"La Adelita"

This painting was inspired by "La Adelita", a popular folk song to come out of the Mexican revolution. It's the story of a young woman in love with a sergeant who travels with him and his regiment. The term, "La Adelita", came to be an archetype of a woman warrior in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. An Adelita was a female soldier who fought in battles against Mexican government forces, and it has since come to signify a woman of strength and courage.

Here are the lyrics to the folk song (translated from the Spanish):

In the heights of a steep mountainous range
a regiment was encamped
and a young woman bravely follows them
madly in love with the sergeant.

Popular among the troop was Adelita
the woman that the sergeant idolized
and besides being brave she was pretty
that even the Colonel respected her.

And it was heard, that he, who loved her so much, said:

If Adelita would leave with another man
I'd follow her by land and sea
if by sea in a war ship
if by land in a military train.

If Adelita would like to be my girlfriend
If Adelita would be my wife
I'd buy her a silk dress
to take her to the barracks dance.

This folk song gives a romantic idea to war, when I'm sure being a woman travelling with the soldiers of the revolution was bloody and terrifying to say the least. I'm also not into glorifying guns, but for the sake of portraying the courageous Adelita, I gave her a pistol (wrapped in a pretty vine to make it a little less intimidating). You can view her in my Etsy shop here.