Guanajuato, Gto., December 23, 2017.- Thrived by the interest of understanding how people survive in moments of social chaos and devastation, Dr. Irilia Olimpia Flores Carreño made an exhaustive research about violence and everyday life, work that was awarded with the National Research Award Cultural Forum Guanajuato 2017.

The awarded text is titled "Vida cotidiana y violencia durante la Guerra de Independencia, Guanajuato y Michoacán, 1800-1830" and derives the doctoral thesis for Iliria Flores, a graduate of the degree in History of the University of Guanajuato and collaborator in the Historical Archive of the same university.

She mentioned that she picked the topic because she was working in her thesis, she was living in Michoacán, an entity that at that time was going through an effervescence of violence and drug traffic. "I was affected but not directly, and I started thinking, maybe during the Independence war happened the same, not all the people was affected the same way, not all was blood and devastation, people had to continue with their life: eat, dress, marry, have children."

That is how the need to understand the Independence war emerged –which always has been her research line—but now from a social perspective, trying to understand "how someone finds the way to survive amidst the worst moments."

To participate in the Cultural Forum Summon, Dr. Olimpia opted to depurate the strictly academic part, since her purpose is for the text to be not only for the interest of the historians or to remain in the shelves. So, she says that the version that will be published in 2018 will be accessible for a wide audience.

About the National Research Award, she mentions "that it is very important for all who researches culture and art about the state. It is a recognition for us who make the effort to make regional history." In her case, the work is about Michoacán and Guanajuato, since the studied period formed one region.

Dr. Flores' work focuses in a period of war that is barely known, since most of the text focus on the great battles of the first part of the conflict, or in the end of the war. For the researcher, the interesting part is that in this lapse –especially around 1814-1820—there was a great participation from society, people resisted and maintained the fight alive.

"That is why I cared so much for everyday life, almost always they talk about military strategies, of the economic or political changes, or of the constitutions; but they don't talk about the common people". This is because in great measure the documents decreased a lot, it was lost or even didn't generate, recognized Dr. Flores, who assures she could overcome this obstacle thanks to any text that can contribute information about every day life: economic texts, letters, etcetera.

Detailing the findings of her research, she revealed that, that period has been characterized by the sense of community and strong family bonds. Therefore, the participation of women was very important. "I found outstanding cases that reveal how thanks to them the families were sustained, hence, the society."

For example, a married woman with a rebel who saved the life of her husband when he offered to become a spy, or a mother that risked her life and her family by saving the mail of her insurgent sons (which were hidden in latrines), letters that today are documents with high historic value.

Dr. Irilia Flores affirmed that a work like that is possible for the accompaniment of scholar such as Dr. José Antonio Serrano and Dr. María Guevara Sanginés, but also the support from many people and institutions, to whom she expressed her gratitude.