Soldaderas jóvenes [Young Women Soldiers]

Soldaderas jóvenes is an early work by Chicana artist Santa Barraza. The etching is part of the artist’s engagement with her research on women’s roles in the Mexican Revolution (1910–20). Looking to the work of early twentieth-century social realist photographers like Agustín Casasola and Tina Modotti, Barraza here focuses on the history of women soldiers known as the adelitas (named after pioneer soldadera and activist Adela Velarde Pérez). In this work, Barraza features her young daughter, dressed as an adelita, in a scene of Mexican soldiers riding trains, referencing the canonical images Casasola captured in his documentation of the Mexican Revolution.  

The Mexican Revolution and its legacies were subjects of interest throughout the Chicana/o movement of the 1960s and ’70s. Learning about this political moment and the formation of modern Mexico gave Barraza a sense of personal connection to historical roots that she drew on in her work. As one of the leaders in the Chicana artistic organization and network Mujeres Artistas del Suroeste [Women Artists of the Southwest], or MAS, Barraza has forged a career as a pivotal leader in women’s education and history. Soldaderas jóvenes laid the foundation for Barraza’s subsequent focus on her study of ancient Mexican and Indigenous women, including historical and religious icons like La Llorona, Coyolxauhqui, and the Cihuateteo.