Mexican Game of Thrones is my favorite show of all time.
I got an obscure text from mi hermano last night: “Shall we begin?” I called him with a Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot? and found him aghast that I had not watched S7 Ep. 1 of Game of Thrones.
My bad.
We don’t have HBO. We’re waaaay behind; not only on the show but way behind the zeitgeist. I may have sacrificed whatever relevance I ever had. We will get there, I promise.
It’s kind funny that happened, because I was just reflecting yesterday afternoon on the powerful simultaneous paroxysm of delight millions of people were experiencing as the new season of George RR Martin’s brutal fantasy epic got underway. I begrudge them nothing. I think it’s wonderful that something in that epic (yet-to-be-completed) tale resonated so strongly with such a massive and diverse audience. It’s actually a hopeful sign for those of us who believe so strongly in the power of Story.
I will, however, cleave in this moment to my own favorite, historical game of thrones. Talkin’ Juego Mexicano de Tronos here. My favorite show, ever. It ran for 10 seasons, 1910-20. (There was a weird religious spinoff that wasn’t quite as big in the ratings but was still well-received by the critics).
Betrayal and conspiracy were the coin of the realm, and the motto of the show wasn’t “you win or you die” but “you may win, but you’re gonna die anyway, cabrón.” Every single player in the game died violently. The one who finally secured the Iron Throne, Alvaro Obregon (who had an arm amputated due to wounds, BTW) was shot in the face by a member of the Faith Militant during a banquet. Just as in Westeros, feasts were dangerous affairs. Maybe that’s why Pancho Villa habitually ate off of other people’s plates.
There was a massive siege of a city with red-tiled roofs. Armies ravaged the countryside, and the peasants were generally fucked, as always. Sellswords of various nationalities abounded. Stone killers rose to positions of ascendancy and military significance. Rodolfo Fierro could easily eat every fucking chicken in the room.
Somebody’s gonna die for some chickens.
Emiliano Zapata was noble and honorable. You know what THAT means.
Noble, honorable men were assassinated by cunning, conniving manipulators. A general sacrificed the garrison of one of his fortresses just to bait a trap for Emiliano Zapata. That was a shocking moment and readers of the books, who totally knew it was coming, made lots of YouTube videos of their girlfriends’ reactions to that scene.
Zapata, though he hailed from the South rather than the North, had the rough honor of a certain Stark — and it served him just as well. Everybody hated it when he died, but there are lots of people who believe he isn’t really dead and is out there in the mountains of Morelos awaiting his people’s hour of need. Seriously, resurrecting dead characters is a little soap opera-ish though, don’t you think? That’s one fan theory I just can’t get behind. Zapata is dead-dead. Really.
I don’t buy the fan theory that Zapata isn’t really dead.
Anyway…
The women! There were lots of strong women on the show. Some were bold and brave enough to have ballads composed about them. Juego Mexicano de Tronos was one of the first shows that really went for it with roles for women where they could be kick-ass soldier-women. It didn’t really catch on until the 21st Century.
There was also lots of sex, which some people complained about but actually liked. Pancho Villa, who sometimes seemed like a good guy and sometimes like a really bad guy (one of the strengths of the show), had 27 wives. Seriously. Some people thought that was over the top and there was a lot of blogging about how some of Pancho’s actions were kind of rape-y, especially the one where he basically kidnapped the clerk at the department store and holed up in a hotel for days, explaining backstory and setting up important plot points with the naked woman.
Not everybody bought the “But he marries all of them!” work-around — and it was kind of clumsy writing, I think. Sometimes the writers made Pancho a little clownish.
Hero/villain Pancho Villa — one of the most complex characters in the whole show. Fans are still debating his arc a hundred years later. Art by Bob Boze Bell.
The set design was unbelievably picturesque — from cruel deserts and mountain peaks, to fertile green lands to lavish palaces in great cities where immense wealth flourished next to abysmal poverty and resentment. And the costuming was Emmy-worthy. The whole sombrero and bandoliers and tall leather boots thing was badass.
The costuming was off the hook.
The scenes shot in the Palace were CRAZY. Urbina, with pith helmet at left, was always blasted on Dornish strongwine.
In Season 6 (1916), the Wildlings crossed the border to chase one of the most popular characters — that would be Pancho again — around the desert. There are still dozens of fan theories about the action in that season, which some viewers thought was kind of improbable and maybe was really just an effort by the writers to amp up the action after the giant battles of Season 5.
I really liked Season 6, though I have to admit I thought the character of Lt. George S. Patton, Jr. was a little over the top. And that whole business about a whole other war across the Narrow Sea — a bit much, really.
But still.
To be honest, 10 seasons was probably a season or two more than we needed. The show didn’t really go out on top, and the last few seasons got a bit repetitive. How many times can Pancho Villa try to recapture Juarez and Ciudad Chihuahua? But in its glory years, there was really nothing like it, and a whole century later, I still binge watch it over and over again.
Keith West says
Great take on history.
JimC says
Had a bit of fun with that…
deuce says
Ha! An amusing conceit. Too bad it’s only a dream…
Rick Schwertfeger says
Very creative and enjoyable!
BTW: You have at least one compadre: We do not get HBO. And I have not seen one minute of GOT. Indeed, my ignorance of it is massive: I don’t really even know what it’s about!
JimC says
You’d like it. Martin mined a lot of history for raw materials, and it’s spectacular to look at. The dialogue is often quite wonderful. Worth chasing down DVD rentals — though I have to say it feels more like fall and winter viewing than high summer. Glad you enjoyed the piece. I had an inordinate amount of self-indulgent fun with it.
Paul McNamee says
Fun!
I haven’t seen an episode of GoT.
But hey, I finally finished the second season of HAP & LEONARD last week 🙂
Matthew says
You mention that you are not keeping up with the zeitgeist. I’ve never been with zeitgeist to begin with. As things I’ve been in interested in have become popular I’ve lost interest.
Mexican Game of Thrones sounds more interesting than another show that I watch called World War Two which is unbelievable and full of plot holes.
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JimC says
The villain in that one is just TOO evil, if you know what I mean. It’s, like, Nazis. Total stereotype.
And that cliffhanger in Season 1, where the Dark Lord just lets the good guys get away at Dunkirk? There’s no way that happens in real life. They were just obviously desperate to find a way to do a Season 2.
And the part where the other Dark Lord who is actually on the side of the good guys (sort of) is getting all these reports that the Nazi guys are going to invade his country with, like, a million men, and he goes, like, “No way, dude! The Dark Lord is my friend. We carved up Poland together. He would NEVER betray me!” That’s TOTALLY unbelievable. I’m, like, that’s why he’s the Dark Lord! Hello? And the whole deus de machina with the Russian Winter. Bah — you’re right. Way too many plot holes and contrived writing.
Craig Rullman says
Great stuff. Not sure how Martin is going to finish off the books now that the show is so far ahead of him.
At any rate, what makes this piece and the show appealing is the writing. Bravo.
JimC says
Well, thanks.
I sure don’t see any incentive for Martin to pick up the pace…
deuce says
Maybe they’ll just have Brandon Sanderson write novelizations of of the TV shows to finish things off. [semi-inside fantasy nerd joke]
JimC says
Pretty good one, too.
James Reasoner says
This essay is great. Makes me want to read some novels set in that time period. I’ve never read Martin’s books (and won’t; I’m too old to tackle books that big) but I’ve enjoyed the TV show quite a bit. We watch ’em on DVD, so I’ll be trying to avoid spoilers for the new season.
JimC says
Thank you Mr. Reasoner! You’ve done a bit in this era yourself, as I recall.
Intervention! by John Eisenhower; Heroic Mexico by William W. Johnson; The General and the Jaguar by Eileen Welsome are good places to dig in, non-fiction-wise.
And I love the novels Tom Mix and Pancho Villa by Clifford Irving and The Friends of Pancho Villa by James Carlos Blake.
James Reasoner says
I don’t believe I have either of those two novels, and I seem to recall that David Morrell wrote one about Villa, as well. My friend Carlton Stowers, best known for his true crime books, once told me a wonderful story about a great-uncle of his (I believe it was) who rode with Villa, and I urged him to turn it into a novel, but he never did. But what a wonderfully colorful era it was.
JimC says
Sure enough. And there is Craig McDonald’s wonderful caper novel Head Games — not in the era but dealing with the wild, wooly and weird fallout.
James Reasoner says
The e-book of TOM MIX AND PANCHO VILLA is only $2.99! Like it had wings, it’s on its way to my Kindle. I had the paperback of this many years ago but lost it in a fire before I ever got around to reading it.
JimC says
You will love it.
Rick Schwertfeger says
James, I’m offering a 3rd Thumbs Way Up for Tom Mix & Pancho Villa. I loved it!
deuce says
I give Blake’s THE FRIENDS OF PANCHO VILLA a thumbs up.
James Reasoner says
I came across this Mexican Revolution novel that will be published next month by Five Star: SLOW TRAIN TO SONORA by Loyd M. Uglow. It sounds like it might be good. His previous novel MARKSMAN’S TRINITY is also set during that era. I plan to read to read SLOW TRAIN TO SONORA.
JimC says
I’m off like a prom dress…
lane batot says
Enormous fun! But quite appropo–I should hope this worldwide obsession with “Game Of Thrones” WOULD encourage people to get into their own world’s REAL history, with stories and plotlines and characters every bit as fascinating as that admitedley fascinating show! And I thought I was behind-the-times, with no Cable TV, and waiting for cheaper used copies on DVD to catch up to the rest of the world! But I managed, and got through season 6.But NOW I havta WAIT for season 7 to get on DVD, and then get used/cheap enough to afford, so it’ll be awhile before I’m “up” with the rest of the planet on GOT again!….Meanwhile, I’ve enjoyed affecting other peasants by sharing/lending my copies–half the fun of having yer own copies of stuff, of course. I am not usually one to be interested much in overly hyped stuff, but GOT thoroughly HOOKED me from episode ONE and it IS quite the amazing effort–the most INVOLVED and incredibly crafted(actors, sets, costumes, writing, characters, locations, special effects, etc. etc. etc.!) TV series I’ve ever seen, or could imagine! So you fellers that AIN’T climbed on the GOT ride yet, I highly do recommend it–one of the TV epics of our time. And it doesn’t matter HOW late you join in–it’ll still be good–the stories are timeless and so much like our own real world history, that they should always resonate. The GOT folks certainly have set a high bar for future TV productions! Which can only be a good thing for us viewers. And they certainly COULD take many episodes in our own history, and do a series about them, just like GOT!
lane batot says
…..and in the spirit of critiquing the “realism” of characters from real history–as mentioned on an earlier post, I have been hopping from one early African exploration account to another, and am now still(halfway through) the Edward Rice account of Burton, “Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton”, and if he were a fictional character, it would be considered preposterous to be expected to believe anyone accomplished or experienced a fraction of the things he did in one lifetime! Another blatant case of “truth is stranger than fiction”!…..Also, for discussion’s sake; it IS fascinating(I think) how certain people gravitate toward certain time periods in their interests, even to the point of obsession. An interesting psychological study could be made on this subject, no doubt. I had a friend that seriously believed in reincarnation, and she thought such interests in particular eras were simply evidence of past lives lived in those times. And that this is often reflected in our dreams. Fascinating subject that, whether you believe in it or not. I’ve had, personally QUITE a number of vivid dreams of going on horse stealing expeditions as a former Plains Indian(that are ENORMOUSLY fun and exciting dreams, I might add!), and with my inexplicable(to my present, very caucasian human family) fascination and obsession with anything “Injun” since toddlerhood, one DOES havta wonder…..So I reckon Jim’s Mexican Revolution interests might just stem from the fact that he actually PARTICIPATED, once upon a time!
JimC says
My dad is convinced of it…
J.F. Bell says
I read the first five books in the GOT series. Made it maybe three seasons into the show. And then, wouldn’t you know it, my interest flatlined. Hard to put a finger on the why, exactly…just that somewhere in the break between I realized I didn’t much care about picking it up again. That, and Martin dragging his ass getting out new books of ever-diminishing quality.
All things being the same, I’d sooner watch the Mexican spin-off. Sounds…revolutionary.
JimC says
Hah!
john roberts says
That colorized picture of Villa and Zapata in the capital (actually a series, there were others taken at the same session) has always intrigued me. That pale-faced guy to Pancho’s upper right in some pics looks like Joseph Goebbels. And the guy in the black sombrero at upper left looks like a bespectacled Jewish store clerk. What’s he doing with all those badass peons?
JimC says
I’m betting he’s one of the intellectuals who surrounded Zapata. Proto-communists, most of ’em. Though Zapata himself was NOT a communist.
Brian H. says
Lincoln County War, our own mini G.O.T. But yeah, fun post.
JimC says
Yes!
J.F. Bell says
Late to the thread, as ever…
One has to wonder at times what greater percent of the populace would take a stronger interest in history were it not diluted and stripped of all its flaws and intrigues. Public school being somewhat in the rearview mirror, I recall more emphasis on names and dates, and rare was the instructor who could put color into something so drab.
The latent interest is present, I think. All the same there’s a segment of society that doesn’t realize this, and so they can’t quite get their heads around a Game of Thrones or a Band of Brothers or a Lonesome Dove when it comes out of left field and (too them) exceeds any reasonable expectation.
…I suspect I may expand on this some in a day or so.
JimC says
If they taught it like they oughta, it’d be every kid’s favorite class.
J.F. Bell says
Part of the problem, I suspect, is that history can either be presented in its sprawling, messy entirety…or it can be cut to soundbytes that get things partially true but kill all the nuance and the drama.
Things like the Unpleasantness of 1861 being about slavery, the Indian Wars being a one-sided fight of a modern army overwhelming the poor noble savages, our various foreign wars being efforts to export democracy…
…there may be a grain of truth under some of it, but by the time it makes it to the lesson and into a digestible half-hour lecture all context and potential interest is long gone.
If anybody could ever wring a workable movie out of Blood Meridian I guarantee you’d have the attention of every teenage boy in the country. Probably much to their parents’ chagrin, but that’s one for another day.
JimC says
Some bold soul will succeed in pulling that off.