Current Series
Pancho Villa
For our tenth series, we're covering the life of a slightly more controversial figure in world history, and a key figure in the Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa. Once the son of a humble farming family, Pancho would face legal troubles at just 16 years old, and soon becoming a bandit. His abilities as a bandit became notorious, and he was well-known as a sharp-shooter, a master of horses, and a skilled survivalist. All the while, however, the people of Mexico were suffering at the hands of a dictator named Porfirio Díaz, who did great things for Mexico's economy but at the expense of human rights. By 1910, Porfirio Díaz was facing an uprising from the people of Mexico, and Pancho soon found himself leading guerrilla military forces aimed at overthrowing the dictatorship. Pancho's charisma became a key factor in rallying the people of Mexico to join the cause of revolution, with hordes of people flocking to fight alongside him. But the road to revolution would prove to be complicated and violent, with various factions fighting for different reasons, leaders betraying one another, and thousands of people perishing in the crossfire. Eventually, Pancho would find himself as the Governor of Chihuahua, though many thought this was a crime in itself, as Pancho made many enemies along the way and was known to have committed many war crimes—some even say crimes against humanity. Historians are split: some see Pancho as a hero of Mexico, while others see him as a psychopathic criminal. Join us as we explore this complicated figure and the incredible story of the Mexican Revolution.