Once upon a time, during the year of 1884, Manuel Gonzalez Flores gathered his counsel for a brief meeting. The reason for this meeting, was to discuss Sara’s (his daughter) coming of age. He knew that the time had come for her to fall in love and marry soon. He acknowledged that since she was the most beautiful girl in the region and daughter to the President of Mexico, men from all over the country would come try to win her heart. So, once he informed his council of his thoughts he told them they had to take an oath and he said, “My dear comrades, the time has come for my girl to choose her husband and I ask of you to respect her decision. If any man tries to steal my lovely daughter from her husband, you shall all do whatever it must take to bring her back to him.”
After a few months passed and numerous men proclaimed their love for Sara, she chose Porfirio Diaz as her husband. Her father passed shortly and Porfirio took command of office. They were enjoying life and happily married until in 1910, when Sara met Francisco Madero at a ball. The two laughed and drank the night away while her husband was busy discussing busy business affairs with high-rank officials.
Surely enough, Madero had convinced her to go back home with him using his elegance and charm. Madero was of the north where the people were beginning to revolt against President Diaz and his government over land disputes and the current system they lived under. They rode for 5 days until they arrived at their new hacienda.
Diaz was outraged over what had taken place. He could not believe that his Sara betrayed him like that and the fact that is was with a Northman made it even more unbearable. He immediately called for a council the next morning and reminded him of the oath they had taken, if such an even would to occur. Among the men in the council was Venustiano Carranza, a man who had previously served for Madera and knew him very well. The Mexican Revolution was about to begin, over the love and betrayal of a woman.
(Francisco Madero with his wife Sara Perez: Latin American Studies)
Authors Note:
This story retracts much from the story of the Iliad by Homer. Both involve a beautiful woman being the cause of a dispute, in this case Sara. The plot is set in Mexico before the Mexican Revolution and I used different characters such as Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, and Venustiano Carranza.a In Homer's Iliad, Helen is the woman who marries Menelaus the brother of Agamemnon. They are happily married until Paris from Troy takes her away and causes the brothers to gather their allies and men to fetch her. This is the beginning of the war to come between the Greeks and Trojans.
Bibliography. "How the War with Troy Began" from The Iliad by Homer. Web Source.
Hi Juan,
ReplyDeleteI like how you retold this story in a different period of history. It helped remind me that the Greeks would have seen the events of the Iliad as part of their history, not just as mythology. I also think it makes the story more plausible.
I did wonder whether the oath should count in this situation, since going off with Madero was also Sara's choice. However, I'm sure Porfirio would not see it that way. I was also curious as to why Venustiano Carranzo was mentioned. Probably I am just not familiar enough with the Iliad to draw a parallel.
It would be interesting if you went into a bit more detail as to why Sara chose Porfirio in the first place. I think that would make him even more sympathetic a character. You could also describe a bit more why her sudden change from loving him to running off with Madero.
What if you
Hi Juan!
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning I couldn't tell what type of story this was derived from, but I like that you changed the time period! I also like that the whole reason for the upcoming war was going to occur "over the love and betrayal of a woman." I wonder what the oath that they took entails. How will they bring her back to her husband? Will they kill her new lover?
What if you chose to state in the ending their plan for bringing Sara back to her husband?
Hi Juan, great story! I especially liked the ending. It gave the impression that there could be the possibility of a sequal involving the same characters from the story in a time after the Mexican revolution had begun. And perhaps deal with how those involved in this story end up faring in those difficult times. I wonder if this is something that would be possible to do in perhaps your portfolio? I really enjoyed how you turned a Homer story into a whole other scenario. It reminds me of the plot of O' Brother where art thou. Great idea for a story! I hope to read more on this topic.
ReplyDeleteHey there Juan!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a very cool and unique retelling of Homer's Illiad. I think you did a great job with the modern application of the story. I was not expecting it to take the turn that it did. I think this was very valuable for your retelling. I did not immediately pick up on the Homer's Illiad vibe, and it added some excitement to the story. I also really like the image you used for this story! It is definitely very cool to see a historical image being used here.