Alvarado, Mrs Epifania 1972-07-22
Mrs. Epifania Alvarado describes her life as the wife of a Mexican sergeant during the 1910 Revolution in Mexico, comparing that experience with her subsequent life in the United States. Mrs. Mary Hernandez, her daughter-in-law, serves as interpreter.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Mrs. Epifania Alvarado
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: July 22, 1972
Location:San Marcos, Texas
Interviewer: David Murrah
Length: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1:
Gives details of her early married life,
Husband served in Carranza's army,
Discusses Pancho Villa,
Mentions Obregon,
Describes camp life of families with soldiers,
Talks about the bandits at San Carlos, Chihuahua,
Recalls being in army after Pershing's invasion,
Remembers lack of sanitary facilities,
Offers opinion of Villa, who was a kind of Robin Hood,
Discusses family and later life,
Came to United States to escape jealous husband,
Mentions Francisco Madero and father's ranch in San Breguete, Zacatecas,
Tells of meeting her husband in restaurant,
Married in Terreon, Coahuila,
Recalls boarding soldiers
Tape 1, Side 2:
Continues description of daily life in revolutionary army,
Lists foods that she prepared,
Discusses her kitchen equipment and fleeing to mountains,
Describes medical care for troops,
Estimates the time that families sought refuge in the mountains,
Recalls life in the mountains,
Women provided all of the food, risking lives,
Recounts story of bandits and a wagon of women,
Claims that she had not heard of the U. S. before war,
Mother-in-law's letter from U. S. was first mention,
Recalls life as farm worker in Luling, Texas,
Husband who followed worked for railroad
Tape 2, Side 1:
Returns to life in Mexican Army, mid-1910s,
Repeats that she came because her husband beat her,
Says that life with her parents was hard in Zacatecas,
Recalls work as kitchen maid for a rich family,
Mentions threat to girls from Madero's troops,
Summarizes life before marriage,
Compares her life in Mexico with life in United States,
Mentions family and Pancho Villa again,
Family details given,
Returns to question of boarders in Revolutionary Army
Tape 2, Side 2:
Remembers church during Revolution,
Priests were afraid of going to mountains,
Names a soldier woman, Maria Pineda, among the 30 women in camp,
Married to a corporal, Pineda guarded women,
Describes Pineda
Range Dates: mid-1910s-1972
Bulk Dates: mid-1910s-1972
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript:
Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.
