Historian highlights Battle of Juarez a century later

Mexico was ruled by dictator Porfirio Diaz for 34 years until a bloody revolution in the early 1900’s forced him out of power.

Many El Pasoans don’t know the final battle was fought in our sister city nearly a century ago. Sunday marked the 105th anniversary of the Battle of Juarez, and its effects spread into El Paso. Chihuahuita is a small historic neighborhood downtown, right next to the border. It’s there that thousands of El Pasoans gathered to watch history unfold.

“The morning of May 8th 1911, when gunshots were heard across the river from Chihuahuita,” said Fred Morales, a local historian specializing in border history.

The Mexican Revolution reached a head in Cd Juarez., when revolutionary leaders fought federal forces over two and a half days, finally taking the border town. Some El Pasoans did a lot more than just watch from the river banks.

“A lot of merchants, mostly jewish merchants, supplied ammo, bullets, and other military miscellaneous equipment,” Morales said.

These weapons and equipment were used to overthrow the dictator Diaz and elect a new government. Some of that materiel still being found near the river

“These are revolvers, this is a three inch cannonball,” said Jesus Martinez, a collector who has found relics of the battle close to the river.

The buildings that used to be in Chihuahuita had been hit with bullets, They’re now replaced with what forms the Chihuahuita historic district, monuments to what the area went through.

“This is tangible El Paso history,” Martinez said.

They’re hoping everyone can get a chance to learn of the city’s past.

“Hopefully here in the near future somebody can assist us with a permanent display so everybody can see,” Martinez said, talking about his artifacts.