Most people have probably heard the name Pancho Villa at least once; it may have been in a book, or on TV, or in a movie. Vaguely, many of us may recall this fairly memorable nickname, but aside from the name who was the man? What did he do that was so noteworthy that contemporary citizens still recognize it? A few facts about this amazing historical figure follows:
Pancho Villa was a leader in the Mexican revolution that fought for the rights of the poor and pushed an agenda of reform. A significant point in his life history would be his organization and execution of an attack on Columbus, New Mexico in 1916; this was very noteworthy because it was the next raid on US territory after 1812.
On the surface this answers any initial inquiry, but a closer evaluation of his history reveals that Doroteo Arango was in fact Francisco Villa and became a revolutionary and national folk hero.
Doroteo Arango was born June 5, 1878 in San Juan Del Rio. He was born into and raised in an environment that tested many men - he was a peasant, the son of a sharecropper, and he became accustomed to the struggles and hardships commonly associated with the lifestyle of a laborer early on. When he was 15 he began working as a sharecropper after his father passed away and there was no other source of income for his mother and four siblings. As was customary at the time, the rich often treated the laboring class as slaves; one day Villa found the owner of the hacienda he was employed at, attempting to harm his younger sister. Villa took the owner's life in defending his little sister from assault; he fled to the mountains soon after.
It was after he went into hiding that he adopted the name Francisco Villa; the name "Pancho" is actually a common nickname for Francisco, hence he became known as Pancho Villa. As to why he specifically chose this name, there are many rumors but the most plausible ones are related to his choosing it because it was his grandfather's name, or in honor of a bandit leader he had met. For 16 years (1894 - 1910), Villa continued to elude captivity, and he lived by precarious means until he finally joined a gang. He eventually became their leader and conducted many robberies, targeting the rich and their cattle, shipments of money, and generally any other crime he could commit against the rich and powerful. Rather than becoming rich himself, he took what he needed to live and often gave his spoils to the poor and helpless.
He became a revolutionary when Francisco Madero sought him for enlistment in the coup he was planning against President Porfirio Diaz. Madero wanted Diaz gone as he was the sole root of many of the problems facing the poor and impoverished in Mexico. Madero was preaching change and equality for the lower classes - it was something very close to Villa's heart. Diaz was ousted, Madero became president, and Villa left the army to get married and settle down. However, his quiet life would not last as political upheaval erupted again in 1912. Madero was facing opposition from within and enlisted Villa once again to help his cause. Villa was accused of horse thievery by his superior and sentenced to execution. Madero granted him a reprieve, but Villa was released into prison instead of freedom. He escaped in December of 1912 only to find that the man who had accused him of stealing a horse - Victoriano Huerta - having killed Madero, became the new president. Villa aligned himself with opposition forces against Huerta.
Leading the opposition with Venustiano Carranza, Villa won many battles and helped to stabilize the economy and reallocated many acres of land. Eventually, Villa and Carranza had a falling out and the split formed the basis for a civil war which lasted several years. The United States intervened and took Carranza's side in the battle; culminating in Villa leading an attack against Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 - the first attack on US soil since 1812. The US sent thousands of troops to apprehend Villa and although they searched for over a year, they never found him. Carranza was assassinated in 1920 and the new president asked for a truce with Villa and eventually he agreed to retire. He officially retired from the life he had led as a revolutionary and lived in his hacienda in Chihuahua. After 3 years of retirement, on July 20, 1923, Villa was assassinated in his car.
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