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On June 23, 1914 Generals Felipe Angeles & Francisco Villa staged a bloody and difficult battle in Zacatecas, which many said set the stage for the winning of the Mexican Revolution (1910 . 1920). Federal troops held the rocky peak of the bufa and the slopes of the Grillo, site of the hotly contested silver mine “Mina del Eden” as well as the colonial center.

For the June 23, 2014 centenario army troops and many other participant groups are staging a re-enactment. June 14th began the ceremonies with a “Cabalgata” – an organized horseback expedition – through the historic center and up to the Bufa – this video captures the riders from the old aqueduct thru the main street Hidalgo and up to the plaza underneath the Bufa peaks. Horses and riders came from throughout the state of Zacatecas, from Chihuahua, San Luis Potosi, Nueva Leon, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Aguascalientes – and down from the US.

We went up to the Bufa a few months ago with Eduardo Gonzalez, a friend who has lived here all his life and studied intensively the military history of the Toma de Zacatecas.  So this video is a look from “on the ground”  imagining back to 23 june 1914, 100 years ago this month.

Thanks to the best camera guy Manuel “Chuy” Martinez, to Maria Tzin and Galo.

I put the music dedication to the late Maestro Jorge Martínez Zapata;  Samuel Mtz. Herrera gave a concert of his dad´s music in Teatro Calderón, Zacatecas in May.  I got 2 of Sam´s CD´s with the project Huazzteco that I hadn´t heard yet —  the Maestro began yrs ago his project of excavating Mexican folk tunes and arranging in a jazz mentality – not imitation jazz that you hear so much from Amsterdam to Argentina, but jazz modalities, methodology, concepts, rigorous.  Samuel´s music is a surprising original and profound continuation of his father´s concept – Thanks to the both of them, and of course to Jorge Mtz Herrera, classical & flamenco guitar – a whole different angle on the work.

1st tune is Horacio Franco, flute from “Mestizajes Novohispanos”,  then “La Rosa”, “Jarabe Loco” de J Mtz Zapata, finally “Danse Macabre” of Saint Saens (Fr/1875)

The taking of Zacatecas, June 24, 1914, by Generals Pancho Villa, Panfilo Nateras & Felipe Angeles marked a crucial turning point in the long and bloody Mexican Revolution.  This video highlights the 99th anniversary Cabalgata (expedition on horseback).  Next year for the centenario Zacatecas will celebrate a re-enactment and huge fiesta.

One autumn morning I went with my friend, artist Homero Guttierez and we watched the dawn on top of Cerro de la Bufa, the peak set above Zacatecas, Mexico. The statue towards the end is General Pancho Villa, the other one General Felipe Angeles, heroes of the bloody taking of the Bufa in 1914, in the Toma de Zacatecas.  This was a very bloody battle, upwards of 50,000 were killed, that changed the course of the Mexican Revolution.  Now its nice and peaceful up there, and this is just a fun little video we made.