Desert fox
Active member
Can someone tell me who this is and what he did. I heard my teacher say his name but i am still confussed/
Pancho Villa villian or patriot ?
03USMC
Active member
Villa is kind of hard to narrow down with out getting pretty deeply into the Mexican Revolutions of the early 1900's. And even then it depends on your leanings and which faction you side with.
Franciso "Pancho" Villa has been decsribed as a bandit, rustler and patriot. He led an Army of "Villastas" in the Mexican Revolution known as El erjecto del Norte. The Army of the North and is considered by many many people to be one of Mexico's greatest Patriots and Military Leaders including my wifes family who were Villistas in the Revolution.
He was allied at one time with Zapata and with combined armies actually took Mexico City.
He's also known for his invasion of Columbus New Mexico and execution of his enemies to include US civilians working in Mexico.
So it all depends.
Franciso "Pancho" Villa has been decsribed as a bandit, rustler and patriot. He led an Army of "Villastas" in the Mexican Revolution known as El erjecto del Norte. The Army of the North and is considered by many many people to be one of Mexico's greatest Patriots and Military Leaders including my wifes family who were Villistas in the Revolution.
He was allied at one time with Zapata and with combined armies actually took Mexico City.
He's also known for his invasion of Columbus New Mexico and execution of his enemies to include US civilians working in Mexico.
So it all depends.
03USMC
Active member
LeEnfield 2 said:
Not Really. And even in Mexico opinion on Villa is divided along lines as to who your family supported and who great grand dad fought for.
There are still people who side with Porfirio Diaz. Some think Franciso Madero was sold out by Villa. And some think that Zapata carried Madero and Villa.
The Mexican Revolution (s) is really a muddled mass of factions each with their own goals and agendas that came together then fought then came together.
If your family at one time had land taken by the Villaistas or Zapatistas during one of the land reforms chances are you don't support them. You'd be a supporter of Diaz or Huerta .
Conversely if your family benefitted from Villa or Zapata or Madero you'd support them.
The status of Villa as a hero currently is his willingness to fight for the pobres. Whether real or imagined in the North of Mexico he holds that status in certain circles. Zapata holds it in the south in certain circles.
As far as the US in certain Mexican American circles Villa holds a hero status because he fought the gringos and their exploitation of Mexicans and ran Black Jack Pershing ragged chasing him. This feeling also crosses the border into Mexico.
Pancho Villas status is all in your perception of Franciso Villa.