Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit'' (1854) by John Rollin Ridge ostensibly recounts his story. Legends subsequently arose about a notorious

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California f ...

of the 1850s, but evidence for a historical Murrieta is scarce. Contemporary documents record testimony in 1852 concerning a minor horse thief of that name. Newspapers reported'' banditos'' named Joaquin, who robbed and killed several people during the same time. A California Ranger named Harry Love was assigned to track down Murrieta and was said to have brought his head in for the bounty. The popular legend of Joaquin Murrieta was that he was a forty-niner, a gold miner and a ''

vaquero The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

''from

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

. Peace loving, he was driven to revenge after his brother and he were falsely accused of stealing a mule. His brother was hanged and Murrieta was horse-whipped. His young wife was raped, and in one version, she died in Murrieta's arms. Swearing revenge, he hunted down the men who had violated her. He embarked on a short but violent career to kill his

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...

tormentors. The state of California offered a reward up to $5,000 for Murrieta, "dead or alive." He was reportedly killed in 1853, but the news of his death was disputed. Myths arose about him and his possible survival.

Controversy over his life

Controversy surrounds the figure of Joaquin Murrieta—who he was, what he did, and many of his life's events. Historian Susan Lee Johnson says:

"So many tales have grown up around Murrieta that it is hard to disentangle the fabulous from the factual. There seems to be a consensus that Anglos drove him from a rich mining claim, and that, in rapid succession, his wife was raped, his half-brother
lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
, and Murrieta himself horse-whipped. He may have worked as a monte dealer for a time; then, according to whichever version one accepts, he became either a horse trader and occasional horse thief, or a bandit."

John Rollin Ridge, grandson of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

leader

Major Ridge Major Ridge, The Ridge (and sometimes Pathkiller II) (c. 1771 – 22 June 1839) (also known as ''Nunnehidihi'', and later ''Ganundalegi'') was a Cherokee leader, a member of the tribal council, and a lawmaker. As a warrior, he fought in the ...

, wrote a

dime novel The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...

about Murrieta. This fictional account contributed to his legend, especially as it was translated into various European languages. A portion of Ridge's novel was reprinted in 1858 in the ''California Police Gazette''. This story was picked up and subsequently translated into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. The French version was translated into Spanish by Roberto Hyenne, who took Ridge's original story and changed every "Mexican" reference to "Chilean". Early 20th-century writer

Johnston McCulley John William Johnston McCulley (February 2, 1883 – November 23, 1958) was an American writer of hundreds of stories, fifty novels, numerous screenplays for film and television, and the creator of the character Zorro. Biography Born in O ...

was said to have based his character Don Diego de la Vega—better known as

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

in his 1919 novel of that name—on Ridge's 1854 novel about Murrieta.

Early life and education

Most biographical sources hold that Murrieta was born in

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city located in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the ...

"Review: ''Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush''", ''American Scholar'', January 1, 2000, p. 142 Vol. 69 No. 1 . in the northwestern state of Sonora, Mexico. Historian

Frank Forrest Latta Frank Forrest Latta (1892–1983), was a California historian and ethnographer of the Yokuts people. He also wrote histories of the early European-American settlement of the San Joaquin Valley. Early life Frank Forrest Latta was the son of Presbyt ...

wrote ''Joaquín Murrieta and His Horse Gangs'' (1980) based on decades of investigation of the Murrieta family in Sonora, California, and Texas. He said that Murrieta was from the Pueblo de Murrieta on the Rancho Tapizuelas, across the Cuchujaqui River (known locally as the Arroyo de osÁlamos). This was north of Casanate, in the southeast of Sonora and near the

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and ...

border, within what is now the

Álamos Municipality Álamos Municipality is a municipality in south-western Sonora, Mexico. It includes the town of Álamos. It is one of the 72 municipalities of the Mexican state of Sonora, located in the southeastern part of the state. Its municipal seat is the m ...

, of Sonora. Murrieta was educated at a school nearby in

El Salado EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

1849 migration to California

Murrieta reportedly went to California in 1849 to seek his fortune in the California Gold Rush. His older Carrillo stepbrother Joaquin Manuel Carrillo Murrieta, who was already in California, had written him about the discovery of gold and urged him to come. Like many Sonorans, Murrieta and a party including his new wife Rosa Feliz, traveled there across the

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

and

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado D ...

s in 1849. This large family expedition included Joaquin's younger brother (Jesus Murrieta); Jesus Carrillo Murrieta, his other Carrillo stepbrother; three Feliz brothers-in-law (Claudio, Reyes, and Jesus); two Murrieta cousins (Joaquin Juan and Martin Murrieta; four Valenzuela cousins (including Joaquin, Theodoro, and Jesus Valenzuela); two Duarte cousins (Antonio and Manuel); and a few other men from Pueblo de Murrieta or nearby.

Five Joaquins Gang

Murrieta encountered prejudice and hostility in the extreme competition of the rough mining camps. While mining for gold, his wife and he were supposedly attacked by American miners jealous of his success. They allegedly beat him and raped his wife. However, the only source for this account was a dime novel, '' The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta'', written by John Rollin Ridge and published in 1854. Historian Latta wrote that Murrieta formed a gang, with well-organized bands, one led by himself and the rest led by one or two of his trusted Sonoran relatives. Latta documented that the core of these men had gathered to help Murrieta kill at least six of the Americans who had lynched his stepbrother Jesus Carrillo and whipped him on the false charge of the theft of a mule. The gang began to engage in illegal horse trade with Mexico, using stolen horses and legally captured mustangs. They drove herds of stolen horses from as far north as

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

, the gold camps of the Sierras, and the Central Valley via the remote

La Vereda del Monte La Vereda del Monte (Spanish for "The Mountain Trail") was a backcountry route through remote regions of the Diablo Range, one of the California Coast Ranges. La Vereda del Monte was the upper part of La Vereda Caballo, (Spanish for "The Horse Trai ...

trail through the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley ...

, then south to Sonora for sale.Frank F. Latta, ''Joaquin Murrueta and His Horse Gangs,'' Santa Cruz, California: Bear State Books,1980. xv, 685 pages. At other times, the bands robbed and killed miners or American settlers, particularly those returning from the California goldfields. The gang is believed to have killed up to 28 Chinese and 13 Anglo-Americans. This figure is based on accounts of their raids in early 1853. By 1853, the California state legislature listed Murrieta as one of the so-called "

Five Joaquins The Five Joaquins were a mid-19th-century outlaw gang in California which, according to the state legislature, was led by five men, identified as follows: "... the five Joaquins, whose names are Joaquin Murrieta, Joaquin Ocomorenia, Joaquin Vale ...

", suspected criminals in a bill passed in May 1853. The legislature authorized hiring for three months a company of 20 California Rangers, veterans of the Mexican War, to hunt down "the five Joaquins, whose names are Joaquin Muriati ic Joaquin Ocomorenia, Joaquin Valenzuela, Joaquin Botellier, and Joaquin Carillo, and their banded associates."The Statutes of California passed at the Fourth Session of the Legislature, George Kerr, State Printer, 1853, p. 194 An Act to Create a Company of Rangers
/ref> On May 11, 1853, the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

John Bigler John Bigler (January 8, 1805November 29, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as the third governor of California from 1852 to 1856 and was the first California governor to complete an entire term in office ...

, signed an act to create the "California State Rangers," to be led by Captain Harry Love (a former

Texas Ranger Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

and Mexican War veteran). The state paid the California Rangers $150 a month, and promised them a $1,000 governor's reward if they captured the wanted men. On July 25, 1853, a group of rangers encountered a band of armed Mexican men near Arroyo de Cantua on the edge of the Diablo Range near

Coalinga Coalinga ( or ) is a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas. It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''. Th ...

. In the confrontation, three of the Mexicans were killed. The rangers claimed one of the dead was Murrieta, and another Manuel Garcia, also known as Three-Fingered Jack, one of his most notorious associates. Two others were captured. A

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

plaque has been installed near Coalinga at the intersection of State Routes 33 and

198 __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...

to mark the approximate site of the incident. JoaquinMurrieta-headflyer-02

As proof of the outlaws' deaths, the Rangers cut off the hand of Three-Fingered Jack, and the alleged head of Murrieta. They preserved these in a jar of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

to bring to the authorities to claim their reward. Officials displayed the jar of remains in

Mariposa County Mariposa County () is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,131. The county seat is Mariposa. It is located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Fresno, east of ...

, Stockton, and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. The rangers took the display throughout California; spectators could pay $1 to see the relics. Love and his rangers received the $1,000 reward money. In August 1853, an anonymous Los Angeles-based man wrote to the ''San Francisco Alta California Daily'' that Love and his rangers had murdered some innocent Mexican

mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, the ...

catchers, and bribed people to swear out affidavits as to their identities. Later that fall, California newspapers carried letters by a few men claiming that Capt. Love had failed to display Murrieta's head at the mining camps, but this was not true. On May 28, 1854, the California State Legislature voted to reward the Rangers with another $5,000 for their defeat of Murrieta and his band.WPA, "California State Rangers: History"
1940, California State Military Museum, accessed August 7, 2011 Some 25 years later, myths began to form about Murrieta. In 1879, O. P. Stidger reportedly heard Murrieta's sister say that the displayed head was not her brother's. At around the same time, numerous sightings were reported of Murrieta as a middle-aged man. These were never confirmed. His preserved head was destroyed during the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity ...

and subsequent fire. Murrieta's nephew, known as

Procopio Procopio (c. 1841 – 1882 to early 1890s), also known as Red-Handed bebito and Red Dick, was one of the best-known bandits in California history. His nickname was reportedly given due either to his red hair or his violent nature and bloodthirst ...

, became one of California's most notorious bandits of the 1860s and 1870s. He was said to have wanted to exceed the reputation of his uncle.

The Real Zorro

Murrieta is believed to have inspired the fictional character of ''

'', the lead character in the five-part serial story, ''

The Curse of Capistrano ''The Curse of Capistrano'' is a 1919 novel by Johnston McCulley and the first work to feature the Californio character Diego Vega, the masked hero also called Zorro (''zorro'' is the Spanish word for fox). It first appeared as a five-part magazin ...

'', written by

, and published in 1919 in a

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

magazine. For some political activists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Murrieta has symbolized Mexican resistance against Anglo-American economic and cultural domination in California, as Spanish colonists, Native Americans, ''mixtos'', and independent Mexicans were there first. The "Association of Descendants of Joaquin Murrieta" says that Murrieta was not a "''gringo'' eater", but "He wanted to retrieve the part of Mexico that was lost at that time in the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

" (after the Mexican-American War).

Representations in media

Joaquin Murrieta has been used frequently as a romantic outlaw figure in novels, stories, and comics, and in films and TV series.

Literature

Joaquin Miller Cincinnatus Heine Miller (; September 8, 1837 – February 17, 1913), better known by his pen name Joaquin Miller (), was an American poet, author, and frontiersman. He is nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about which h ...

, ''Joaquin Et. Al'' (1872) * Louis Kretschman, ''Trail Of Vengeance'' (1977) * John Rollin Ridge, '' The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta'' (1854): Parts of this were translated into French and Spanish. * * Yellow Bird (John Rollin Ridge), The Life and Adventures of JOAQUIN MURIETA, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1955. With introduction by Joseph Henry Jackson, a reprint of the only known copy of the 1854 original book by John Rollin Ridge. * Chilean Nobel laureate

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

's play ''Fulgor y Muerte de Joaquín Murieta'', (tr. ''The Splendor and Death of Joaquin Murieta'' by Ben Belitt, 1972) * Robert Gaillard, ''L'Homme aux Mains de Cuir'' (''The Man with the Leather Hands'') (1963 in French) *

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

, ''

Daughter of Fortune ''Daughter of Fortune'' ( es, Hija de la fortuna) is a novel by Isabel Allende, and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in February 2000. It was published first in Spanish by Plaza & Janés in 1998. Isabel Allende says "of her female pr ...

'' (1999), includes the mythical figure of Murrieta. *

Alexei Rybnikov Alexey Lvovich Rybnikov (russian: links=no, Алексей Львович Рыбников; born July 17, 1945) is a modern Russian composer. He is the author of music for Soviet and Russian musicals ( rock operas) '' The Star and Death of Joa ...

and Pavel Grushko's opera, ''Звезда и смерть Хоакина Мурьеты'' (''Zvezda i smert' Khoakina Mur'ety'' – ''The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta''), 1976, is based on

's play. *

Sid Fleischman Albert Sidney Fleischman (born Avron Zalmon Fleischman; March 16, 1920 – March 17, 2010) was an American author of children's books, screenplays, novels for adults, and nonfiction books about stage magic. His works for children are known for ...

,
Bandit's Moon
', (1998), children's novel. * T. Jefferson Parker's novel ''L.A. Outlaws'' (2008), features Murietta as an ancestor of some of the main characters.
"The History & Adventures of the Bandit Joaquin Murietta"
(2012) a novella by Stanley Moss (b. 1948), retelling the legend of the outlaw intertwined with a memoir
"This is a Suit"
– a slam poem by Joaquin Zihuatanejo. * "The California Trail" by Ralph Compton, a small part in chapters 22 and 23 *In ''Sunset Specters'' by Gary Jonas, the purported head of Joaquin Murrieta was preserved in a jar at Doctor Jordan’s Museum of Horrors in San Francisco in the late-1800s.

Film, radio, and TV

* ''

The Robin Hood of El Dorado ''Robin Hood of El Dorado'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman for MGM. It stars Warner Baxter as real-life Mexican folk hero Joaquin Murrieta and Ann Loring as his love interest, with Bruce Cabot as Bill Warren and ...

'', 1936 film by William A. Wellman with

Warner Baxter Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film ''In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at ...

in the leading role. * '' Family Theater'' radio program, June 21, 1950 broadcast, "Joaquin Murietta" with

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

as the title character. * '' The Bandit Queen'', 1950 film by

William Berke William A. Berke (born October 3, 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – died February 15, 1958 in Los Angeles, California) was an American film director, producer, actor and screenwriter. He wrote, directed, and/or produced some 200 films over a ...

with

Phillip Reed Phillip Reed (born Milton LeRoy; March 25, 1908 – December 7, 1996) was an American actor. He played Steve Wilson in a series of four films (1947–1948) based on the '' Big Town'' radio series. Early years Reed was a star athlete at Er ...

as Murrieta. * ''

The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Western that aired from 1951 to 1955. The show ran for four seasons and consisted of 104 episodes over four years. The original air date was Saturday, August 11, 1951. It concluded on January 22, 19 ...

'', 1951 series television premiere episode, "California Bandits", with

Rico Alaniz Americo Zorilla "Rico" Alaniz (October 25, 1919 – March 9, 2015) was a Mexican-American actor. Early years Alaniz was born in Juárez, Mexico, and began riding when he was a child. Selected filmography * '' The Capture'' (1950) - Policema ...

as Murrietta. * '' Stories of the Century'', 1954 television series, episode "Joaquin Murrieta" with

Rick Jason Rick Jason (born Richard Jacobson; May 21, 1923 – October 16, 2000) was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for starring in the ABC television drama ''Combat!'' (1962–1967). Childhood An only child of Jewish paren ...

in the starring role * ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'', long running television and radio Western anthology series, episodes "I Am Joaquin" (1955) with Cliff Fields (credited as Field) as Murrieta; and "Eagle in the Rocks" (1960) with

Ricardo Montalban Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

playing Murrieta. * ''

The Last Rebel ''The Last Rebel'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 1993. It is the last album to feature drummer Kurt Custer and guitarist Randall Hall. Track listing # "Good Lovin's Hard to Find" ( Ed King, Gary R ...

'' a 1958 Mexican film with

Carlos Thompson Juan Carlos Mundin-Schaffter, known as Carlos Thompson, (7 June 1923 – 10 October 1990) was an Argentine actor. Career Of German and Swiss descent, he played leading roles on stage and in films in Argentina. He went to Hollywood in the 1950s ...

as Murrieta. * '' The Firebrand'' a 1962 film with

Valentin de Vargas Valentin de Vargas (born Albert Charles Schubert; April 27, 1935 – June 10, 2013) was an actor known for appearing in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Two of his prominent roles were as a gangster threatening Janet Leigh in Orson Welles' ''Touch ...

as Murrieta. * ''

Murieta Murieta is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarro ...

'', a 1965 Spanish Western directed by

George Sherman George Sherman (July 14, 1908 – March 15, 1991) was an American film director and producer of low-budget Western films. One obituary said his "credits rival in number those of anyone in the entertainment industry." Biography George Sherma ...

with

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings''. On television, Hunter ...

as Murrieta. * ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour ...

'', United States ABC TV Series, 1967, episode "Joaquin" with

Fabrizio Mioni Fabrizio Mioni (September 23, 1930 – 8 June 2020) was an Italian actor. He appeared in the films '' Roland the Mighty'', ''Hercules'', '' The Blue Angel'', '' Get Yourself a College Girl'', '' Girl Happy'', '' The Venetian Affair'', ''The Secre ...

as Juan Molina, suspected to be Joaquin Murrieta * '' Desperate Mission'', United States Television Movie, 1969, with

as Joaquin Murrieta * '' The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta'', a 1982 Soviet musical drama film with

Andrey Kharitonov Andrey Igorevich Kharitonov (russian: link=no, Андрей Игоревич Харитонов; 25 July 1959 – 23 June 2019) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, director, screenwriter. He is best known for roles in films '' The G ...

as Murrieta. * ''

The Mask of Zorro ''The Mask of Zorro'' is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the character of the masked vigilante Zorro created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-J ...

'' (1998 film) features a youthful Joaquin Murrieta and his death at the hands of Captain Harrison Love (A Fictionalized version of Murrieta's real killer Harry Love). Joaquin's fictional brother Alejandro (

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival ...

) assumes the role of Zorro, and kills Love in revenge. Victor Rivers played Joaquin and

Matt Letscher Matthew Letscher is an American actor, director and playwright, known for his roles as Captain Harrison Love in the 1998 American swashbuckler film ''The Mask of Zorro'' and as Colonel Adelbert Ames in the 2003 American film '' Gods and General ...

played Capt. Love. * Murrieta is referenced in '' CSI'' S05E12 "Snakes" by a suspect claiming to be his descendant and therefore protected by him. * ''Behind The Mask of Zorro'' (2005) a

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

documentary about Murrieta and how he inspired the character of

. * '' Faces of Death II'', 1981 fake documentary film about death. Murrieta's head in the jar was believed to have survived the earthquake, and was sold to different collectors; its current "owner" has it on display, and explains the legend. However, the head is a wax fake that was formerly on display in the now-closed Almaden Museum in San Jose. * ''The Head of Joaquin Murrieta'', (2015) PBS short-documentary. As producer John Valadez seeks the head of Murrieta, and seeks to bury it. * ''

Timeless Timeless (or atemporal) or timelessness (or atemporality) may refer to: * Agelessness, the condition of being unaffected by the passage of time * Akal (Sikh term), timelessness in Sikhism * Eternity, timeless existence or infinite duration * Im ...

'', (2018) in the first half of the two-part series finale "The Miracle of Christmas". Murrieta is played by Paul Lincoln Alayo. * '' The Man Behind the Gun'', (1953 film) Murrieta aids an undercover army officer fight insurrectionists who want Southern California to secede and become a slave state in 1850s Los Angeles.

Robert Cabal Harold Christopher McColgan (April 7, 1917 – May 11, 2004) was an American film and television actor. He was a regular cast member of '' Rawhide''. Selected filmography Selected Television References External links * * 1917 births ...

as Joaquin Murrieta

Comics

* ''Joaquin Murrieta'' in ''Desperado'' #2,

Lev Gleason Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971), was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including '' Daredevil Comics'', '' Crime Does Not Pay'', and '' Boy Comics''. Backg ...

, Aug 1948, art by Dan Barry * In 1950, Joaquin Murietta appears on

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

Casey Ruggles ''Casey Ruggles'' is a Western comic strip written and drawn by Warren Tufts that ran from May 22, 1949, to October 30, 1955. Publication history The Sunday strip was launched May 22, 1949, and the daily strip on September 19, 1949.

by Warren Tufts. * ''Death to Gringos!'' in ''Jesse James'' #7,

Avon Periodicals Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reac ...

, May 1952, art by Howard Larsen * ''The California Terror!'' in ''Badmen of the West'' #2 -1 #120

Magazine Enterprises Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and children's comics, with virtually no superheroes. It was founded by Vin Sullivan, an editor at Co ...

, 1954 * ''The Fabled Killer-Caballero Of California'' in ''Western True Crime #4'',

Fox Feature Syndicate Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

, Feb 1949

Music

* "Así Como Hoy Matan Negros," recorded by

Víctor Jara Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (; 28 September 1932 – 16 September 1973) was a Chilean teacher, theater director, poet, singer-songwriter and Communist political activist. He developed Chilean theater by directing a broad array of works, ra ...

and

Inti-illimani Inti-Illimani (; from Quechuan '' Inti'' and Aymara ''Illimani)'' are an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The band was formed in 1967 by a group of university students and it acquired widespread popularity i ...

, based on

and Sergio Ortega's collaboration ''Fulgor y Muerte de Joaquín Murieta''. * "Cueca de Joaquín Murieta" recorded by both

and

Quilapayún Quilapayún () are a folk music group from Chile and among the longest lasting and most influential ambassadors of the '' Nueva Canción Chilena'' movement and genre. Formed during the mid-1960s, the group became inseparable with the revolution t ...

, in the style of Chile's national dance, the

cueca Cueca () is a family of musical styles and associated dances from Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. In Chile, the cueca holds the status of national dance, where it was officially declared as such by the Pinochet dictatorship on September 18, 1979. ...

– the song is featured on the album X Vietnam * "Premonición de la Muerte de Joaquin Murieta" (Premonition of the death of Joaquin Murieta), a tribute to Murrieta, performed by

– the song is featured on the album Quilapayun Chante Neruda * "The Ballad of Joaquin Murrieta", performed by the

Sons of the San Joaquin The Sons of the San Joaquin is an American Western family band. Jack and Joe Hannah are brothers, while third member Lon Hannah is Joe's son. They began performing together in 1987 at a birthday party for Lon's grandfather. They have been credited ...

on the album ''

Way Out Yonder ''Way Out Yonder'' is the twelfth album released by the Sons of the San Joaquin The Sons of the San Joaquin is an American Western family band. Jack and Joe Hannah are brothers, while third member Lon Hannah is Joe's son. They began performing ...

''. * "The Bandit Joaquin" recorded by Dave Stamey * "Murieta's Last Ride" and "Rosita", recorded by

Beat Circus Beat Circus is a band from Boston, Massachusetts, US, fronted by the multi-instrumentalist / singer-songwriter Brian Carpenter, who has been its only constant member since its inception. Musical style The band's songs are characterized by lush ...

on the album ''These Wicked Things'' * "Murrietta's Head" written and recorded by

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...

on the album '' Eleven Eleven'' * "Joaquin Murietta" by Spectra Paris * "Joaquin Murrieta, 1853" by

Bob Frank Robert Landis Frank (February 26, 1944 – July 18, 2019) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and composer. His debut self-titled record was issued on Vanguard Records in 1972 to critical acclaim and is a collectors itemRuhlmann, Willia ...

& John Murry * "Corrido de Joaquin Murrieta" by Los Alegres de Terán * "Stella Ireland and Lady Luck" by American folk singer/songwriter/guitarist Debby McClatchy * "Adios Querrida" recorded by Wayne Austin on the album "By the Old San Joaquin" * "The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta", a 1976 rock opera by

Alexey Rybnikov Alexey Lvovich Rybnikov (russian: links=no, Алексей Львович Рыбников; born July 17, 1945) is a modern Russian composer. He is the author of music for Soviet and Russian musicals (rock operas) '' The Star and Death of Joaqu ...

, based on "Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta" by

. * "Del Gato" recorded by Gene Clark and Carla Olson, from the album So Rebellious a Lover, 1987, written by Gene Clark/Rick Clark * "La Leyenda de Joaquin Murieta" ballet by Jose Luis Dominguez (Chilean composer/conductor). Released by

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

in 2016. * "Fulgor y muerte de Joaquín Murieta" recorded by Olga Manzano and Manuel Picón, based on

, in 1974. Joaquin Murrieta (comics) page 1.jpg, ''Joaquin Murrieta'' (Aug 1948), art by Dan Barry. Death to Gringos page 1.jpg, ''Death to Gringos!'' (May 1952), art by Howard Larsen. In the late 20th century a Los Angeles Chicano community center was named Centro Joaquin Murrieta de Aztlan.

References

External links

Picacho

"Mystery of the decapitated Joaquin"
''Benicia News''

Biographic Notes, Inn-California
Jill L. Cossley-Batt, ''The Last of the California Rangers''
(1928)

Straight Dope
''American Mythmaker: Walter Noble Burns and the Legends of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Joaquín Murrieta''
by Mark J. Dworkin, University of Oklahoma Press, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Murrieta, Joaquin Mexican outlaws Mexican folklore Chilean folklore American folklore People from Sonora Mexican emigrants to the United States Gunslingers of the American Old West People of the California Gold Rush 1829 births 1853 deaths Pleasanton, California Latin American folklore Outlaws of the American Old West Five Joaquins Gang

Controversy over his life

Early life and education

1849 migration to California

Five Joaquins Gang

The Real Zorro

Representations in media

Literature

Film, radio, and TV

Comics

Music

See also

References

Further reading

External links