Aurora Reyes: Ataque A La Maestra Rural

Mirkin’s article, “Aurora Reyes: ataque a la maestra rural,” was about one of the most iconic women in Mexican history. She was a very inspiring woman, she still found time to create her murals and fight for what she believed in all while being a single mother of two and having a job. Reyes was someone who fought for things that were dear to her such as education, children, and equality for women. I found it interesting but not surprising that her murals reflected her beliefs and illustrated the essence of their importance. Unlike the other artists who depicted the revolution, Reyes’ murals showed the unfortunate but somewhat inevitable side of the revolution. For example, in her mural, “Sick Child,” you see a sad child sitting on the pavement
with no shoes, playing with some possible alley cats; the child probably has nowhere to go and no one to take care of him. Reyes’ statements, murals, and even her life story completely changed my perspective of the Mexican revolution. The previous readings were mainly focused on the people of Mexico going against the dictatorship for leadership/government that was for the people without ever really got into how this process was affecting the people themselves, especially the women. Although the Mexican revolution gave the people a better government and right among the ranks, it forgot about its women. There were no representations or mentions of iconic figures that stood to fight for the injustice of women until people like Reyes came along. There were some mentions of women but as lacking energy or strength and not as they truly were as Reyes represented in her mural, “Woman of War,” as being strong and independent.