Abstract

VAZQUEZ MANTECON, María del Carmen. Relics and their Heroes. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2005, n.30, pp.47-110. ISSN 0185-2620.

This article reviews how Mexican society treated the mortal remains of its leaders who participated in the oncet and consummation of the war of Independence during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At the same time it treats the mortal remains of all those who were considered heroes during the time of the "criollo" leaders, and the significant dates of the political eras, established to commemorate their feats and relics. The article also includes the treatment of Antonio López de Santa Anna's leg and the military honors extended to the heroes who defended the country during the invasion of the United Sates in 1846-1848. In addition, the article gives a review of the idea of a hero, but above all, of the founding idea of the emancipation of Mexico and the defense of its sovereignty.

Keywords : relics; heroes; exhumations; independence; allegoric image; Juan Aldama; Ignacio Allende; José Frontera; Agustín de Iturbide; Vicente Guerrero; Miguel Hidalgo; José Mariano Jiménez; José María Morelos; Antonio López de Santa Anna; Guadalupe Victoria; Felipe Xicoténcatl.