COLUMBUS, N.M. - A dawn raid nearly a century ago on the New Mexico-Chihuanhuan border has evolved into a friendship fiesta stronger than the ravages of drug wars, political unrest and immigration struggles, as hundreds of Mexican and United States horseback riders join for a multicultural celebration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the little village of Columbus and at Pancho Villa State Park.
In the early morning darkness of March 9, 1916, Gen. Francisco "Pancho" Villa and his band of about 600 Mexican revolutionaries invaded the little New Mexican border town of Columbus. By the time dawn broke, the town was a smoldering ruin. Among the dead were 18 Americans, including eight soldiers and 10 civilians, and reportedly more than 200 Villistas had perished.
The bold foreign invasion triggered Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing's Punitive Expedition, taking 10,000 U.S. Army soldiers deep into Mexico in a search for Villa and his raiders. The massive military buildup transformed a small town into New Mexico's biggest city almost overnight.
Villa eluded U.S. troops, but the expedition made history as the last major cavalry action mounted by the U.S. Army and the first U.S. military operation to employ mechanized vehicles and airplanes, and set the stage for Pershing's service as commander of World War I Allied forces.
A dark chapter in Borderland history has morphed into a multicultural fiesta. Join the international celebration at the eighth annual Camp Furlong Day Saturday at Pancho Villa State Park and the 12th annual Cabalgata Biacional and other festivities in the village of Columbus.
"Camp Furlong Day honors the strong ties between Mexico and the United States. Residents of both countries and visitors will join in the celebration of our common heritage and friendship and goodwill between both countries.
After our VFW meeting, Wanda and I headed for Columbus to check out the Camp Furlong day celebration. We were too late for the Equestrian part but got there in time for the Bands and Folkloric dancers. Now let me tell you the these dancers were nothing but fantastic. I wish that I could post all the pictures that I took, but I can’t so what you get is what you get.
Baile folklórico, literally "folkloric dance" in Spanish
Dry Gulch was one of the venders at the celebration, so we had to have some BBQ and it was great. Thank you Dry Gulch.
Some RV friends, John and Barb Ely landed in town for the night so we invited them to attend with us which they did. That evening we and another couple of RVers Steve and Kathy went to the Grand for dinner. All in all it was a very enjoyable day. A lot of good BS crossed the table at dinner.
