Folk Heroes: Leonarda Emilia

Episode Summary

The podcast episode is about the Mexican folk hero Leonarda Emilia, known as La Carambara. She was born in La Punta, a village near the capital of the Mexican state Querétaro. Not much is known about her early life, though some believe she grew up poor while others think she came from a wealthy family. During the 1860s, when Mexico was invaded by the French, Leonarda fell in love with a French soldier. After he was imprisoned and condemned to death, she vowed revenge. Leonarda disguised herself as a man, rode a horse without a saddle, and became a bandit known as La Carambara. She targeted civilian stagecoaches traveling through central Mexico, brandishing pistols and machetes. She would tell victims that a gang was waiting nearby, though it was really just lit corn cobs. After robbing them, she would reveal she was a woman to humiliate them. This is how she got the name La Carambara, which means "Oh my!" in Spanish. La Carambara's stagecoach robberies made her a folk legend. Her wanted posters were everywhere, with bounties for her capture. Stories spread of her various robbery tactics, abducting the wealthy for ransom, and seeking revenge on those responsible for her lover's death. She famously poisoned the president of Mexico's Supreme Court as revenge. In 1873 she was killed in a shootout with police. Though a criminal, she was seen as a folk hero who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. La Carambara remains a legendary figure in Mexican folklore.

Episode Show Notes

Leonarda Emilia (c. 1860s) was one of Mexico’s most daring bandits. Riding bareback and cloaked in men’s clothes, she used a pistol and machete to steal from passing travelers, and then redistribute the wealth to the poor.

Episode Transcript

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This month we're talking about folk heroes, women whose lives and stories took on mythic proportions. Today we're talking about one of Mexico's most daring bandits. Riding bareback and cloaked in men's clothes, she used a pistol and machete to steal from passing travelers and then redistribute the wealth to the poor. Please welcome Leonardo Emilia. Leonardo was born among cacti and mesquite trees in La Punta, a village close to the capital of the Mexican state, Querétaro. Not much is known about Leonardo's early life. Some historians believe she grew up poor. Others think she came from a wealthy family. Seems like every person in the state has their own version of the story. One rumor that is widely believed, Leonardo fell in love with a French soldier during the Second French Empire's invasion of Mexico in the 1860s. Their love affair was cut short when he was imprisoned by the Juarista army and condemned to death. Heartbroken and desperate, Leonardo appealed for clemency to the governor and then to the president. Both refused the request, so she vowed to avenge him, transforming into the bandit that would soon turn the region upside down, La Carambara. The dusty highways of Mexico were filled with gangs of thieves during this period of history. In other countries like Spain, trains and stagecoaches could buy travelers insurance to ensure safe travels. In Mexico, no such regulations existed. If you were lucky, you could buy safe passage from the first robber you passed on the road. Otherwise, teams of bandits were often stealing money and valuables from travelers, robbing haciendas and snatching shipments of gold and silver in transit. But La Carambara was more notable than the other common bandits. She disguised herself as a man and rode her horse without a saddle through the hills and mountain ranges of central Mexico. She smartly targeted civilian stagecoaches, which were less likely than supply trains to have security guards. When she got close to her targets, she brandished her pistol or machete. She told her victims to stay put and comply, or else face her team of bandits waiting in the nearby woods. In reality, her waiting gang members were corn cobs lit at the tip to look like glowing cigarettes, implying the presence of threatening cronies. Before she rode away, loot in hand, she flashed her breasts and declared, look who robbed you, rubbing it in the unsuspecting victim's face. Not only was he robbed, but he was robbed by a woman. Alarmed and frustrated, the victims muttered, Ay caramba. That's how La Carambara got her name. Stories of La Carambara and her heists captivated the region. Lamp posts were plastered with wanted posters, promising bounties for her capture, while her name was blazoned across the top of newspapers, not just in Mexico, but in other countries too. Articles in American newspapers reported La Carambara using different tactics to secure her loot. According to these reports, she lured men out of their carriages and shot them dead. Then she'd bribe the driver to keep quiet and drive her back to her gang. Later, La Carambara escalated to abducting wealthy landowners. Her gang would negotiate his ransom while she moved on to luring her next victim. Eventually, La Carambara took on a slightly different crime, one not for money, but for love. She exacted revenge on those responsible for the death of her lover. La Carambara was invited to a dinner party hosted by the president of the Supreme Court. To him, she was a pretty woman, a lovely addition to his room of impressive guests. But La Carambara had her own reason for being there, to kill President Benito Juarez. When he wasn't looking, she snuck 20 drops of a slow-acting poison into his glass of champagne. 21 days later, he died of a heart attack. La Carambara finally met her end in 1873. She was targeting a well-known wealthy landowner when one of her gang members ratted her out to the police. They found La Carambara and a shootout ensued. Shots whizzed and pinged in both directions. Five struck the female bandit. The authorities thought she was dead and slung her body over the back of a mule. Miraculously, she was still alive and survived for three days in the hospital before passing away. Right before her death, she confessed her long list of crimes and sins to a priest. But legends never die, and this legend still captivates residents of Querétaro to this day. La Carambara is a subject in many local historic tours. Many historians and locals remember her with a certain fondness. She wasn't a mean-spirited criminal. Her illegal actions were a means to altruistic ends. She took from the rich and gave to the poor in an act of defiance against a corrupt government. All month, we're talking about folk heroes. 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