Manuel Payno: la sangre de Los Bandidos
Manuel Payno: The Blood of The Bandits

Summary/Abstract: Manuel Payno was a multifaceted character as the whole of his work. During his life, he worked as a civil servant, military officer, congressman, journalist, diplomat, teacher and writer. His most notable novel is The Bandits from Río Frío. A Naturalistic and Humorous Novel of Customs, Crimes and Horrors, which has been acclaimed by literary critics as the most renowned work of social customs in 19th century Mexican literature. The text portrays the daily life of the different sectors that made up Mexican society in the decades immediately following the country’s independence, when its separation from the Spanish monarchy was sealed. In the time span covered by the work, the insecurity on the roads, banditry, assault, robbery, kidnapping, smuggling, institutional corruption, and the disparity between the opulence of a minority and the misery of the majority emerge as distinctive features of the new country. The numerous calamities that afflicted the newly established nation are depicted throughout the extensive narrative, where blood and its multiple treatment are the primary focus of the present text. The bandits who operated in the area of Río Frío, an obligatory stop on the national road that connected Mexico and Puebla through the stagecoach system, stand out for their infamous bloodshed.

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