Belem Prison

The building that would eventually become Belén Prison was commissioned by Padre Domingo Perez de Barcia.

[1] This building, commonly referred to as Colegio de las Mochas (Translation: College of the Cropped ones), was over time a convent, an asylum, and a hospital for indigent religious women.

[6] This area was called the “Department of Distinction” and offered the elite law breakers the same comforts they would find at home.

In the basement, frequent flooding happened, leaving the inmates to wade through their cells in dangerously contaminated waters.

The cells had a single hole in the ground for the prisoners to relieve themselves in, which only compounded the problems of flooding, adding a dangerously disgusting aspect.

Like many prisons, the men imprisoned reverted to homosexual relations while incarcerated", relationships ranging from sex partner to servant.

Roumagnac considered pederasty to be the worst vice morally and wished to understand the connection between social behavior and sexual inclinations.

The strong subjugate the weak, and homosexual relations were a continuation of traditional gender roles behind the prison walls.

Garza's entire book, The Imagined Underworld, focuses on the break in reality between the ruling elite and the lower class.

[6][11] The demonization of these two substances allowed the elite to have a solid source of illegal activity, something to blame for the actions of poor men and women that did not include the horrible conditions they were forced to bare because of their economic standings.

[11] An illustration from the local newspaper depicts a violent action by one of the prisoners, explaining in detail that his use of marijuana had led to madness.

A common occurrence during the nineteenth century was for those of higher class to come and view executions, tour prisons, and mental asylums.

[15] This case was controversial and a hot topic because Villa herself had used a gun to restore her honor by killing the other prostitute.

Villa attempted to defend herself in court and was unsuccessful at playing the victim card to get out of the murder charges.

[16] Velazquez is said to have shot himself in the head while incarcerated, but Garza explains that this was a propagated lie and that the Mexican people did not believe it.

Also helped other inmates learn how to manipulate the system and write letters to judges and the President to receive release from the jail.

[17] Belén was the reason for many communications between Mexico and the U.S. during its time of operation due to its prevalence of infectious diseases.

[17] Over population and overall filthy conditions of the prison were the number one source of the spread of diseases such a typhus and influenza.