Sunday, January 10, 2010

Pancho Villa's Last Known Son Dies

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 10, 2010

Hayward, CA -Ernesto Nava, 94, known to be the last living son of Mexican General Pancho Villa died of natural causes on  Dec. 31, surviving family members confirmed. Nava, moved to Hayward in 1942 from Russell City. He was born in Mexico, but moved with his mother to New Mexico at a young age to protect his life. His mother believed that if Pancho Villa's adversaries would discover Nava was his son, they would attempt to murder him. She told Nava at the age of 8 that he was the son of Pancho Villa and made him promise to keep the secret.
In 1998, Nava and his son Raul Nava Villa finally broke the story while in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico that Pancho Villa was his father. "Dad and I broke the story in Parral because my dad was going to keep his secret that he was the son of Pancho Villa, so I asked him, if I could say something. That's what happened," Raul Nava Villa wrote in a Facebook email, in rememberance of his beloved father. Once Nava and his son decided to go public, word spread quickly throughout Parral that the son of Villa was staying in the hotel.
Afterwards, Nava and his family made yearly trips to Mexico to celebrate his ancestry with residents and Mexican public officials.
Mexican Revolutionary General Pancho Villa who's real name was Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula died on July 20, 1923 in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico.
In 2008, Nava and his son Raul were invited and made a special appearance in Chicago, Illinois to commemorate the 1910 Mexican Revolution celebration sponsored by La Sociedad Civica Mexicana de Chicago.
Nava's remains will be put to final rest on Tuesday.
Services will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Union City Apostolic Church, 33700 Alvarado Niles Road, Union City. A funeral procession will begin at the church at 10 a.m. Tuesday, and end at Chapel of the Chimes, 32992 Mission Blvd. in Hayward.

Related article of Ernesto Nava's visit to Chicago in Nov. 2008: Pancho Villa's Last Surviving Son http://bit.ly/7LEUBQ

For more information about Ernesto Nava, the following Internet link is provided http://www.navavilla.com 

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