Mark me down as someone who knew nothing at all about this war.
The Cristeros War (1926-1929) - so I've now learned - was waged by the people of Mexico against the atheistic Mexican government.
A few years after the Mexican Revolution, the relationship between the Mexican government and the Catholic Church deteriorated as President Calles began strictly enforcing the anti-clerical laws written into the Mexican Constitution of 1917. These laws forbade priests from criticizing the government, and from wearing their religious "uniforms" in public, justifying the penalties by saying they were protecting the freedom of the people and holding true to the principles of La Revolution.
In response to those measures, civil organizations protested the new laws at first by peaceful means. The LNDR (League for Religious Liberty) was foremost among those organizations.
Met with even sterner rules, people across the country took up arms. These men and women became known as Cristeros.
Starring Andy Garcia, an almost skeletal Peter O'Toole, and the not-at-all skeletal Eva Longoria, the film tells an interesting story about a country that one always thinks of as deeply observant of its religious roots.
It's a shame that observance doesn't extend to the violent drug gangs that infest parts of the country now.
If pushed to be hyper-critical, it's a long film - two and a half hours long - and I'd say the film veered a bit toward the self-righteous. But I'll approach the topic carefully when we're in Cabo at Christmas.
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