Cuernavaca - Mexican Revolutionaries (1911 Postcard)

I could not resist this photo. Who would send a postcard showing a band of Mexican revolutionaries? Or bandits, depending on your point of view.

 

This postcard shows a group led by Eufemio Zapata, according to text on the front and a longer description on the back. He is seated and holding a rifle, based on a known photograph of him. I presume that the photo commemorates their winning a battle near Cuernavaca, a city 40 km (25 miles) southof Mexico City. The weapons on the ground were probably captured from their enemies.

 

Eufemio Zapata was an older brother of the more famous Emiliano Zapata. The latter was the leader of a major group of revolutionaries in the 1910s, and the title character of the film Viva Zapata. Emiliano Zapata was played by Marlon Brando in the film, and Eufemio by Anthony Quinn. There is no indication that Emiliano Zapata is in the photo.

 

I have chosen the date of 1911 because it is the last year when Eufemio could be considered on the same level as Emiliano Zapata, as indicated in the text on the reverse side, and the first year when revolutionaries could have been in Cuernavaca. The location of the photo is speculative. I chose a district named for Emiiano Zapata.

 

Speaking of movies, some of these men could just as well be the bogus Federales who threatened Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierre Madre ("We don't need no stinkin' badges").

 

The postcard was printed by an American publisher. It was never written or mailed.

Done