Manolito

When I watched the High Chaparral western on television when I was growing up, I knew only the characters' names--Big John Cannon, his wife Victoria, her brother Manolito, John's brother Buck, and the golden haired blue-eyed 20-something who played Big John's son, Billy Blue. The High Chaparral Ranch stretched across the desert southwest, near Mexico, and the lands owned by Don Sebastian Montoya.

Early in the show, young and beautiful Victoria Montoya is given in marriage by her father to Big John Cannon, whose wife died before the series began. This would bind their lands against Indian raids. This allowed a large gray-haired grumpy overbearing white guy to have a young, beautiful and smart Mexican wife. This series explored and positively identified Hispanic culture. For 1970 public television, it was ahead of its time.

DRAFT

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