El Zorro and Spanish Californian History
I have always wondered if the fictional story of Diego De La Vega, aka El Zorro (spanish: "the fox"), created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCully, was embedded with actual historical events and facts. Even while I am watching Walt Disney's television adaptation of El Zorro, I cannot help but to question whether or not the dons (spanish : "honorific"), spanish men who were members of nobility, really existed in early Los Angeles. Where is the evidence? The answer to the previous question is that there is none. I could not find any evidence of dons living in Los Angeles in the early nineteenth century but only in other Californian cities such as San Diego and Santa Barbara. Moreover, Los Angeles was established in 1781 while under spanish rule. And Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. How could Don Alejandro De La Vega, the father of Diego De La Vega, gain all his wealth during that seemingly short period? These things bothered me for a while until I found an interesting article called "The Legacy of the Fox: A Chronology of Zorro" written by Matthew Baugh. This article attempts to make sense of it all and is very enjoyable, since I am a big fan of Zorro and what the character stands for. Also, Zorro inspired Bob Cane's design of the now mainstream comicbook hero, Batman, whom I also like.
To read the article click on following link below: