The Adelitas: Women in the Mexican Revolution – Verb Tense Practice

Complete the text with the correct past tense form of the verbs in parentheses.

1. Identify the tense needed: the text narrates historical events, so most verbs go in simple past; some express actions in progress or simultaneous states and take past continuous or simple past of be.
2. Conjugate each verb according to its subject and meaning.

The classic Adelita is depicted with humble dress, rebozo (a long shawl), bandolier, and rifle. It's an image made famous by Mexican photographer Agustín Victor Casasola and others who spent years documenting the fighting for the national and international press. The image has some basis in reality as Adelitas were almost always poor and in rural areas, where fighting was heavy.

There are a number of claims that the original Adelita was a military nurse by the name of Adela Velardo Pérez, who ran away from home at the age of 14 to join the Cruz Blanca (White Cross), an organization that tended to wounded soldiers. In 1948, Velardo told the newspaper Excélsior that the famous "Adelita" corrido had been composed by Sergeant Antonio del Río, who was in love with her; but died before the two could marry.

Let's Reorient It: Read testimonials of people who lived during the Mexican Revolution.

1. This is a reading-orientation task, not a grammar drill.
2. The instruction asks you to shift from historical summary to primary sources (testimonials).
3. As you read, note who is speaking, their role (soldier, nurse, civilian), and how their experience connects to the Adelita figure described above.

Respuesta orientativa: The section prepares you to read first-person accounts of the Mexican Revolution. While reading, pay attention to the perspective of women and ordinary people, and compare their testimonies with the idealized image of the Adelita presented in the previous text.