command of the charismatic Agustín de Iturbide, to deal with Guerrero. Over the next two months, Guerrero's guerillas were victories in a number of small squirmishes. They knew the terrain too well and Iturbide was more sorted to leading in open battlefields. However, another way of looking at this was that Iturbide wasn't trying very hard. The Realista general had his own rebellious sympathies and, for months, had been initiating a whispering campaign amongst his own troops. Bribes oiled some palms; promises, politics and passion stirred the sentiments of others. He was ready to swop sides and take his considerable army with him.

On January 10, 1821, Iturbide sent a letter to Guerrero. It proposed that they join forces to take the country. It outlined three guarantees that Iturbide was prepared to honor: Mexican independence from Spain; the abolition of the caste system, creating equality for all Mexicans; and Roman Catholicism as the official state religion. It was a suspicious development, but Guerrero had no doubt that the offer was genuine. The intelligence seeping through, from Mexico City, told its own story. However, a question mark hung over Iturbide's motivation. The general was an ambitious man.

Just under five years previously, the viceroy had embarrassed Iturbide, accusing him of siphoning off Realista funds and profiteering from the war. Iturbide had been relieved of his post. It had taken a year, and the services of an auditor, to regain his position. The viceroy had eventually withdrawn the charges and reinstated Iturbide, but the slur to his character remained. It rankled with the proud general.

Without the rebellion going on, Iturbide might have staged a military coup anyway. But with the rebellion, and, more to the point, with Guerrero on side, Iturbide could just win the hearts and minds of the people too. Guerrero was popular. His support would ensure a smooth transition of governments; and if the price was Mexican independence, then that suited Iturbide too. He came from a high-ranking and wealthy Criollo family, landowners of a Vallodolid hacienda. His father, Joaquín de Iturbide, was descended from Basque nobility. Agustín de Iturbide was willing to become Mexico's first Emperor.


Emperor Agustín I
Guerrero conidered it. Many believed that, if Mexican independence was to happen, then its first leader should be the man who'd kept the flame alive during those hopeless years. But Guerrero looked in a mirror and saw his African ancestry staring back. He knew that the elite in society would rail at that. These were the people with the funds and connections to start a brand new rebellion, after independence was secured. The mass of the lower classes would be right behind him, but whom did that serve?

Guerrero was not a politician. The letter, which had prompted these deliberations, had had to be read to him, because Guerrero was not formally educated. He couldn't read. He could speak a dozen languages, all of the dialects of the indigenious Indians and Mexicans, whom he'd encountered on the drover trails and in the military. But he was not a stateman. He didn't know the etiquette and old school tie intrigues, that would swarm around a man on the international stage. His people would be ill served by his fumbling the opportunity. They would be better off with Iturbide presenting policies that Guerrero could negotiate in the background.

Iturbide's motivation might be suspect, but Guerrero saw the rebellion's best chance here. Not only for independence from Spain, but for its continuation as a valid country in its own right. A future without civil war. Once which could have its constitution forged in the human and civil rights manifesto of the whole insurgency. One where all of its people, not just the elite, could have personal opportunities; education; job prospects; freedom from crippling servitude and tributes, which kept those at the bottom in absolute poverty.

Iturbide could take the country; Guerrero could keep it peaceful. Iturbide would be acceptable to the higher classes; Guerrero could render him acceptable to the lower classes. With so many personal sacrifices behind him, Guerrero let the greatest prize of all slip from his fingers. In a series of meetings with Iturbide, Guerrero agreed to not challenge him for the position of leader. He would be the second in command.

Guerrero also knew where Guadalupe Victoria was hiding. He'd been in contact with him throughout the man's public disappearance. Guerrero called Victoria in now and secured his support for the proposal. On February 21, 1821, a proclaimation of independence was made. The Plan de Iguala set out the three guarantees that would accompany independence. The merged armies of Iturbide and Guerrero stood behind it. It was common knowledge that they were making preparations to march upon Mexico City.

When the end came, it was a bloodless coup. Juan O'Donojú had only recently been installed as viceroy, having arrived in Veracruz on July 21, 1821. But he read the situation well. He knew that the Spanish were going to be defeated. The combination of Iturbide and Guerrero meant that practically the entire country was behind them. The viceroy could't even leave Veracruz. It wasn't safe. Six weeks after setting foot in the country, O'Donojú issued a counter proclaimation. He was prepared to meet with the leaders and to put into law some of their demands.

In September, 1821, While Guerraro and Bravo dealt with the isolated pockets of Realista defense, Iturbide met with the viceroy and discussed terms of surrender. O'Donojú acknowledged that Mexican independence was inevitable, but used all of his political acrumen to ensure as little bloodshed as possible, in the withdrawal of the Spanish.

By the 22nd, all Realistas had left Mexico City. On September 24th, 1821, the insurgents, headed by Iturbide, Guerraro and Victoria, entered it. Three days later, Viceroy O'Donojú signed the Act of Independence. Mexico was now a free country.



Where to Visit:


* Tixtla de Guerrero, Guerrero. Originally called simply Tixtla, this town is the birthplace of Vicente Guerrero. Both the 'de Guerrero' and the state are named in honor of him. The house in which he was born still stands, in the suburb of San Isidro (originally Tlaltelulco). There is a monument, outside the house, and a plaque on the wall. The site also includes a memorial garden. The town itself contains a statue of Vicente Guerrero.

Los Insurgentes: The Warrior Priest

Padre José María Morelos's orders were clear. All he had to do was travel back into south of Mexico and raise troops for the Army of America; then take the city of Acapulco. He was also to disrupt the trade routes. New Spain's economy was did very well out of commerce with the Philippine Islands. If that was to stop, then the viceroy would lose a lot of funds. Ok. Morelos leapt back onto his horse and rode away.

Morelos had an impressive résumé. His dad was a carpenter, so Morelos had picked up some of the skills of that trade as a child. He was physically fit and strong. Years working with his back to the sky in the plantations had seen to that. He was a man of letters. He'd been an accountant. He'd organized the administrative side of a large hacienda. He was an scholar, with degrees under his belt. He was a man of vision and design. He'd overseen construction work. He was a great priest. None of which precisely amounted to any military experience at all.

He had followed Padre Miguel Hidalgo's academic route into the priesthood. The Roman Catholic seminaries and universities had been great for learning about theology; but they had been woefully lacking in classes on warfare, battlefield strategic thinking and the practicalities of leading an army. Up in the north, where Hidalgo himself was the general, this ommission was distrastrously telling. He had been forced to give up command of the army to Allende and Aldama - two military men, who actually knew what they were doing.

Down in the south, Morelos was having none of that trouble. For years, he had been inspired by Hidalgo to reach beyond himself. He could be whatever he wanted to be. It never crossed Morelos's mind that he didn't have the skill to lead an army. If Hidalgo was doing it, then so should he. Morelos knew that he was a clever man, all he had to do was apply himself to the job in hand. The difference between himself and Hidalgo, so it transpired, was that Morelos was a natural. He proved to be a talented strategist. His prowess turned out to be so great, that he has gone down in history as one of most outstanding military commanders of the War of Independence.


But that was all in the near future. For now, Morelos returned home, to his family in San Agustín, Carácuaro, and set about forming his own troops. He was still the parish priest there; however, only 25 men signed up to join him. Undaunted, Morelos led his small party across Michoacán state, drumming up support and boosting his numbers. By the time he'd been through Nocupétaro, Cuahuayutla and Zacatula, it was all looking a bit more respectable. He even had weapons.

'Weapons' might be stretching the definition of the word to breaking point. As with the northern Army of the Americas, what most of Morelos's troops were armed with was the tools of their trade. They were largely drawn from the fields and workshops, carrying their own machetes, scythes and axes. There were a few guns, but nothing to those available to the fully army and trained Realistas (Spanish Army in Mexico). It wasn't until Morelos led his army into Guerrero, gaining recruits there, that he came into possession of his first cannon. They called it El Niño.

It was during this initial call to arms that Morelos was joined by Nicolás Bravo Rueda. Better known as just Nicolás Bravo, this idealistic 23 year old was a native of Chilpancingo, Guerrero. He had arrived with his father, Leonard, and his brothers, Max, Victor and Miguel, as soon as the recruitment drums had sounded in their area.

Their arrival was significant. Leonard was a wealthy plantation owner - the vast Chichihualco farm, in Chilpancingo, belonged to him - and the whole family were Spanish Creole. They represented the very class of people whom the insurgents were fighting, but politically, the Bravo family were right on side. Leonard Bravo was instantly put in charge of a portion of the fledgling army.

By December, 1810, Morelos declared himself ready to move onto the second part of his orders - capture Acapulco. Acapulco, at the time, was a Spanish stronghold. It governed much of the trade into Asia and was protected by the imposing San Diego Fort. The Realistas within it also knew that Morelos was coming. Under the command of Francisco Parés, the Realistas rode out to meet the insurgents, confident of a swift victory. They were wrong. Morelos's leadership was so inspired, and his strategy so sound, that the Battle of Tres Palos resulted in a resounding victory for the rebels.


San Diego Fort
Morelos moved on into Acapulco itself and instructed his troops to burn the city down. Much of the population was already inside San Diego Fort, with what was left of the Realistas. This proved impregnable to the insurgents, but they could lay siege to it. This was precisely what they did. With no food or other supplies able to enter the fort, the inhabitants were soon struggling. It took nearly two months for Realista reinforcements to arrive. When they did, they were numerous enough that Morelos was forced to move on.

He hadn't been idle during the seige though. Leaving just enough people to ensure that San Diego Fort was isolated, Morelos had led the rest of his forces on lightning raids into the surrounding towns and villages. The majority of coastal towns of Michoacán and Guerrero were now under his control, all of them denying access to the Pacific Ocean for the viceroy's traders.

News trickled down to the south. Hidalgo, Morelos's hero and mentor, had been arrested, along with all of his high-ranking commanders. With the main Army of the Americas now in disarray, that left the whole insurrection without a leader. Morelos had always followed Hidalgo. Now he was the esteemed padre's successor, in the War of Independence. So be it. This was not the time to give up.



The victories went on. Within nine months, Morelos's army had been involved in 22 battles and had won them all. He had even taken the cities of Chilpancingo and Tixtla. As Allende, Aldama, Jiménez, then later Hidalgo, were being executed in Chihuahua, right up in the north, the whole south-west was rising with the rebels. As more people joined them, more places were taken.


Morelos's Campaign Trail

It wasn't just the south-west. Nicolás Bravo had ridden north with his commander, Hermenegildo Galeana. They were responsible for the skirmishes breaking out all over Veracruz state during 1811. By 1812, they were gathering in strength and support.

Early in the year, in the port of Veracruz, they nearly succeeded in overthrowing the Spanish governors. As a result, the viceroy had to send many Realistas there, in order to keep the sea link open with Spain. They were successful (until 1820), but that diverted the Spanish troops away from other areas in the state. Galeana and Bravo quickly took advantage of this. Very soon, they had taken the major Veracruz cities of Ayahualulco and Ixhuacán, as well as most of the state itself. Now fearing for Veracruz's capital city, Xalapa, the Realistas had to flee the port to defend it.



Back in the south-west, Morelos's insurgency seemed unstoppable. Then came Cuautla.

The city of Cuautla had put up a fierce defense, but Morelos's strategies had won through. The insurgents entered the city on February 19th, 1812. But there they were forced to stay. The Realista general, Félix María Calleja, had rallied his own troops and surrounded them. This was the same general who, two years before, had defeated the Army of the Americas, at Calderón Bridge. He was a brilliant military strategist. Morelos had found his equal.

But not quite. For 72 days, the siege held. Calleja was rigorous in maintaining his circle of highly disciplined soldiers. He didn't just stop supplies getting in, but also kept the city under the constant bombardment of artillery and cannon fire. Nothing that Morelos tried could break their strangehold on the city's perimeter. By late April, the population and troops, imprisoned inside the walls, were reduced to eating cats, rats, and lizards. When they couldn't be found, then it was snails or grasshoppers. However, it was also a stalemate, because Calleja could not break into the city.

Then, on May 2nd, 1812, Morelos tried something new. He simply left the city. It was in the early hours of the morning, when the army, with a handful of civilians, quietly crept out. Silently praying to God, the Virgin of Guadalupe, and anyone who'd listen, they sneaked past the night-watch and made it safely into the countryside.

Calleja was furious, when he discovered them missing, later in the morning. He sent his army after them and managed to engage them in battle. But weak with hunger and out-numbered, Morelos ordered his army to disperse. They did so, individually, in twos or in small groups, regrouping further on. Calleja was incensed, but with the rebels scattered to the wind, he couldn't do much about it. He returned to Cuautla and burned it down, then ordered his army to march back to Mexico City. There he claimed a hollow victory.

Morelos, meanwhile, waited for them to leave, then returned to Cuautla. Now it was firmly in the hands of the insurgents. With his army swelling again, he was able to divide it further, under the leadership of able men. Nicolás Bravo and Hermenegildo Galeana had returned for the fight at Cuautla. Bravo had acquitted himself so well, that Morelos had given him his own forces to command. He'd used them to Calleja, during the siege, when it seemed that the Realistas actually would break through. Now he used them to return to the north-east and to continue to harry the Realistas there.

Another man had proved himself at Cuautla. This was a Roman Catholic priest, from Mexico City, named Padre Mariano Matamoros y Guridi. Padre Matamoros had sympathized with the rebels from the beginning. He was so outspoken in these sentiments that, in 1810, the Spanish authorities had had him jailed. He had managed to escape from prison, a year later, and had made his way to Morelos. At 41 years old, he had joined the Army of the Americas.

After witnessing Matamoros's skill at Cuautla, Morelos had no hesitation in promoting him to lieutenant general. This effectively made Matamoros the second in command of the whole insurgency.

For the next 18 months, the rebels moved through the south of Mexico. Victory followed victory. They returned to Acapulco and this time managed to take it. Better still, they secured Oaxaca, which was the richest, most populated city in the southern region. From Veracruz, in the north, to the Pacific Ocean in the south, the land was under the control of Morelos.

On September 13, 1813, in Chilpancingo, Padre Morelos read out their declaration of independence. It was entitled Sentimientos de la Nación (Sentiments of the Nation); and its signatories proclaimed themselves the government of an independent Mexico.

Morelos was their president, but he disdained any high or mighty titles for himself. After several suggestions were presented to him, Morelos chose one for himself: Siervo de la Nación (Servant of the Nation). He busied himself, and his administration, with debating several laws, in addition to the 23 points laid out in the declaration.


Statue at Chilpancingo
But then, after that, it all went wrong. Morelos attempted to take his home city of Valladolid, on December 23, 1813. It failed. Worse still, Matamoros was captured. Morelos offered 200 Spanish prisoners in exchange for him, but was turned down. Padre Matamoros was defrocked, excommunicated and tried for treason. He was executed by firing squad, on February 3, 1814, in Valladolid's central plaza.

The insurgents were to win no more decisive battles after that. Morelos tried, but his strategies weren't working out as they once had. By late 1815, his own government voted to strip him of some of his powers on the battlefield. He accepted the decision graciously. But then bad luck turned to catastrophe.

On November 5th, 1815, Morelos was escorting a party of his Congressmen through Tezmalaca, Puebla. Matías Carrasco had once been an insurgent, but he'd swopped sides and was now on patrol at the helm of a troop of Realistas. He knew exactly who Morelos was, when he saw him. Morelos was out-numbered. He only had 200 men with him. Carrasco swooped down and the ensuing battle was very quick. The outcome was inevitable from the start. Morelos was arrested, along with all of the rebels with him.



Morelos watched, as 150 of his men were executed by firing squad, in front of him. The remaining 50 were chained and sent to Veracruz. There, they were told, they would be sent to Manila and sold into slavery. Morelos was taken, in chains, to Mexico City. He was tried and found guilty of treason. But the Inquisition also wanted him.

Standing before them, on November 27th, 1815, Morelos was charged with violating celibacy and fathering three children. He didn't deny it. He was defrocked and excommunicated, but there was one special torture reserved for him, which hadn't happened to either Hidalgo nor Matamoros. Morelos was made to kneel, while the areas of skin, which had been touched by holy oils at his ordination, was scraped from his body.



Three days later, Morelos was taken to at San Cristobal Ecatepec, north of Mexico City. The village had a large indigenious population. It was thought that executing him there would send a louder message to the remaining insurgents, than doing it in Mexico City. On November 30th, 1815, Morelos was shot dead by a firing squad.

Nicolás Bravo went on to fight valiantly for independence, until 1817, when he too was captured. However, he wasn't executed, but was imprisoned until 1820. Upon gaining his freedom, he immediately resumed his activities in the insurgency. He was there, in 1821, when Mexico finally gained her independence. Later on, Bravo served three terms in office, as the President of Mexico. He died, aged 68, at his family's farm, in Chilpancingo.


Nicolás Bravo

Where to Visit:


* Chilpancingo de los Bravo, Guerrero. Previously known as Chilpancingo, the 'de los Bravo' was added in honor of the Bravo family. It's also commonly called Ciudad Bravo (Bravo's city). Nicolás Bravo was born there, September 10, 1786. The house of Los Bravos is a popular tourist attraction there.

* Acapulco, Guerrero. Morelos's army attacked and burnt down the city in 1810. The Fort of San Diego contains a museum, with a War of Independence exhibition. On the waterfront, near to the cathedral, is a monument to several heroes of the insurgency, including Morelos.

* Cuautla, Morelos. Morelos and his troops were trapped in this city for nearly three months, in 1812. The city's formal name is now La Heroica e Histórica Cuautla de Morelos (The Heroic and Historical Cuautla of Morelos), in honor of the event. The Morelos Museum, in the city, contains many items from the War of Independence, as well as exhibtions detailing the struggle.

* San Cristobal Ecatepec de Morelos, State of Mexico. This is the city where Morelos was executed. A monument stands at the spot where it happened. The house in which he stayed is now a museum, Museo Casa de Morelo (Morelo's Museum). The 'de Morelos' was added to the name of the city, in 1877, in his honor.