“General Francisco Villa”

Los Cuatezones, Andrés Alvarez y Salomé Gutiérrez
with Los Regionales de Julio Sánchez
San Antonio, Texas 1965
Arhoolie Folkloric CD 7041-7044
(Audio courtesy of Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie/folkloric)

This corrido describes the initial exploits of Francisco Villa, fighting on the side of Francisco Madero in 1913. The text also implies the death of Villa in 1923 at Parral.

Francisco Villa was born
with Mexican courage,
to help the poor
against the tyrants.

Villa left Parral
to defend his cause
that’s why the federal forces
called him a bandit.

Villa, with a friend,
routed out fifty men,
with his pistol in his hand
and his and his 30-30 rifle.

What a sharp mind Villa had,
he was never indececisive,
he captured the heaviest stronghold
at La Pila hill.

The people of Camargo will tell you,
the ones who were there,
they’ll tell you how many baldies
fell before crossing the bridge.

What a heavy combat
Villa has set up,
the first signal was
a red bandana.

“Come on, Pascual Orozco,
didn’t you say yo were the toughest?
but at the battle of Reyames
you ran like a hare.”

The one-armed Obregon shouted:
“I’ll lose everything here!
they’ve wiped out my Yaqui Indians
at El Quaje Ranch.”

Poor federal soldiers
who defeated Torreon,
fighting against Villa’s forces
was like stopping a hurricane.