To the best of my knowledge, despite the fact that there are millions of Americans with Italian heritage (myself included), there aren’t any statues of Benito Mussolini anywhere in the United States. Likewise, there aren’t statues of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto or Herman Goehring or Osama Bin Laden, even though there are millions of Americans who can trace their roots to Japan or Germany or the Middle East. The reason that we’re never going to have statues of these people in the United States is that each of these people directed operations that killed Americans.
Why, then, is there a statue of Pancho Villa smack dab at the entrance to Downtown Tucson…Arizona…USA? Why does this vile swine, who deserves only a gravesite to be pissed upon, instead get a statue? He doesn’t deserve one in his own country, let alone in ours. He killed dozens of Americans, calmly and coldly, on more than one occasion. And yet, there it stands, after all these years.
If you asked 100 Tucsonans who (and what) Pancho Villa was, those who would claim that he was somehow a “revolutionary” are prone to defining things so broadly that they probably believe that a phallic symbol is anything that’s longer than it is wide.
War is ugly and revolution can be extra ugly. Those who have studied the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century will probably agree that it was less of a politically driven upheaval and more like a Demolition Derby, last man standing.
The Mexican Revolution was understandably messy, with constantly shifting loyalties and former allies squaring off and fighting to the death. Several of the key players were eventually assassinated, including one-time Presidents Francisco Madero, Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregon, as well as Emiliano Zapata and Villa himself. But all that mess was just power-hungry guys being power-hungry guys. What Villa did at other times is completely indefensible.
In Mexico, he is most reviled for his attacks of the villages of San Pedro de la Cueva and Namiquipa. After suffering a humiliating defeat to Carranza’s forces in The Battle of Agua Prieta (across the border from Douglas, Arizona), Villa retreated. What was left of his army entered San Pedro de la Cueva, where Villa personally killed the village priest and then ordered his men to kill 74 male villagers of fighting age.
Namiquipa had long been a Villa stronghold in the state of Chihuahua, but then Villa’s band attacked the town, killed many of the men and herded the town’s women into animal pens, where they were gang-raped by Villa’s men. This probably didn’t bother Villa a whole lot, as he was known to rape young teenage girls throughout his reign of terror.
And then there’s his killing of Americans. After suffering that ass-whuppin’ at Agua Prieta, Villa’s men attacked a train near Santa Isabel, Chihuahua. They slaughtered 17 Americans, including 15 who worked for the American Smelting and Refining Company. (Villa admitted to having ordered the attack.) In 1916, Villa attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico. Eighteen Americans died in the raid, which was carried out for no reason other than the fact that Villa was a pissy little bitch.
I’ve hated that statue for nearly 40 years. I hated the fact that Bruce Babbitt, who saw himself as a rising star in the Democratic Party until he unleashed the military on striking mine workers in Graham County, showed no testicular capacity whatsoever by allowing the statue to be erected. Even laid-back Tucson Mayor Lew Murphy had enough sense to boycott the unveiling, telling the City Council members “if you’re smart, you won’t attend either.”
Over the years, there have been movements to take down (or destroy) the monstrosity, but it still stands as a screw you to all Americans. I’ve had discussions with academics and community activists who, at best, can only offer tepid arguments in favor of the murderous tyrant. Stuff like, “Well, it’s complicated.” No, it isn’t; he killed Americans. Or “things happen in the fog of war.” War is war, but mass rape is rape.
Suddenly, the time may be right. All across the country, statues of men who waged war against the United States are being toppled. Statues of the traitorous Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis are coming down, as are those of their henchmen, Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart.
I once said that it would be OK for those statues to remain as long as the truth was attached to them: “Robert E. Lee probably could have prevented the deaths of 600,000 Americans simply by upholding his sworn duty to defend the Constitution of the United States. Instead, he chose treason. He also owned human beings. President Lincoln punked him by seizing Lee’s plantation, Arlington, and turning it into the national cemetery.” Yeah, that would work.
(Of course, Donald Trump, who will forever be remembered as having been on the wrong side of history, defends the Confederate statues, using words like “heritage” and “legacy” while doing so. What happened to his categorization of people as winners or losers? Every single Confederate traitor ended up a loser.)
It is long past time to add the statue of the murderous rapist Villa to the trash heap of history. That statue is coming down, sooner or later, one way or another. Might as well do it now.
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2020.
There must be a comet in the sky. I agree with Danehy for once.
Remember the day of the statue’s dedication well.
Across the street in La Placita, NOW was holding a very boisterous rally for passage of the ERA Amendment while the Mexican Army band was attempting to be heard playing the national anthems of Mexico and the United States. The irony was so thick that probably no one noticed except possibly Mo Udall.
He appeared very uncomfortable shuffling between both events where he was to speak. The quizzical looks on the faces of the visiting dignitaries and band members from Mexico as the shouts of ‘WHAT DO YOU WANT? ERA! WHEN DO YOU WANT IT? NOW!’ drowned out the subdued events in 20th de Augusto Park, spoke volumes.
A truly Tucson schizophrenic moment. One of those experiences that make Tucson the place we all come to love.
Thanks Tom for telling one side of this historical figure. You missed the other part and forgot to acknowledge the history of Arizona, which was owned by the United States of Mexico and stolen through false treaties and lies.
I too am shocked I agree with Danehy on this one issue!
Lew Murphy made an intelligent decision to not attend the unveiling
of a statue of this person
I don’t agree with the removing of all these other historical
memorials though. The confederates were citizens of our country,
fighting a war that was lot more complicated then this present day
group wants to understand. The whole issue is so much more.
Taking them down isn’t going to make anything right or change it.
Change comes from peoples hearts.
The time to oppose the statue was before it was before it went up. Now we can think of Pancho Villa as a reason to learn a part of Tucson’s History, or the statue as a piece of folk art. Erasing history won’t change it, & except for some truly offensive statues of participants in the Civil War, all those destroyed monuments are a sad commentary on the ignorance or intolerance of those who often know nothing about the subjects they’re trying to destroy.
I cannot disagree with the author regarding the statue of Poncho Villa, and since I live in New Mexico now after being raised in Tucson, I am fully aware of the attacks that took place here at Columbus and the resulting aftermath. I might add that since my family has had dealings with Babbling Babbitt, it does not surprise me that after it’s all said and done he has faded into the obscurity he so richly deserved. However, (there is always one of those) While I have never thought of myself as a racist or having white privilege’s. Yet I suspect that after writing this I will be accused of both. Yes, the Confederate Battle Flag needs to go, but as a historian I have to ask about the wisdom of destroying statues of Confederate Heroes or for that matter statues of our founding fathers, or even Abe Lincoln. I ask this simply because it has been my experience that if we attempt to rewrite history or even forget it, we are most certainly doomed to repeat it.
It’s a great piece of “honorific statuary” and as such should be preserved somewhere, perhaps in Douglas, a place where he actually was. On the other hand, he was a horrible person who did much evil in the name of revolution, which was actually narcissistic sadism on his part. So, I vote remove it from Tucson and settle it someplace where it would have historical relevance and of course set up an appropriate plaque telling the truth.
When all proof is gone we will have created a new era of holocaust deniers. They may have been there for reasons none of us actually though about. Just because somebody states an opinion it does not make them racist. But now that I think about it, don’t we all support our own personal race? That alone does not mean that you hate another. We really need to get back into scripture and eliminate this ailment. Government does not have any solution but destruction of each other. What good does that do any of us?
“Villa killed more than 30 Americans in a pair of attacks in 1916. That drew the deployment of a U.S. military expedition into Mexico, but Villa eluded capture during the 11-month manhunt. Pardoned by Mexican President Adolfo de la Huerta in 1920, Villa retired to a quiet life at his ranch until his assassination.”
https://www.history.com/topics/mexico/pancho-villa
We must learn our history. Why did Babbling Bruce have it built here? It truly was an insult to Americans.
I sent this letter to Ward 3 City Council member Paul Durham on December 13, 2018 regarding the Pancho Villa statue.
I received a nice rubber-stamp reply email from a staff member and that was it.
Perhaps now is the time.
Greetings,
Regarding the issue with the Pancho Villa statue downtown, I have a suggestion that might be a solution for all parties involved.
If I may suggest that the Pancho Villa statue be gifted and donated to the Columbus Historical Society Museum in Columbus, New Mexico, where it could be displayed in a more historical setting that is more relevant than Tucson.
As for a replacement, may I also suggest that a statue based on the one featured on the Ofelia Zepeda website listed below be commissioned and placed in the park to recognize an accomplished Native American, who even now continues to contribute to the betterment of her people and to the City of Tucson from her position at the University of Arizona.
It is high time and long overdue that we celebrate the contributions of Native Americans in our diverse societies and culture.
http://www.hanksville.org/storytellers/zep…
Tom.
There is an alternative take or point of view on the Pancho Villa statue. Pancho Villa came from a very machismo cowboy culture and he was a renowned horseman at a young age. The statue of Pancho Villa in downtown Tucson places Villa on a gelding; a castrated horse. This is not something that Villa would’ve seen as an honor, but an insult.
Maybe it’s a metaphor; to see Pancho Villa as a hero, one has to castrate reality.
Wow is that a warped sense of reality. With that diatribe one could have found reasons to support the confederate statues on the basis, that given enough time in the sun and weather, that these statues would have darkened some.
Nice try Pancho.
Replace Pancho Villa with the Eusebio Kino statue hidden (albeit flawed with an incorrect date) hidden away down on Kino Blvd.
Fr. Kino should be honored in a more prominent place downtown — and should be made a saint, for that matter.
I have an idea! 💡 how about Mayor Regina Romero and city council members consider passing a resolution replacing the Pancho ” Chicharon” Villa statue with Arizona’s first Mexican/American Governor Raul Castro! This real Mexican did more for the Mexican and Mexican/American gente that that piece of chit! Chicharon Villa! If anything! Give that damn poor horse a fricking break! And get that drunkard! Rapist! Murderous bastard off his back! That would be the decent thing to do! 🎤 drop!! 👊
Well, Ana, at least the great gringo land grab gave poor mexicanos a place to flee from their chilango white overlords, and rampaging murderers like generalisimo Villa.
Melt it down and cast a statue of Johnny Gibson. Mr Gibson was a war hero and the unofficial mayor of downtown.
Danehy, as usual, gets part of the story right – and part wrong. He’s a pretty sloppy historian. Francisco Villa, was a mixed bag. He did both bad things and good. He was a pretty good governor of Chihuahua and pro-American UNTIL the Wilson regime did two things in October 1915 – it recognized Venustiano Carranza (another bad actor on the revolutionary scene, who cozied up to the Germans) and allowed Mexican troops to cross into the United States in Texas, and travel in nine troop trains to El Paso Texas, where they then crossed over into New Mexico on the Phelps Dodge -owned El Paso & Southwestern Railroad and on through Columbus, NM to Douglas, AZ, where they crossed over into Agua Prieta to reinforce the besieged Constitutionalist forces under the command of Plutaro Elias Calles. Once so reinforced, the defenders were able to easily slaughter Villa’s forces when they attacked. In Villa’s eyes, attacking Columbus, NM (a town that owed its existence to the EP & SW) made sense. Doing so was payback to the U.S. government and to the railroad. A statue to Villa, as well-made as it is, (except for the lack of tanates on the horse) is inappropriate for Tucson. Villa and his henchmen murdered both Americans and Mexicans. I’d recommend taking it down and replacing it with a statue of one of the following: Estevan Ochoa, Mariano Samaniego, Leopoldo Carrillo, Federico Ronstadt, any one of the many members of the Elias family, or one of the many other Tucsonenses who made a significant contribution to the history of Tucson. Send Villa back across the line to Palomas, Chihuahua.
“Confederate Heroes”. Really? What does removing statues celebrating white supremacy have to do with rewriting history? They were raised to change the narrative of history. Read about the United Daughters of the Confederacy and their statue raising and come back and comment about the heroes you cite.
WOW!! After reading all the comments, some which showed a real study of the subject, I think I can draw a conclusion that a majority of the people think that the removal of the statue is justified. I have felt that it never should have been placed there to begin with and I feel that it is an affront to those who will take the time to study Pancho Villas life. We need to remove the statue and replace it with one that is acceptable to the majority of the people. I am not Catholic but would vote for Father Kino.
Raul isn’t going to like this!
Mike, this is Tom. I know full well the story of Villa’s debacle at Agua Prieta and the reasons behind it. I only had a certain number of words for the column so I left that out. When I was playing ball at Cochise College back in the ’70s, I actually spoke to a couple guys who had been teenagers in Douglas at the time of the Battle. They remembered the campfires of Villa’s men on Cerro Gallardo (which some of the locals indelicately referred to as Old N—-head). If Villa felt betrayed by Woodrow Wilson, he should have gotten in line with all the other people whom Wilson screwed over.
I agree with the article, don’t know the history, but find it incongruent, with many of your other columns which express whining, bumper sticker answers ( repeated from NYT, WP, et al). Using pro business, pro development republican mayor Murphy to make your point, is quite a departure from your usual sources, despite the Trump dig at the end…surprising and refreshing position, I’m telling you, only a matter of time before you begin donating to the RNC
The statue must stay.
Here’s a link to a GREAT op-ed that supports the statue: https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opi…
If Danehy wants to guzzy up Tucson’s public art, he should start by asking for the atrocious “Sonoran” to be removed from in front of the downtown library building and the ugly metal wishbones on the UofA Mall at Campbell Ave. Those piles of crap detract from Tucson, while the statue of Pancho Villa does NOT. The Pancho Villa statue is realistic art, not the abstract abortions of those other two.
Abstract abortions?
I’ve been avoiding this rag for a long time (about four years) but chanced back to see how the TW was playing the Grijalva virus.
In so doing, I also chanced to see Tom’s recycling of the Villa story. Now, as in 2015, when I commented on the prior one, I still (remarkably) agree with him. (My pity comments are in the archives)
It’s also comforting to note that Ricky Small is still commenting from the city that Tucson holds in awe, Portland, Oregon. We have the street car, just like Portland, now if only we had rioters burning down the New York-inspired DeConcini Courthouse, life would be complete. (You are still near Portland, aren’t you Ricky?)
As is always the case with Wes S., the facts are distorted into lies and insulting name modifications that clearly reveal his addled brain destroyed by too much alcohol for too many years. He is protected from retaliation for those insults with an anonymous name. Who are you Wes S? What is your full name? Mine is Ricardo Small. I am near Portland like Tucson is near Phoenix. No problem letting everyone know who I am and what my opinions are. That is 180 degrees from Wes’s C.S. anonymity. Portland now experiences peaceful protests to help stop police murdering black people after Wes S.’s orange turd’s mercenaries left Portland. Here’s something to read: https://www.gazettetimes.com/ap/national/p…