The third event that brings into consideration the religious information depicted in Texas (2013) is the raid of Bruneville, an event that takes place six weeks after the initial encounter between Juan Nepomuceno Cortina and Sheriff Shears. This historical episode is explained by Boullosa’s narrator as a logical consequence of the injustices Mexicans have been undergoing in the Rio Grande Valley since the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The diffusion of the news explained earlier in this chapter had ignited popular unrest and Cortina’s men wanted to “asestar un golpe mortal, expulsarlos hasta el norte del Río Nueces, por lo menos regresar a su sitio verdadero la frontera Mexicana” (293). The armed encounter occurred despite the wishes of Cortina who is depicted as wanting, in a more strategic manner, to achieve real justice against the men responsible not only for the transgressions against him, but also for the theft of his ancestral lands.
Nepomuceno Cortina shows this as he explains the plan of attack to his commanders:
“No haremos más violencia de la necesaria para hacerles respetar a La Raza. Los que permanecen en el campamento son la punta de la fuerza que entrará a Bruneville. Iremos con cautela para volver la nuestra una causa de verdadera justicia. Vamos contra los directos responsables, los que nos ofendieron. Tres golpes, yo encabezo el primero – ignoremos por el momento la trampa que les hemos tendido, no es cosa nuestra – el segundo, el lugarteniente Salustio; el tercero, Juan Caballo, jefe mascogo (seminola, para los americanos) (que es más negro que tres noches sin luna). Esta es la orden que doy, y debe respetarse a pie juntillas: capturar a los directos responsables, a saber: Glevack (antes que nadie); el
carpinterillo y dizque sheriff Shears, Juez Gold (que es un corrupto), mister Chaste, alcalde y boticario (por traidor). Sólo esos cuatro. (293-94) By choosing these four men, Cortina believed that he would reconcile the transgressions Mexican people had received by the “Reds and Blues,” the two political parties that had taken control of the region. He even goes to the extent of writing a proclamation in which he submits himself to the authority of the state governor by pleading to him for the justice he will take into his own hands.122 The raid occurs at night and the plan is carried out following Cortina’s thought of “ésta no es noche para lágrimas mexicanas” which he tells to Lupis, Werbenski’s wife (303). Nepomuceno proceeds then to the center of the plaza and begins to read out loud his proclamation. Finding no resistance,
122 A transcription of this proclamation can be found in PBS Online’s “Archives of the west 1856-1868:
Documents on the Brownsville Uprising of Juan Cortina.” See,
he then sends his men to carry out his revenge. Events fail to go according to plan, however, and the Mexican outlaw is forced to retreat back to the lagoon after enemy forces capture his wife and daughter.
This failure is only exacerbated by tragedies that take place when Cortina’s men try to carry out their respective assassinations orders. Caroline Smith and Rayo de Luna, an Asinai Indian, are accidentally shot and killed as the result of the cowardice of the marked men (310-311). These accidental deaths are blamed on Nepomuceno Cortina’s men by the real culprits and justice is swiftly taken against Lazaro Rueda in the public square a few days after the raid. The old cowboy was captured and beaten up when he tried to take control of the jail following Cortina’s orders (315). Now that the event has been delineated and explained, it is possible to interpret its violence, which is historically rooted as Fr. Parisot mentioned in his reminiscences.
The depiction and reactions that Nepomuceno generates within the novel are well summarized when Boullosa calls him “the Robin Hood of the border” (359). This nickname is given to him because Cortina was an individual who faced persecution and the loss of land while gathering enough followers and popularity to transcend into popular lore. Despite initially intending to work with the new status quo brought by the annexation of Texas, he came to be regarded as the hero of the Raza. Nepomuceno became well known in the two shores of the river as he gathered the attention of
journalists from other states. One of them, Dan Press, even embarked on a journey from New York that took him to the site of the Laguna del Diablo, where he tried to interview the Mexican outlaw and witness the movement (252-253). As a consequence of this
attention, Juan Nepomuceno Cortina’s character gathered a multidimensionality that complicates his ideological designation as well as his classification within any of the religious traditions found in the Rio Grande Valley. This problematic classification is exacerbated because every group depicted in the novel claims to know the truth about this particular figure. Nonetheless, his choices, in both personal relationships and military decisions, show a Roman Catholic dimension. It is worth to make the observation that, under the perspective of the New Evangelization, Cortina’s active church participation or lack thereof does not preclude him from being an important member of the body.123 Therefore, it is necessary to look at Juan Nepomuceno’s Catholicism and consider his actions under the proposed lens to arrive to some final conclusions about the representation of religion in Carmen Boullosa’s Texas (2013).
Under the anthropological lens, it is possible to appreciate Juan Nepomuceno Cortina and his follower’s ongoing struggle in keeping the teaching of the Catholic Church. Though the action of war Cortina undertakes may be justified, the Mexican Outlaw has to deal with the pillaging and murders that result from his revolt. In a similar way, the sanctity of marriage, the sacraments, and the doctrines of mercy and
123 As it was mentioned in the first chapter, this is due to the overwhelming emphasis this new discourse
gives to ecumenism and its open call to the spread of the Gospel. This is an approach that, as it was explained in the first chapter, seeks to avoid chastising the members of the body when falling short. Instead it emphasizes the importance of seeking opportunities of conversion and reconciliation of all its members. Though more can be said about this new evangelization approach, Bishop Robert Barron’s ministry “Word on Fire” may once again be the most concrete example of this new point of view. His use of popular media as a source of outreach and education for Catholics serves as a source for exchange and discussion of ideas in the modern world and culture that maintains the openness to embrace any willing to return to the Church. This is in fact the case with Catholicism: The New Evangelization (2011) because this documentary can be read as an open call to all for unity and reconciliation. This video series explains and exposes basic theology while it emphasizes the diversity of stories that are inherent in the Catholic experience.
reconciliation seem to be at odds with the popular struggle that he leads as well as with his romantic relationships. He is shown to have an affinity for his wife, even a
preference or love, while having multiple affairs. He also seeks justice with his revolt but in the process innocent lives are lost. Clearly, he is neither just nor chaste. Such a contradiction in his character suggests that Boullosa re-creates with Cortina’s depiction the reality of a male member of the body of Catholic Church of the time. This is a man who sins, falls, struggles and seeks to come into terms with the multiple discourses that are at odds in the world in which he lives. These discourses include racism, of course, and also include competing religious theologies and philosophies diffused into the area. Juan Nepomuceno Cortina also fights for his family and his livelihood while dealing with the male-centered discourses that led him to be self-centered and oblivious to his wife or daughter’s reality. In addition, he sees atrocities at the hands of the Comanche, the Anglos, the thieves, and even among the Mexicans. He sees friends and foes alike engaged in a never-ending struggle for power and dominance where injustice has the winning hand. As a result, he is unable to fully sympathize with the Church or with other members of his faith though he remains a part of the body.