The Ten Tragic Days on film.

Posted on historian Joshue Ramirez’ “Facebook” page, this 1913 film (with narration added later) of the events of the Ten Tragic Days, was the work of pioneering Mexican film-maker Salvador Toscano (1872 – 1947).

The Ten Tragic Days (Spanish: La Decena Trágica) was a series of events that took place in Mexico City between February 9 and February 19, 1913, during the Mexican Revolution. This led up to a coup d’état and the assassination of President Francisco I. Madero, and his Vice President, José María Pino Suárez. Much of what happened these days followed from the crumbling of the Porfiriato system of repressive order giving way to chaos, and as such, these days’ events have been among the most influential of the Revolution’s history. Madero’s martyrdom shocked a critical portion of the population, and the unwelcome foreign intervention prepared the way for the growing nationalism and anti-imperialism of the Revolution. In many ways, then, it set the tone for the Revolution’s most violent period, but it also prepared the way for an agenda of profound political and social change.^[1]

While the bulk of fighting occurred between opposing factions of the regular Federal army, the random nature of artillery and rifle fire inflicted substantial losses amongst uninvolved civilians.