Damascio is a local man whom Pedro Páramo hires to lead a militia in Comala and protect his interests by fighting for various armed groups during the Mexican Revolution and Cristero War. Damasio’s nickname, “El Tilcuate,” refers to a notoriously vicious kind of black snake. His militia continually switches sides during the conflict, which reflects the way that, despite their varying ideals, the different groups that participated in the Mexican Revolution were motivated by money, power, and self-interest more than ideology or values. El Tilcuate eventually dies in the conflict, but Pedro Páramo hardly cares.