of Hermosillo — is also characteristic of his poetry. His poems do not keep a safe distance from popular culture; instead, they are almanacs of that culture. Within them, one encounters scandalous gossip, prejudices, and the major and minor struggles of the population residing in northern Mexico. Facundo’s poetry functions as a chronicle documenting the social transformations of his time, written from the perspective of a fellow citizen who relies on humor as a defense against disaster and injustice.
A poem like the “Ice Skaters,” written in 1912, perfectly captures Facundo’s capacity to blend genuine sentiment with irony. It recounts events that would regularly take place on Sundays in the corridors of the Colegio Sonora, where young couples would gather to ice skate and dance. The piece reads like a less heroic version of Rubén Darío’s “Marcha triunfal” (1905), yet it brims with the same optimism and joy at the sight of a young northern woman dancing:
With their hickish squires
the Queens of the Fiesta
parade down the corridors…
The chords of the orchestra resound
as they embark on the sweetest and slowest waltz;
they come to the dance; and to me
they seem to be exquisite pullets,
fresh rose petals shivering,
ruffled by the wind.
The squires swirl
while dancing
and utter amorous phrases,
glistening things
like set jewels,
diamonds and sapphires;
and their gazes are enveloped
in the honey of sighs,
and in the light of hope.
While a couple passes by me,
a voice reaches my ear,
an aching voice
moaning about
absence and oblivion.
Sweet Argentine voices,
fresh laughter of sopranos;
a stirring of colors
in the silk of skirt and bodice;
and a tear that rolls
down the snow-and-rose-colored mien
of a gorgeous damsel
who has buried her love.
When the Revolution of Francisco I. Madero (1873-1913) brought an end to the reign of the dictator Don Porfirio Díaz (1830-1915) in 1910, dances and ice skating became things of the past for most Mexicans, but life in Sonora remained more or less unchanged until 1913. Still, the more progressive sectors of Sonoran society viewed Madero’s government, though not Madero himself, as less revolutionary then they had hoped for, and friendlier to those who still supported Porfirio Díaz than to those who had fought for a democratic regime. That disillusionment was further increased by the Orozco rebellion, which erupted in Chihuahua and reached Sonora by the middle of 1912 as the war against the Yaquis — the cause of, or excuse for, countless atrocities. Add to that the serious problems plaguing the regime of José María Maytorena (1867-1948), then Governor of Sonora, with various municipalities seeking ever greater autonomy.
At the age of 30, Facundo Bernal was one of the most combative journalists in Mexico. He published his own newspaper, Rey Momo, a name taken from the character in carnivals who represented happiness and festivity. It was in this newspaper that, in 1913, Facundo baptized Rosendo Rosado, then Secretary of the Sonoran Government, as “Cat with Neck,” a nickname that would hound the politico until the end of his life, and which may have brought about Facundo’s forced exile. By the end of 1912, as a result of his writings against Maytorena, he was a lodger in the notorious prison of Sonora. A photograph from January 1913 depicts Facundo among other political prisoners and guards. This photograph shows a group of dashing gentlemen, in a state of perfect health, gathered together for some civilized purpose. The truth, of course, was quite different. An attempt was made on Facundo’s life by the prison guards. He only avoided death because one of the guards, who held his verse in high esteem, gave him advance warning. Facundo’s daughter, Angelina Bernal, tells the story:
Even while in jail, he continued to write articles against the government. His own mother, Doña Luisa López, would take them out from beneath the dirty dishes in the basket in which she used to deliver his meals. That’s why they decided to kill him, because even though he was imprisoned, they couldn’t quiet him. But one of the guards advised him of their plans. He told him that they were going to shoot him from a position on the roof. Facundo moved the cot on which he slept to another side of the cell. And that night, just like the guard said, someone fired some rounds at the spot where he usually slept.
By February 1913, the political situation in Mexico was on the verge of disaster; a decade of tragedies, the assassinations of Madero and his Vice President, José María Pino Suárez (1869-1913), the regime of Victoriano Huerta (1850-1916) and his stuffed shirts, the armed insurrection in Coahuila led by Venustiano Carranza (1859-1920), and, just a short while later, a direct confrontation between the main political figures presiding over Sonora. Moderates begged for armed help and power against the Huerta uprising. Indignation brimmed over in every “pueblo” and “ranchería.” The Sonorans, who never resisted in using their own weapons, blocked road crossings, occupied government buildings, and claimed public and private properties as their own. Faced with chaos, Maytorena asked for a license from the local congress, but the congress instead named Ignacio L. Persqueira as Governor on February 25. A few days later, during the first days of March, Facundo left the Sonora prison — not to live in freedom, but to leave the state at once, under threat of further imprisonment if he were apprehended. For Facundo, abandoning his beloved Hermosillo was immensely painful. But there was no other option. And the only road to freedom led him north, far from the great battles and privations of the Mexican Revolution.
One of Facundo’s brothers, Pedro, was already living in Los Angeles, California, and so the Bernal family could count on stable, if crowded, living quarters. Neither Facundo’s mother nor his other siblings — Ricardo, Francisco, Enriqueta, and Carmelita — wished to remain in Hermosillo. If Facundo were to set off, so would the entire Bernal clan. This hasty departure was traumatic for all of them. Half a century later, Fransciso described how that radical change altered their lives forever: “School had recently been cancelled, and then unforeseen political circumstances prevented me from taking advantage of a scholarship and continuing my studies at the university in Mexico City, as had some of my high school companions, like Juan de Dios Bojórquez and Francisco Terminel, who both found work in the government; the first one became the General Secretary and the second one led the cabinet for agriculture under Plutarco Elías Calles.”11 The destiny awaiting Facundo and Francisco would be less powerful, but more humane. In March 1913 the Bernals took the road towards the city of Los Angeles, which was by then already the playground of gangsters and dazzling movie stars.
From Los Angeles to Mexicali
That same March, after a stop in Tucson, Arizona, the Bernals reached Los Angeles. They were among the many Mexicans crossing the border each
