This story is inspired by real events.
The people and events shown were created for artistic purposes.
Any similarity to reality is purely coincidental.
Previously.
I'm told you captured those who crossed over to the other side.
[Villa] "All troops have been ordered
to report to Zacatecas as soon as possible."
Let's send a dispatch to Carranza.
And if he takes Zacatecas, he'll march to the capital next, to Mexico City.
He'll be able to join forces with Emiliano Zapata in the South.
Fire!
Take cover!
-To the cannons! -[gunshots]
[soldier shouts]
[explosion]
Let's see.
Where are you taking that ammunition?
-Long live Villa! -[soldiers] Long live Villa!
I order you to report to me to account for your contempt.
We have lots of prisoners, police and Colorados.
I'm going to give the police the chance to join our fight.
[soldier shouts]
[prisoner groans]
And Los Colorados?
Get them out of the city and execute them.
You're going to be my assistant executioner.
[Fierro] Do we have enough bullets?
[Jáuregui] I think so.
-[Fierro] I hope so. -[Colorado crying]
[Fierro] Look alive. I shoot and you reload the pistols.
They'll get to me slowly.
But if you allow a single Colorado to escape,
I'll end you with them.
Remember those assholes oppressed people like your family.
Listen here, Colorados.
This is how it'll go.
If you try to escape, I will start shooting.
Those who get to the wall and jump over, will be free.
And if someone refuses, we'll put a bullet in you.
-[gun cocks] -Give me the first four.
Come on. I'm only going to shoot.
I wanna give you a chance.
The first shot means you run.
[gunshot]
[each scream]
[Colorado] I'm a dead man. [groans]
Jáuregui!
[Colorado groaning]
-Give me the next four. -[Colorado 2] Please, not me.
-I support the Revolution. -[villager] Run, run.
-[Colorado 3] Mercy, mercy. -[Colorados groan]
[Colorado 4 groans]
[Fierro] Next.
-[gunshot] -[Colorado 5] Bloody assassins. [groans]
-[wails] -[groans]
Next ones.
[gunshot]
-[gun cocks, gunshots] -[groans]
Next.
[Villa] Many wrote about that execution and so many others.
But only I gave the order to bring about justice.
The Revolution never had room for mercy.
PANCHO VILLA
CENTAUR OF THE NORTH
[Villa] The Americans kept occupying Veracruz.
Waiting for the winds to shift.
After the police were crushed in Zacatecas,
mass escapes ensued.
Victoriano Huerta resigned as president and went into exile.
In the United States, he conspired with the German Empire,
until they caught him,
and he died of cirrhosis in prison.
In August 1914,
Álvaro Obregón entered Mexico City with the Constitutionalists.
Carranza arrived shortly after.
I returned to Chihuahua where people supported me the most.
That made old graybeard very nervous.
Obregón suggested going to see me to try to fix things
and to spy on me while he was at it, that asshole.
Welcome, buddy,
without troops and shooting.
[sighs] We shouldn't have any more battles between brothers, General.
Our country's destiny is in your hands and in mine.
If we unite, we'll arm this country in a minute.
I introduce you to Colonel Roque Medina Garza.
[train whistles]
We meet at last, Colonel.
You are well liked.
That's why I asked him to come with us.
He knows more about politics than I do.
The honor is mine, Generals.
So, let's go.
My wife, Lucita, is waiting for us at home.
Come along.
[horse neighs]
[Medina] Generals, what we need is a meeting of the minds.
That is why I'm offering Carranza as interim president,
but he cannot run in the general election.
That could be, but he has a commander in Sonora.
Plutarco Elías Calles.
He likes games, but not the nice ones.
If Carranza and I don't reconcile,
he'll go against me.
He's breathing down my neck.
What should we do about Calles?
Get his people to disperse so he's left with no one.
I don't want any threats close by.
Agreed.
Tomorrow, I'll send a telegram, and end of story.
[Villa] We thought it would be that simple.
But the Revolution never was.
Ms. Lucita, everything is delicious.
Thank you, Colonel.
-[Jáuregui pants] -Come in.
Good day, all. [pants] Is General Obregón here?
He went for a walk with Roque. He should be back soon.
One of our spies arrived in Sonora.
General Calles isn't dispersing.
On the contrary, he's adding Yaqui Indians to his troops.
These are Obregón's dirty tricks.
Go and bring me that asshole immediately.
We both know Venus won't be thrilled about not running for president.
[Medina] I hope he gives in. It's best for the Revolution.
What's up, Fierro?
General Obregón,
you must report to General Villa immediately.
Are you going to arrest him?
It must be a misunderstanding.
[Villa] You betrayed me.
Calles is gaining strength in Sonora.
We tried to negotiate.
But that doesn't mean you're in charge.
-Now General Calles... -Now?
Now I'm going to shoot you.
-That means I shoot you. -Me?
Do it.
I just have to say something.
This time, only you will be harmed.
Making me a martyr.
Fine. Fierro.
Take the general.
Find a pretty wall,
and fill him full of lead.
General.
Obregón came here in peace. You can't do that.
Just watch me!
[Lucita] Pancho.
-You can't kill a guest. -Stay out of it!
Don't be an ass.
Killing him in your own home is cowardly.
[Fierro] Ready!
[guns cock]
Aim!
[cork pops]
[Villa] Roque, serve our guest.
So that people can't say Pancho Villa is a bad host.
Or a traitor.
Or that he kills defenseless men.
-No, sir. -[pours drink]
Since I gave my life to the Revolution,
I'd be lucky to lose it.
Your blood runs cold.
I also faced an execution.
It's hard.
Nothing happened.
Well, almost nothing.
Those who don't respect agreements for the good of the country,
must be eliminated.
That's why Carranza wants to call a convention in Mexico City.
To unite all the forces.
Just like General Calles, there are many who don't easily obey.
That's the problem.
[Obregón] Everyone wants their slice of the pie.
But he who slices the pie,
wants the biggest piece.
So there's not enough for all.
[train whistles]
[Villa] Obregón took a risk that almost cost him his life.
I thought we'd already reconciled.
Instead, he came back with Carranza, much more suspicious.
Zapata also refused to submit to Carranza.
No one attended the convention he organized in Mexico.
It got moved to Aguascalientes.
In the center of the country.
I stayed close by in Zacatecas,
in case it was a trap.
For the peace and reuniting of Mexico,
this revolutionary convention approves by a majority,
the dismissal of Venustiano Carranza
as commander of the Constitutionalist Army,
and Francisco Villa as commander of the North Division.
[person] They should show up here!
-[crowd shouting] -[person 2] Show your faces!
[fists slamming]
We're their representatives.
Regardless, the winner of the vote for interim president of the Republic is
General Eulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz.
[Villa] Eulalio won because he was the weakest.
He wouldn't threaten anyone.
Besides, we had Roque at his side, just in case.
[Obregón] Now we must place our signatures on this flag
as an oath to respect the agreements of this convention!
[crowd shouting]
[person 1] Who's that guy there?
-[person 2] He's not showing his face. -[crowd murmuring]
[clamoring]
-[person 3] Villa! Villa! -[person 4] Pancho Villa.
[person 5] What's Villa doing here?
[murmuring continues]
If Carranza is dismissed as president...
[person] It's Pancho Villa.
...and if I am dismissed from the North Division...
then just shoot us now!
And the fight is over.
Here I am!
-[person] Right, General. -Long live General Pancho Villa!
[crowd] Villa!
[cheering]
[Villa] Roque, go organize the people.
For our security. I still don't trust these assholes.
[Medina] Yes, General.
See you at the capital. General!
You don't salute zapatistas anymore?
You let them out of prison without inviting me.
And I came to rile up the people.
All you need is General Zapata's approval.
I wrote him before I came.
I'm actually here to give you General Zapata's response.
It's short. The general is a man of few words.
He gave you the letter?
I think fast,
but I read slowly.
He dictated it, and he agrees with you.
It's time to enter the capital
and wipe the floors with military and clergy.
You're educated.
And I'd like your honest opinion about our perspective.
Look, General.
I can tell you that in 1911 Madero didn't execute his enemies.
He pardoned them.
And later, they betrayed him.
You know that.
Zapata says,
"I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees."
Go and tell Zapata that it's time for us to meet face to face.
President Eulalio Gutiérrez has stated that if you don't accept him,
you'll be considered a traitor to the government he represents.
Well, I won't.
But the convention supported him.
Not my convention.
And I found out something even more worrisome.
Zapata and Villa are going to meet here in Mexico City.
[sighs]
We'll have to pull back.
To Puebla.
Or to the Veracruz coast.
Xochimilco, December 4, 1914, near Mexico City.
[Carranza] We're not ready.
The true men of the people finally reunite.
I'm happy to meet a man who truly knows how to fight.
Paulino, take a picture of us.
[Paulino] Yes, General.
-[shutter clicks] -Done.
Now go tell the papers
that Villa and Zapata are meeting and ready to fight this war, hard.
[Paulino] Absolutely.
-Come, General. Make yourself at home. -Thank you.
-My friend. -General.
-It's a pleasure. -It's all mine.
-General. -Pleasure to see you.
Don't worry, Emiliano.
We have many bullets, weapons and cannons to go around.
Thanks, Pancho.
What's most important is that you defend the Plan of Ayala as if it were your own.
Land and liberty. This is what we want for the people.
I up north and you down south.
That rich kid Carranza and all those perjumados,
they only want Revolution as a convenience.
That crazy old guy is a tyrant.
Like Huerta or Díaz.
Like this, we'll never get peace for those underneath them.
Mmm. It's been like this all our lives.
How long you been fighting?
Since I left home. Well, I was a kid.
-Since I was 14. -Mmm.
Eighteen for me.
That's why men like us have to run the war.
For a better government.
So tell me something.
You want to govern the country like in Chihuahua?
No, not even God would want to.
-I'd miss the fighting before long. -Mm-hmm.
Governing...
that's for our friends who've studied.
But when they gain power, our friends change.
Then you have to let a machete fall on them.
Such assholes, vermin.
-Let them search me. -[laughs]
Cheers.
To our allied armies.
My friend, I don't drink.
Give me a fucking break, why not?
Don't make me drink alone.
You can't deny your true friends a tequila.
All right.
[Villa coughs]
-[laughs] -Wow.
Right, General Villa?
[laughs]
[crowd clamoring]
[Villa] A few days later we went into the center of the capital.
There wasn't a single perfumado.
Not even an educated one.
Pure and simple barefoot folks.
The true revolution belongs to us downtrodden.
-[firing] -[horse neighs]
They're coming. Take your places, please.
[Villa] Wow. And this chair?
This must be the damn chair.
The presidential chair.
[Magaña] It maddens those who sit on it with power and greed.
[photographer] A photo, generals. Sit on the chairs, please.
Sit there, Pancho. I'll be on the side.
Fine.
I'll be president for a bit. It won't make me a devil.
[all laugh]
-[Villa sighs] -[photographer] Ready?
[camera clicks]
-Thank you. Thank you very much. -[photographers] Thanks very much.
I swore I'd burn this stupid chair to put an end to the curse.
Let's go.
[Eulalio] That won't be possible, generals. Mmm?
That's not the presidential chair. Carranza took that one to Veracruz.
It was just a regular chair. This way, please.
Nasty old man.
[laughing]
Welcome.
[Villa] Old Carranza fled to Veracruz, where the Americans finally deservedly
handed him over to the provisional capital.
[Pershing] Mr. Carranza, we'll leave and give you control of this port.
[Carranza] Thank you.
-You'll forgive me for being so discreet. -[in English] Don't worry.
[in Spanish] You must understand and forgive the issues
caused by our being here.
I understand and hope that the civil war is over soon.
[in English] Certainly.
[in Spanish] For everyone's good.
Ambassador.
General.
[ship's horn blasts]
Monsters of betrayal and crime,
embodied by Francisco Villa and Emiliano Zapata,
threaten to destroy the fruits of our Revolution.
But we will defend our legitimate president,
Venustiano Carranza.
[in English] President Wilson thinks Villa and Zapata will win this war.
Their forces double Carranza's.
Eventually, we will have to support one side.
Yes.
But which one?
[hammering]
Fco I. Madero Avenue
[in Spanish] Let this remind us of a great man...
-...who was like a father to me... -[chattering]
...who gave me the chance to do something different with my life.
So whoever dares to take down
or even touch this plaque,
will be executed.
No matter who it is.
[classical music plays]
VILLA ORDERS TO KILL ANYONE!
[Villa] Look at how this asshole made me look.
[music continues in café]
Malicious fellow.
[Jáuregui] Isn't Paulino supposed to be a friend of Zapata?
Journalists don't have friends. Just interests.
Sometimes they do it just to scare people.
They make us look like savages who want to take away from the educated.
Something must be done, Fierro.
At times, words do more harm than bullets.
[with French accent] Excuse me, would you like anything else?
[Villa] Just your name, cutie.
And are you single?
Excuse me.
I think she's deaf.
Shame, so pretty.
Go.
Let's find out.
[Fierro laughs]
[with French accent] Anything else, or shall I bring the check?
-And who are you? -I'm Madame Fares.
The hotel owner.
Don't tell me, you're that girl's mother?
And your funny accent?
We're from France, sir.
And we don't like to be bothered.
Bothered by what?
I just want to get to know her.
Or do I have to pay?
The girl will be busy until you northerners leave.
I know your tricks, monsieur.
The girl has a price that someone like you cannot pay.
[in French] Safe travels.
Fierro.
[in Spanish] Go put away that nasty old woman right now.
For disrespecting authority.
[gasps] General, I don't think what you are doing is right.
Jáuregui, you'll buy the hotel, and they'll get the hell out.
-Let go of me, lowlife. -Move.
-Please let me go. What's wrong? -Move.
-[in French] Oh, shit.
[in Spanish] Can we talk?
-Shut up, you snobby old lady. -Help, please!
-This is my hotel! -[Berlanga] Hey, friend!
This is abuse.
[Fierro] I'm not your friend.
And best not to interfere, or else...
Or what, asshole? Or else what?
[patron stifles scream]
Pancho Villa is, and always will be, a bandit.
So get going, and tell him Colonel Berlanga said so.
There are laws and rights here.
Understood?
The only right here is to breathe for one more day.
And I just granted you that one.
[Fierro groans, moans]
[Villa] The French Embassy demanded the madame be released.
I released her so the party could continue.
But troops were loose in the capital.
It was impossible to stop the ball from rolling.
[both scream]
[parent] What are you doing here, assholes?
-[groans] -[scream]
[Villa] Abuse and looting were everywhere.
Later, we each placed blame on the other,
the Zapatistas to us, and vice versa.
Without really knowing the situation.
[door creaks]
[Fierro] You didn't need to kill the dad, assholes.
Be more careful next time.
Run. Scrub that down again.
[chattering]
-Let's go, man. -David!
David!
[waitress] Help!
-[waitress] Help! -[passerby mumbling]
[Villa] I put it all in the past. But Fierro's memory was too good.
He had a lot of bad blood.
[dog barks]
Shoot then!
[Villa] I told Fierro to just kick the dog that was barking.
But he did more,
and it all ended in a mess.
Besides, there were old arguments between us,
causing tempers to boil over and parting of the ways.
They began to accuse President Eulalio of being too weak to control the masses.
[sighs]
[Paulino pants, grunts]
[pants]
[groans]
[coughs]
-[pants] -[killer groans]
[Villa] The last straw
was the assassination of journalist Paulino Martínez, Zapata's friend,
whose death they wanted to charge me with.
General, here's a telegram from Raúl Madero.
Read it to me.
Near Torreón, forces are mounting
for Obregón and Calles to take over the region.
We have to send him support.
We promised Zapata.
So he can fight Carranza's supporters in Puebla and Veracruz.
You aren't going for support?
We can't lose the north.
Or clash with the Americans.
Tomorrow, I'll go to Guadalajara,
uniting the center of Mexico.
From there, I'll go to Torreón to secure the border.
We should focus on finishing Carranza, who just settled in Veracruz.
Maybe you're right, Ángeles.
But my heart and gut tell me to go back to my land.
[train chugging]
[Villa] Dear Emiliano, I'm sending military support as promised.
I have to go north to stop our enemies.
General Zapata's Headquarters.
[Zapata] Careful with the malice and rumors that are meant to divide us.
Sincerely, your friend Francisco Villa.
General Ángeles confirmed artillery and rifles were sent.
Magaña, write to General Villa.
Write that he should relax,
I'm a man of my word, and schemes roll off my back.
Let's get Carranza.
Great, but if you go to Veracruz and Villa goes north,
who stays in the capital?
Now that Villa and Zapata are far away,
General Obregón wants to talk in a more discreet place.
He wants you to support the correct faction
before these savages get to him and kill you too.
-[bells ringing] -[man] Long live Villa!
[crowd] Villa!
Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Stupid assholes.
Look at that lovely brunette, man.
Wait up, friend.
-[chattering] -[bell ringing continues]
They say women from Guadalajara are beautiful,
but you take it to another level.
Pancho Villa.
At your service.
Margarita Sandoval.
It's an honor to meet the famous Pancho Villa.
Am I really famous around here?
What do they say?
Well...
Some things are good, and others not so much.
Look, sweetie.
I'll be around here for a couple of days, talking to the perjumados around here.
How about you wait for me in the plaza, and when I finish I buy you a milkshake?
You can tell me more about what people are saying.
All right.
Yes.
Jáuregui, you're in charge of the young woman.
Goodbye.
Excuse me.
This is exactly what they say.
You have women all over the place.
Don't worry, sweetheart.
I keep my word.
We'll get married tomorrow.
That's what is right.
[sighs] Well, all right then.
I'll be around here, most likely in an altercation.
I'd like you to come along.
But I worry about the other things they say about you.
[Villa chuckles]
Just ignore them.
They're just rumors spread by insidious people. Nothing better to do.
Or what?
You think I'm a sick liar?
But I treat you so well.
So nice.
[phone rings]
Fuck. [sighs]
I told them not to bother me.
Hello. Hello.
Villa here. Who's there?
General, it's Roque. You won't believe this.
President Eulalio fled the capital to meet with Álvaro Obregón.
What? But the president is with us!
I found a letter that stated it all clearly.
He emptied out the safe.
He even took the machine to make money.
He's with hundreds of men from his military, who changed factions.
General Villa?
General?
As soon as I leave Guadalajara, I'm shooting down all of those traitors.
[breathes heavily]
Tell Ángeles, Fierro, everyone,
that we're going to send those sons of bitches to hell!
I'll eat them alive!
Let them look me in the eyes as I rip out their hearts!
And their guts!
[gunshot]
[slams phone]
[Villa] Gentlemen of Jalisco,
I want you to know that you can remain calm.
It's important that we stay united.
For the country.
In order to show you,
I know how important Catholicism is to all of you around here.
I don't plan to cancel worship.
Or close any churches.
-They are yours. -[murmuring]
I give you my word
that I will protect you
and I will take care of everyone.
[ranchers] Thank you, General.
Those who are on our side, of course.
[ranchers] Always. Yes, we're on your side.
And everything has its price,
especially this Revolution,
which will bring such good to Mexico.
Why the long faces?
It's a price that all of you can pay.
[chatter]
It's a loan for your word.
[murmuring]
I'm not done, gentlemen!
Urbina, my friend here,
will come to each of you
for you to contribute what you can into the hat, at will.
So, the Revolution hopes
that your generosity reaches no less than one million.
-[all laugh] -[rancher 1] You're crazy, man.
-This is a disgrace. -[rancher 2] Yes, yes.
A shameless robbery. We won't allow it.
-[murmurs] -[gunshot fires]
Let it be known,
I asked for it just like that.
You all think small-town people are stupid because they're poor.
You're the Pérez Rubio brothers, right?
-[slams table] -[Villa] Yes or no, motherfuckers?
You own half the state.
You control the lands
with your white armies.
You kill and you spread fear everywhere.
What?
You think I didn't know you supported that cockroach Huerta?
You idiots.
Now we'll give you a real reason to scream.
-Urbina. -Just say the word, General.
Bring me these two swine and shoot them right now.
[brothers murmuring]
[Villa] If they keep squealing, kill them here like pigs.
[brothers muttering]
[brother 1] Wait.
-[Urbina] Let's get going. -[door opens]
What's your name?
Joaquín Cuesta.
[Villa] Joaquín Cuesta.
Do you like games?
I'll show you one of my favorites.
It's call the game of truth.
I ask a question, and you answer with the honest truth.
If not...
you lose.
-[brothers] Mercy, mercy. -[gunshots firing]
Just like those brothers.
A little birdie told me,
your brother is the most cruel, asshole bigwig of La Barca.
Right?
Yes.
Very good, Cuesta. Very good.
And the same little birdie,
it said that you are the godson
of none other than Porfirio Díaz.
Right?
No.
[Cuesta groans]
How much does it cost to tell the truth?
Now, men.
Raise your hand if you want to support the Revolution.
Very good.