Disappearing Acts: Petra Herrera

Petra Herrera (1887-1916) was a soldadera who dressed and lived under the name Pedro Herrera. While disguised as a man, she fought with the insurgent troops of the Mexican Revolution and reached incredible heights — but once it revealed she was a woman, she was refused military rank and removed from the army. Afterwards, she served undercover once again, this time, as a spy.

For Further Reading:

• The Mexican Revolutionary who Fought for Freedom
• Mexican Revolutionary Petra Herrera Posed as a Man to Fight for Her Country
• Remembering Petra Herrera, the Unsung, Cross-Dressing Heroine Of the Mexican Revolution

Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller, to diminish themselves. Some have used that idea to their advantage, disappearing into new identities. For others, a disappearance was the end to their stories, but the beginning of a new chapter in their legacies. This month we’re telling the stories of these women: we’re talking about disappearing acts.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones and Abbey Delk. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller,
to diminish themselves. Some have used that idea to their advantage,
disappearing into new identities for others, and disappearance was the
end to their stories at the beginning of a new
chapter of their legacies. This month, we're telling the stories

(00:26):
of these women. We're talking about disappearing acts. Today we're
talking about a woman who rose through the ranks of
the rebel army while disguised as a man. Later, after
her true identity was uncovered, she slipped away into obscurity,
this time as a spy. Meet Petra Herrera. After staging

(00:48):
at coup in eighteen seventy six, Mexican President Porphyrio Diaz
led a corrupt government. Elections were a farce, and property
and capital were only in the hands of the elite.
In nineteen ten, rebels across Mexico rose up to fight
for their civil liberties. Thus began a bloody civil war

(01:09):
that would last ten years and would have more than
a million casualties. During the revolution, women took up arms
alongside men. Rebel armies were generally ragtag and decentralized. That
opened up much more opportunity for women to break away
from traditional gender roles and enter their ranks. They were
called soldaderas. There were soldaderas who served as nurses, who

(01:34):
cooked and procured food for the troops, and there were
also soldaderas who fought. Some took on male identities, often
to avoid sexual harassment or resentment for male counterparts. That
is exactly what Petra Herrera did. Each morning. Petra would
wake up before dawn and slip into disguise. She put

(01:55):
on her pants, her jacket, her boots, and tucked her
braids into her hat. She even pretended to shavee her
imaginary beard's doubble for good measure. We don't know much
about Petro's life before the war, or why exactly Petra
decided to fight in the Mexican Revolution, but we do
know she joined Pancho Villas Viistas in nineteen thirteen. She

(02:17):
went by Pedro and was quickly recognized for her impressive
skills and tact. Pedro shot up the ranks. He was
well known for his fearlessness and his strategic work, blowing
up ridges when it seemed like Petra had been accepted
by the men, she decided to reveal her true identity.
She unfurled her breeds and announced I am a woman.

(02:40):
At first, nothing changed. Petra was promoted to captain, leading
a force of two hundred men. In nineteen fourteen, Petra
led four hundred women into battle alongside the Viistas during
the Second Battle of Torreon. They successfully overtook one of
Porfirio Diaz's main military bases. Sometime after Petra was promoted

(03:03):
to colonel. She desperately hoped to rise the ranks to general,
but she never got that far. In nineteen seventeen, Petro
was fighting under the command of one of Pancho Villa's opponents,
the Noustiano Kranza. Despite all their great successes and contributions,
he dismissed all female soldiers in the army. Petro was

(03:25):
overlooked and underestimated. Luckily, those traits would come in handy
in her new role. Kranza had dismissed her as a soldier,
but that didn't stop her from helping the revolutionary cause.
Petra became a spy and started collecting counterintelligence. Petra got
a job at a bar in the northern state of Chihuahua.

(03:47):
In between shouts of drunken revelry, she gathered secrets. She
was at the bar one evening when a group of
men confronted her. One took out a pistol and shot
Petra three times. Made it to a doctor, but Petra
succumbed to her wounds and passed away. Petra's life is
shrouded in secrecy and evasion. As such, many details about

(04:10):
her life are unconfirmed. Even so, she's remembered as someone
who did it her way and fought against the odds
for a better life. All month, we're talking about disappearing acts.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Wollmanica Podcast special thanks to lose Kaplan, my favorite sister

(04:30):
and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow