Del Río Con Amor

Del Rio Con Amor: Letter to the Reader

In much the same manner that Reefer Ranger introduces the reader to a key character within the Lost DMB File universe, Del Rio Con Amor introduces us to Del Rio “Chancho” Villarreal. Unlike J.T. McCutchen, no historical connection to Chancho Villarreal has been made with certainty.

This could be due to the fact that he is entirely fictional. Or, as I believe, it could be due to obfuscation by both David Mark Brown and the power players he worked feverishly to expose. Neither “Del Rio” nor “Chancho” seem convincing as actual monikers, and its equally likely that Villarreal is also an alias.

If Chancho was indeed a historical figure he would have certainly been a primary target of the mysterious group Brown later refers to as the “benefactors.” Jokingly, this fabled organization is most commonly referred to today as the Pentavorite. But all joking aside, it seems most likely to me that Chancho was either a projection of Brown himself, or a separate historical figure Brown felt a responsibility to protect via anonymity.

Several possibilities for Chancho’s historical identity have been suggested, but I feel it unnecessary to speculate further. (What? Me, not speculate!?) Recent research has uncovered a handful of obscure references to the “Motorcycle Mexican,” an alias Brown uses for Chancho in his writings. I fully expect further examination combined with yet to be discovered “lost” files to reveal Chancho’s historical equivalent. Until then, I have no choice as editor for Del Rio Con Amor but to leave the text as discovered.

Real or not, in this story Chancho is introduced as a scheming idealist at the center of Pancho Villa’s resistance against General Obregon and the soon to be ousted President Huerta. The question I receive most often in regards to Del Rio Con Amor is whether I believe the cache of gold mentioned in the story to actually exist, and if so has anyone ever rediscovered it. (Okay, you’ve twisted my arm into more speculation.)

I cannot make any direct claims to the historicity of said fortune, but overall I believe such plot devices within the Lost DMB Files to be devised without fail from historical events. The actual contents and nature of the heist were most likely altered. As for the setting, I have not the time to investigate it. (Although I’m sure several of you are planning trips to the state of Coahuila already! Don’t forget the borders were renegotiated during President Obregon’s second term.)

Now you’ve done it, and I’ve blathered on entirely too long. On a final note I must point out that the only known print version of Del Rio Con Amor was recently discovered by me among the ruins of a Catholic orphanage within the new borders of Coahuila. (But that’s a story for another time!) The orphanage, along with an entire village, had been underwater since the newly formed Democratic Republic of Texicas decided to create the Falcon Reservoir in 1923.

Professor Jim “Buck” Buckner

Department of Geology, University of Texicas, Austin