page_title: History of El Paso, Texas
section_title: The Mexican Revolution
hierarchical_section_title: History of El Paso, Texas / The Mexican Revolution
caption_attribution_description: English: Camping on the Border, near El Paso, Texas (military), Moonlight. Pershing's Punitive Expedition of 1916, according to UNM.
context_page_description: Founded as El Paso del Norte by Spanish Franciscan friars at an important mountain pass, the area became a small agricultural producer though most settlement was south of the river where modern Mexico lies. The city was considered part of New Mexico under Spanish Conquerors and was tied economically to Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Chihuahuan mining districts of San Felipe El Real and San José del Parral.
  The Texas Revolution when Texas revolted from Mexico, which itself had recently become independent from Spain, did not involve paseños as the region was a part of Chihuahua. However, after Texas' annexation by the United States the boundary of the state was claimed to include what would become this important trading center.
  As railroads were built through the area it boomed as a commercial center. The World Wars and the Texas Oil Boom helped develop the city further. As international trade has become increasingly important in the U.S., and Juárez has grown as a manufacturing center, El Paso's economic importance has continued to expand.
context_section_description: The Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) began in 1910, and Ciudad Juárez was the focus of intense fighting. Occasionally, stray shots killed civilians on the El Paso side. El Paso became a center of intrigue as various exiled leaders including Victoriano Huerta and (for a time) Pancho Villa were seen in the city. In January 1914, General John Joseph Pershing was stationed at Fort Bliss, where he was responsible for security along the border and mounted the ill-fated Pancho Villa Expedition against Pancho Villa after the infamous raid on Columbus, New Mexico on March 9, 1916. During this time period many refugees from Mexico fled to El Paso to escape the violence and economic disruption of the Revolution.
  A significant Mexican middle class population developed cultural, social, and educational institutions catering to their needs, including many located in central El Paso and in the Sunset Heights area. These included the Ateneo Porfirio Díaz, the Casino Mexicano (housed in the Toltec Building), Professor Servando Esquivel's Colegio Palmore, and the Colegio de las Hermanas de Jesús y María. The Jesuit Order, expelled from Mexico during the Revolution, played an important role in the development of community institutions and schools, aiding the American and Italian Jesuits already active in El Paso. They staffed parishes like Santo Angel, San Ignacio, and Sagrado Corazón in South El Paso and the Sagrada Familia, in Sunset Heights, as well as a chapel in Smeltertown. South El Paso street was the premier artistic and cultural center of Mexican El Paso, with over a dozen cinemas and theaters that featured the latest films, as well as vaudeville performers, tandas skits, carpas comics, nightclubs, and the occasional touring Spanish-language theatrical and opera company, such as that of the grande dame of the Mexican stage, Virginia Fábregas. Mexican cinemas in El Paso were important to the development of subtitles. Around the start of the 20th century, bilingual interpreters called out in Spanish the English-language text of American movies, and this gradually gave way to on-screen translations. Azteca Films—a leading production company in mid 20th century Mexico, was housed in El Paso in the 1930s–1950s, and brought to South El Paso street theaters premier screenings featuring stars like María Félix.
caption: General Pershing's punitive expedition camp near the border, El Paso, Texas (postcard, printed and mailed 1916): Franklin Mountains, left-to-right (i.e., south-to-north) are: Ranger Peak, Sugarloaf Mountain, and part of South Franklin Mountain
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