El Porvenir Massacre Poem
The waters in the Rio Grande in the upper Big Bend,
as they flows to the sea, are ever murmuring the funeral
dirge of innocent human beings cruelly slain; and in
the soughing of the night winds among the rock hills,
or in the lonely valleys , their sepulchral voices are
heard pleading for common justice. . . These poor
creatures were taken unresisting from their homes and
murdered. Some were shot in the back, one in the belly,
one in the head and one riddled with lead. Some were
killed pleading for their lives; others shot down , begging
for time to pray , trying to kiss , with their blood stained
lips , the feet of their executioners . Oh God of mercy, how
they groaned and writhed while dying , their staring eyes
fixed on those who were killing them.
Odessa At the blessed and tender age of 101, Juan Bonilla Flores passed from this life. He was born June 25, 1905.
He was the last survivor of the Porvenir Massacre who died at his home in Odessa, Texas, on Sunday, March 25, 2007.
Juan was the son of Juanita and Longino Flores.
He had an older sister, Benita Flores Mesa and an older brother,
Narcisco Flores.
Growing up on the banks of the Rio Grande, Juan
always believed he belonged as much in Texas as he did in Mexico. He
would herd the family stocks, such as goats, etc., in Presidio County
and in Chihuahua where there was more grass in the dry seasons. In 1913,
Manuel Morales, the owner of the Porvenir Ranch, offered his father,
Longino Flores a job to administrate the extension irrigation ditch of
the Rio Grande to the Porvenir Ranch. After the widening of the
irrigation ditch, Mr. Longino decided to stay as a sharecropper and also
to build a home in Porvenir, Texas. On the ranch the Mexican-Americans
dreamed to plant cotton and to build a cotton gin, instead, their dream
came to an end on January 14, 1918, in Porevnir when 15 farmer men were
taken out of their homes at 2:00 a.m. and completely slaughtered to
their deaths. Juan Flores has not shared this tragic story until the
year of 2000, due to his family discovering documentation of the
Porvenir Massacre. Juan had kept this tragic story to himself for such a
long time and decided to share this unforgettable, yet sad, incident.
At the age of 95, Juan decided to show his family the exact location of
the Porvenir Massacre and the buried fifteen men. Due to his age, Juan
was not able to climb the hill that marks the location of buried fifteen
men, where he once stood upon a freeze in January 1918. On that day and
on that hill, he remembered weeping as he saw his beloved father,
Longino Flores, being buried with the other fourteen men. Even through
such an experience, Juan loved to tell wonderful and exiting stories of
his childhood day at the Big Bend.
In 1919, while living in Ruidosa, Texas, word got
around that General John Pershing and his soldiers were in Mexico and
heading toward Ruidosa. The towns people were excited of seeing this
well talked about General, as the General crossed the Rio Grande with
his men, he did not go around shaking hands like he was known to do. He
only made a short speech saying that he would give five United States
dollars for every mule that was returned to him and that they may keep
whatever was on the mules, such as gun, ammunition, etc. Later on, one
of his soldiers said the General was in a hurry to get to Marfa, and
send a telegram to headquarters.
Juan is survived by his sons, Longino Flores of
Odessa and Juan Flores Jr. of Midland; daughters, Paula Flores Smith of
Arlington, Erlinda Flores Burgess of Roanoke, Alabama, Benita Flores
Albarado of Uvalde and Vicki Belen of Odessa; including five generations
of grandchildren and numerous nephews, nieces cousins and lot of
friends of the Flores, Bonilla and Meza families.
A prayer service will be held at 7:00 p.m. today,
Tuesday, March 27, 2007, at Odessa Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral
services have been set for Wednesday, March 28, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. at
Sunset Heights Baptist Church, 2401 W. 16th St. Juan will be buried
following the service at 2:00 p.m. at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Big Spring
next to his beloved wife who passed away July 6, 1971. Serving as
pallbearers will be Jesus Flores, Jose Lupe Flores Juan Belen Jr., Jose
Flores, Longino Flores Jr. and Juan Flores.
The family would like to express a special thank
you to Star Care Hospice for the wonderful care of our beloved father
and grandfather.
Services by Odessa Funeral Home.