1878-1923
The memory of Francisco (Pancho) Villa evokes contradicting sentiments. Villa has been extolled as a trustworthy revolutionary. He has also been vilified as a cruel, dishonest bandit. Nevertheless, Villa remains a significant figure in Mexican history. His memory remains alive through Mexican ballads known as corriodos, poetry, and film. This article examines the life of Villa—the bandit and the revolutionary—and his contributions to Mexican political history.
Villa was born Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula on June 5, 1878, in the northern state of Durango. (In The Life and Times of Pancho Villa, Friedrich Katz states that baptism records show he was baptized as Doroteo Arango, while Francisco Caudet Yarza claims in Pancho Villa that he was baptized as Jose Doroteo.) Villa came from a poor background. His parents, Agustin Arango and Micaele Arambula, worked as sharecroppers on one of the largest haciendas in Durango. Villa’s father died when Villa was young. Consequently, Villa, the oldest of five children, had to work to support the family at the expense of a formal education.
Villa was a bandit by the 1890s. The reason he decided to live the harsh life of a bandit in the mountains of Durango is unknown. In his memoirs Villa recounts that he fled into the mountains of Durango when he was sixteen years old out of fear that he would be incarcerated for shooting and injuring Agustin Lopez Negrete, the owner of the hacienda on which he lived and worked (Katz 1998, p. 3). Villa allegedly shot the owner to protect the honor of one of his younger sisters.
However, some biographers question whether or not Villa’s attack on the hacienda owner actually took place (Braddy 1948, p. 349; Garfias, 1985, p. 15; Katz 1998,p. 65). Celia Herrera, whose relatives had been killed by Villa, recorded that he became a bandit upon murdering a friend during an altercation (Katz 1998, p. 6). Regardless of its validity, the incident remains a part of Villa’s story.
Doroteo changed his name to Francisco, or Pancho, Villa as an outlaw. The new name was probably an adoption of the name of his biological grandfather, Jesus Villa, and changed to evade the federal army and state authorities in Durango. Legendary tales impart that Villa adopted the name of a famous bandit, Francisco Villa, who died after being severely injured during an attack by local citizens in the mountains of Durango.
The description of Villa’s life during this time has varied. Some individuals viewed him solely as a violent, ruthless bandit. Celia Herrera’s Francisco Villa ante la historia describes Villa as one who led a life of crime and vengeance in which he killed friends, beat women, and tortured those who refused to cooperate when he demanded their money (Katz 1998, p. 6). Villa admitted to killing many men in his memoirs but denied being a cold-blooded murderer. Rather, the men were killed in self-defense or out of retaliation for betrayal (Katz 1998, p. 5).
On the other hand, Villa has been perceived as a benevolent champion of the poor. His memoirs reveal that he had stolen money and given it to the poor, including family members. These altruistic acts earned him the label of "Robin Hood of the Mexicans" (Brandt 1964, p. 153; Caudet 1998, p. 35; Katz 1998, p. 7).
By 1910 Villa had transformed from a bandit into a revolutionary. Abraham Gonzalez, the leader of the Anti-Reelectionist Party in Chihuahua, recruited Villa and a military leader, Pascual Orozco, into the revolutionary movement against President Porfirio Diaz (Katz 1998, p. 73). Gonzalez’s decision to recruit an outlaw to support the revolutionary efforts of Francisco Madero remains questionable. Regardless, the revolution was successful. President Diaz was forced to resign after thirty years of dictatorial rule, and Madero became the president of Mexico. Villa earned a promotion to honorary general, and he fought against the counterrevolutionaries, led by Orozco, in 1912.
Villa was also an important figure in U.S.-Mexican relations. His relationship with the United States was initially amicable. The United States allowed arms to be smuggled to Villa in January 1914, and President Woodrow Wilson ended the U.S. arms embargo against Mexico shortly thereafter, which allowed Villa to buy ammunition legally from the United States (Katz 1998, p. 250). President Wilson even offered Villa political asylum in the United States in 1915 (Katz 1998, p. 535). These actions illustrated the United States’ confidence in Villa’s abilities as a leader.
The positive relationship between Villa and the United States took a turn for the worse by 1916, when Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico. The reasons for Villa’s attack remain under debate. A letter from Villa indicates that the attack was meant as revenge for an act of betrayal by President Wilson during his war against the troops of President Venustiano Carranza of Mexico (Katz 1998, p. 552). Whatever the reason, the attack caused Wilson to send American troops to Mexico to capture Villa and destroy his forces (Sandos 1981, p. 303).
Villa was murdered on July 20, 1923, while driving to a village in Chihuahua. Two weeks after Villa’s assassination, Jesus Salas Barraza claimed sole responsibility for Villa’s murder. He said he killed Villa on behalf of the many people in his district, El Oro, who had been victimized by Villa (Katz 1998, p. 773). Salas was sentenced to twenty years in prison on September 13 but was pardoned and released a few months later. No one else was accused or arrested for Villa’s murder.
An examination of Villa’s life reveals that he probably was neither the devil nor the angel that many chose to label him. Instead, he is a complex figure whose memory continues to flourish in both Mexico and the United States.
