Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Pancho Villa and the ladies....


Students in ninth grade are busy learning about America's role in the Age of Imperialism. They spend some times learning about the Mexican revolution and one of its more colorful heroes, José Doroteo Arango Arámbula (5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) or better known as Pancho Villa.

Pancho Villa is considered by many Mexicans to be a national hero. Mexico, at the time of the revolution, was held in a stranglehold by wealthy hacienda owners, private interests, and a corrupt government. Villa was not a "clean" hero. He engaged in theft and revenge murders. Regardless of the violence he used to achieve his goals, he was also known to be sentimental, charismatic, and extremely appealing to the many women who lived in the villages of Northern Mexico.

Early movies focused on his appeal when they advertised Pancho Villa as being a "revolutionary, bandit, and lover..." It's true that romantic figures often were often soaked in blood. In this case, Pancho Villa had many "wives" in many villages, while he had only one wife, María Luz Corral.