This Day In Latino History

On this day in 1878, (some say 1879), Doroteo Arango Arámbula, [Ed. Bwa ha ha! Doroteo?!], was born in San Juan Del Río in the Mexican state of Durango to humble (of course) farming parents Don Agustín Arango and María Micaela Arámbula. There he grew until he was sixteen and had to kill a man for raping his little sister. That’s a Johnny Cash song if we ever heard one. On the run from the law, Doroteo [Snicker.] changed his name to Francisco or “Pancho” as Franciscos are often called, and, after several years as a manual laborer and criminal (bank robber, cattle rustler, more murder) in the Chihuahua area, Pancho moved upward to the sierras where he established quite a reputation as a local Robin Hood for his ability to outsmart president Porfirio Díaz’s oppressive rural police in favor of the poor. He rustled up a gang of loyal followers due to his charismatic nature–a Barack Obama for the times, if you will–and, in 1910, when Panchito and his merry men decided to come down from the hills to join Francisco Madera’s campaign for president, which meant a whole new revolutionary army, the people followed. Thousands of them. Including some Americans. Some were even made captains in the División del Norte and Villa created one squadron made up entirely of Americans under the leadership of Capt. Tracey Richardson, a mercenary who fought with many different insurgent armies around the world at that time. 

But Pancho Villa’s greatest legacy is his iconic Mexican bandido outfit that Sonia Sotomayor will likely find herself dressed in at some point in some political cartoon or other. Happy Birthday, Pancho Villa. Que viva la revolución.