La Jornada: “Mariano Escobedo has not been given complete justice”

Mariano Escobedo was offered the presidential seat and rejected it. After decades between invasions, escapes, military campaigns and civil wars, the New Leonese general preferred to stay away from political power.

For Hernán Galindo, this decision reveals an unusual dimension within Mexican history: that of a soldier who led the siege of Querétaro, received the sword of Maximilian I of Mexico after the defeat of the Second Empire and, even so, ended up relegated to a discreet corner of the national memory.

“It seems to me that justice has not been done completely,” said the playwright and director from Monterrey in an interview with The Day about the figure that inspires A general in the shadows, production starring Rodrigo Murray that will arrive today at the Esperanza Iris City Theater as part of the activities for the bicentennial of the birth of Mariano Escobedo (1826-1902).

The initiative arose in the General Escobedo municipality, Nuevo León, whose Ministry of Culture summoned the creator last year to develop the scenic project.

The director turned to historical sources, including the biography written by the chronicler Israel Cavazos, to reconstruct the journey of a mule driver who ended up among the decisive figures of the republican wars of the 19th century.

“I hadn’t even gone to school, much less a military school,” he recalled. “When the American invasion of 1846 occurred, he took his horse, came to Monterrey and joined the forces that defended the city. Approximately 30 years later he led the siege of Querétaro, defeated the empire and also received Maximilian’s sword.”

As the investigation progressed, he found in Escobedo a character marked by escapes, displacements and episodes that seem written for the theater. He was surprised by the times he escaped from the enemy and his periods of exile in New York.

“It is almost incredible to think about the transportation and communication possibilities of that time. There is a moment when he returned to Mexico in the middle of the American civil war and managed to rejoin the Republican forces,” Galindo added.

dreamlike atmosphere

Murray plays the mature Escobedo, accompanied by another actor who represents him in his youth. A young woman named Isabel, a possible descendant of the soldier, searches for traces of her family past while she talks with memories of the general.

Historical and allegorical figures appear: Benito Juárez, Porfirio Díaz, Maximiliano, Pedro Ampudia, Tomás Mejía, the Homeland, the War and a character called El Colorado, representation of the devil.

The narrative is based on a dream logic. Everything happens from the imagination of the general already in adulthood, a resource that allowed him to play with times and stage fiction.

One of the dramatic axes focuses on the relationship with Porfirio Díaz. Both fought together for the Republic, but years later they ended up becoming political adversaries. Escobedo “shadowed” the former president a lot, since he was “the great national hero, the man who defeated Maximilian”; Therefore, “Díaz little by little ended up relegating him.”

During the investigation, an episode also appeared that the playwright considered especially revealing. Decades after the defeat of the French Empire, Porfirio Díaz organized a ceremony to present medals to those who participated in those campaigns.

Hernán Galindo explained that “only the two of them were left alive: Díaz and Escobedo. Then one gives the medal to the other. These are things that even seem theatrical to me.”

The production brings together 10 actors and an ensemble of 12 members of the General Escobedo-Nogalar Folkloric Ballet, in charge of recreating military bodies during the performance. About 30 people travel for the performance in the Mexican capital, including cast, ensemble and technical crew.

Working with Rodrigo Murray occupied an important part of the creative process. His stage presence and the depth with which he built the character were among the elements that stood out the most during rehearsals.

“He is an actor who works in depth and knows how to place each moment emotionally very well. His voice and stage presence seemed ideal for Mariano Escobedo,” concluded the playwright.

The commemorative activities dedicated to the Nuevo León general began yesterday at the Rosario Castellanos bookstore of the Economic Culture Fund with the ceremony General Mariano Escobedo: Bicentennial, where the 2025 National Special Prize for Historical Essay was awarded and the book was presented General Mariano Escobedo: Liberal leader, worthy of the Republic, 1826-1902.

Today an honor guard will be held in front of the soldier’s funeral monument in the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons of the Pantheon of Dolores, on the occasion of his 124th death anniversary.

The function of A general in the shadows It will begin at 8 p.m. at the Esperanza Iris City Theater (Donceles 36, Centro neighborhood, Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office). Admission will be free.