History Lecture Series: Fort Hays State Professor visits Angelo State

Macias, who joined the faculty at Fort Hays State University in 2018, is a historian of Latin America and modern Mexico who specializes in cultural and social history. He has written and presented extensively on Pancho Villa and has a book under contract with the University Press of Kansas titled Visualizing Pancho Villa: Myth and the Production of a 20th Century Revolutionary.

Macias visited campus on Sept. 18, 2023, and spoke to a full house of students, faculty, staff and community members. Zelda Montez, a history certification major and a member of the Association of Mexican American Students (AMAS), opened the lecture by introducing Macias.

Macias began with a brief review of Francisco “Pancho” Villa’s life then introduced the audience to a range of cultural artifacts that engaged both the historical and the mythical figure of Villa. These artifacts included not only comic books, dime novels, films, photographs and corridos (songs) but also liquor bottles, toys and even undergarments. These cultural artifacts ranged from the early 20th century to the modern day, and they perfectly demonstrated the evolution of Pancho Villa’s image in the public mind. Macias used these artifacts of popular culture to engage how images of Pancho Villa sometimes differed from historical accounts of Villa’s life. Following the lecture, Macias answered questions from the audience with the assistance of Kaci Wainscott, a history certification major and a member of The History Society.

The next lecture in the History Lecture Series is scheduled for Nov. 7 at 3:30 p.m. in the Nasworthy Suite. Dr. Kenna Archer out of Angelo State University will be talking about the environmental impact of nuclear testing with the Castle Bravo tests as a backdrop.