El Fusilado
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"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, and it was later included on Caught in the Net Vol 1, released 18 October 2024.
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[1] in support of an attempted coup for control of the city of Mérida.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
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
Stream/Purchase
YouTube Videos
Full Band Streams
- Big Announcement Stream (22 Nov 2023)
- No Country For Old Streamers (24 Jul 2024)
- O Streamer, Where Art Thou? (27 Nov 2024)
- Sing Sing Stream Stream (19 Mar 2025)
- Microsoft Flight Streamulator (10 Sep 2025)
- ↑ https://informefracto.com/voz-de-la-peninsula/los-libros-del-fusilado-de-halacho/ [Spanish]
- ↑ https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Ortiz_Argumedo#El_golpe_de_Ortiz_Argumedo [Spanish]
- ↑ https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revoluci%C3%B3n_mexicana_en_Yucat%C3%A1n#Constitucionalismo_en_Yucat%C3%A1n [Spanish]
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teoloyucan_Treaties
- ↑ https://historiamexicana.colmex.mx/index.php/RHM/article/download/953/844 [Spanish]