BOLD CABALLEROS Y NOBLE BANDIDAS

All over the world, stories and folktales are told about certain bandits who stand for social justice. Often, the popular mind converts real historical figures such as Tiburcio Vásquez and the leaders of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 into folk heroes. In other cases, popular culture shapes distinct and more satisfying characters out of historical composites, like Robin Hood or Joaquín Murrieta. Sometimes fictional bandit heroes, such as Zorro, the Cisco Kid, and the Bandit Queen, fill a social and cultural need. These characters assume a vitality that often penetrates all of popular media, including film, art, costume, radio, television, and the commercial world of children's products.

This exhibition focuses on the Latino experience and the interplay of fact and fantasy in the depiction of Latina and Latino "noble bandits."

Julia Bourbois, Assistant Curator of Colonial Latin American History, Gary Keller, PhD, Regents' Professor & Director of the Hispanic Research Center, and Jonathan Spaulding, PhD, Vice President for Exhibitions, Autry National Center Executive Director, Museum of the American West curate Bold Caballeros y Noble Bandidas.