Emiliano Zapata in popular culture

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Marlon Brando as Zapata in the 1952 movie Viva Zapata!
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Marlon Brando as Zapata in the 1952 movie Viva Zapata!

References and depictions of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, places and things named for and commemorating him.

Contents

[edit] Places named after Zapata

  • Metro Zapata, Mexico City Metro
  • Emiliano Zapata, Morelos
  • Emiliano Zapata, Veracruz
  • Emiliano Zapata, Baja California Sur
  • Emiliano Zapata, Chiapas
  • Emiliano Zapata, Chihuahua
  • Emiliano Zapata, Coahuila
  • Emiliano Zapata, Durango
  • Emiliano Zapata Norte, Mérida, Yucatán
  • Emiliano Zapata, Michoacán
  • Emiliano Zapata, Nuevo León
  • Emiliano Zapata, Sonora
  • Emiliano Zapata, Tamaulipas
  • Emiliano Zapata, Tlaxcala
  • Emiliano Zapata, Zacatecas

And many other towns, schools, streets, housing developments, etc. across the country.

  • Zapata County, Texas is named for Antonio Zapata, a Texas rancher, not Emiliano Zapata.
  • Grupo Zapata , a large Ford dealership based in Tlalnepantla, Mexico was founded in the 1950's and does not claim any connection to Zapata the revolutionary.

[edit] Popular culture references to Emiliano Zapata

  • The film Viva Zapata! (1952), with Marlon Brando as Zapata
  • The film Zapata: El sueño de un héroe (2004) with Alejandro Fernandez as Zapata
  • The short telenovela Zapata: Amor en Rebeldía (2004: Telemundo or Argos)
  • The Mexican-Russian film Campanas Rojas (1982) with Jorge Luke as Zapata.
  • Zapata appears in the Mexican telenovelas Senda de gloria (1987) with Manuel Ojeda as Zapata and El vuelo del águila (1994).
  • Nickelodeon game show Legends of the Hidden Temple - in one episode, the artifact that teams competed to retrieve from the temple was The Applewood Amulet of Emiliano Zapata.
  • Political Rap/Metal band Rage Against The Machine have a song, Zapata's Blood and also refer to him in the song Calm Like A Bomb
  • Australian band Midnight Oil quote Zapata at the conclusion of their song "Power and the Passion" with the line "It is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees".
  • cLOUDDEAD reference him in the song Son of a Gun.
  • Spanish ska punk music group Ska-P has a song dedicated to the memory of Zapata called Juan sin tierra.
  • Indie rock group Spoon, which hails from Austin, TX, uses Zapata's image accompanied by the text "Austin, Tejas" on a 2006 tour t-shirt.
  • Mexican rock group Maná reference Zapata in their song, "Justicia, Tierra, y Libertad," from their 2002 release entitled "Revolución De Amor."
  • Zapata has also been represented in the movies by Marlon Brando (1952), Jaime Fernández (1966), Tony Davis, (1969), Antonio Aguilar (1970), Jorge Luke (1982), Alejandro Fernández (2002 – in the Nahuatl language and Alberto Estrella (2003) .
  • Note The quote Es mejor morir a pie que vivir arrodillado (It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees) originated with Cuban patriot Jose Martí, not Zapata, although the Zapatistas have made much use of the slogan.

[edit] Tourism and museums

The Ruta Zapata through important Zapata related sites in southeastern Morelos state serves as a pilgrimage path for latter day Zapata admirers. Some of these sites are [1]:

[edit] Murals and other depictions in art

Diego Rivera mural of Zapata in the Teatro Insurgentes
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Diego Rivera mural of Zapata in the Teatro Insurgentes

Many poems have also been written about Zapata. An example of one, a student of Mexican Revolutionary history, is recorded below:

I AM ZAPATA!

I am Emiliano Zapata, el Tigre del Sur I wonder on whose side is Villa the fool. I hear all my people, they cry out for land I see all the tierra, and start a warring band. I want libertad, and that tierra too (for) I am Zapata, El Atilla del Sur!

I pretend I beat Diaz, him and his rules, I feel he is evil and foolish and cruel. I touch their heart, the Mexican poor, I worry and scurry and call them to war. I cry “Tierra—that and libertad!” I am here to save you, mi hijo, my comrade.

I understand their cries, the sorrows they tell, I say “Down Diaz, Down C’rranza—On Justice and Down Putrid.” I dream of and do recall, the cry of Nahuatl. I try to conquer, destroy, shoot, and kill (for) I hope to rid the land of evil and bad-will. I am Zapata the brave, and conquer I will!