Tucson. Dragons of the desert

In the 17th century, long before the tales of General Custer or Geronimo, or the movies of John Wayne, John Ford, Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood shaped our perception of the American Wild West, thousands of men and women from various backgrounds fought to settle these lands. Natives, novo-Hispanics, Irish Catholics and peninsulars, sought to make these territories their home. The elite cavalry corps, known as the Dragones de Cuera, played a significant role in shaping the myth and civilisation of the American West.

This is the tale of the city of Tucson, its dragoons and their captain, Pedro María de Allende y Saavedra.