"La Familia". Acrylic on canvas board. 12"x16".For a while I was obsessed with the historical period leading up to the Mexican American war. I did a lot of research and sketched out a number of ideas for paintings. One of the ones I completed and am most proud of is "General Castrillon Takes Prisoners" which shows the last survivors of the Alamo being saved from wrath of Mexican soldiers by General Castrillon who, despite Santa Anna's orders to take no prisoners, did so anyway in order to ask that Santa Anna spare their lives. It's not a well known tale but it got me to thinking,in contrast to those individuals within the Alamo walls, how little is known of the lives of the Mexican soldiers of that time.
For all the soldados and soldaderas that were a part of that conflict there are as many forgotten stories of comaraderie, hardship, valor, faith and humanity in the face of the brutal realities of war. The painting above shows a family, as I imagined them, that traveled on foot from deep within Mexico to fight in a land that was unknown to them. A very young conscript is flanked by his mother and sister facing an uncertain future but standing firm nonetheless. Change the time period and the uniform and it could be a contemporary portrait of an American soldier experiencing a similar life.
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