What Are the Traditional Costumes of the Adelitas During the Mexican Revolution?

Legend has it that Adelita was a woman who traveled with the man she loved, a sergeant, to his post in the war. Once there, Adelita subsequently became a woman warrior. While it is not clear if Adelita ever existed or if she was merely a character in a legend and a folk song, Adelitas became a name for women soldiers during the Mexican revolution.

During the Mexican Revolution, the Adelitas fought bravely with their male counterparts during the war. Like their male counterparts, they were well known for wearing certain clothing that denoted them as members of the Mexican army. The main articles of clothing associated with the Adelitas were:

• The Mexican peasant dress or a Huipil. The Mexican peasant dress was a white, short sleeved, loosed fitting dress. Women also could wear the Huipil, which was the Mexican peasant blouse or sleeveless tunic.
• The Huipil was combined with a full length skirt.

• The rebozo. The rebozo was a large scarf or shawl.
• A simple pair of black boots
• A gun belt to carry a weapon and ammunition
• A gun which was kept in a holster on the belt

A reearch paper published at Ic.Arizona.edu by Tereza Jandura provides more details about these Adelitas. This research paper also includes pictures of the Adelitas in their traditional dress.

Battlefield Duties of the Adelitas

The Adelitas were also known as solderas or cornelas during the time of the Mexican Revolution. These brave women fought aside their male counterparts, but they also performed many other duties as well.

• These duties included caring for the wounded, washing clothes, cooking meals for the soldiers, and burying the dead.
• Those on the actual battlefields performed such duties as spies, messengers, journalists, munitions runners, and fulfilled any other tasks that they may have been needed for.

Motivation of the Adelitas

The woman participated in this manner during the Mexican Revolution for many reasons, including the fact that they hoped that they would gain recognition in Mexican society and perhaps achieve greater equality.

Many of the women fought in the revolution while caring for children, sometimes bringing those children with them. The women who acted as solderas in the war were both rich and poor, educated and uneducated, and all were fighting for a cause in which they believed.

Mothers of the Mexican Revolution

After the Mexican Revolution was over, the deeds of the Adelitas were largely forgotten. The only recognition these women ever received occurred later when the folk song was written about the soldera named "Adelita."

Today, however, the stories of the Adelitas of the past have been revived by historians. The women who fought bravely during the war for independence are often referred to as the mothers of the Mexican Revolution.