Tiburcio Vásquez (April 11, 1835 – March 19, 1875) was a
Californio
Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...
''bandido'' who was active in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
from 1854 to 1874. The
Vasquez Rocks
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is a park located in the Sierra Pelona in northern Los Angeles County, California. It is known for its rock formations, the result of sedimentary layering and later seismic uplift. It is located near the town of ...
, north of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, were one of his many hideouts and are named after him.
Early life
Tiburcio Vásquez was born in
Monterey
Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census.
The city was fou ...
,
Alta California
Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...
, Mexico (present-day
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States) on April 11, 1835 to José Hermenegildo Vásquez and María Guadalupe Cantúa.
In accordance with Spanish tradition, Vásquez's birth was celebrated on the saint’s
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
of his namesake,
St. Tiburtius; thus, he always referred to his birthday as August 11, 1835.
His great-grandfather came to Alta California with the
De Anza Expedition
Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...
of 1776. He grew up in a moderately well-off, middle-class family who owned land, granted to them by the Mexican government, due to his father’s military service as a Spanish soldier. He spent plenty of time on his father’s and his Uncle Felipe Vásquez’s ranchos, learning the skills of ranching. He was noted as excellent in
marksmanship
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper rifle) to shoot ...
and
horsemanship from a young age. Vásquez was slightly built, and about . He flourished in Monterey’s early social scene, and he loved to attend the balls and dances that were popular in town. His family had sent him to a public school established by the government where he became proficient in both English and Spanish, an uncommon skill for the times.
By 1852, Vásquez had become a protégé of Anastacio García, one of California's most dangerous bandits.
In 1854, Vásquez was present at the slaying of Monterey Constable William Hardmount, during a fight with García at a
fandango
Fandango is a lively partner dance originating in Portugal and Spain, usually in triple metre, triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is u ...
. Vásquez denied any involvement in the murder, yet still fled, becoming an outlaw. With Alta California ceasing to exist (once becoming the U.S. state of California), and no longer under Mexican governance, thousands of settlers from states and territories further east arrived to claim land in California. This left many Mexicans feeling slighted and forgotten; Vásquez would later claim that his (eventual) crimes were retribution for discrimination by the settlers and white ''
norteamericanos'' (‘North Americans’), insisting that he was a defender of Mexican-American rights.
For the next 20 years, Vásquez and García played leading roles in Monterey County's murderous Roach-Belcher feud, ending when García was executed by hanging in 1875.
Northern California
In 1856, a sheriff's posse caught up with Vásquez while he was rustling horses near
Newhall, and he spent the next five years behind bars in
San Quentin prison
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in ...
. There, Vásquez helped organize, and participated in, four bloody prison breaks which left twenty convicts dead.
By 1866, he had committed numerous burglaries, cattle thefts, and highway robberies in
Sonoma County
Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa.
Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
. He was captured after a store burglary in
Petaluma
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census.
Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village named ''Péta ...
and sent to prison again for three years.
His "trademark" was "binding
is victims'hands behind their back and leaving them face down in the dust."
In 1870, Vásquez organized a bandit gang, which included the notorious Juan Soto and, later,
Procopio Bustamante. After numerous bandit raids, Vásquez was shot and badly wounded in a gunfight with
Santa Cruz police officer Robert Liddell. Vásquez managed to escape, and his sisters nursed him back to health.
In 1873, he gained statewide, and then nationwide, notoriety. Vásquez and his gang stole $2,200 from Snyder's Store in
Tres Pinos, now called
Paicines, in
San Benito County
San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for " St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Central Coast region of California. Situated in the California Coast Ranges, the county had a population of 64 ...
. Three were killed, but not by Vásquez.
Posses began searching for Vásquez, and Governor
Newton Booth
Newton Booth (December 30, 1825July 14, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 11th governor of California from 1871 to 1875 and as U.S. Senator from California from 1875 to 1881. He was the only member of the Anti-Mo ...
placed a $1,000 reward on his head. Sheriff John H. Adams from San Jose pursued the band to Southern California; Vásquez escaped after a gunfight.
Southern California
Vásquez hid for a while in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
, where he was less well known. With his two most trusted men, he rode over the
old Tejon Pass
The Old Tejon Pass (originally Tejon Pass) is a mountain pass in the Tehachapi Mountains linking Southern and Central California.
Geography
The pass is located in Kern County, California, to the northeast of the current Tejon Pass. It runs at ...
, through the
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley is a valley primarily located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated ...
, and rested at Jim Hefner's ranch at
Elizabeth Lake. Vásquez's brother, Francisco, lived nearby. After resting, Vásquez rode on to
Littlerock Creek, which became his first Southern California hideout.
Vásquez was popular in the Mexican-American community, and had many friends and family members from Santa Rosa in Northern California to Los Angeles in the south. He was handsome, literate and charming, played guitar, and was a skillful dancer. Women were attracted to him, and he had many love affairs. He enjoyed reading romantic novels and writing poetry for his female admirers. He had several affairs with married women, one of which eventually led to his downfall.
Vásquez returned to the San Joaquin Valley. On November 10, 1873, he and his gang robbed the Jones store at Millerton in Fresno County. On December 26, 1873, he and his band sacked the town of
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
in
Fresno County
Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...
, robbing all the businesses and making off with $2,500 in cash and jewelry.
Governor Booth was now authorized by the California State Legislature to spend up to $15,000 to bring the law down on Vásquez. Posses were formed in
Santa Clara,
Monterey
Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census.
The city was fou ...
,
San Joaquin, Fresno, and
Tulare counties. In January 1874, Booth offered $3,000 for Vásquez's capture alive, and $2,000 if he was brought back dead. These rewards were increased in February to $8,000 and $6,000, respectively.
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...
Sheriff Harry Morse was assigned specifically to track down Vásquez.
Heading towards
Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region.
Bakersfield's population as of the ...
, Vásquez and gang member Clodoveo Chávez rode to the rock promontory near
Inyokern now known as
Robbers Roost
The Robbers Roost was an outlaw hideout in southeastern Utah used mostly by Butch Cassidy and his Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, Wild Bunch gang in the closing years of the Old West.
The hideout was considered ideal because of the rough terrain. ...
. Near that spot, at Coyote Holes, they robbed a stagecoach from the
Cerro Gordo Mines
The Cerro Gordo Mines are a collection of abandoned mines located in Cerro Gordo in the Inyo Mountains, Inyo County, near Lone Pine, California. Mining operations spanned 1866 to 1957, producing high grade silver, lead, and zinc ore; and, mo ...
near
Owens Lake
Owens Lake is a dry lake in the Owens Valley on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in Inyo County, California. It is about south of Lone Pine. Unlike most dry lakes in the Basin and Range Province that have been dry for thousands of years, ...
of its silver. During the robbery Vásquez shot and wounded a man who did not obey his orders.
The gang moved to Elizabeth Lake and
Soledad Canyon, robbing a stage coach of $300, stealing six horses and a wagon near present-day
Acton, and robbing lone travelers. Vásquez was believed to be hiding out at what are now known as Vásquez Rocks.
Shallow caves, deep crevices, and numerous overhangs created a maze for any posse to thread. The tallest rock, 150 feet (46 m) high, provided an excellent lookout point.
For the next two months, Vásquez escaped attention. However, he then made an error that led to his capture. On April 15, 1874, he and his band held the prominent sheepman Alessandro Repetto for ransom. Pursuing posses from Los Angeles almost trapped the gang in the San Gabriel Mountains, but once again, Vásquez and his men escaped.
Arrest and execution
Vásquez took up residence at the adobe home of
"Greek George" Caralambo in the northwest corner of
Rancho La Brea, located 200 yards (183 m) south of the present-day
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western bord ...
in
West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757.
History
Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...
. Greek George was a former
camel
A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...
driver for in the
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
Camel Corps. Allegedly, Vásquez seduced and impregnated his own niece. Either the girl's family or Greek George's wife's family betrayed Vásquez to
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
Sheriff
William R. Rowland. Rowland sent a posse to the ranch and captured Vásquez on May 14, 1874. Greek George's adobe was situated near the present-day Melrose Place in West Hollywood, very close to where the movie industry set up shop a few decades later.
Vásquez remained in the
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
jail for nine days. He had numerous requests for interviews by many newspaper reporters, but agreed to see only three: two from the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' and one from the ''Los Angeles Star''. He told them his aim was to return California to Mexican rule. He insisted he was an honorable man and claimed he had never killed anyone.
In late May, Vásquez was moved by steamship to
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. He eventually stood trial in
San Jose. Vásquez quickly became a celebrity among many of his fellow
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
Californians. He admitted that he was an outlaw, but again denied he had ever killed anyone. A note purportedly written by Clodoveo Chávez, one of his gang members, was dropped into a Wells Fargo box. Chávez wrote that he, not Vásquez, had shot the men at Tres Pinos. Nevertheless, at his trial Vásquez admitted participating in the Tres Pinos raid. In January 1875, Vásquez was convicted and sentenced to hang for murder. His trial had taken four days and the jury deliberated for only two hours before finally finding him guilty of one count of murder in the Tres Pinos robbery.
Visitors still flocked to Vásquez's jail cell, many of them women. He signed autographs and posed for photographs. Vásquez sold the photos from the window of his cell and used the money to pay for his legal defense. After his conviction, he appealed for clemency. It was denied by Governor
Romualdo Pacheco
José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco (October 31, 1831January 23, 1899) was a Californio statesman and diplomat. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he is best known as the only Hispanics and Latinos in California, Hispanic person to serve ...
. Vásquez calmly met his fate in San Jose on March 19, 1875. He was 39 years old.
Legacy
Vásquez's legacy has been subject to much debate over the ensuing decades since his execution. For quite a long time after his death, popular culture tended to regard Vásquez as a mere dangerous bandit of the Southwest. The
Chicano Civil Rights Movement prompted the publication of Chicano scholarship and artistic works that challenged this notion and instead posited a more nuanced perspective on Vásquez as a victim of injustice and resistance fighter against Anglo-American discrimination. Chicano scholars and artists used Vásquez's story as an example of the persistent anti-Californio discrimination following the
Mexican-American War
Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...
. To this day, many continue to visit and pay respects to Vásquez's grave. He was buried in
Santa Clara Mission Cemetery in Santa Clara, California.
With his refined manners,
Californio
Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...
background, and affection for the ladies, Vásquez is thought to have been one of several sources for the bandit-hero character
Zorro
Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...
.
The actor
Anthony Caruso played Vásquez in ''
Stories of the Century
''Stories of the Century'' is a 39-episode Western (genre), Western historical fiction television series starring Jim Davis (actor), Jim Davis that ran in Broadcast syndication, syndication through Republic Pictures between 1954 and 1955.
Synop ...
.''
Armand Alzamora (1928–2009) played Vásquez in the 1957 episode, "The Last Bad Man" of the syndicated anthology series, ''
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western 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 was ...
'', hosted by
Stanley Andrews
Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...
. The segment focuses on Vásquez's early life of crime, his hatred for the
US takeover of California, the prison escape, and his hanging at the age of 39.
Vásquez was the main subject of a play by famous Chicano playwright and director
Luis Valdez
Luis Miguel Valdez (born June 26, 1940) is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and actor. Regarded as the father of Chicano film and playwriting, Valdez is best known for his play '' Zoot Suit'', his movie '' La Bamba'', and his ...
in his 1982 stage play ''Bandido!'' The play helped popularize the story of Tiburcio Vásquez to a new generation of young Chicanos and Chicanas in the latter 20th century. Through the lens of satire, Valdez uses the life story of Vásquez not just as a storytelling device to critique the traditional mythology of
Manifest Destiny
Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...
but also harmful stereotypes towards Mexican-Americans. As with Valdez’s other works, themes of poverty and discrimination against Californios like Vásquez are used to draw attention to the intergenerational socio-political problems that face the Chicano community to the current day.
In 1971, at the height of the
Chicano Rights Movement, a coalition of local groups in Alameda California, including the
Brown Berets, established a nonprofit health clinic named after Vásquez aimed at fighting health disparities among Chicano and migrant communities.
The trunk and knife that belonged to Vásquez are on display at the
Andres Pico Adobe in
Mission Hills, part of the
San Fernando Valley Historical Society collection.
Places named for Vásquez
Geographical features
*
Vásquez Rocks, an area of distinctive rock formations in the
Sierra Pelona Mountains
The Sierra Pelona, also known as the Sierra Pelona Ridge or the Sierra Pelona Mountains and originally known as the Liebre Mountains, is a mountain ridge in the Transverse Ranges in Southern California. Located in northwest Los Angeles County, t ...
, popular as a filming location for movies and television
* Vásquez Canyon in
Saugus, California
* Vásquez Tree, outside of the
21-Mile House, in
Morgan Hill, California
Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining and recreation ...
* Vásquez day use area in the
Angeles National Forest
The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in Southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabri ...
* Tiburcio's X and (Vasquez's) Monolith, two rock faces popular with climbers in
Pinnacles National Park, were named for the legend that Vásquez hid out in a cave below the Monolith.
*
Robbers Roost
The Robbers Roost was an outlaw hideout in southeastern Utah used mostly by Butch Cassidy and his Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, Wild Bunch gang in the closing years of the Old West.
The hideout was considered ideal because of the rough terrain. ...
, also known as "Bandit Rock", in
Kern County
Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield.
Kern County compris ...
, is named for Vásquez and his gang, who used it as a hideout.
Buildings and facilities
* Tiburcio Vásquez Health Center,
Hayward, California
Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...
and
Union City
* Vásquez High School in
Acton, California
Acton () is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2020 census, Acton had a population of 7,431.
Acton is a small residential community located between th ...
* The Alisal Union School District near
Salinas, California
Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...
named a new school Tiburcio Vásquez Elementary School in 2012. The choice of name attracted much criticism and the school was renamed to Monte Bella Elementary in 2016.
*
Vásquez House in
Monterey, California
Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...
. Vásquez built it for his sister; it is now
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
#351.
californiahistoricallandmarks.com Landmarks chl-351
/ref>
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
* Sawyer, Eugene T. and William H Collins
''The Life And Career of Tiburcio Vasquez: the California Stage Robber''
Oakland, Calif.: Biobooks, 1944
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasquez, Tiburcio
1835 births
1875 deaths
People of Alta California
Mexican folklore
Mexican people convicted of murder
Mexican people executed in the United States
Outlaws of the American Old West
Mexican outlaws
People executed by California by hanging
People executed for murder
Executed people from California
19th-century executions by the United States
People convicted of murder by California
Burials at Mission Santa Clara de Asís
People from American folklore
People from Monterey, California
19th-century executions of American people
Criminals from California