The Birth of Zorro
The character of Don Diego Vega, better known as his alter-ego, Zorro, first appeared in a short story called “The Curse of Capistrano” by John McCulley in 1919. There was a movie made in 1920, and McCulley went on to publish a full novel called The Mask of Zorro in 1924. People loved the masked Mexican Robin Hood character so much, it was made into a television series in the 1950’s, and eventually became a series of movies starring Antonio Banderas. Few people realize that McCulley was inspired by a real man, Joaquin Murrieta, when he invented Zorro.
Since the legend of Joaquin Murrieta made him out to be a skilled and mysterious figure that disappeared into the night, it only made sense to give the character of Zorro a mask and an all-black outfit, so he could sneak around undetected. Just like Murrieta, Zorro was on a journey to get revenge against the men who killed his brother. He fought with a sword, because of all of the times Murrieta was known for carving up his enemies, rather than shooting them. Until the California Rangers showed up, there wasn’t anyone who was skilled enough to take him down.
Some historians have tried to argue that Joaquin Murrieta was neither patriot or not a hero, and that he was just a criminal leading a gang of bandits who was only out to keep all of the gold for himself. Many of the illustrations of him make him wide-eyed and crazy looking, to fit in with a fearful American stereotype. They claim there is no actual evidence that he gave his money away to the poor, but that version story has still been passed down through word of mouth, and Mexican people loved him like a hero.
Many people consider Zorro to be one of the best fictional depictions of life during the California Gold Rush from the perspective of Mexican people. While Joaquin Murrieta’s original story may be forgotten, his powerful need for justice lives on in the fictional Zorro. Even to this day, he still represents one of the very few Mexican heroes in American culture.
Where Do we get this Stuff? Here are our Sources.
The Revenge Story That Inspired ‘The Legend of Zorro’. Wyatt Redd. Allthatsinteresting.com. 2018