This section explains the meaning of the name "Cuautla" and introduces the main themes addressed by the museum: the life of independence leader José María Morelos and that of revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. It also offers a brief yet clear account of the historical importance of the building.

During the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles, the house was purchased from its former owners and donated to the nation. Later, President Abelardo L. Rodríguez declared it a national monument; consequently, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) assumed responsibility for its preservation and custody. It was inaugurated as a site museum on September 30, 1965.

This section presents information about the early life of independence hero José María Morelos before the armed uprising.

It recounts his birth and childhood in Valladolid (today Morelia), where he was raised by his mother, and his work as a muleteer at the San Rafael Tahuejo hacienda—a trade that would later prove useful in developing his military skills during the fight for Independence.

Regarding his clerical life, the exhibit highlights his appointment in 1798 as interim parish priest of Churumuco and La Huacana, his eleven years in Cuarácuaro, and his subsequent transfer to Nocupétaro in 1801.

This section chronicles the military campaigns led by José María Morelos y Pavón.

After Miguel Hidalgo launched the independence movement on September 16, 1810, in the town of Dolores (Guanajuato), Morelos set out to join the insurgents, eventually meeting them in the town of Charo.

Upon meeting Hidalgo, Morelos offered to serve as chaplain to the army, but Hidalgo instead appointed him lieutenant and ordered him to raise troops in the southern region to capture the port of Acapulco.

He would spend five years campaigning, from October 25, 1810, until his defeat and capture on November 5, 1815.

This section recounts the greatest challenge faced by José María Morelos y Pavón in the region that now bears his name.

Morelos arrived in Cuautla on February 9, 1812, accompanied by Matamoros, Galeana, and the Bravo brothers. Anticipating a royalist attack, he fortified the town by digging trenches and stockpiling supplies. He was prepared to fight with 4,000 men and 16 cannons, including "El Niño," the first artillery piece gifted to him by the Galeana family.

On February 18, Félix María Calleja arrived at the outskirts of the town with 5,000 men, a number that would soon grow to 7,000. The initial assault began the following morning and continued for eight hours of intense fighting. From February 19 to May 2, the royalist army maintained a relentless siege, bombarding the town and cutting off its water supply—until the early hours of May 2, when Morelos broke through the enemy lines and ended the Spanish-imposed siege.

This section narrates the final days of Morelos, along with the creation of the state of Morelos.

José María Morelos was ambushed on November 5, 1815, in the town of Temalaca (in present-day Guerrero). Lieutenant Matías Carranco captured him and sent him to Mexico City for trial.

By order of Viceroy Calleja, Morelos was tried by both ecclesiastical and military courts. Found guilty, he was stripped of his clerical status and later executed by General De la Concha on December 22 at the former palace of San Cristóbal Ecatepec.

Many years later, on April 17, 1869, following a proposal by congressman and military officer Francisco Leyva, a new federal entity was created: the state of Morelos.

From this room on, the exhibit focuses on the 20th century.

In 1909, during the gubernatorial elections in the state of Morelos, a well-organized political opposition emerged. In the town of Villa de Ayala, a group led by schoolteacher Pablo Torres Burgos gathered. Among its members were Rafael Merino, Gabriel Tepepan, and Emiliano Zapata.

Upon learning of the Maderista uprising, they decided to establish contact with the revolutionary headquarters. Acting as their representative, Torres Burgos met with the Maderistas; the meeting was successful, and the formal organization of the uprising in Morelos began.

By August 1911, Francisco I. Madero arrived in Cuautla to meet with General Emiliano Zapata. Upon his arrival, Madero delivered a speech in which he praised the loyalty of the Zapatistas and referred to Zapata as a man of integrity and one of the bravest soldiers in the Liberation Army.

This section highlights the peak of the movement.

Since its publication, the Plan of Ayala became the cornerstone of agrarian reform. It was drafted by Otilio Montaño, José Trinidad Ruiz, and Emiliano Zapata in the town of Ayoxuxtla (in the state of Puebla) and made public on November 28, 1911. The plan was embraced by revolutionary groups in other states such as Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Guerrero, where communities also suffered from land dispossession.

So central was the plan that Zapatistas insisted it be adopted "verbatim" in any negotiation with other revolutionary factions—"not a single comma" was to be changed. The Carrancistas rejected this condition, but the Revolutionary Convention did not. During that historic assembly, Zapatista delegate Paulino Martínez described the Plan as the new alliance between the Revolution and the people—a means of restoring the lands and freedoms stripped from them since the time of the Spanish conquest.

The Plan of Ayala was reaffirmed in Milpa Alta on July 19, 1914, and included a declaration that the struggle would not cease until agrarian reforms were enshrined in the Constitution.

The museum’s final room recounts Zapata’s death—but not the end of Zapatismo.

By 1917, Zapatismo faced serious challenges. A new Constitution had been enacted, General Pablo González had launched a war of extermination, and internal intrigue plagued the Liberation Army of the South. In this fraught context, General Zapata heard rumors of dissent within the Carrancista faction. Without confirming them, he reached out to Colonel Jesús Guajardo, inviting him to join the revolutionaries. This contact provided the perfect pretext to eliminate the agrarian leader. Following orders from General González, Guajardo feigned allegiance to the Zapatistas and arranged to meet Zapata at the Hacienda of Chinameca, under the pretense of delivering weapons.

On April 10, 1919, Zapata was invited to dine inside the hacienda. After some hesitation, he set aside his usual caution and accepted. As he entered, the guard presented arms, a bugle sounded three times in salute—and after the final note, two volleys of gunfire were unleashed on General Zapata, who fell and would rise no more. His body was taken to Cuautla to be displayed at the Municipal Palace.