Duel to the death in Nopala, 1895

 In the year 1895 in the town of Nopala, Hidalgo, Mexico, two men faced each other in a duel for a woman’s love; as reported in ‘La Voz del Pueblo’, a New Mexico newspaper:

“On the 30th day of this month, in the suburbs of the city of Napola (Nopala), Mexico, there was a duel to the death between two rivals who fought for a pretty lady’s love by the name of Ela Ramirez. The names of the lovers were Jacobo Omaña and Vicente Zamudio. The first one ended up dead in the fight, and the other one was severely wounded. The lady might now be laughing at both of them.”

Vicente Zamudio Gutierrez was my great-great-grandma’s half-brother (my grandma was María Encarnación Zamudio Yáñez). Born around 1867 in Nopala, Hidalgo, Mexico. Son of Porfirio Zamudio Quintanar and Gerarda Gutierrez. By 1898 he was Mayor and Civil Judge of Nopala. His father had been Mayor of Nopala ten years before, and his grandfather was the first Constitutional Mayor of Aculco, State of Mexico after Mexican Independence.

He married Mercedes Garcia Yañez in 1896, then he became a widow and married Maria Uribe in 1920. It seems like despite winning the duel, Ela Ramirez never took him seriously.

After being Mayor, Vicente dedicated himself to managing his businesses in Nopala and Mexico City. He is mentioned in several records as a farmer/landowner and businessman at the beginning of the 20^th century. He died of pneumonia on August 4^th, 1945 in Mexico City.

Jacobo Omaña Garcia was born in Nopala, Hidalgo, Mexico around 1870. Son of Abraham Omaña and Trinidad Garcia. He was a businessman. His death certificate, dated April 12th, 1895, indicates that he died because of “injuries”.

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Sources:

Ancestry.com. Hidalgo, México, Registro Civil, Nacimientos, 1861-1967 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

Ancestry.com. Hidalgo, México, Registro Civil, Defunciones, 1861-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

"La voz del pueblo. (None) 1889-192?, May 04, 1895, Image 4 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress." La voz del pueblo. (None) 1889-192?, May 04, 1895, Image 4 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Sep. 2017. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045436/1895-05-04/ed-1/seq-4/#words=Zamudio>.

"H. Ayuntamiento Aculco 2009-2012<." H. Ayuntamiento Aculco 2009-2012<. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. <http://www.edomexico.gob.mx/Aculco/httpdocs/rese%C3%B1a.html>.