Guelatao of Juarez or San Pablo Guelatao is a small village in Oaxaca, Mexico of around 500 known for being the birthplace of President Benito Juárez, a former Chief Justice who ascended to the presidency as the only Native American to do so during the Reform Wars against the conservatives. Before that, he was governor of the state during the American invasion and the president during the second French invasion, during which he led a government-in-exile going around the country and at one point to the United States, while resisting Emperor Maxmillian’s attempt to appoint him a prime minister under His Imperial Majesty’s French puppet regime. He eventually won the war and after an extended time in office, died in office. Today, he’s known as a national hero and the only person whose birthday is a national holiday.
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