Ethereal Allies: Spiritism and the Revolutionary Struggle in Hidalgo

Abstract

When rumors of Marcial Cavazos’s death began to reach the people of Pachuca, they refused to believe it. During de la Huerta’s rebellion (1923–24), he had seemed invincible. The local newspaper, El Observador , suggested that not until pachuquenses saw Cavazos’s body with their own eyes would they accept this “stunning news.” The national press received reports from Hidalgo with equal astonishment. Articles giving details of his final moments merged into obituaries as they reflected upon the illustrious past of “the most romantic figure in the revolutionary history of the Republic,” and “the inheritor of the mantle of ‘Pancho’ Villa.” 1 As much as half the population of Pachuca filed past Cavazos’s coffin to pay their last respects before he made his final journey to San Luis Potosí. Given such accolades it is surprising that the figure evoking such sympathies had spent the last days of his life in rebellion against the federal government. Twice in as many months, Cavazos’s men had taken control of the state capital; throughout early 1924, their lightening raids had thrown commerce, transport, and federal military authority in Hidalgo into chaos. Clearly, newspaper editors found it hard to reconcile the disparaging official portrayal of rebel leaders with that emanating from those in Hidalgo touched by Cavazos’s actions. Quite simply, many people in Pachuca could not accept that “ el General Fantasma ” (“the Ghost General”) was dead. 2 These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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