I thought there would be a wall


 Villa and his closest generals, like Candelario Cervantes, knew. 

I figured we had cut through a cattle fence to fight Carrancistas, as we'd done so many times before. But this time we were on U.S. soil, at Columbus. 

Like my father and I, the majority of Villa's men had been forced. Take up a Mauser for Villa, or be executed on the spot. We were tired, hungry, and missing family. My mother was safe near the rancho in Chihuahua. My three brothers had not been so lucky. 

When the enemy yelled in English, I realized we weren't in Chihuahua anymore. 

Comments

  1. oh my gosh: the title is my favorite part of this one; what a great example of a title that wraps around the whole story with its own multiple layers of meaning. and that photo...... wow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! The title comes almost verbatim from Jesús' testimony before the Fall Committee in Congress in 1920. Many of the other details came from that transcript, as well.

      Delete
    2. Oooooh, that makes it even more eerie!

      Delete
    3. Oh, poor Jesus. You bring him to life.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts