Famous Mexican People

A Word on Those Famous Mexicans Who Made a Difference

Many famous Mexican people have demonstrated such bravery that they deserve to be mentioned in a separate article. This is a brief description of the life achievements by some of those famous Mexican people.

Don Benito Juárez

Benito Juárez was born in Oaxaca in 1806. When he was old enough, he entered the Seminar of Santa Cruz, the only school in Oaxaca and then continued his education in the Institute of Science and Arts. He ruled the Oaxaca City Hall in 1831, and became a local deputy in 1833. During this period, he became very popular by helping Mexican people improve their lifestyle and defend their rights. He continued his services to the population of Mexico as a Federal Deputy. As the Governor of Oaxaca, he achieved economical stability for his province, and he improved the living conditions of the people by building roads and schools, and defended the worker’s rights. He also re-organized the National Guard and when he left his position, Oaxaca had grown to be a pretty wealthy province. He was appointed for several positions, until he became the President of Mexico. During his administration, Mexico economy reached one of its highest levels. He is also responsible for several improvements on Mexican education.

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

Miguel Hidalgo is counted among the most famous Mexican people for historical reasons. He was born in Guanajuato in 1753. He completed his studies in Valladolid. He became a professor of Theology, Philosophy and Morality. He was appointed priest in 1792. In 1810 he joined the group of patriots that were about to fight for the Mexican independence. On September 16th the local population of Dolores attended the call of father Hidalgo and started the fight for the independence. He was given the rank of Captain General and the rebel army achieved several victories under his guidance. He and several of his men were caught in an ambush and murdered in 1811. Ten years later, the rebel army formed by Hidalgo achieved Mexican Independence. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is known as the “Padre de la Patria”, the Father of the Nation.

Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa was born in 1876 in Durango. His real name was Doroteo Arango, but he adopted the name of his dearest friend Pancho Villa when he was murdered. He took his friend’s name and promised to make people remember that name forever. He entered the group of famous Mexican people when he was sixteen. Her sister was raped by an employee of the government, and Pancho Villa killed him. He was running from the federal troops for 22 years. He murdered several landowners, and thus he gained the respect and admiration of the workers. His name became so famous that he was blamed for every major crime that was committed. He was known as the friend of the poor, because of his robin hood-like actions in favor of the oppressed farmers.

Emiliano Zapata

Zapata was born in 1879 in Morelos. Defender of the rights of his people, his primary directive was “The land is for the one who works it”. He recruited an army formed by farmers, mostly indigenous from the state of Morelos, and he joined the Mexican Revolution in 1910, screaming “Tierra y libertad!” (land and freedom). When the revolution ended, Zapata found that there was still a lot of injustice against the farmer class, so he continued his guerrilla activities. He is considered one of the most famous Mexican people, and is still a hero among the farmers.