The incredible story of Joaquín Murrieta, the real bandit who inspired Zorro and Batman

«Holy twist,» Robin would exclaim if he found out today about the Latin origin of his adventure companion, Batmaninspired by the outlaw Joaquin Murrieta.

Robin was always the object of ridicule for his way of expressing himself, with statements of surprise that were ridiculous in the face of danger, but the squire of «Bat Man» would not be amazed if he knew the Latin story behind Bruce Wayne (or Bruno Díaz as he is known in the Hispanic world).

That information It was not secrethas been circulating since the Americans Bob Kane and Bill Finger created the character in 1939 and took some details from the life and adventures of the bandit Murrieta (1829-1853), from Mexican or Chilean nationality, published in a book by John Rollin Ridge, 1854.

An image of Joaquín Murrieta.

But it was social networks that brought to the fore the alleged Latin roots of one of the greatest heroes in history.

«We reveal a story that was buried or ignored in the United States,» declared Manny Ruiz, director of Our Stories.

Who was Murrieta?

Murrieta would have been a bandit from Sonora, Mexico, become a popular hero in California history. He was often considered a kind of Robin Hood of the Old West, where he would have arrived as a teenager during the gold rush.

According to legend, Batman’s Latino grandfather became a vigilante when a group of white miners He killed his wife and his brother, and in the search for those responsible he led a fearsome group of bandits.

Ridge wrote in his book that Murrieta died and was beheaded in Fresno County, in a confrontation with the Rangers, a police group that preceded the California State Guard.

Murrieta He dressed in a black cape, a dark mask and a hat. to go unnoticed. From there would have arisen the idea of ​​turning Batman into a night watchman, also dressed in black, an inhabitant of Gotham City and with a suit inspired by bats.

Joaquín Murrieta was a famous person in Mexico.

In the fictional story of Batman, his alter ego Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents when he was a child, during a robbery, and after swearing revenge against criminals, he dedicated himself to fighting crime.

Also the Chilean poet Pablo Nerudabefore winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, immortalized Murrieta in a dramatic work called Fulgor y Muerte de Joaquín Murieta (with a single r), which premiered at the theater in Santiago in 1967.

In Neruda’s version, he was a Chilean born in Quillota, who left Valparaíso in 1850 to work as a miner and was «unjustified» by the Rangers in California on June 23, 1853.

A newspaper announces Murrieta’s death and the display of his head.

The poet assigns a more social role to his hero, transforming him into a legendary raider which protested against the extreme working conditions suffered by miners during the gold rush, in addition to reflecting the complex reality of the 19th century Latino community in the United States.

Zorro also inspired by Murrieta

According to Ruiz, Zorro (considered the first Latin superhero) was created in 1919 by an American, Johnston McCulley, and inspired by the exploits of Murrieta.

It was also a masked outlaw dressed all in black who defended the oppressed from the injustice and corruption of the rulers of Mexican California (1821-1846), but in real life his name was Diego de la Vega and he was an aristocrat.

Murrieta’s decapitated head is still displayed in a museum.

In a 1998 film, The Mask of Zorro, the connection between Murrieta (a role played by the Spanish Antonio Banderas) and Diego de la Vega, played by the British Anthony Hopkins, appeared for the first time on film.

«Depending on how the story is interpreted, Zorro can be a bandit or a hero, but always a favorite among our Latin vigilantes,» said Ruiz.

Our Storiesthe only American media platform dedicated to Latino origins and stories, has also addressed the supposed Mexican origin of the legendary Walt Disney, who according to his official biography was born in Chicago on December 5, 1901.

The tomb of Joaquín Murrieta.

But according to legend, his mother would have been a washerwoman from the town of Molcajar, Mexico, named Isabel Zamora, and her father a Spanish nobleman named Ginés Carrillo. The boy would have been put up for adoption the year after his birth.

EFE Agency.

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