Born in San Juan del Rio, Durango, Mexico, in 1877 or 1879, it just depends on who you trust. That is where the story of Doroteo begins, so much history mixed with legend and a dash of fantasy. The real beginning of this tale happened when Arango was 16. Again reports vary depending on which side you are on, so either Agustin Lopez Negrete, a local ranch owner, courted Doroteo's sister, or he raped her. Whichever is true, this made the protective brother take up arms for the first time and shoot and kill Negrete. The romantic tends to lean toward the rape, just to make Doroteo a more sympathetic man, either way the mystery of Doroteo starts with a resoundingly dark episode, which certainly foretold of a duplicity that would follow him to the grave.

With the law after him, he fled to the mountains and joined up with a cattle rustler named Francisco Villa, also known as "Pancho". But life on the dark side of the law can be quite dangerous. On one of their, what came to be routine, illegal exploits Francisco Villa was killed in a shootout. Doroteo took the reigns of the gang as well as the ‘nom de guerre’ of the leader. Though that sounds quite enigmatic, some of this may just be legend. The truth of the story is he took the name Francisco "Pancho" Villa. Did he take the place of his boss, like "The Dread Pirate Roberts" of "The Princess Bride", or did he just use his father's name to elude the law? The answer isn't important, what is important, is that this is where the story of Doroteo Arango ends, and the true Legend of Pancho Villa begins.

Pancho made quite a name for himself amongst the locals, but hero status would have to wait until he was called upon by the people of Chihuahua to help in the revolution that was beginning to burn in 1910. The charisma of Villa aided him in recruiting more bandits to help fight the government of Mexico led by Porfirio Diaz.

Pancho quickly became a hero to the poor, by 1913 it was said that he had upwards of 3000 men, this group became famously known as the "El Division del Norte". American Cinema took an interest in the man, and he was said to be fighting with a full Hollywood film crew by his side. Why should they pay actors to act out war, when they can film the real thing? He even had his very own makeup artist, who supposedly lightened his skin, I guess Hollywood wasn't quite ready for a dark Hispanic leading man yet. That is messed up if you ask me. Fame did have an affect on Pancho, he was said to "re-shoot" battles when the film wasn't up to par. It was rumored that the film company would buy boots, uniforms and even guns, to make the low class banditos more "Cinema" ready. Supposedly he even delayed an attack, because it would have collided with the world series. The interest in Villa by film companies waned as he began to lose battles here and there. Though Hollywood may have left, his popularity with his people didn’t decline at all. Pancho famously took the huge land holdings of the hacendados and split them amongst the widows and orphans of his fallen soldiers, the seeds were planted for the Mexican "Robin Hood" legend to grow. There were even stories told about how he was asked to toast with another famous revolutionist, Emiliano Zapata, and he spit the booze out. He may have been a "Myth" but he was no drinker.

The roller coaster ride began to slow when he found himself at odds with the American Government. Pancho suffered a huge defeat, and blamed the American Government who aided Mexico. After that, Pancho took every opportunity to kill Americans, even crossing the border into New Mexico and raiding a town in the middle of the night.

President Woodrow Wilson sent an army, led by General Pershing, to capture Pancho Villa, but that was a waste of time and manpower. One thing that came from this expedition was that really cool "Wanted" poster we have all seen.

"Proclamation $5000 Francisco (Pancho) Villa" (Daniel, there is a picture of this on the web, not sure about rights, maybe in public domain)

$5000 back in 1915 was a fortune, but no one ever claimed it. By 1917 Pershing gave up the chase for the elusive Pancho Villa with these words "Villa is everywhere and Villa is nowhere."

By 1920 it seem Villa slowly went into a retirement-like existence as a farmer. Had he grown weary of the fight, or was he "forced" to retire? Well it is up to you to choose. but the quiet was never a state he was comfortable with, one of his last surviving widows reported he had been married 26 times. So quiet obviously wasn't his norm.

As the legend goes, Pancho, along with some of his armed entourage, took a drive into town July 20, 1923. The battle cry "Viva Villa" was heard seconds before the sound of gun shots ripped through the air. Doroteo Arango AKA Francisco "Pancho" Villa was shot dead by at least a dozen lead bullets. The Mythos of a Outlaw Hero ended, as it began, with gunfire. When looking back on the life of this man I am reminded of what General Pershing said:

"Villa is Everywhere and Villa is Nowhere."

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