Adelita, Pata de Perro

Hope you are having a restful and warm Sunday!

On many occasion my mom Adela would be sitting in her wicker chair in the living room watching those scandalous novellas on Channel 44 and she’d watch me come in and say, No más te la pasas de pata de perro.

The truth is it’s true and yesterday was no exception. Last night, I had the opportunity to go check out Adelita, Pata de Perro exhibit over at Tianguis Bookstore. Pata de perro has always been one of my favorite sayings!

The cozy space glowed with warmth, good vibes and the wonderful art of Jenny Priego. This is her first exhibit ever! Hopefully, it will be the beginning of many more exhibits. This month also marks the 96th Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.

What would the Mexican Revolution be without La Adelita?

Adelita is a woman warrior known as a soldadera or woman soldier.They fought in battle against the Mexican government forces and cared for the wounded. They were a vital force in the revolutionary war efforts.

The term La Adelita has since come to signify a woman of strength and courage.

They’ve even written songs about Las Adelitas:

En lo alto de la abrupta serranía
acampado se encontraba un regimiento
y una musa que valiente los seguía
locamente enamorada del sargento.

Popular entre la tropa era Adelita
la mujer que el sargento idolatraba
y además de ser valiente era bonita
que hasta el mismo Coronel la respetaba.

Y se oía, que decía, aquel que tanto la quería:

Y si Adelita quisiera ser mi novia
y si Adelita fuera mi mujer
le compraría un vestido de seda
para llevarla a bailar al cuartel.

Y si Adelita se fuera con otro
la seguiría por tierra y por mar
si por mar en un buque de guerra
si por tierra en un tren militar.

Sitting there admiring the work Priego glides into Tianguis like a purple plume. Her melodic voice filling the space quickly.

The work according to Priego, “ It’s photograghic journal of Adelita, a character that was inspired by the women who fought in the Mexican Revolution. Priego's Adelita is a hyper-ethnic woman wandering the world on an ever changing journey, and on her voyage of discovery she encounters symbols of power, femininity, sex, and cultural imagery. She finds herself in different situations and places that take her from Paris, to Rome and sugar cane mills in Mexico. There are thousands of photographs that have been collected over the last six years, for the first time ever Priego will be exhibiting a small portion of embellished and adorned original pieces that were taken in Paris.”

Priego recently did an interview on Proyecto Latina Radio.

Listen to the podcast by logging on to http://www.tianguis.biz

I felt excited and inspired for Priego’s on her journey as an artist. Then I stepped out into the cold Chicago night heading towards my next event. I heard Adelita say, No te cansas de andar de pata de perro?