His name is Jesús Malverde, a cult hero in Mexico, known as a Robin Hood figure who stole from the rich to give to the poor.  According to legend, Malverde was born on December 24th, 1870, in northern Mexico. His real name was Jesús Juárez Mazo, growing up under the rule of Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz.

 

During Malverde’s youth, railroads arrived, and he witnessed his region undergo rapid socioeconomic transformation. The profits of hacienda agriculture were enjoyed by the few elites, while most of the population, the peasantry, faced great economic strain.

 

He was a young man of humble origins whose parents died either of hunger or a minor illness that they couldn’t afford to get treatment for. Either way, it’s said that he blamed poverty for their deaths, and that from that moment on he vowed to do something to keep his people, in his home state of Sinaloa, from meeting the same fate. This is when he became a bandit who wore green as camouflage to surprise and rob wealthy people and then divide his plunder among those in need.

 

Soon, he became one of the most wanted thieves in the region, earning himself the nickname of Malverde, a play on the words “bad” and “green,” or better said, a distortion of “hierba mala.” As the story goes, he faced the governor of the state, Francisco Cañedo, and told him that he was mistreating the people and that the labor conditions were slavery. From then on, he became Cañedo’s number one enemy, not only because he stole from the rich to give to the poor, but for also exposing the corrupt dictatorship that kept people in the worst hardship.

 

His men soon captured him and beat him, and believing he was dead they threw him into the river to get rid of his body. Little did they know, Malverde wasn’t dead and that his people had rescued him. Soon, he was back and stronger than ever, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, and although he was a thief, the people far and near loved him for his courage, honor, and generosity.

 

The governor could never catch Malverde because he was protected by the people, so he put a price on his head. Cañedo eventually and derisively offered Malverde a pardon in the form of a test, if he could steal the governor's sword (or in some versions his daughter) he would no long pursue him. The bandit succeeded, but this only pushed Cañedo into hunting him down even more and eventually captured him once again!  In some versions of the story, he was shot by the local police while trying to escape, whereas in other versions, he was betrayed by one of his followers for the reward money (pinche rata).

 

Either way, on May 03, 1909, he was hanged from a tree and denied proper burial. It’s said that his dead body was left there to teach everyone a lesson! According to legend, people started throwing rocks at his bones until they were all buried, thus allowing him to finally rest in peace. This was the moment the saint was born. The people thought that Malverde’s spirit would guide and help them out of gratitude for giving him a proper burial. Since then, people go to him for miracles.

 

Today at Malverde shrine, visitors rub concrete busts with his fabled image; dark eyes, black hair, thick mustache, square jaw, and ever-expressionless face. People from Southwest America and all over Mexico come to visit the shrine and pray. Sometimes they are housewives haven taken an 11-hour bus ride solely for the purpose of grateful prayer and sometimes they are drug runners on a detour, asking for a successful journey up north.

 

The poor, the wealthy and everyone in between come together at this place to be blessed by Jesús Malverde. Corridos dedicated to his memory can be heard, and velvet paintings and busts are sold to bring his likeness home, along with trinkets, medallions, and cards.

 

"De Culiacan a Colombia, que viva Jesús Malverde, este santo del colgado que ha traido buena suerte," sang Los Cadetes de Linares on the "Corrido de Jesus Malverde."

 

The ballad says, "From Culiacan to Colombia, long live Jesus Malverde, the hanged saint has brought us good luck."