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Vasquez was from a well-established Californio family. He came under the influence of a local bandit and was drawn to chose a life of crime. It seems that he was what some historians call a ‘social bandit’ and he took to crime as a way of protesting at the treatment of Hispanics by the Anglo community in California .<ref> Hobsbawn, G., Social Banditry (London, Vintage, 2001), p 4</ref>.  Vasquez was a romantic figure who was very handsome and even wrote poetry. Like Zorro, he became very popular with many of the common people, who regarded him as a Robin Hood figure. Vasquez claimed that he had never killed a man. He also claimed that he wanted California to be returned to the rule of Mexico. In 1874 , he was betrayed to the authorities, imprisoned and later executed. He was hanged because he participated in a robbery, during which a man was killed. Vasquez is still a controversial figure and is seen regarded as a folk hero to some , and many people still seek out his grave.