The peasant who cried out: “Land and freedom for the people!” — and made empires tremble. da Barbara Bonanno BNNRRB Tramite Flickr: Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919) Emiliano Zapata was born on August 8, 1879, in Anenecuilco, Morelos, Mexico, into a poor peasant family. From a young age, he experienced the hardships of rural life and witnessed the injustices perpetrated by landlords and Mexican governments against the peasants. Zapata became the leader of a revolutionary movement advocating for land and justice for the peasants, opposing local elites and governments that favored the wealthy. His political philosophy was summed up in the slogan "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and Liberty). During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), Zapata led the forces of the Plan de Ayala, fighting for the return of expropriated lands to the peasants and defending the rights of the poorest. He became a symbol of resistance against oppression, corruption, and social injustice. Zapata was betrayed and assassinated on April 10, 1919, in Cuautla, in an ambush orchestrated by the Mexican government forces. His death did not stop his legacy: he remains a universal symbol of the fight for justice, peasant rights, and the freedom of oppressed peoples. Zapata's figure has inspired generations of activists, revolutionaries, and movements for land and social justice around the world. His image has become an icon of revolutionary Mexico and popular resistance. This series of portraits is dedicated to men and women who were killed for defending truth, justice, and humanity. Each imagine is a symbolic act of remembrance — a visual protest against indifference and the corruption of power. “REMEMBER THEY DIED FOR YOU SO THAT HATRED AND INJUSTICE WOULD NOT HAVE THE LAST WORD,” I pay tribute to those who gave their lives so that others could live in dignity and freedom. These images are not just portraits — they are acts of resistance, memory, and love for the human spirit.
