A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire

by Yuri Herrera, Lisa Dillman (Translator)

On March 10, 1920, in Pachuca, Mexico, the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company―the largest employer in the region, and known simply as the Company―may have been guilty of murder.

The alert was first raised at six in the morning: a fire was tearing through the El Bordo mine. After a short evacuation, the mouths of the shafts were sealed. Company representatives hastened to assert that “no more than ten” men remained in the shafts at the time of their closure, and Company doctors hastened to proclaim them dead. The El Bordo stayed shut for six days.

When the mine was opened there was a sea of charred bodies―men who had made it as far as the exit, only to find it shut. The final death toll was not ten, but eighty-seven. And there were seven survivors.

Now, a century later, acclaimed novelist Yuri Herrera has carefully reconstructed a worker’s tragedy at once globally resonant and deeply personal: Pachuca is his hometown. His sensitive and deeply humanizing work is an act of restitution for the victims and their families, bringing his full force of evocation to bear on the injustices that suffocated this horrific event into silence.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Latinx, Audiobook, True Crime, Latin American, Politics

120 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2018

About the author

Born in Actopan, Mexico, in 1970, Yuri Herrera studied Politics in Mexico, Creative Writing in El Paso and took his PhD in literature at Berkeley. His first novel to appear in English, Signs Preceding the End of the World, was published to great critical acclaim in 2015 and included in many Best-of-Year lists, including The Guardian‘s Best Fiction and NBC News’s Ten Great Latino Books, going on to win the 2016 Best Translated Book Award. He is currently teaching at the Tulane University, in New Orleans.

Reviews

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, interesting read - more of a lengthy report divided into different chapters than a novel, but well done. Two interesting facts: one factor that led to the miners death was that their lives were knowingly considered much less valuable than others in both the company and the town; and the subsequent reporting about the events that surrounded this tragedy led to worker reform over the course of the next 70 years.

[TAP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Profits over people? Shocker.

Sealing the mine without checking for survivors? Disturbing.

Corruption involved? Always.

[César Carranza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro me hizo pensar en todas las historias que existen y no se cuentan, todo el tiempo está pasando algo de lo que nadie más que los involucrados directamente se enterarán. Y no estoy seguro si todas deberían saberse, pero lo que si, es que hay algunas que si, como la que narra Yuri en este libro, es más una investigación sobre un hecho del que yo tenía un desconocimiento completo. Me gustó mucho.

Refleja muchas cosas, da una mirada en varias direcciones a lo que pasaron y lo que vivían las personas en ese lugar, en esas condiciones, y más, los medios, la política con respeto al trabajo, a las personas.

Muy buena crónica, y como menciona el mismo autor, no es que no haya historia, es que hay que buscarla.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me leí este libro en tres sentadas, en un solo día. Me parecía que no podía, yo también, cerrar y dejar a los mineros atrapados en el fuego, en la historia, en el silencio. Yuri Herrera Herrera reconstruye en esta crónica la tragedia de un incendio que es también la tragedia de un pueblo y de sus familias, y nos demuestra así que la de México es sin duda una historia de abuso de poder, una historia de despojos.

El impacto del 10 de marzo de 1920, nos muestra Herrera, duró no solo unas horas sino semanas y, en ello, se llevó la vida de ochentaysiete mineros pero también la vida y el duelo de sus familias. Los dueños de la mina, potentados extranjeros claro, logran desafanarse de la responsabilidad y, además, quedar como las verdaderas víctimas de lo ocurrido.

Basado en documentos, narraciones orales y fotografías, este tremendo libro de no ficción confronta al lector con la ficción, sí esa de la que se arman los sistemas de poder para ganar una y otra vez.

[Wiebke (1book1review) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I got this I didn't know it was a non-fiction about a real mine fire (yes that's how I roll) and must say this is not something I would've picked up for content, but it was so good. The presentation of the events and also the commentary he made had me captivated.

[jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

a century ago (march 10, 1920), a mexican mine caught fire and led to the death of 87 people. yuri herrera's a silent fury: the el bordo mine fire (el incendio de la mina el bordo) reconstructs the disaster via case files, news stories, and oral histories, "refus[ing] the judicial truth" of the official account, which exonerated the mine owners of any wrongdoing and blamed the deadly conflagration on one of the miners themselves.

herrera, author of signs preceding the end of the world, the transmigration of bodies, and kingdom cons, was inspired to delve into the story (and write his first non-fiction book) having grown up in the area of the mine (pachuca). the tale of a tragedy ending in cover-ups, blame-shifting, criminally overlooked negligence, and wanton disregard for human life is, most unfortunately, not a new one, yet herrera, as he does in his fiction, infuses the story with humanity, striving to restore some of the dignity the victims had stolen from them one hundred years ago. slim and taut, a silent fury lends voice to the forever silenced, putting into posterity the horrendous catastrophe that claimed the lives of so many.

sometimes it feels like resignation, other times like tolerance, and still others like no one gives a shit; only very rarely does it seem like rage.

*translated from the spanish by lisa dillman (herrera's three novels, barba, halfon, et al.)

[Kazen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I jumped at the chance to read this book because I love Herrera's novel Signs Preceding the End of the World, and I'm always excited to read nonfiction in translation. And read that jacket copy above - mine disaster! Intrigue!

I expected a wild ride but the book is subdued. An exhaustive investigation of the circumstances is impossible 100 years after the disaster so Herrera does the next best thing, critically examining the records left behind.

After outlining the sequence of events as well as we can know them, he looks at what isn't in the record. How the stories of relatives, often women, are replaced with legalese. What the judge didn't order investigated. How newspaper accounts were riddled with bias, to the point of obscuring all fact.

The book is a mere 120 pages long and as I reached the end I realized I probably read it too quickly. Some themes I picked up right away - how women were silenced and pushed aside, for example - but others I missed until the very end. Why didn't I notice the pattern of Anglo names? Did I glance over something early that pointed to the fact that the mine was owned by a US company?

I'll have to read this book again, at a slower pace, to pick up everything Herrera is putting down. If you're expecting narrative twists and definite answers you'll be disappointed. But if you don't mind following the author has he wipes a century's worth of dust off of a supposedly settled case he has interesting things to say.

Thanks to And Other Stories and Edelweiss for providing a review copy.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

On March 10, 1920, a fire occurred in the El Bordo Mine in Pachuca, Mexico. A quick investigation glossed over the tragedy that occurred and much of what is still known about the accident comes from the stories told within the community. In A Silent Fury, Herrera goes back to the limited records and the testimonies of miners and reconstructs what was known and some of the lies that were told to be able to close the investigation, including highlighting the significant truth that the mines were sealed with many still alive. 6 days after the fire, when the mines were unsealed, many bodies were found clustered near mine exits where they had tried to escape, and 6 men were found alive. Family members of miners, particularly women, had to find men to vouch for their relationships to the men killed. The mines were cleaned before any inspectors went in. The list goes on of injustices that occurred around this tragic incident. The mine owners in the US and the mine management were not held accountable for their actions and the fire was blamed on an employee despite absolutely no evidence to support that assertion. Herrera goes back to tell this story and bring attention to the loss that occurred that day and the way responsibility was deflected for the actions during the tragedy.

[javadiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommend for an infuriating and heartbreaking true crime read of an event in 1920. The victims: Mexican immigrants. The criminals: US judicial system.
I like this was short and it was the facts. It was an outraging, disturbing account of how the legal system doesn't work and capitalizes on the vulnerable.

[Katarzyna Bartoszynska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Searing. It really hits you maybe two days after you've finished reading it.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the meta nature of investigating the process of how the fire was reported on. the negligence and downright apathy around the loss of people's lives isn't surprising or new, but seeing it all laid out at once is yet another reminder that things like this keep happening. it especially feels relevant in pandemic times when lives have just been reduced to numbers and statistics.

[Apoorva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire by Yuri Herrera , translated by Lisa Dillman

I came across this book as I was gearing up for the Mexican reading list.
This book is threadbare, sparse and provocative. It is a mere 120 pages but it will get stuck in your throat , every page a lump in your heart.

A mining fire incident taking the lives of 87 men. Their names lost and burnt in the fire as well as their identities.

Herrera's approach is clinical , like a post mortem cutting up the skin to find which organ caused the damage. In this case, the sheer negligence and whitewashing of the facts.

The value of the 87 men who meagerly paid ..And toiled in the worst and dangerous living conditions..
A crime has been committed.. the towering capitalists will now compensate you.. Be beware you must prove your identity to the deceased..

The deceased whose bodies were mangled beyond recognition.. Lucky are those who get their dear ones remains..

And the living ghosts who were locked in the mine in the fear of the fire spreading.. What about them.. Physical health is perfect they say.. But their clouded eyes tell stories..

The managers and the top bosses felt the fire needs to be contained.. what was suffocation and burning of human stench to them? Condolences are passed in the press hearing of course..

A silent fury does something wonderful in the end .. it acknowledges those men who died a nameless death.. Their 87 names written for you ..
They are not forgotten..
Meanwhile , his wife fights for compensation because she does not have anything to prove but memories..

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful, and powerfully succinct, look at what happens when a silver mine that goes down over 500 metres suddenly encounters a catastrophic fire. In this case, exactly a hundred years before I got to read about it, people were reporting the smoke and rushing out, but too many succumbed. The bigwigs present said they'd lost about ten people, or zero, and clamped the pits shut to starve the fires of oxygen. Six days later, when they went in, seven survivors were still there in the smoky darkness. The exits had been blocked off with 87 or 88 people down there with some varying chance of survival, not ten and certainly not zero. But lo and behold, the firm was somehow able to restore a working phone line and dress the whole place as if butter wouldn't melt in its mouth before the chief inspectors could turn up to see what was what. The local people were put through the wringer just to get the right level of compensation to keep them in poverty, and no funerary procession or event was allowed – the corpses, many hellishly wrecked, were just put in a mass grave at a location the official paperwork misspelled.

You don't have to be a lefty unionist to be charged up by this severely galling event. The writing style here has the snappy readability of an "In Cold Blood" or any other top-notch examples of journalistic clarity. And the whole book is actually more or less an extended newspaper supplement article – you're not in the company of this for long. But its charge is great, its overt statement (and repetition) of what is obvious about this incident, and what was obviously not declared at the time about this incident, is most memorable, and the whole is both a fitting tribute – seemingly the only one – and political j'accuse against this historical crime. Definitely recommended.

[Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Silence is not the absence of history, it's a history hidden beneath shapes that must be deciphered."

Truly was not disappointed in Yuri Herrera's foray into non-fiction. The book itself is a reconstruction of the El Bordo mine fire which happen in Pachuca, Mexico on March 10th, 1920. A fire that killed 87 men due to gross negligence of the mining company, a subsidiary of an American company, but subsequently covered-up by the company and the Mexican state. It's not a long and it's not trying to teach anything new, it is there to bring a forgotten story to light. The story itself is not unfamiliar we still see mining companies all over the world cover up tragedies and injustices due to exploitative and oppressive conditions that they place. I think that's why the book deeply resonated with me and not just because Herrera truly has a way with words. There are so many quotes I wished I could have underline but alas I got a library copy to read. I have read all of his books at this point and I will be desperately waiting for the next one. Anyways I'll leave you with this long ass quote because I'll be thinking about this one for a while:

"Something of this story of murder, plunder, and the determination to escape oblivion is palpable when visiting the city. I am from Pachuca and I still don't know exactly what this unspeakable crime - and those before it, and those that followed - did to us, but there's something there. Sometimes it feels like resignation, other times like tolerance, and still others like no one gives a shit; only very rarely does it seem like rage. But whatever it is, it's more than resentment or conformity: despite the story of El Bordo being hidden in a dead file, over all these decades there have been people determined to remember that contrary to what all those men in fancy suits claimed, down below people were still, are still, alive"

[Martin Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este documento intenta rescatar del olvido un hecho infame; no se trata, sin embargo, de un reclamo de justicia, ya es demasiado tarde. Se trata de conservar el testimonio, de subrayar que la impunidad de los poderosos es una constante en México.
El relato en sí es lineal, a ratos aburrido, a ratos repetitivo, como si se tratara de extenderlo para alcanzar una longitud publicable. El libro llegó a mis manos porque buscaba Señales que precederán al fin del mundo , del que no tenían existencias en mi librería favorita, y me recomendaron éste en su lugar.
Una entrevista con el autor, que se ilustra con fotografías que se describen en el libro (pero que no se incluyen, al menos en la edición que reseño) se encuentra aquí.

[Mary Quigley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the El Bordo mine in Pachuca, Real De Monte, Mexico on the 10th of March 1920 at least 87 people died in a fire, the details of which have been buried and obscured at every level. This is an attempt to piece together the horrific events of that day, along with a documentation of the handling of the tragedy by the authorities at the time. When the decision was made to seal the shaft there were at least 90 men left inside. Many of them made it all the way to the entrance only to find their escape blocked. 7 men survived in the mine for 6 days before it was finally unsealed. This is a short account of the inhumane treatment, not only of the miners themselves, but of their loved ones and families. It's a haunting read.

[Erin Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3.5 I'm rounding up.

This is not what I expected! I enjoyed Herrera's Signs Precluding the End of The World, so I added a couple more of his books to my TBR. But this one is actually non-fiction. And not creative non-fiction or anything like that, just a work of non-fiction by an author who mostly writes fiction. So.. whoops!

Even so, it's an interesting read. Herrera delves into this mine fire, focusing mainly on how the official response and commentary at the time was classist and racist. And how the people in leadership of the mine were allowed a lot of room to tidy things up before they were investigated.

This is a short read, which worked well for me. Exhaustive history books make me zone out. It did get too into the weeds sometimes for me, but mostly stayed pretty focused.

Glad to have unintentionally learned about this event!

[El_Animado · Rating 2 out of 5]

El libro está bien escrito y documentado, pero me ha decepcionado.

En primer lugar, y por motivos más personales, está el hecho de que compré el libro por el autor, porque me gustan sus obras y sobre todo su estilo, y siento que no tengo nada de esto aquí.

Y en segundo lugar está el tema que trata el libro, porque se adivina que es algo importante para el escritor, por el lugar donde creció y lo que esta historia real significó para él, pero el resultado como libro impreso y comercializado queda bastante pobre, como un intento de algo que no se sabe bien qué es.

[Missy Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very well written book about a difficult subject. Though written facts are apparently not plentiful, Yuri Herrera did a great job of presenting what is known while honoring not only the victims, but their families who were further victimized.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75

I appreciated what this was trying to do, I just don’t think this was the right media format for it

[Shalini · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is the story of the El Bordo mine fire, presented factually a century later, lest we forget. The injustice, the cover up and silencing by corporate powers continues; the story resonates with Bhopal and several other tragedies. The brief factual presentation reads like a journal article rather than a book. I am not sure if nuances in communication are lost in translation.

[Manuel Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

O parágrafo final xustifica todo o libro, que fermosura de liñas, por Dios 🥺.

[James Hallmark · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few years ago the world was captivated by the story of miners in Chile who were trapped underground for 69 days. I read a book on that and as is Amazon’s custom they recommended this book, I guess under the assumption that I was into mining disasters. I bought it, and never got around to reading it until now. The story has potential. In 1920 a fire broke out in a mine (near Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico) killing 87 miners. After supposedly getting out those they could, they sealed the mine and some portion of the 87 who died did so because they were trapped after management sealed the mine. It was in 1920 and an American owned operation. Those who died were poor peasants. The “investigation” (as reported in the book) was a coverup. There was no trial or independent investigation. Odds are pretty good the disaster was the results of negligence/malfeasance. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t tell the story very well. You don’t know any of the people. You know a couple of basic facts of each, but no depth of character. He describes in great detail pictures published in the local paper, but no reproduction of the actual picture (maybe he couldn’t get rights to do so?). And I guess as much as anything, he is angry and doesn’t try to disguise it. He slams the company and the government and does not write an objective recount and analysis (tip to all you writers: you have more credibility if you write in a way that you appear objective!). The only redeeming quality I could share is that the book is short. Honestly, too short to tell what is likely a compelling story.

[Cordelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Silent Fury" was first published in Mexico in 2018. It is to be published in English translation in 2020 by 'and other stories' - one of my favourite small presses.

First sentence: The El Bordo Mine, located in the mining district of Pachuca - Real del Monte, had ten levels, each named for its depth in meters underground: 142, 207, 255, 305, 365, 392, 415, 445, 465, and 525.

Keywords: non-fiction, factual, translated, mining disaster.

El Bordo caught fire on the morning of 10 March, 1920. At least 87 people were killed. This book follows the events that follow the fire - the rescue, the inspection, the investigation, the subsequent newspaper reporting, and the legal proceedings. It is not an easy read. At trimes described in all the horrific detail. It is short but intense. Every word counts. It is well worth the read.

I would like to thank Edelweiss, the author, and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a factual account of the incident that tragically resulted in 87 deaths in 1920.
Herrera’s anger is evident throughout, as his title suggests. After only a few pages it’s very difficult to see things any other way than his.
But, as such, it isn’t an entertaining read; we know the outcome, we know the authorities were at fault repeatedly and never taken to task. I’m left with the feeling that Herrera could have done better here. Perhaps a fictional account, indeed he quotes that one has been written, followed by a lengthy afterword stating the facts. It’s because of his previous writing I think, that I expected something a bit different. Despite what the page count says from the publisher, it’s about 60 reading pages only.

[Bob Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book about a subject I wasn't familiar with, picked it up due to the author alone. Has all the hallmarks of a disaster and company cover up: accident waiting to happen, accident happens, owners/bosses tailor rescue to bottom line only and not the lives of their employees, tragedy ensues. Government assisted cover up and subsequent empty gestures from company to placate the bereaved. It was brief gutpunch of a book that was a little dry and didn't necessarily feel like a Yuri Herrera book. The book feels important and sheds new light on this tragedy.

[Antonio Ceté · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un relato de hechos con pretensión de objetividad. Eso hace que sea aburrido. PERO es tan dramático lo que cuenta (y está tan bien escrito) que funciona como si fuera una novelita.

[Shailee Basu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Silent Fury was a quick, medium-paced book which I finished in two sittings yesterday. It was a fascinating, informative and hair-curling read about the El Bordo mine fire which took place on the 10th of March in Pachua, Mexico. I enjoyed reading the book but at times it did feel more like academic writing than a book.

The fire broke out and the alarm was raised at six in the morning. The shafts were sealed hastily after that and the company administrators declared that no more than ten lives remained inside the shafts. The administrators also very confidently assumed and proclaimed that those who were left inside were already dead since it would not take more than five minutes for the noxious gases to kill a person.

Once the mine was reopened after the fire, there were eighty-seven dead bodies- charred and disfigured, and also seven survivors. This is the turning point which highlights the ignorant and irresponsible actions of the company’s representatives. What seemed like an accident at first may have very well been a murder by the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company―the largest employer in the region.

Through this book, Yuri Herrera vividly exposes the bias and the war against workers by the judiciary, the company representatives and the media. He breaks the long silence on a wrong committed a century earlier. Herrera critically inspects the records left behind and forgotten a century after the incident took place. He also tries to analyze things that were never said or recorded, but should have been, for instance- how the women’s voices were stifled and the probe into the mine fire wherein the judge asked the inspector to look into a set of questions after the mine had already been cleaned post the fire. There was no probe into the Company representatives’ actions; or the discrepancies between what the representatives had to say about the fire and what the survivors had to say.

Herrera ends his book with a few more subsequent events that have highlighted workers’ abysmal conditions in Mexico and events that helped shape a movement. Herrera’s vexation about the misrepresentation of workers and their lives is evident on every page, as the title suggests- it is a silent fury.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: On March 10, 1920, in Pachuca, Mexico, the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company―the largest employer in the region, and known simply as the Company―may have been guilty of murder.

The alert was first raised at six in the morning: a fire was tearing through the El Bordo mine. After a short evacuation, the mouths of the shafts were sealed. Company representatives hastened to assert that “no more than ten” men remained in the shafts at the time of their closure, and Company doctors hastened to proclaim them dead. The El Bordo stayed shut for six days.

When the mine was opened there was a sea of charred bodies―men who had made it as far as the exit, only to find it shut. The final death toll was not ten, but eighty-seven. And there were seven survivors.

Now, a century later, acclaimed novelist Yuri Herrera has carefully reconstructed a worker’s tragedy at once globally resonant and deeply personal: Pachuca is his hometown. His sensitive and deeply humanizing work is an act of restitution for the victims and their families, bringing his full force of evocation to bear on the injustices that suffocated this horrific event into silence.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Short, sharp bark of outrage at a century's remove. Corporate personhood was taking shape as this nightmarish dereliction of responsibility and duty of care took place; no punishment, no justice, not even the cold, uncaring offer of cash recompense was ever levied. Certainly none was offered.

Yuri Herrera's emotional recounting of these events is short, never easy to read, and quite possibly better in theory than practice. I agree with his points, and yet was feeling hectored by the read. Might better've been a novel, with the incandescent outrage presented from multiple PoVs.

As it is, this is an anticapitalist screed for those of us already on the pews.