Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
Speaker 1: is Wamanica. Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller,
Speaker 1: to diminish themselves. Some have used that idea to their advantage,
Speaker 1: disappearing into new identities for others, and disappearance was the
Speaker 1: end to their stories at the beginning of a new
Speaker 1: chapter of their legacies. This month, we're telling the stories
Speaker 1: of these women. We're talking about disappearing acts. Today we're
Speaker 1: talking about a woman who rose through the ranks of
Speaker 1: the rebel army while disguised as a man. Later, after
Speaker 1: her true identity was uncovered, she slipped away into obscurity,
Speaker 1: this time as a spy. Meet Petra Herrera. After staging
Speaker 1: at coup in eighteen seventy six, Mexican President Porphyrio Diaz
Speaker 1: led a corrupt government. Elections were a farce, and property
Speaker 1: and capital were only in the hands of the elite.
Speaker 1: In nineteen ten, rebels across Mexico rose up to fight
Speaker 1: for their civil liberties. Thus began a bloody civil war
Speaker 1: that would last ten years and would have more than
Speaker 1: a million casualties. During the revolution, women took up arms
Speaker 1: alongside men. Rebel armies were generally ragtag and decentralized. That
Speaker 1: opened up much more opportunity for women to break away
Speaker 1: from traditional gender roles and enter their ranks. They were
Speaker 1: called soldaderas. There were soldaderas who served as nurses, who
Speaker 1: cooked and procured food for the troops, and there were
Speaker 1: also soldaderas who fought. Some took on male identities, often
Speaker 1: to avoid sexual harassment or resentment for male counterparts. That
Speaker 1: is exactly what Petra Herrera did. Each morning. Petra would
Speaker 1: wake up before dawn and slip into disguise. She put
Speaker 1: on her pants, her jacket, her boots, and tucked her
Speaker 1: braids into her hat. She even pretended to shavee her
Speaker 1: imaginary beard's doubble for good measure. We don't know much
Speaker 1: about Petro's life before the war, or why exactly Petra
Speaker 1: decided to fight in the Mexican Revolution, but we do
Speaker 1: know she joined Pancho Villas Viistas in nineteen thirteen. She
Speaker 1: went by Pedro and was quickly recognized for her impressive
Speaker 1: skills and tact. Pedro shot up the ranks. He was
Speaker 1: well known for his fearlessness and his strategic work, blowing
Speaker 1: up ridges when it seemed like Petra had been accepted
Speaker 1: by the men, she decided to reveal her true identity.
Speaker 1: She unfurled her breeds and announced I am a woman.
Speaker 1: At first, nothing changed. Petra was promoted to captain, leading
Speaker 1: a force of two hundred men. In nineteen fourteen, Petra
Speaker 1: led four hundred women into battle alongside the Viistas during
Speaker 1: the Second Battle of Torreon. They successfully overtook one of
Speaker 1: Porfirio Diaz's main military bases. Sometime after Petra was promoted
Speaker 1: to colonel. She desperately hoped to rise the ranks to general,
Speaker 1: but she never got that far. In nineteen seventeen, Petro
Speaker 1: was fighting under the command of one of Pancho Villa's opponents,
Speaker 1: the Noustiano Kranza. Despite all their great successes and contributions,
Speaker 1: he dismissed all female soldiers in the army. Petro was
Speaker 1: overlooked and underestimated. Luckily, those traits would come in handy
Speaker 1: in her new role. Kranza had dismissed her as a soldier,
Speaker 1: but that didn't stop her from helping the revolutionary cause.
Speaker 1: Petra became a spy and started collecting counterintelligence. Petra got
Speaker 1: a job at a bar in the northern state of Chihuahua.
Speaker 1: In between shouts of drunken revelry, she gathered secrets. She
Speaker 1: was at the bar one evening when a group of
Speaker 1: men confronted her. One took out a pistol and shot
Speaker 1: Petra three times. Made it to a doctor, but Petra
Speaker 1: succumbed to her wounds and passed away. Petra's life is
Speaker 1: shrouded in secrecy and evasion. As such, many details about
Speaker 1: her life are unconfirmed. Even so, she's remembered as someone
Speaker 1: who did it her way and fought against the odds
Speaker 1: for a better life. All month, we're talking about disappearing acts.
Speaker 1: For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Wollmanica Podcast special thanks to lose Kaplan, my favorite sister
Speaker 1: and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow