Happy Star Wars Day, gente! And it’s a special one: for this year, we can look forward to the long-awaited The Mandalorian & Grogu film coming out in just a few weeks. Finally, Latinx actors and themes are all over the current Star Wars, thanks to stars like Pedro Pascal, Rosario Dawson, and Diego Luna. But actually, this franchise has always been ours, thanks to the OG Princess Leia herself being inspired by a Mexican revolutionary fighter.
In 2002, Time Magazine asked Star Wars creator George Lucas: “So, what’s the deal with Leia’s hair?“
The great director answered that he wanted something “different” for the rebellion leader and said that Leia’s famous buns were inspired by “a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look.” Only 14 years later would this vague reference get a name when the Denver Art Museum finally unearthed the photograph from the Skywalker Ranch archives that inspired Princess Leia’s legendary hairdo.
Meet Colonel Clara de la Rocha, one of the many unsung female heroes of the Mexican Revolution, best known today as adelitas. So who were these brave fighters that Lucas refers to as “Pancho Villa women?”
In 1910, Fransico Madero started a series of revolutionary uprisings against the 30-year-long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico. Through several bloody battles, this resistance eventually led to the current Mexican constitution. Adopted in 1917, it established a more democratic land reform, curbed the power of the Roman Catholic Church, and laid the groundwork for a constitutional republic in Mexico. Mexicans from all regions and backgrounds fought for these reforms, and it’s worth remembering – that means people of all genders too. Women answered the rebel call, often taking a central role.
One of them was our Clara de la Rocha, who joined the Maderista movement from Durango, together with her father, and quickly rose through the ranks. After being part of taking the city Culiacán in 1911 and the battle for the Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus church (where the revolutionaries combined forces and forced the Federales to surrender), Clara achieved the rank of “guerrilla commander” and later “Colonel” in the revolutionary movement. It is also said that she frequently embarrassed the men fighting with her by winning shooting competitions.
However, like most female leaders in the revolution, she never received appropriate recognition for her contributions, with history overlooking the heroic adelitas. The fighter who inspired the name, adelitas, Adele Velarde is one of the few who achieved recognition. The Mexican Ministry of National Defense recognized her as a “Veteran of the Revolution” in 1941. In 1962, she was named a member of the Mexican Legion of Honor.
In contrast, Clara de la Rocha died on June 1, 1970, without any official recognition from the republic she fought to create. However, just seven years later, she was immortalized in the character of Princess Leia, whose magnificent hair buns became a symbol of female leadership and bravery, particularly when spearheading revolutions against corrupt governments. In the prequels, Natalie Portman’s Queen Amidala wears her daughter’s iconic buns as well, completing the circle where real-life and fictional revolution converge.
So next time you watch Leia and Padmé fighting the good fight with their glorious buns and blasters in Star Wars, remember the brave soldaderas like Clara who once fought the same fight for a free Mexico.
On September 22, 2026, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson will open the doors of their new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, and Lucas has reportedly donated his entire personal Star Wars collection to it. Let us hope that the fateful photo of Clara de la Rocha, which sparked the look and vibe of Leia Organa, will have a prominent place in it.
