“The Plan of San Diego”

There is an old corrido, or border ballad, called “Pistoleros Famosos” that has one of the most memorable lines of the genre: “In the towns of the north, blood has always flowed” (“En los pueblitos del norte, siempre ha corrido la sangre”). That line speaks directly to the border violence that has been a constant reality in the communities on both sides of the Rio Grande between Texas and Mexico. That was certainly the case in 1915 after “El Plan de San Diego” (“The Plan of San Diego”) was discovered and sent shockwaves throughout the region. The author, or authors, of the revolutionary manifesto is still a mystery, but that has not stopped various intriguing ideas from surfacing. Nevertheless, a group of unknown Mexican and Tejano agitators labeled sediciosos (seditionists) have always been the main suspects. Named after the South Texas town of San Diego where it was drafted, the manifesto called for an outright rebellion headed by Tejanos