MEXICO’S ROBIN HOOD—Jesus Malverde
By Jean Sutherland

      Most of us remember the legend of England’s Robin Hood, played out weekly on our TV back in the 50s. The dashing Robin Hood, played by Richard Greene, grabs the waist of Maid Marion and rides off, with the King’s men in hot pursuit. Rob the rich and give to the poor. He was the original liberal of his time. Those were heady days for us youngsters and often Robin’s exploits were played out in our back yards or nearby forests.
In this century few know of, let alone talk about, the Robin Hood of old, but Mexico has for a long time had its own Robin Hood who is much more revered than the one seen on TV during our childhood.
      For nearly a century, Jesús Malverde has been a hero of the poor. He took from the rich to give to the poor until his reported untimely death in 1909. Jesús is considered the patron saint of drug dealers, a narco saint, according to Mexican police and those who are experts on Mexican culture and folklore.
      In the Mexican city of Culiacán, in the state of Sinaloa, shrines have been erected on his grave. Drug lords and minions alike go to his shrine to ask for blessings, often returning in the latest muscle cars with large sums of money to give thanks.
      It should come as no surprise that the poor of that area also visit the shine to pray for money, healings and safe passage to the border of the United States. Over the last century, Malverde has become a potent figure. He is romanticized as a dark, handsome macho man with thick black eyebrows and a robust black mustache.
      Thousands of people believe the bandit Jesús Malverde is the “Angel of the Poor,” or “The Generous Bandit,” and fervently believe he works miracles. Every year thousands come from all over Mexico to his shrine and ask for favors or thank him for the miracles in their lives that he has granted. They leave photos, letters and plaques, all with the same message of gratitude for favors granted. These messages not only come from within Mexico but from areas of the United States where many Mexicans migrated.
      As the years wear on and the poor continue to suffer, the legend of Malverde grows and the population raises his stature to higher levels with every year that passes. Although the Catholic Church does not recognize him as a saint, this matters little to his believers.
Of late his believers ask for his guidance, protection and miracles to help them on their way to the United States. This has led to a large following of Malverde in the United States. A cottage industry sprung up a number of years back and in just about any Hispanic community north of the border you will find stores selling statues of the “Mexican Robin Hood,” candles, talismans to wear around your neck and even cologne.
      In recent years his legend has spread to other areas of Mexico. In Mexico City, in the upscale neighborhood of Condesa, is a bar named for the narco saint. A brewery in Zapopan, Cerveceria Minerva, has registered a label, Malverde. The one-time Robin Hood is now becoming a cash cow with many cashing in on his ever-rising popularity.
      Mexicans have a tradition of immortalizing their protectors and using them as protection against evil and to cure their ailments. Malverde was a defiant criminal and rose to great heights as a folk hero to the Mexican people. It’s not about glorifying drugs, but is more about the larger context of his defiance. Each person will in their own way decide what Malverde’s mystery holds for them.