The Revolution in literature

The Mexican Revolution gave rise to a whole literary genre. Mariano Azuela founded the literature, or novel, of the Revolution with Los de abajo (The Underdogs), written in 1915 while he served as a doctor in Pancho Villa’s ranks; it shows the war through the eyes of ordinary fighters.

Later authors returned to the subject in other tones. Jorge Ibargüengoitia (1928–1983) wrote Los relámpagos de agosto (The Lightning of August, 1964), a satire of the solemn memoirs of revolutionary generals. Paco Ignacio Taibo II, a Spanish-born writer and historian naturalized Mexican, wrote La temporada de zopilotes (2009), a narrative history of the Decena Trágica of 1913.