Billy the Kid and Malquiades Segura: A Drama

Billy the Kid and Malquiades Segura: A Drama                                                               by Joe Olvera (c), 2010     A new drama by playwright/author Maria del Pilar Munoz – known by the single name of Pilar – casts new light on the famous frontier outlaw Billy the Kid, a man who, at 22 had, allegedly, already killed more than 20 men. Other sources say, however, that the Kid actually may have killed only four men, if that many. Pilar – author of Suenos, a book of dream interpretations, is an El Paso woman who has done extensive research on the Kid’s life, to the point of traveling to and living in places where he lived.    “What most people don’t know is that the Kid was a defender of Hispanics and of other people who were in danger of losing their lands to the unsrupulous swindlers of the time,” Pilar said. “To some people he wasn’t exactly a role model, but, to others, he was.”    The drama about Billy the Kid will be presented on June 12 and 13 at the Adobe Horseshoe Theater in San Elizario, Texas in El Paso’s Mission Valley – a once well-known venue for theatrical productions from Hollywood and Broadway. Al Borrego, a dynamic young businessman who is working hard for the revival of San Elizario as an artists’ colony, said the play will include dinner provided by the Cattlemen’s Steak House. Tickets will be from $25 to $55, depending on which level one sits. The June 12 production will include a VIP reception at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m., with the curtain going up at 8 p.m. The production on June 13 will include a matinee.    Pilar, has written three other books, including one for children called Billy the Kid: Know Him, Los Mejica – about Mexico’s early Aztec civilization, and Legends of the Camino Real. All three books have been published by Floricanto Press in California, and are for sale at La Galeria in San Elizario.     “Probably the best known story about Billy the Kid is about the time he helped his friend Malquiades Segura escape from the San Elizario jail,” Pilar said. “He rode all the way from New Mexico, all along the Rio Grande, until he arrived in San Elizario. Malquiades Segura was connected with a woman who was, allegedly, Billy’s girlfriend, Abrana Segura, and a young boy named Alejandro Segura.”    The story goes that the Kid went into the jail posing as a Texas Ranger. He asked the jailer to open the door to the jail, and once the jailer did that, the Kid pulled out his weapon and ordered the jailer inside. Segura stepped out, and they both rode hell bent for Mexico – which was a mere one-half mile away. This was the first known time when the Kid broke into a jail. At that time, circa 1876, San Elizario was El Paso’s County Seat. The jail had been built in 1821, and is still standing at its original location, and in its original condition – albeit, with a few improvements.    “Billy the Kid has always been one of my favorite subjects,” Pilar said. “I first learned about him when I was about eight years old and read a book about him at the Lower Valley Library. From that time on, I’ve done extensive research on his life and doings. When Al Borrego and I found ourselves discussing him, we decided to present a truer account of him and his life. Thus, the play. He was a very interesting man.”                                                                             -30-