Mark of Zorro in Rancho Santa Margarita?

Antonio Banderas as Zorro in 1998.

Lindsey J. writes, "I had long wondered where the main road names for Rancho Santa Margarita came from; there is Antonio Parkway, and Avenida De Las Banderas. People jokingly said that these names might have been derived from the actor, Antonio Banderas, but is there any truth to that?”

I’ve heard that tale also. Some locals go so far as to claim that Rancho Mission Viejo honcho (and Antonio Parkway namesake) Tony Moiso himself created that intersection as a joke. I’d love that story to be true, but it's highly unlikely.

Avenida Banderas began as two short segments of road, built in 1987. "Banderas," in Spanish, means "flags" or "bunting," making Avenida de las Banderas the "Avenue of the Flags." This avenida did not intersect with Antonio Parkway until more of Rancho Santa Margarita was developed in about 1989.

The actor Antonio Banderas, who began his career in Spain, didn't become known in the United States until 1992. So neither the street names individually nor the intersection could be a tribute to the actor – Unless maybe Moiso was secretly a big fan of 1980s Spanish cinema.

The greater mystery is the actual source of the “Avenue of the Flags” moniker. A recent drive along the entire length of this thoroughfare revealed not one single flag. Of course, this being South Orange County, flags may well be banned by neighborhood CC&Rs. (Those anxiety-producing bright colors and unseemly snapping in the wind might lower adjacent property values.)

If Mr. Banderas' affiliation with Orange County is minimal, at least Zorro (who Banderas portrayed in two movies) DOES have a big local connection. The character first appeared in a 1919 serialized story by Johnston McCulley in All-Story Weekly magazine, entitled "The Curse of Capistrano," which was set in our lovely Mission town.