Por Horacio Archundia Guevara

Anyone who has gone to primary school knows that in April 1914, the US Marines invaded the port of Veracruz and threatened to disembark in other of our ports.
It was one of the greatest grievances of the Yankees against Mexico, without a doubt.
Well, in those dark days, the famous US Raleigh American steamer, the famous American Navy cruiser that patrolled several Mexican ports, kept them observed but without perpetrating any search. It must be said that Manzanillo did not suffer any blockage and that the Marines did not obstruct at all the poor port activity of those times.
Given the random political circumstances that the country suffered, then in the hands of the murderous murderous Victoriano Huerta, a political effervescence was triggered in Colima that caused the integration of defense groups, just in case they occurred to the gringos disembarking in our port.
Characters such as Higinio Álvarez García, - uncle who later became governor, Doña Griselda Álvarez -, Mr. Cure Don Jesus Carrillo - who, by the way, leaving aside his profession as a priest, demanded to be instructed militarily to confront the invaders- , the teacher Basilio Vadillo, Don Darío Pizano, Carlos Calvillo, Ramón Castellblanch, the teacher Manuel Godina Horta, Alejandro Véjar, Enrique Silva, Ignacio Leyva, Don Ildefonso Nuño Hernández, and many others, enlisted as volunteer soldiers.
They prepared themselves, received weapons sponsored by the uplifted Higinio Álvarez and settled in Manzanillo ready to shoot the powerful gringo marines, if they dared to disembark.
But it turns out that the constant revolutionary political ups and downs, were on purpose for President Victoriano Huerta to appoint Acting Governor of the State to General Antonio Delgadillo, a half-type papanatas who was naturally pressured by those previously appointed to make an appearance in Manzanillo for that of the invaders.
And Manzanillo was filled with heroes, all encouraged to lay hands on weapons at the first attempt to disembark.
And then the unexpected happened: One morning, Governor Delgadillo's open mouth panicked when he saw an unusual movement on the American warship, making an otherwise stupid decision: he ordered to set fire to the dock of the Sunken Way, as was known the wooden jetty built during the porfiriato.
The fire began to cause damage to the structure and within an hour the fire was huge
 
And then the gringos landed !: In a short time, all the boats on the ship were full of marines heading for the shore.
And they gave the Nayarite military babieco a lesson that in a soldier of greater honor would have been a cause of suicide: they got off the ship hoses and hydrants and began to fight the fire until controlling it, although most of the dock had already been reduced to ashes.
Then, they were restrained to the orders of the frightened colimote heroes and returned to the Raleigh, which days later sailed to never return.
P.S. Of General Delgadillo I don't put a photo because I don't deserve it for nango.