Adios San Elizario
Eden Performing Arts, in partnership with Visit El Paso and Los Portales Museum, presents Adios San Elizario, an engaging live performance that brings to life the aftermath of Billy the Kid’s daring jailbreak to free his friend, Melquiades Segura.
The performance offers audiences a unique way to experience a piece of the region’s history through live theatre in the heart of San Elizario.
Saturday, August 29, 2026, 12:00 p.m.
1521 San Elizario Rd.
San Elizario, TX 79849
Admission: FREE
he story of Billy the Kid and the Old County Jail Museum in San Elizario, Texas, is famous for a unique twist: rather than escaping out of a jail he was locked in, Billy the Kid famously broke in to free someone else.
The tale unfolded in December 1876:
- The Friend in Need: Billy’s close friend and cohort, a man named Melquiades Segura, had been arrested and locked inside the adobe-and-iron Old County Jail in San Elizario (which was then the El Paso County seat). Hearing the news, Billy the Kid traveled down from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to rescue him.
- The Ruse: Operating under the cover of darkness around 3:00 a.m., Billy approached the jail and knocked on the door. According to historical accounts and local lore—noted even by legendary frontier sheriff Pat Garrett—Billy cleverly impersonated a Texas Ranger traveling with a prisoner.
- The Ambush: When the guard (or jailer Charles Kerber) sleepily opened the door, he suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of Billy’s .44 revolver.
- The Getaway: Without a single shot being fired, Billy disarmed the guard, freed Segura from the cell, locked the guards inside the jail, and tossed away the key.
The pair immediately grabbed horses and made a quick escape across the nearby Rio Grande into safety in Mexico. Today, it remains celebrated in local history as the only recorded instance of Billy the Kid breaking into a jail rather than out of one.