Long the left-leaning fulcrum of the country, León, the country’s second largest city with about 210,000 people, was among the first to rebel against Anastasio “Tachito” Somoza DeBayle whose father, Anastasio “Tacho” Somoza, had been gunned down here in 1956 by Rigoberto López Pérez.

It has inspired a trans-border clutch of gifted artists like Tacho Utrera Laudería from Consolapan, Veracruz, revered for his elegant ebony and cedar requintos.

Cordova's father, Anastacio "Tacho" Cordova, suffered multiple forms of cancer.

Cordova’s father, Anastacio “Tacho” Cordova, later suffered from multiple forms of cancer.

Cordova’s father, Anastacio “Tacho” Cordova, was a 3-year-old Tularosa resident at the time of the blast and later suffered from multiple forms of cancer.