Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923

By David Dorado Romo and Dina Nayeri

Book Overview

El Paso/Ju rez served as the tinderbox of the Mexican Revolution and the tumultuous years to follow. In essays and archival photographs, David Romo tells the surreal stories at the roots of the greatest Latin American revolution: The sainted beauty queen Teresita inspires revolutionary fervor and is rumored to have blessed the first rifles of the revolutionaries; anarchists publish newspapers and hatch plots against the hated Porfirio Diaz regime; Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa eats ice cream cones and rides his Indian motorcycle happily through downtown; El Paso's gringo mayor wears silk underwear because he is afraid of Mexican lice; John Reed contributes a never-before-published essay; young Mexican maids refuse to be deloused so they shut down the border and back down Pershing's men in the process; vegetarian and spiritualist Francisco Madero institutes the Mexican revolutionary junta in El Paso before crossing into Ju rez to his ill-fated presidency and assassination; and bands play Verdi while firing squads go about their deadly business. Romo's work does what Mike Davis' City of Quartz did for Los Angeles--it presents a subversive and contrary vision of the sister cities during this crucial time for both countries.

David Dorado Romo, the son of Mexican immigrants, is an essayist, historian, musician and cultural activist. Ringside Seat to a Revolution is the result of his three-year exploration of archives detailing the cultural and political roots of the Mexican Revolution along la frontera. Romo received a degree in Judaic studies at Stanford University and has studied in Israel and Italy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0938317911
• ISBN13: 9780938317913
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 2.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.7" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

A fascinating work that will be highly appreciated by anyone with ties to the Juarez/El Paso border

Having grown up in the Juarez/El Paso border, I was amazed by the way this work delves into its rich history in such an entertaining way and brings awareness to the fact that a significant part of it has been purposefully hidden from our generation or simply forgotten. I applaud the work done by David Romo because it touches on many aspects of the culture of both cities (e.g. their press, music, beliefs, etc) in such a way that it will leave readers familiar with the area hungry to learn and understand more about it. "Ringside Seat to a Revolution" is a wonderful, easy-to-read book that I would highly recommend to anyone.

An Reference Work for Border Historians

This is one of the very best books that I've ever read about the El Paso/Juarez border. It is a must-own reference book, packed full of photos, quotes, articles (from the El Paso Herald and El Paso Times), and other rare items from the archival collections of UTEP and the Times. Romo (the author) goes beyond what a normal historian would comment upon - he takes you on an archeological "dig" of facts and historic events during the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. As a kid growing up in El Paso, I had always heard stories from family members about life on the border at the turn of the 20th century...but there really wasn't anything that could ever confirm or dispel any of those stories until now. Romo has done an incredible job of putting together the history - both good and bad - of life on the El Paso border over a century ago. This book is extremely well documented with excellent citations, making it a must-own for any library or collection of border history.

Ringside Seat to a Revolution

This is a wonderful book mapping out the historical significance of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican revolution. As a long life citizen of El Paso, Texas I was ashamed to find out I knew relatively nothing about my city's contribution to the Mexican revolution. This is a must read for all historical buffs, Hispanics and El Pasoan's yearning to learn the real story behind the importance of two border cities. Great reading, full of rich details, stories and histories of amazing people kept out of American history books.

Great Book

This book is one of the few scholarly page-turners. It covers the topic in a local-history approach. The use of many, well-chosen photographs, keeps the readers interest. The author's "hook" of viewing the Mexican Revolution from a distance in El Paso is both novel, and effective.

Hear NPR's John Burnett on Romo's book

A first rate book, with an excellent collection of photographs. See/listen to John Burnett's NPR radio materials on the David Dorado Romo book, aired Sat., Jan. 28, 2006. NPR web page: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5176177