The Mexican Revolution didn’t only impact Mexicans – it spilled over the border into New Mexico. Hear about a time in our history when trouble crossed the border on Friday, Oct. 3, at 3 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman Library. UNM graduate student and New Mexico scholar Brandon Morgan explores the turbulence of the time in “On the Trail of Pancho Villa in New Mexico: The Impact of the Mexican Revolution on Citizens in New Mexico.”
In his lecture Morgan examines how the actions of Francisco “Pancho” Villa affected people directly and indirectly during the Mexican Revolution, and how New Mexico politicians put their spin on Villa’s actions to enhance their own images. He will also talk about how residents lived in fear that the revolutionary violence would spill over the border, and how their view of Villa changed from hero to villain.
Morgan said when Villa passed through Deming in 1914 the citizens gathered to pay homage to a living revolutionary. But after the 1916 raid on Columbus, N.M., Villa became the vilest of bandits. Six Villistas accused of taking part in the raid were hanged in Deming a few months later. Morgan will argue the connections between Villa and New Mexico illuminate ways border events became national issues during the revolution, and brought existing racial and social conflicts to a head locally.
The event is sponsored by the Office of the State Historian and the Center for Southwest Research at UNM. It is free and open to the public. Questions about the lecture and programs in the Office of the State Historian should be directed to Dennis Trujillo (505) 476-7998; dennis.trujillo@state.nm.us