Dr. Adolfo Schmidtlein was born in Bavaria in 1836. His fondness for the piano certainly helped his relationship with Gertrudis García Teruel, whom he married in 1869, as they both played four hands together.
They had four children during the 6 years they resided in Puebla and later moved to Mexico City.
In 1892 the doctor traveled alone to Germany, to see his father again and never returned. That year he died there from a respiratory disease.
On his transatlantic crossing in 1865 from France to Veracruz, Adolfo Schmidtlein provides an interesting fact: “It is curious how many people make up our society on the ship, not counting on the regiment, which goes to seek their fate in Mexico, miners, engineers, craftsmen, even an Italian who is going to introduce a baby silkworm in Mexico; the saying of all is if the Empire sustains, then we will become somebody ”. (In fact, our doctor did not come to Mexico driven by his political convictions, but in search of professional and economic fortune).
Striking was the German Club of Veracruz, the full empire of Maximiliano: “The hotelier was from Alsace. The Germans, of whom there are many in Veracruz and who all have good businesses, support a whole house with a library and billiards, it is a strange impression to find German magazines there, gazebos in the garden, etc… we had a very pleasant night; We had to talk a lot about the country, German songs were sung, French beer was served and we parted ways late at night.
In that port, our epistolary author carried out a field investigation on yellow fever, which claimed so many lives every summer, especially from outsiders. Countless autopsies performed and drafted a report for the military superiority. From his transfer to Puebla, that story is remarkable: “The journey in the Mexican stagecoach constitutes an adventure full of obstacles. The carts are heavy carriages in which in a small space have to accommodate nine people very tightly packed. If the windows are opened, the dust kills you; if they close, the heat. In front of one of these carts, 14 to 16 mules are hooked, which set off at a gallop along a tremendously bad stone path, without having mercy or compassion for those who are inside. They are two coachmen: one of them lashes with a long whip at the poor and irredeemably resistant mules; the other throws stones at the mules, the kind from a sack that he has brought exclusively for that purpose; every now and then he gets out and knocks on a nearby mule and climbs back onto the seat, while the carriage continues at a gallop. Mules are changed every two or three hours, not because every two or three hours one reaches a town or some inhabited place, but generally two huts placed there by an English company, which is the one that handles all the mail. During the change of mules, as in the “Thurn and Taxis” house, in these stations one can obtain water, pulque, fruits, and although the first two are terrible, they serve to refresh the heated and dusty traveler ”.
In the capital of Puebla, the military doctor Schmidtlein had some very unattractive duties. “The Juarez party is made up of two elements: people who fight for political conviction against the Emperor, and a series of vile thieves and thieves who steal and loot, under the shield of love for the country, everything they find on their way . Radical measures are taken against the latter, not a week goes by that several guerrillas are not shot in the courtyard of the barracks. Horrendous procedure. They place the man against the wall; Nine soldiers shoot at a distance of ten paces when they receive the order, and the commanding officer has to go see if the executed person is dead. It is a very impressive thing to see a person healthy one minute before and dead the next! " The language of the doctor is locating us in his way of thinking. He was imperialist and not very fond of Mexicans. “Mexico can only be put in a good position by a throne supported by bayonets. The laziness and indolence of the nation needs an iron hand to give life to the masses.
“Mexicans have a reputation for being cruel and cowardly. First of all, it is a very popular game that is not lacking on any holiday. Under the general applause, from the young to the old, a live rooster is hung by the legs with the head down, at such a height that a rider galloping underneath reaches exactly to be able to grasp the neck of the rooster with his hands. The game is this: 10 to 20 horsemen, one after another, gallop under the rooster and pluck its feathers; the animal becomes furious because of this and the more furious it gets, the more the audience applauds; when he has been tortured enough, one goes ahead and twists the rooster's neck. "
Dr. Schmidtlein was very frank with his parents, regarding his professional ambitions: “Now I am already a doctor for several of the first families (from Puebla) and my clientele increases from one day to the next, so I am determined, if the This is the case, to be a military doctor only until I was sure of being able to live as a civilian doctor… The degree of military doctor was with which I could make the trip without paying ”.
The political ups and downs did not care: “Here we continue living very quietly, and as regards myself I see with cold blood what is happening around me, if the whole thing collapses, it will come out of the ashes of the military doctor, the phoenix of German doctors, who will probably go further in every way, than if he continues in uniform. “The Imperialists themselves no longer believe in the stability of the Empire; the hour of war and anarchy begins again for the poor country. I calmly see everything and continue to heal the best I can. My clientele has increased so much that it is no longer possible for me to serve them on foot and I have already ordered that they buy me a car and horses in Mexico. "
By December 1866, Schmidtlein's imperialism had subsided: “The empire is nearing a sorry end; the French and the Austrians are preparing to leave, the Emperor, who does not understand or does not want to understand the situation in the country, still does not think about resignation and is here in Puebla hunting butterflies or playing billiards. The time when he could have resigned with a semblance of convenience is over, and so he will have to quietly withdraw from the country, which is left in a more desolate situation than when he took possession of it.
“In order to get men for the imperial army, forced revolutions are provoked and the poor Indians are captured and tied in ropes of 30 to 40 individuals, led like a herd of animals to the barracks. Not for any day without one having the opportunity to witness this disgusting spectacle. And with such a regiment, the conservative party plans to win! It is clear that at the first opportunity the poor imprisoned Indians escape. "
This collection of letters from Adolfo Schmidtlein has a lot of family information that was only of interest, at the time, to those involved: dating, gossip, domestic misunderstandings, misunderstandings. But he also has many news that keep his interest to date: that religious weddings were generally celebrated at dawn, at 4 or in the morning; that in Puebla only two meals were used, at 10 in the morning and at 6 in the afternoon; that here until the sixties of the last century, at Christmas only nativity scenes were put on and that in the seventies trees and gifts began to be used, due to European influence; Anyway, tickets for the Havana lottery were sold here, which, by the way, our author was very fond of.
His Germanic coldness received certain shudders from Latinas: “The ladies of the house frequently shake your hand, from the first time, which for the European is at first somewhat strange, just like the smoking of the ladies. It really looks very curious when, elegantly dressed in white or black, they take their cigarette out of the bag, roll it with their fingers, ask the neighbor for a fire and then with great skill slowly pass the smoke through their noses. "
However, the doctor made no qualms about his future father-in-law's house: “… two nights a week at the Teruels' house, where I am received very well and with real taste, I sit in comfortable American armchairs and smoke the cigars of old Teruel ... "
Daily life in Puebla is described, incidentally, by Schmidtlein: “The large number of riders who dress in popular Mexican dress is striking: large hat with gold trim on the brim, short dark jacket, suede riding pants and on it animal skins; huge spurs on yellow leather boots; in the saddle the inevitable lasso and the horse itself covered in fur, and gallops through the streets in such a way that a Bayern police officer would have protested. A stranger impression is made by the pack and draft animals brought by families of Indians with ugly faces, beautiful bodies and iron muscles. That in the streets the little inhabitants of their scalps lick each other, the impression they give of their naturalness is remarkable, they display their simplest dresses without modesty and seem not to know the tailor's accounts!
"Let us take in addition to the aspects of the streets mentioned above, the water carriers characteristic of Mexico, the vendors and fruit vendors, the religious dressed in all colors with hats like the doctor of the Barber of Seville, the ladies with their veils and their prayer book, Austrian and French soldiers; so you get a pretty picturesque picture ”.
Despite having married a Mexican, this German doctor did not have the best impression of our people. “I think that the weaker a town is, the more days it has for religious holidays. Last Friday we celebrated the day of María Dolores; Most families set up a small altar that they adorn with portraits, lights, and flowers. In the richest houses a mass is sung by people who have nothing to do with the Church, and on this night the families go from one house to another to admire their respective altars; Everywhere there is music and lots of lights to give an earthly flavor to this modern devotion, as was done in ancient times in Ephesus. Pineapple sodas are served, which in my opinion is the best of the whole thing. " We already know that our telluric fame is nothing new: “The noise in the theater when the first shock of the earthquake was felt I will not forget it in the days of my life. In reality, nothing happened, and as always on those occasions it was the turmoil and unrest worse than the earthquake itself; according to a distinctly Mexican custom, the women fell to their knees and began to pray the rosary. "
Schmidtlein became high society, both in Puebla and in Mexico. In this city he was president of the German Club, linked to the ambassador. “A few days ago our minister Count Enzenberg got married and by the way his niece; he is 66 years old and she is 32; this has produced a lot of material for conversations. The wedding took place in the chapel of the home of the Archbishop of Mexico, with the prior permission of the Pope. It was according to custom at 6 in the morning; only the Diplomatic Corps and Messrs. Félix Semeleder and one server were invited. There was no lack of ecclesiastical pomp, or uniforms. "
Despite his Teutonic character, he had a sense of humor. He said of his own office: “A brass plate with my name attracts the unfortunate to fall into the trap. In the first room they wait, in the second they are slaughtered. "
Freud states that when a person emphatically extroverts some feeling, the exact opposite is most likely to dominate his subconscious.
Schmidtlein said, in various letters: “… I am not engaged, nor am I married, nor am I a widower, I am happy to earn enough to be able to live alone and I do not want to live on the money of a rich woman.
"Since it seems that you read the news of my marriage uneasy, I assure you again that I am not engaged, although all friends, and myself, understand that a wedding would please my clientele very much ..."
The truth is that, already married to Gertrudis, García Teruel's father-in-law gave them a house in Puebla and later bought them one in Mexico, to be neighbors.
