Editing Zorro (section)

==Fictional character biography==
[[File:The Mark of Zorro (1920) - 3.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Douglas Fairbanks]] in the first Zorro film, ''[[The Mark of Zorro (1920 film)|The Mark of Zorro]]'' (1920), which was instrumental in the early success of the character]]
In ''[[The Curse of Capistrano]],'' Señor Zorro became an outlaw in the [[Pueblo de Los Ángeles|pueblo of Los Ángeles]] in [[California]] "to avenge the helpless, to punish cruel politicians, to aid the oppressed" and is dubbed the "Curse of Capistrano". The novel features Don Diego Vega and Zorro extensively, but the fact that they are the same person is not revealed to the reader until the end of the book. In the story, Diego and Zorro romance Lolita Pulido, an impoverished noblewoman. While Lolita is unimpressed with Diego, who pretends to be a passionless [[fop]], she is attracted to the dashing Zorro. The main villain is Captain Ramon, who also focuses on Lolita. Other characters include Sgt. Pedro Gonzales, Zorro's enemy but Diego's friend; Diego's deaf and mute servant Bernardo; his ally, Fray (Friar) Felipe; his father, Don Alejandro Vega, the wealthiest landowner in California and a widower; Don Carlos Pulido and his wife, Doña Catalina, Lolita's parents; and a group of noblemen ({{lang|es|caballeros}}) who, at first, hunt Zorro but are then won over to his cause.

In later stories, McCulley introduces characters such as pirates and Native Americans, some of whom know Zorro's identity.

In McCulley's later stories, Diego's surname became de la Vega. The writer was wildly inconsistent. The first magazine serial ended with the villain dead, and Diego was publicly exposed as Zorro. But in the sequel, the villain was alive, and the next entry had the double identity still secret.

Several Zorro productions have expanded on the character's exploits. Many continuations feature a younger character taking up the mantle of Zorro.

McCulley's stories are set during the era of [[History of California#Spanish colonial period (1769–1821)|Spanish California]] (1769–1821)<ref>{{cite web |title=The Legacy of the Fox: A Chronology of Zorro |url=http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Zorro.htm |access-date=July 27, 2013}}</ref> and, although exact years are often vague, the presence of the Pueblo of Los Angeles means the stories cannot happen before 1781, the year it was founded. Some media adaptations of Zorro's story have placed him during the later era of [[History of California#Mexican period (1821 to 1848)|Mexican California]] (1821–1848).