If you thought the days of horse riding revolutionaries in Latin America were over, let me introduce you to Mexico's favorite disgruntled militant, Subcomandante Marcos. His secret identity, military style and ongoing fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico has made him a legend to some. To others he is something akin to a professional wrestler.

There is an air of ridiculousness about him. He is, in essence, a poser. His use of military symbolism is all show. He is the spokesperson for the non-violent Zapatista group EZLN. His ideals, however, are very legit. He strives against the exploitation of native people and has claimed to have been at the Tlatelolco Massacre, a 1968 incident in Mexico where government troops fired on student protesters, killing between 30 and 200 people, depending who you ask.

In response to accusations of being gay, a reply came: 

‘Marcos is gay in San Francisco, black in South Africa, an Asian in Europe, a Chicano in San Ysidro, an anarchist in Spain, a Palestinian in Israel, a Mayan Indian in the streets of San Cristobal, a Jew in Germany, a Gypsy in Poland, a Mohawk in Quebec, a pacifist in Bosnia, a single woman on the Metro at 10 p.m., a peasant without land, a gang member in the slums, an unemployed worker, an unhappy student and, of course, a Zapatista in the mountains’ - Subcomandante Marcos

Like all men who wear masks and firearms, Marcos is a target of the Mexican government, who maintains he is one Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vicente, a well connected Mexican professor of Spanish parents. He might dress like Bin Laden, but his heart sings like Yeats's for the cultural dead and oppressed.

He writes poetry, novels and essays about many topics. He refers to the Cold War as WW3 and the war of business and commercialization on modern people as WW4. Ultimately his nods to Che Guevarra and his flamboyant appearance tend to undermine his message to everyday Mexicans.