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It’s impossible and yet the young Mexican revolutionary even survives the coup de grace. He will die at over 80.
Frédéric Lewino et Gwendoline Dos Santos
Published on
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On March 18, 1915, the young Mexican Wenseslao Moguel had not yet celebrated his 18th birthday. It’s his turn to die, after his comrades. Two soldiers push him in front of the wall already riddled with bullets. In defiance, he looks straight into the eyes of the eight soldiers of the regular Mexican army facing him, impassive. He played. He lost. He will die with his head held high. He hears the colonel commanding the platoon yelling, “Ready, aim, fire!” His last thought is for his mother. He feels intense pain in his right flank, right arm and left thigh. He collapses on the ground, not knowing if he is alive or dead. Alive, he is! None of the bullets hit any vital organs.
Wenseslao has the presence of mind to play dead. Despite the pain, he holds his breath. He hears the…