In my dissertation I show how the hegemonic power of the post-revolutionary state in Mexico utilized the figure of legendary Pancho Villa in literature and cinematography to create a national myth that represents a consensus in a mestizo patriarchal Christian society. I examine how the use and abuse of the image of Villa in post-revolutionary literary works and films caused this figure to acquire mythical characteristics and dimensions, and to become a key element in the construction of national identity and masculinity in Mexico. I argue that the figure of Villa is a confirmation of a traditional rather than a revolutionary proposal in gender terms. Equally important, I demonstrate how the literature and film of the Mexican revolution constitute instrumental devices for the formation of masculinity and the strengthening of a homo-social culture in the Mexico’s post-revolutionary stage, a process that would later determine the structure of the Mexican state. I also contend that in the construction of the mythical figure of Pancho Villa at least two sources of representation are participating: the Mexican state machinery on the one hand, and the American media on the other. By the same token, I show how the figure of Villa nurtures a national project and constitutes one of the most diffused perceptions of Mexican identity in the United States. / text