Manuel Lozada

Manuel Lozada
Nickname(s)	El Tigre de Álica, (The Tiger of Álica)
Born	1828 San Luis, Nayarit
Died	19 July 1873 Loma de los Metales, Nayarit
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Second French Intervention in Mexico:

General Manuel Lozada, was the caudillo the region of Tepic, nicknamed "The Tiger of Álica." He was (born 1828, Tepic Territory, Mexico - died 19 July 1873 in Loma de los Metates, Nayarit), who was at various points in his life a "bandit, Liberal, Conservative, imperialist, neutral, republican," and is still a controversial figure in Mexican history.

He was an Indian or mestizo of the Cora tribe, the son of Norberto García and Cecilia González. His father died when he was young and his mother lacked the means to raise him. He was adopted by his uncle José María Lozada, from whom he took his last name. As a boy he helped his uncle to care for the animals on the family farm. When older he attended the parochial school in town. He was unable to complete his elementary-school instruction because he had to contribute to the income of the family—his uncles and aunts, five cousins (three of whom died at a young age of fever).

According to legend he grew up to be a cowboy on the Cerro Blanco hacienda of Pantaleón Gonzálea. He served as a servant to the wife of the farm owner until the latter died. His great love was the daughter of his boss, María Dolores, with whom he eloped. For this he was arrested and sent to the Tepic jail. Once released, he looked for María Dolores and was again taken prisoner. As a result of his mother's pleading he was freed and he again fled in the company of María Dolores to the Sierra de Alica.

When the soldier Simón Mireles was unable to find him, Mireles whipped Lozada publicly in the town square. This incensed Lozada who, in the company of a group of Cora natives with axes to grind with the government, searched for, found, and executed the soldier. The nickname "The Tiger of Alica" was born, and this bandit and sometimes insurgent wreaked havoc for several years in the canton of Tepic.

Another less romantic version says that little is known about his early years. Lozada was a bandit who became prominent during the 1855-56 dispute between two companies in Tepic. Suddenly Lozada ceased to be a bandit when he allied himself with a prominent family of Tepic, the Rivas.

In 1857 he defeated the troops of lieutenant colonel José María Sánchez Román and in 1859 he dispersed the government troops under the command of colonel Valenzuela. On 2 November of the same year he attacked the city of Tepic.

In the 1860s, the followers of Lozada made public the demands of indigenous people for their lands. Since this happened during the French intervention in Mexico, Lozada allied himself with the French 1865-66. One of the French generals awarded Lozada cash for his having supplied 3,000 men to the Imperial Army. For his services Maximilian I of Mexico repaid him by creating the province of San José de Nayarit, with Tepic as its capital, and by making Lozada a general. On 12 November 1864, after the French army took possession of Mazatlán, he and his troops entered the city.

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Wikipedia