Pancho Villa Johnathan Shea Born Jos Doroteo Arango

Pancho Villa Johnathan Shea

Born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula, (5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) Pancho Villa was famous during the Mexican Revolution and has remained so, holding a fairly mythical reputation in Mexican consciousness, but not officially recognized in Mexico until long after his death. As the "Centaur from the North" he was considered a threat to property and order on both sides of the border, feared, and revered, as a modern Robin Hood.

Early Life • Villa told a number of conflicting stories about his early life, and his "early life remains shrouded in mystery. “ • According to most sources, his father was a sharecropper named Agustín Arango, and his mother was Micaela Arámbula • He grew up at the Rancho de la Coyotada, one of the largest haciendas in the state of Durango.

Mexican Revolution • In the famous Battle of Zacatecas, Villa soundly defeated a massive federal force of trained, armed soldiers led by skilled officers. • Time and again, he proved his tactical skill and used his cavalry—the best in the world at the time—to devastating effect. • At the 1915 Battle of Celaya, however, he met his match in Alvaro Obregon.

Personal Life • As Villa's biographer Friedrich Katz has noted, "During his lifetime, Villa had never bothered with conventional arrangements in his family life. “ • It is said Villa legally married seventy five times, but it is hard to be sure • Villa is often depicted as a "womanizer" in pop culture, but history also includes rapes and femicides

• Villa helped fashion his own image as an internationally known revolutionary hero • His war tactics were studied by the United States Army • Pancho Villa also starred as himself in Hollywood films, and used the profits from the films to help support the revolution

Death • On Friday, 20 July 1923, Villa was assassinated while visiting Parral • Villa is reported to have died saying, "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something, ” but there is no contemporary evidence that he survived his shooting even momentarily. • The Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City, where a number of revolutionaries, including Villa, are buried at this pilgrimage site to the Revolution even if they were adversaries during the conflict.

Legacy • After his death, he was excluded from the pantheon of revolutionary heroes until the Sonoran generals Obregón and Calles, whom he battled during the Revolution, were gone from the political stage • Villa's exclusion from the official narrative of the Revolution might have contributed to his continued posthumous popular acclaim • In 1976, his remains were reburied in the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City in a huge public ceremony not attended by his widow Luz Corral

Many films were made about Pancho Villa after his death.