ABOUT SAN PATRICIOS
A love letter to the rebel spirit that binds Ireland and Mexico, San Patricios is a story of resistance, resilience, and the joy found in food, drink, music, art, and community. It’s a spirit forged in struggle - in standing shoulder to shoulder when the odds are impossible - hardships that formed friendships, and changed the course of history.
Between 1845 and 1852, during An Gorta Mór, some two million Irish fled their homes, escaping starvation, disease, and poverty in search of something better – for themselves, their loved ones, and for generations to come. Many landed on the eastern shores of America, chasing freedom and the promise of a new life.
Too often and too quickly, that promise soured. Drawn to the prospect of food, shelter, clothing, and a small wage, Irish immigrants were swiftly recruited to the U.S. Army. Having escaped British boots, they found themselves under the heel of Protestant Anglo-Saxons who despised them for the same old reasons: they were Catholic, poor, and Irish.
America’s hunger for land mirrored Britain’s, and as Manifest Destiny swept west, Irish soldiers looked south and saw a reflection: Mexico enduring the same expansionist cruelty they had just escaped, as the United States sought to seize 500,000 square miles of Mexican territory in the war of 1846 – 1848.
Treated as inferior, deemed unworthy, and crushed beneath the imperial heel, these men faced a choice: complicity or conscience. They chose the path of most resistance, and, led by John Riley, a band of Irish soldiers defected from the U.S. to fight alongside their Mexican camaradas. And so was born Batallón de San Patricios - Saint Patrick’s Battalion.
In 1847, San Patricios fought two major battles, the deadliest of which was Churubusco on the outskirts of Mexico City. They attacked until they ran out of ammunition, surrendering only when there was nothing left to fire. Many were killed, and dozens more were sentenced to death, some drawing their last breath as the flag of the U.S. replaced the flag of Mexico atop the citadel.
Those who survived faced brutal punishment - the United States branded them - literally - as deserters. Riley himself escaped the gallows but endured 50 lashes and a hot iron pressed twice into his cheek, the first brand seared on upside down.These two nations share a spirit of rebellion, resistance, pride and defiance – and in the 1840s, they joined forces to form the Batallón de San Patricios, defending Mexican soil from American invasion.
Mexico, however, had a different reaction. Today, John Riley and los San Patricios are remembered as heroes, ascribed near-sainthood status, with monuments throughout the country, commemorations, parades, and cultural tributes.
We stand to shine a light on their fight, to stand for the silenced, the punished, the erased, and the underdog. We will not forget.
Los recordamos.
¡Vivan Los San Patricios!
¡Vivan Los San Patricios!
