El Fusilado

"El Fusilado" is a song by British anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba, released on their 2008 album *The Boy Bands Have Won*. TLJ released a YouTube cover of the song on 6 September, 2023.

The song tells the story of Wenceslao Moguel Herrera, a soldier in the Mexican Revolution who was captured and survived execution by firing squad. In 1915, Moguel was a student at the Instituto Literario de Yucatán, where he was conscripted into the forces of general Abel Ortiz Argumedo in support of an attempted coup for control of the city of Mérida. The coup was quickly put down by Constitutionalist forces under orders from Venustiano Carranza, with Ortiz Argumedo fleeing the country and many of his troops (including Moguel) captured or killed. Moguel famously survived his execution, taking 8-9 shots to the body and the final *coup de grâce* directly to the head, after which he was left for dead. He was either discovered later, unconscious but still alive, or managed to drag himself to a nearby church (sources differ), and made a full recovery, though he was left disfigured by the incident. He returned to Mérida, where he lived until his death in 1976.

## Factoids

The song (and many other English-language sources) claim that Moguel was fighting under Pancho Villa, and that his botched execution was at the hands of the *Federales*, but these are both incorrect. The Mexican Federal Army was defeated by the Constitutionalists and disbanded in 1914. Furthermore, Ortiz Argumedo was himself a Constitutionalist, and initially named military commander of Mérida by a Carranza appointee. It was only when he was ordered to give up this post that he turned against Carranza's forces; he was not aligned with Villa or the Conventionists.

The Chumbawamba version of the song features vocals from Coope Boyes and Simpson, who have also cropped up elsewhere in the TLJ repertoire.

## Lyrics

As provided in the video description.

>
> Listen close to this crooked mouth
>
> For my story I will tell–o
>
> I lived in Mexico by the
>
> Name of Wenseslao Moguel–o
>
>
>
> Left my home in Santiago
>
> The heart of the city of Mérida
>
> Served with my brothers and sisters all
>
> For the army of Pancho Villa
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
> Stand me straight against the nearest wall
>
> Line up your bravest soldiers oh
>
> Ten good shots, I'll take them all
>
> They call me El Fusilado
>
>
>
> The Federales captured me
>
> Bound up my arms with wire
>
> Officer came he says, "Take your aim –
>
> Steady your guns and fire!"
>
>
>
> Bullet holes all across my chest
>
> Ripped up my shirt and my body–o
>
> Heart beat on through the silenced guns
>
> To the rhythm of life inside me–o
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Fell to the ground, the officer came
>
> One last shot to the head–o
>
> Heard through the pain as he walked away
>
> And left me there for dead–o
>
>
>
> All went quiet so I crawled away
>
> I wasn't giving up to the glory
>
> Ten good shots, I took them all
>
> And lived to tell my story
>
>
>
> {Chorus x3}
>
>
>
>

## Recordings

#### Full Band Streams

* Big Announcement Stream (22 Nov 2023)

1. ↑ https://informefracto.com/voz-de-la-peninsula/los-libros-del-fusilado-de-halacho/ [Spanish]
2. ↑ https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel\_Ortiz\_Argumedo#El\_golpe\_de\_Ortiz\_Argumedo [Spanish]
3. ↑ https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revoluci%C3%B3n\_mexicana\_en\_Yucat%C3%A1n#Constitucionalismo\_en\_Yucat%C3%A1n [Spanish]
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teoloyucan\_Treaties
5. ↑ https://historiamexicana.colmex.mx/index.php/RHM/article/download/953/844 [Spanish]