Casa de Aquiles Serdán, Puebla

Casa de Aquiles Serdán, also known as the House of the Serdán Brothers, is closely linked with the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. It was the family home of Aquiles Serdán, a supporter of Francisco I. Madero and opponent of Porfirio Díaz’s rule. Although Aquiles and Máximo are often described as shoemakers, the Serdán family also had a wider political and middle-class background, with relatives active in public life.

On November 18, 1910, two days before Madero’s planned uprising, authorities raided the house after learning weapons were stored there. The clash became one of the first armed episodes of the Revolution, leaving bullet marks on the façade and interiors, including a damaged parlor mirror. Carmen Serdán reportedly called for support from the balcony with a rifle in hand; she was wounded, survived, and was later imprisoned.

Today, the building serves as the Regional Museum of the Mexican Revolution, preserving rooms tied to the Serdán family’s daily life and resistance. Visitors can see photographs, documents, period furniture, weapons, the bullet-marked mirror, and the hiding place beneath Aquiles Serdán’s bedroom floorboards, where he hid before being discovered and killed on November 19. The museum also recalls Carmen’s coded messages as “Marcos Serrato,” showing the planning and secrecy behind the uprising.