"You bought a lot of dead souls here. My people's souls. You spent a tidy sum. So there is money to be made. I figure you're going where our money is... So we both go. Share it fifty-fifty. Like amigos. Or I kill you."
—Primitivo Zamora, Bandido

Del Zamora is an Associate Producer on Dead Souls, but also plays the role of "Primitivo Zamora," a half-Apache Bandit and (ex) twin, whom Strindler recruits to help him out of a deadly jam.

Del (not Primitivo) was raised in the Southwestern United States and his family can be traced back to the 1500's, being of Mescalero Apache descent, in what is now known as Lincoln County, New Mexico. Del's great, great, grandmother, Nestorita Lara, who lived to be 114 years old, was painted by the famous Southwest painter, Henrietta Wyeth. The painting, "Dona Nestorita", hangs in the Roswell, New Mexico, City Museum.

Del graduated from Leuzinger High School, a straight 'A' student, and received a full scholarship to UCLA. However, his father coerced him into turning down school and taking a computer technician job. Del took the computer job and He worked in that industry for four years, before deciding to pursue an acting career. He drove his brand new Chevrolet Van to New York City and attended classes with the great Stella Adler (and probably fixed her MacBook a thousand times). He studied for a little over a year, then returned to Los Angeles to pursue acting jobs. He lived in his van with his small dog, Chivo, for three years and five months.

Del refused to do any work, besides acting or crewing, on movies and TV shows. As Del explains it, it was "simply for dreaming and having the audacity to pursue my dreams with all my might. For putting all my eggs in one basket; which you must do, to manifest success. Total and complete immersion." During this time, he did 94 student films and crewed in several dozen others. He also reapplied to UCLA and was accepted with a full scholarship, intact. While studying for the Motion Picture/Television Department as a directing student, he was cast by English filmmaker and fellow UCLA grad Alex Cox in Repo Man (1984). Though Del made some money as an actor on Repo Man, he still lived in his van with Chivo for another year. Del and Cox have since worked together many times, the most recent being when Alex acted for him as the proprietor of an LA funeral home in Del's film The Last Brown Beret. This is, in fact, the 10th time that Del has collaborated with Alex. Dead Mexicans became a fun reunion for these old friends. Beyond this film and Repo Man, Del has appeared in these Alex Cox projects: Straight to Hell, Walker, The Winner, Searchers 2.0, and Repo Chick. Del also composed a long music cue for Cox's Mexican feature length movie, El Patrullero; but was left on the editing floor in Sid & Nancy.

After Repo Man, Del was promptly cast in RoboCop (1987), Born in East L.A. (1987), and became a 'go to' Latino/Native American actor. At last count—as of 2024—this is Del's 284th speaking role in movies and television, in a 43-year career (time to move out of the car, Del). Next uup is a film he co-wrote, directed, produced and stars in: The Last Brown Beret. (Featuring a small role for none other than Alex Cox!) Below are some photos taken during the Dead Mexicans shoot in Spain to create "WANTED" posters for the film.

There are legends of 19th-Century "bandido" brothers, much like the fictional Zamoras in Dead Mexicans, who operated on the US-Mexico border. "Bandidos" (Mexican bandits), worked both sides of border—taking advantage of the lack of jurisdiction a local lawman in the US had in Mexico. Bandidos knew every hiding place in the Sonoran desert and could outlast even Federales in the heat. The most famous 19th Century Bandido gang was the 'Five Joaquins', which terrorized the region in the mid-19th Century. The most famous desperado of the group was probably Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (pictured at right), a miner-turned-bandit who was called the 'Mexican Robin Hood' or the 'Robin Hood of El Dorado'. He rose (or descended, depending how you look at it) to fame in California during the Gold Rush of the 1850s. Legend says that he struck gold, and jealous Anglos beat him, murdered his brother and assaulted and killed his wife. An enraged, vengeful Murrieta turned to crime, becoming a Robin Hood-type vigilante who held up trains and avenged racial injustice. At least the dime novels say that. What we do know is that Joaquin and his cousin, Joaquin Valenzuela (1820-1853 or 1858), came to California with a small band of friends and relatives from their hometown. Operating between 1850 and 1853, the gang, joined by Murrieta's right-hand man, known as 'Three Fingered Jack', was reputed to have been responsible for most of the horse theft, robberies, and murders committed in the Mother Lode area of the Sierra Nevada. They were accused of stealing more than $100,000 in gold and over 100 horses. The gang is believed to have killed as many as 28 Chinese immigrants and 13 Anglo-Americans, and had outrun three armed posses, killing three lawmen. Still, an 1854 book entitled The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murrieta, The Celebrated California Bandit was written by John Rollin Ridge, who greatly glamorized the tale of the Mexican miner-turned-bandit. In 1919, Johnston McCulley based the character of Don Diego de la Vega (better known as 'Zorro') on Murrietta, as well.

Zamora with co-stars Sy Richardson and Jaclyn Jonet from Alex Cox's Searchers 2.0.

NOTES ON THIS PAGE

¹—"Update 5: Del is On Board" by Alex Cox, 7/10/2024.