ILLUSTRATION: DAWN COOPER
ZORRO
The character of Zorro, played on screen by Douglas Fairbanks and Antonio Banderas among others, was based on Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo, a revenge-seeking, Robin Hood-type figure operating in gold rush-era California in the 1850s. Upon his capture, Murrieta’s decapitated head was displayed in a jar of alcohol as a deterrent to other public-spirited bandits.