Graciela Olmos

Marina Aedo (December 10, 1895 - May 31, 1962) was a singer-songwriter, soldier, alcohol trafficker, prostitute, pimp, and businesswomen, born in Casas Grandes, Mexico. While her birth name was Marina Aedo, she is better known by the name Graciela Olmos, or the nickname “La Bandida”. Early life Graciela Olmos was born on December 10, 1895 in the Hacienda de San Diego in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. In her youth, she was tasked with various duties such as cleaning the hacienda and caring for the animals. The hacienda was attacked during the Mexican Revolution, leaving 12-year-old Olmos and her younger brother Benjamín orphaned. Involvement in the Mexican Revolution During the Revolution, Pancho Villa’s troops arrived in Irapuato, where Marina met José Hernández, known as “El Bandido”, and the two were married. Olmos the joined Pancho Villa’s army as a soldadera and served alongside Hernández until the Battle of Celaya, where he was killed, leaving her a widow at 20 years old. It was around this time that she was given the nickname “La Bandida”, the feminine equivalent to her late husband’s title, “El Bandido.” During her time with the troops she learned guitar and began composing songs