300 immigrants were killed in Torreón in 1911 because of racial intolerance
Mexico has dealt a couple of blows to the Chinese in the past few months, but it wasn’t the first time.
It was in May 1911 that the army massacred at least 300 Chinese immigrants in Torreón — half the Chinese population, a slaughter that has since been blamed on racial intolerance and hatred.
Like some other Mexican massacres, it was also covered up.
But an uncovering is taking place this week in Mexico City in the form of an exhibition entitled “303: the Chinese massacre in Torreón,” a collection of photos, documents and video that focus on a historical event that doesn’t appear in any history texts.
It took place during the height of the revolution, when Francisco Madero’s army took control of the city. By three o’clock in the afternoon of May 15 the streets were covered in bodies.
