THE MEXICAN HEADLESS PHANTOM

April 13th, 2014 - For near 100 years now, natives from Juarez, Mexico, saw the tireless ghost of Pancho Villa in the misty night, where he won his greatest victories.

Occasional flames are used to burn in the night next to the road where cars are roaring but when firefighters arrived ... nothing, not even a wisp of smoke. However, they have seen the fire, too. Most witnesses believe there are some collective hallicinations. But some people claim to have seen the macabre vision of a headless ghost who is Pancho Villa seeking his head ...

What fate had fallen on this ruthless revolutionary, hated by some ones, admired by others ?

At the origin, it is his anger against the tyrannical President Porfirio Diaz who encouraged Pancho Villa, alias Francisco Villa, to pursue his own righteousness that-is-to say robbing the rich and distributing to the poor ... But when this mexican modern Robin Hood wearing a sombrero killed inadvertently some americans at Columbus, New Mexico, a fateful day in 1916, a war between the United States and Mexico nearly occured when General "Black Jack" Pershing crossed the border with his troops while the others of General Obregon spread at north for capturing the bandit in order to soothe the Americans’ fears.

And in 1920, abandoned by most of his companions because of lack of food and money, the revolution lost, bitter but proud Pancho Villa surrendered. He calmed in the pastoral life of his farm in Canutillo going on searching for making improvements of the peasants’ life. But when he was asked by Buffalo Bill to be a part of his "Wild West" show, Pancho Villa flew into a rage : "How this mercantile American dare to make this proposal to me ? I’m not an actor or a freak ..." he said. And the seeds of rebellion who never stopped to boil broke into with a lot a menaces about the new laws of general Obregon who meanwhile had become President. Pancho Villa’s menaces repeated to the President, for fear of a new revolution, the assent was given for his assassination.

On the night of July 23, 1923, while the former bandit-hero strutted along in Parral with some supporters into his Braggadocio vehicle, he was killed by gunfire in an ambush.

His widow pleaded for his body to be buried in the vault he had built but her request was rejected by the President Obregon
because gouvernemnt did not want the name of Pancho Villa perpetuates : he had to be erased forever! his body should be banished in case his memory could encourage a new revolution. Thus, 40,000 persons in Parral went to the gloomy cemetery where he was buried into an anonym grave.

But that was not all, 3 years after, looters raped his tomb, made decapitation and stole Pancho’s head.

Why a so macabre act had been committed ? Revenge of ennenis ? or treasure hunters seeking the map of a gold tresure that the legend said was tattooed on his head. No response because shortly after three bodies were found mysteriously murdered with the unmistakable signs of their previous sinful activity in the cemetery. But the head of Pancho Villa never was found.

Even now, the reason for the decapitation of Pancho Villa and where is hidden the skull remain a mystery. The only memory is his death mask at the Museum of Cavalry, in El Paso.

But still now, in some streets of Juarez, some descendants of the companions of Pancho goes on whispering : "Do you not see the ghost ? He is searching for his head to drive him to the gold..."

And so, some nights, mysterious fires are blazing on the site of the camp of revolutionaries... Are they lighted by the Pancho Villa’s phantom ? gold seekers ? Quien sabe ? Who knows ? because they seem to disappear as suddenly as they are lighted.

Nothing is impossible in the world of the great beyond, and when superstition are anchored into the minds, people assert that the ghost of Pancho Villa will return for ending his job : "E viva la revolucion!"