SOMOS PRIMOS: Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues


Photo from the brochure of the newly organizing Immigration Museum of New Americans, Post World War II, San Diego, California.		Hosts 2003 Summit on Immigration Reform "Embracing the Future and Prosperity of the Americas: An End to an Era of Illegality.
http://www.immigrationmuseumofnewamericans.org
Washington, D.C. – The Board of Directors of The Latino Coalition (TLC) announced April 23 it will host the 2003 Summit on Immigration Reform on May 1-2, 2003 at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference will bring together Latino business and community leaders, immigration policy experts and elected officials to develop a permanent solution to the immigration crisis in America. "It’s about time that we move away from the empty rhetoric and flawed laws that have made matters worse," said Carlos Olamendi, member of TLC’s Board of Directors and Conference Chairman. "The status quo has failed. That’s why we are bringing together experts who can help design a plan to promote prosperity and security in America." "The plan calls for the creation of a new ‘Permanent Worker Program’ with Mexico to allow individuals to come to work in the U.S.," Olamendi added. "This program would regularize the status of millions of undocumented workers in our country, increase our tax revenues and improve our national security." The conference will be held at the Phoenix Park Hotel on Capitol Hill. Participants will participate in briefings on Capitol Hill and in the White House. A press conference will be held on Friday, May 2^nd at the Phoenix Park Hotel to release a joint statement by participating groups with recommendations on how to address the immigration crisis. Not all sessions will be open to the press. The pre-conference activities started with a reception Tuesday evening, April 29^th and a luncheon Wednsday, April 30^thwith Senator John McCain Thursday May1st luncheon speaker, Homeland Security Director of the Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services Eduardo Aguirre. For more information, please contact Adriana Alarcon at 202-546-0008. 725 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. Washington, DC 20002 http://www.TheLatinoCoalition.com

Congressman Bonilla Launches U.S./Mexico Congressional Caucus Sent by Zeke Hernandez zekeher@juno.com Now more than ever, the United States is looking to Mexico for international assistance. A new group has dedicated itself to generating stronger relations between the neighboring nations. The U.S./ Mexico Congressional Caucus has officially announced its formation and has chosen senior lawmaker Henry Bonilla to serve as Vice Chairman. "Our nation has changed dramatically since September 11, 2001. With a changing nation comes a changing border environment. The terrorists are not playing by the old rules and neither should we. We must continue to foster a working relationship with Mexico. Our combined influence will keep our borders and our nations strong and prosperous for many years to come," said Vice Chairman Bonilla. The U.S./Mexico Caucus is a bi-partisan group of Members of Congress committed to expanding and improving the bilateral economic relationship between the United States and Mexico. The Caucus is currently comprised of 24 members, 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats from 11 states. By initiating a dialogue within the Congress, the Caucus will focus on building upon the two nations' economic relationship, understanding that the long-term solutions to many cross-border issues will be facilitated by our existing partnership. A press conference was held in Washington, DC this week to officially launch the Caucus. Among those in attendance were Mexican Ambassador to the United States Juan Jose Bremer and senior members of the United States Chamber of Commerce. Both the ambassador and chamber representatives expressed their enthusiasm and support for the newly formed Caucus. Bonilla pointed to the economic success of the North American Free Trade agreement as a blueprint for more economic activity between the U.S. and Mexico. Since that agreement went into effect in 1994, two way trade between the two countries has tripled and $250 billion a year in bilateral trade has been generated. "Let's face it. The Mexican economy directly affects our country. By working together with Mexico we have the opportunity to improve both country's economy, trade and government relations," said Bonilla. "The formation of the U.S. / Mexico Congressional Caucus will create a forum to bring businesses from both countries together with lawmakers. This is a win-win for the people of both nations." Bonilla's district includes more than 800 miles of the Texas/Mexico border. He currently serves as co-chair of the Congressional Border Caucus and is a long-time advocate of securing a working relationship with our neighbors in Mexico.

Immigration renewals to be taken online The Associated Press, via O.C. Register, 4-26-03 At the end of May, immigrants wanted to renew or replace green cards or apply for work permits will be able to do so electronically. Homeland Security Department's Bureau for citizenship and Immigration Services will start accepting applications filed via the Internet on May 29. Department officials expect more than 30,000 people to file electronically for those benefits. Those two types of applications account for 30 percent of about 7 million applications each year for various immigration benefits. Previously, applications were available online, but they had to be mailed in. Under the new service, once immigrants fill out and send their applications online, they must call the National Customer Support Center to schedule an appointment. At the appointment, immigrants photos, fingerprints and signatures will be taken with high-tech equipment. Immigration officials will archive the fingerprints and other information to check the applicant's identity against FBI databases and to do other background checks.

"Fallen Heroes Citizenship Act" Extract: U.S. Congress pushes to ease U.S. citizenship for military by Dena Bunis, O.C. Register, 4-11-03 Contact writer: 202-628-6381 A bill may quicken the process for legal residents in the services to become citizens. Marine Gunnery Sgt., Joseph Menusa tried for 10 years to become a U.S. citizen. But each time the Philippine native needed to be back in California for his naturalization interview, he was instead deployed far from his Tracy home. A bipartisan group of lawmakers have introduced a bill which will make it easier for non-citizens serving in the military to become citizens. Last year, July 4th, 2002 President Bush signed an executive order that eliminated the three-year waiting period for those in the military to apply for citizenship, but an executive order is not permanent. The new bill would allow service members to file for and complete the naturalization process overseas instead of having to return to the United States for interviews and processing. Sgt. Joseph Menusa, Cpl. Jose Garibay of Costa Mesa, CA and Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez of Lomita, CA all received post-humous citizenship. Rep. Darrell Issa introduced the Fallen Heroes Citizenship Act last month. It would extend citizenship to the surviving spouse and children of noncitizen service members who died in battle and were given posthumous citizenship. "Service members who lose their lives in defense of our freedom and our national interests make the same sacrifice whether they are citizens or legal residents. At the very least we can honor that sacrifice by allowing their spouse and children to enjoy and benefits and the freedom of the country they were fighting to defend," said Issa.
HISPANICS IN THE US MILITARY The Pew Hispanic Center released its report on the representation of Hispanics in the military. A few of the key findings: * Latinos represent 9.49 percent of the active duty enlisted force. This compares to white representation at 61.92 percent and black representation at 22.45%. * Latinos' representation rate in the enlisted force is just about equal proportion to the qualified civilian workforce. * Latinos are slightly over-represented among enlisted personnel who most directly handle weapons, making up 17.74 percent of the category (Infantry, Gun Crews & Seamanship) and somewhat underrepresented in some of the more technical occupations such as electronics and communications. * Hispanic females represent 14.67 percent of Latinos in the enlisted ranks. The full report is available at: http://www.pewhispanic.org/site/docs/pdf/Hispanics%20in%20the%20military%20Fact%20Sheet%20.pdf More than 37,000 non-citizens serve in the military, and their numbers have grown about 30% since 2000. Of the first 10 Californians killed in the war, five were non-citizens and their numbers have grown about 30% since 2000.

National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) now accepting requests for records online Sent by Joaquin Gracida jcg2002@k-online.com The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), has informed us about an improved method of requesting documents from the NPRC. As you know, the NPRC provides copies of documents from military personnel records to authorized requesters. Their new web-based application will provide better service on these requests by eliminating their mailroom processing time. Also because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. You may access this application at: http://vetrecs.archives.gov Please note there is no requirement to type "www" in front of the web address. Additionally, this improved on-line request process should be used INSTEAD OF Standard Form 180 from veterans or the veteran's next of kin. Please give this information wide dissemination.

Peace Corps Applications rise 17% O.C. Register, 3-26-03 Gaddi Vasquez, appointed by President George W. Bush to head the Peace Corps said that prospective Pease Corps volunteers are up 17% over the past year despite Septembeter 11 and the Iraqi invasion. While 20 % of the volunteers are in Muslim countries, there have been no significant attacks on Peach Corps workers sin 9-11. Vasquez oversees a budget of $295 million, with 7,000 volunteers in 70 countries. He has visited 14 countries himself since his appointment. Only 15% of the volunteers are minorities. For his closing anecdote, Vasquez talked about a poor, young Peruvian's Alejandro Toledo, who rented a room to two Peace Corps volunteers, who in turn helped teach him English and train. him. after the volunteers returned to the Untied States, they helped Toledo win a partial scholarship to the University of San Francisco, and he finished Stanford University with a graduate degree in economics. In 2001, Toledo was elected president of Peru and soon invited the Peace Corps to return to the country - 28 years after the corps had been kicked out by the military government of the era. Toledo and the two volunteers who helped him in the early 1960s were among those on hand for Vasquez's swearing in last year.

Hispanics to Fuel Wireless Growth Source: Hispanic Business, April 2003 The young adult and Hispanic markets will show the most growth in new wireless customers this year, according to a study by wireless research firm Telephia. New wireless subscribers this year are 69 percent more likely to be Hispanic than the overall population of non-subscribers. The finds are based on a survey of more than 50,000 respondents in 44 U.S. markets. John Fair, vice-president of consumer insights for Telephia, says the Hispanic market is poised to grow, as Hispanics are more interested in services such as ring tones, games, and messaging. He says Hispanics also tend to be more interested in newer handset models. Median spending on wireless services among Hispanic customers is $5 higher than for the general population, and they spend 50 percent more time on their phones, according to Telephia.

Extract: Minority farmers growing in state O.C. Register, 4-26-03 According to the 1997 farm census, out of 74,126 farms in California, 11,075 are owned or operated by minority farmers. The numbers reflect a national trend. The number of minority farmers nationwide rose to 75,375 in 1997 from 64,443 in 1992. Hispanics represent the largest number of minority farmers in the nation at 27,717, up from 20,956 five years earlier. "Minorities have lower net worth in terms of household assets and fewer resources provide to them by previous generations. And farming . . . if they work hared, they can get ahead," said Joe Miller, census worker at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Such diversity often brings challenges. Minority farmers cite language, lack of outreach programs and discrimination as barriers. some groups sued the USDA alleging discrimination in lending. The USDA has paid more than $600 million in settlements to about 12,500 black farmers around the nation. Fresno County, California, the nations' second-most productive farm county, has the largest number of all the minority groups in California. About half the county's 6,592 farms are operated or owned by minority farmers:
Hispanics: Asians:	4,515 3,408	American Indians: Blacks:	524 277

Extract: Grand Prix's Hispanic fans a hot commodity By Felix Sanchez Staff writer, Long Beach Press Telegram, April 7, 2003 According to top Grand Prix officials, about 25 percent of their permanent base of annual race visitors are now Hispanic, and with the rising prominence of more drivers with Latin roots, the numbers will continue to grow. And bigger crowds means more pocketbooks to tap into and that has helped to stimulate Latin-based companies like Gigante supermarkets and Tecate beer to make huge financial commitments to sponsor cars and have a high- profile role at the Grand Prix. Gigante, part of retail and grocer powerhouse, Grupo Gigante in Mexico, has invested millions in the sponsorship of a CART racing car driven by Michel Jourdain Jr. Gigante recently opened a new supermarket, one of four in Southern California, in Santa Fe Springs and plans two promotions to expose Jourdain to area racing fans at the supermarket this week. And Tecate beer, already a fixture at the Grand Prix and in CART racing with its car sponsorship of immensely popular Mexican racer Adrian Fernandez, has paid out several hundred thousand dollars to become the exclusive concession stand beer at the Toyota Grand Prix, signing a multi- year pact with organizers and knocking out long-time beer sponsor, Budweiser. And with its sponsorship of Fernandez's Team Tecate race car, Tecate has seen the number of race fans grow, especially in Long Beach. Siefken estimates about 20 to 40 percent of the fans at the grand prix will be Mexican Americans or Latino. He is on record as saying racing is second in popularity in Mexico only to soccer. Venezuelan driver Milka Duno, an American Le Mans Series driver, was almost as popular among the Hispanic media covering the event as top celebrities like model Angie Everhart and Edwin "Buzz' Aldrin. That Duno's beauty matches or even surpasses Everhart's, and that she is a naval engineer with four masters degrees, makes her an intriguing subject for the Latin media and earned her a centerpiece slot on Telemundo's Ritmo Deportivo sports show. For the full article URL: http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21478~1304208,00.html Source: Hispanicvista.com


Extract: Suit alleges race discrimination on car loans by Lisa Muñoz, O.C. Register, 4-11-03 Civil-rights attorneys have filed suit against three auto lenders, alleging discriminatory lending practices that forced minorities to pay higher interest than whites on car loans. In some cases, blacks and Hipsanics were charged half the loan amount in interest. Joaquin Andrade of Woodlake was charged $3,100 on a $6,500 loan for a 1992 car. "The markup has proven to be higher for blacks and minorities than whites, even when the credit histories are the same," said Bill Lahn Lee, attorney for Andrade. "But the contracts don't mention it, so the consumer has no chance to bargain. This has quite an effect - it has the effect of siphoning off money from minority communities." Lending policies allow dealers to increase a customer's interest rate at their own discretion. About a dozen similar federal cases are pending.

Study: Language Worsens Hispanic Healthcare Crisis Source: Hispanic Business, April 2003 Hispanics who speak little or no English often are discouraged from seeking medical care, a recent survey concludes. Just one (1) percent of such Hispanics - mostly newly arrived immigrants - reported getting assistance from a trained medical interpreter. The survey also found that almost one in three Hispanics who do not speak English well reported their health was fair or poor, twice the proportion for Anglos, African Americans, and English-speaking Hispanics. And 33 percent rely on community or public clinics for their health care, compared with 12 percent of English-speaking Hispanics, 10 percent of African Americans, and 7 percent of "Anglos.


Extract: American Memory, Historical Collections for the National Digital Library http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections In honor of the Manuscript Division's centennial, its staff has selected for online display approximately ninety representative documents spanning from the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Included are the papers of presidents, cabinet ministers, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, military officers and diplomats, reformers and political activists, artists and writers, scientists and inventors, and other prominent Americans whose lives reflect our country's evolution. Most of the selected items fall within one of eight major themes or categories which reflect the division's strengths. Each of these themes is the focus of a separate essay containing links to digital reproductions of selected documents. A detailed description accompanies each document, and additional information about the parent collections may be obtained by following links to catalog records and finding aids. Plus .. Today in History Chat with a Librarian is offered M-F, 2-4 PM, EST

Book Review: Mapping Human History: Genes, Race and Our Common Origins Origins By Steve Olson Reviewed by Merete Rietveld, freelance writer who lives in Palo Alto, California. September 27, 2002 Genome News Netword http://gnn.tigr.org/articles/09_02/small_world.shtml [Today (4/16/2003) the completed draft of the human genome was published. To mark this occasion, we present a review of a recent book which uses human genetic information to unravel the story of our common ancestry, and to confront myth and reality of human differences. -- moderator.] Steve Olson has written a book that promises one of the best stories we have ever heard: The story written in our DNA. "It has adventure, conflict, triumph, and sexlots of sex. It ranges from jungles to deserts to icy plains, across generations and thousands of years." Mapping Human History follows humans from Africa to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, tracking their movement across continents, exploring regional genetic histories, and interviewing local geneticists at every stop. Reconstructing the history of various peoples, the book points out how the historical trajectories of humans constantly overlap. Olson, a science journalist who has also worked for the US National Academy of Sciences, tells us that everyone in the world can most likely claim Confucius and Julius Caesar among our ancestors once we trace our lineage back a couple of millennia. Population statisticsproves such claims to be true, he writes. The exponential growth of our ancestors from two parents to four grandparents, eight great grand parents, and going back forty generations to more than a trillion direct ancestors leads us to a time in history when, in theory, the number of ancestors would exceed the total world population. Genetics confirms that human groups are all closely related and possess only the most superficial genetic differences. Due to the "natural human tendency to interbreed" and our species' history of migrating from continent to continent, everyone is connected to a common pool of ancestors. The author denies that human groups have significant biological differences, yet stops short of saying that race has no genetic basis. We have not 'evolved' since the emergence of Homo sapiens from Africa 150,000 years ago.' Olson contends that race and ethnicity are social constructions that people have justified by assuming that biological differences exist. "Many people...cite genetics as the source of group differences...believing that outward variations in skin color, facial features or body shape reflect much more consequential differences of character, temperament, or intelligence." While the genetic differences between ethnic groups create different physical features and propensities to certain diseases, Olson claims that these variations are "meaningless" in comparison to the natural genetic variation in humans. Still, geneticists will continue to study the slight variations between ethnic groups because they have crucial implications for biomedical and historical research. Such studies not only look into the genetic causes of disease, but also reveal information on the merging and separation of human groups over time. Mutations created when cells reproduce their DNA are the "key to reconstructing our genetic history," writes Olson. Parents bequeath mutations to their children, creating a unique genetic pattern that spreads throughout certain populations. By counting the mutations that differ between two distinct DNA sequences, geneticists can find out who is related to whom and estimate the number of generations that have passed since a common ancestor existed. Despite the genetic variations among humans, Olson claims that we have not "evolved" since the emergence of Homo sapiens from Africa 150,000 years ago. "Our basic body plan was set more than 100,000 years ago. Since then, we have been in a period of evolutionary stasis." Throughout Mapping Human History, Olson says that human beings have never been able to resist the "urge to merge." Consequently, our species has interbred too enthusiastically to develop substantial genetic differences. The author's enthusiasm for this idea overreaches in a passage that addresses a period of cohabitation between Neanderthals and modern humans in Europe. He rationalizes that humans must have interbred with local Neanderthals because modern statistical data show that up to 50 percent of men on farms have had "sexual experiences with animals." Speculations abound in the anthropological parts of the book, but there is no provision of a convincing backup. In the chapter entitled "The End of Evolution," Olson contends "no one group is more closely related to our ancestors than any other." However, a few paragraphs later he writes that perhaps the Bushmen of eastern Africa "retain some of the characteristics of our early modern ancestors" because they live in a place where the original Homo sapiens are thought to have lived. In the final chapters of the book, Olson questions the practice of studying the genetics of ethnic groups. He worries that although "the only way to understand how similar we are is to learn how we differ-studies of human differences can seem to play into the hands of those who would accentuate those differences." Some may benefit from tracing their lineage back to royalty, but others could be stigmatized by possessing genes associated with disease, for example. Olson admits that pursuing genetic knowledge implies both risks and opportunities. His lasting vision is "a world in which people are free to choose their ethnicity regardless of their ancestry." See related GNN book review Clan Mothers and Ancient Travelers: A review of Bryan Sykes' The Seven Daughters of Eve

Thousands Search National Archives New Electronic Database Press Release: April 8, 2003 Sent by George Gause ggause@panam.edu Source Jennifer Heaps jennifer.heaps@NARA.GOV College Park, MD. . . The National Archives and Records Administration NARA) recently launched Access to Archival Databases (AAD), a new research tool that makes a selection of the Archives' most popular electronic records available to the public over the Internet. The URL is http://www.archives.gov/aad/ AAD is the first publicly accessible application developed under the auspices of the National Archives Electronic Records Archives Program. The Electronic Records Archives Program is addressing the larger challenges of preserving the increasing variety and volume of Government records that have been created and stored in electronic form. AAD addresses just access to a specific type of electronic record--databases and records that are structured like databases. In announcing the new system, Archivist of the United States, John W. Carlin said, "This ground breaking system will provide a new way for customers to access records over the Internet. Until we launched AAD, researchers needed to contact us directly to gain access to our electronic records. Sometimes we were able to supply them with copies of specific records after a period of time, but frequently they needed to purchase a copy of the entire file. Now they only need access to a computer connected to the Internet to reach these selected records. AAD is a crucial step toward fulfilling our mission by providing the public with 'ready access to essential evidence.'" AAD provides researchers with: Online access to more than 350 databases, which were created by over 20 Federal agencies. NARA plans to expand the system to more than 500 databases. The ability to search, retrieve, print out, and download records. Researchers will need to determine the series and file units of interest before they begin their search. --Important contextual information to help researchers understand the records better, including code lists, explanatory notes from National Archives archivists, and for some series or files in AAD, related documents. Notable databases in the initial release of AAD include: --Preservation survey of Civil War sites --Combat casualties from the Vietnam and Korean Wars --POWs from World War II and Korean War --Japanese-American Internee Files from World War II --Port of New York ship passenger lists,1846-1851 (Irish Famine database) --Death records from the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary in Panama, 1906-1991 --Indexes to black and white and color NASA photographs, 1958-1991 --After action combat and air sortie reports from the Vietnam War --Military Prime Contracts in excess of $10,000, 1965-1975 --Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Ownership Reporting System, 1978-1998 --SEC Proposed Sales of Securities System (Insider trading), 1972-1993 Since the launch of AAD, thousands of researchers have flocked to the site. Due to this heavy use, users may experience a wait time to access information. The National Archives is currently working to add additional capacity to the system to meet the demands of users. For press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at 301-837-1700. Press release available online at http://www.archives.gov/media_desk/press_releases/nr03-34.html List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html Contact RECMGMT-L-REQUEST@lists.ufl.edu for assistance
Hispanic Achievers eNews News e-magazine. Free to receive. http://www.hispanicachievers.tv/templates/tv/enews15.htm

A Rebuttal to an Erroneous Letter–to-the-Editor

By Robert H. Thonhoff*

[ANNOTATOR’S NOTE: Thirty years ago, with the standard education that I had received, I probably would have held much the same views as the writer of the following letter-to-the-editor. Relatively recent research in the voluminous Spanish archives, however, has revealed new information about the history of the American Revolution. Indeed, it has added a new dimension to that history. To paraphrase the words of radio commentator Paul Harvey, ". . . and now we know the rest of the story!"]

[Original letter in green and the rebuttal is typed in red inside the brackets.]

In his [Houston Chronicle] October 27 Outlook article, "How Hispanic America first came to the U.S. rescue," television producer Anthony Burden attempted to show that Hispanics deserve as much credit as the French in aiding the cause of the American Revolution. I don't question Burden's scholarship, but I do take issue with his politics and the manner in which his facts were presented. [Yes, indeed, we all want the facts presented to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, the facts about Spain’s vital role during the American Revolution have been grossly overlooked and misrepresented far too many years. Fortunately, relatively recent scholarship has brought to light new information from Spanish archives that would corroborate Anthony Burden’s presentation.]

We are led to believe that, through the kindness of his heart, Spanish commander Bernardo de Galvez sent supplies up the Mississippi to the rebellious colonists in the form of "aid," opened the port of New Orleans to American warships and marshaled his forces to fight the British on our behalf. This is not exactly the truth. [That is exactly what happened! Bernardo Gálvez was, indeed, a compassionate, kind, and caring man. One but needs, for example, to read John Walton Caughey’s magnificent book, Bernardo de Gálvez of Louisiana, 1776-1783 (Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna, Louisiana, 1972), and other publications about his life and deeds to deduce this. Spain had good reason to fight the British on behalf of the Americans and on its own behalf.]

During the course of the Revolution, the Colonies did ask for and received, several small loans from Spain which were ultimately repaid; [On the contrary, the American Colonies requested and received loans of not only large amounts of money, (millions of pesos—the currency standard of the times) but also outright gifts of great amounts of food, uniforms, blankets, shoes, stockings, medicine, muskets, bayonets, cannons, cannon balls, musket balls, musket flints, lead, gunpowder, and other items, most of which was never repaid or paid for.] the Mississippi was used as a trade route with New Spain [The Mississippi and Ohio rivers served as a veritable lifeline for Spanish aid to reach the embattled colonists.] but all items received were paid for by the colonials and not accepted as "aid" [ Totally incorrect: All of the aid was gratefully accepted by the Americans, and little was repaid.] Spanish forces did fight the British in New Spain (the Gulf Coast), but on their own behalf not ours. No Spanish ground forces were committed on American soil [Tens of thousands of Spanish soldiers fought the British not only at Manchac, Baton Rouge, Mobile, and Pensacola, but also at St. Joseph (Michigan), St. Louis (Missouri), Vincennes (Indiana), Kaskaskia (Illinois), Cahokia (Illinois). and worldwide. At the siege of Pensacola alone, Gálvez had over 7,000 soldiers and sailors under his command. Even a contingent of the First Continental Marines fought under Gálvez in his campaign along the Gulf Coast.] and no Spanish ships were deployed to American waters to repel the British Navy. [Hundreds of Spanish ships, many of them from México (deep New Spain) were deployed to wage war against the British along the Gulf Coast, in Central America, in the Bahamas (where a part of the South Carolina Navy served under Gálvez), and in global engagements against the British in the far off Philippines, Galápagos, Juan Fernández Islands, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bahamas, Jamaica, Minorca, and Gibraltar. France extended the worldwide dimensions of the war by fighting the British in India, Hudson Bay, and Sierra Leone in addition to the North American Continent and the West Indies.]

Unlike the French who were already well on their own road to revolution, Spain was strongly committed to monarchy. [The French and Spanish Bourbon monarchs were strong and intact at this time in history. Spain’s King Carlos III, sometimes called "The Best of the Bourbons," was one of the world’s most enlightened and benevolent monarchs. A little later, in the 1790s, Napoleon Bonaparte ascended into power during the French Revolution and became the Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815. Unbeknownst to many people, he set up his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain from 1807 to 1814 (during which time the Mexican Revolution started on September 16, 1810).] When Spain finally declared war on England, it was not to encourage or aid the cause of American independence. [Because of the complex world situation, Spain assumed a policy of "benevolent neutrality" toward the Americans and a "cautious neutrality" toward the British. From 1775 until the formal declaration of war against England on June 21, 1779, Spain sent covertly (secretly) aid of all kinds to the Americans. After the declaration of war, Spain militarily engaged the British not only in North America but also over the world, at the same time posing a possible Spanish-French invasion of England.] The Spanish, rather, saw an opportunity to recoup losses suffered at the hands of the British. This cannot be attributed to benevolence but to self-interest, pure and simple. [Spain had many reasons, benevolent and political, to befriend the Americans and wage war against the British. After the war, the American Congress commended Bernardo de Gálvez for his aid during the war, and Spanish aid was gratefully acknowledged. Since then, for whatever reasons, America has generally forgotten not only the great contribution of Spain to American independence but also the great Spanish hero of the American Revolution, General Bernardo de Gálvez, whose name should rightfully rank with the Marquis de Lafayette, General Rochambeau, and Comte de Grasse of France; Baron von Steuben and Baron de Kalb of Prussia (now Germany); and Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski of Poland.]

The United States' history gives credit to the French (who did send aid), because credit is deserved. On the other hand, if history seems to neglect the contributions of the Spanish in our fight for independence, it is only because those contributions were minuscule and hardly worth mentioning. [Quite the contrary! Far from being "minuscule and hardly worth mentioning," Spain’s contribution should be truthfully characterized as "munificent and vital" to the winning of the American Revolution. Interestingly, both France and Spain stood by the United States of America in the War for Independence. Unlike France, however, Spain has stood by the United States again in the current War against Iraq, an important phase in the ongoing War against Terrorism.]

John P. Bridge, Katy, Texas
November 8, 1997, Houston Chronicle

Bibliography for General/Viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez
Prepared by Granville W Hough gwhough@earthlink.net

With the increasing interest in the life and work of Bernardo de Gálvez, it is worth noting what is currently available and in our libraries. We can start with the Library of Congress and then go on to more specialized libraries. We see there are obituaries, epic poems, engravings and likenesses, genealogies, diaries, children’s books, and serious studies of his campaigns and contributions.

Baker, Maury and Margaret Bissler Haas, Eds. "Bernardo de Gálvez’s Combat Diary for the Battle of Pensacola, 1781," Florida Historical Quarterly,Vol LVI (Oct 1977):176-99. (in English.)

Beerman, Eric. "The French Ancestors of Felicite de St. Maxent," Louisiana Review, Vol VI (Summer, 1977):69-75. This sketches the ancestry of the wife of Bernardo de Gálvez, the St. Maxent family of France and Louisiana.

Beerman, Eric. "’Yo Solo’ not ‘Solo’: Juan Antonio de Riaño," The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol 58, #2, (1979):174-184. This short study of Bernardo’s brother-in-law shows how he was with Bernardo commanding another vessel in the famous crossing of the sandbar at Pensacola Bay leading the invasion of Pensacola. After fighting with distinction there, Riaño was promoted, married Bernardo’s sister-in-law, Victoria de St Maxent, then transferred to the Spanish Army when Bernardo became Viceroy of New Spain. After forty years service, Riaño was killed 28 Sep 1810 as Governor of Guanajuato in the Hidalgo uprising, along with his son Gilberto. Another son was killed in 1812 in the battle of Cantle de Amilpas. His surviving children were son Honorato, who married Victoria Setien y Riaño, and dau Rosa, who married Miguel Setien.

Boeta, José Rodulfo. Bernardo de Gálvez, Madrid, Publicaciones Españolas, 1977. This is a study of how Bernardo carried out the wishes of Carlos III of Spain in supporting the Americans during the American Revolution. (Available through loan from FHL INTL Film, #1573156, item 7.)

Caughey, John Walton. Bernardo de Gálvez in Louisiana, 1776-1783, Gretna, LA, Pelican Pub. Co., 1972. This is the standard and most available reference in English for Governor Gálvez. The foreword is by Jack D. L. Holmes.

Churchill, Charles Robert. Bernardo de Gálvez: Services to the American Revolution, LA Society, Sons of the American Revolution, 1925, 1996. Compatriot Churchill was a leader in developing understanding of the Gálvez contributions, and descendants of Louisiana soldiers serving under Gálvez have been accepted into the SAR and DAR since his work, 1920-25.

Coleman, James Julian, Jr. Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent: The Spanish-Frenchman of New Orleans, New Orleans, Pelican Publishing House, 1968. This book covers all the sons and daughters of the outstanding St. Maxent family of Louisiana, daughters who married Spanish officers at the highest level, and sons who served in the Spanish Army.

Gálvez, Bernardo de. Engraving, undated, part of the picture collection, LSU Libraries. How this engraving looks is not known to the author of this list; however, there are on the internet Gálvez likenesses at www.oakapple.net/gwhough/galvez.jpg/ for quick viewing, and for detailed downloading at www.oakapple.net/gwhough/galvez-big.jpg/

Holmes, Jack David Lazarus. The 1779 "Marcha de Gálvez": Louisiana’s giant step forward in the American Revolution, Baton Rouge Bicentennial Corporation, c 1974. This monograph was published as part of the American Revolution Bicentennial, 1776-1976. The title is taken from an actual musical work, the "Marcha de Gálvez," which commemorates Governor Gálvez, and was commissioned by the LSU Bicentennial Program Office. The author is Dinos Constantinides, and the music is for soloists, mixed chorus and instrumental ensemble; poetry by Julien Poydras; translated by Leon Phillips, 1976.

Larrañaga, Bruno Francisco. El sol triunfante, Mexico, D. F., Frente de Afirmación Hispanista, 1990.

Parks, Virginia, ed. Siege! Spain and Britain: Battle of Pensacola, March 9-May 8, 1781, with contributors Jesse Earle Bowden and others, Pensacola, FL, Pensacola Historical Society, 1981.

"Poesa sobre el sirrey [!] Gálvez," Mexico, 1787, 4 pamphlets in 1 volume, authors not listed.

Reparaz, Carmen de. Yo solo: Bernardo de Gálvez y la toma de Panzacola en 1781: una contribución española a la independencia de los Estados Unidos, Barcelona, Serbal, Madrid: ICI, 1986.

Roberts, Russell. Bernardo de Gálvez, Bear, DL, Mitchell Lane Publishers, c 2003, children’s book.

Rojas y Rocha, Francisco. "Poema epico," Mexico, F. de Zúñiga y Ontiveros, 1785.

Rovira, Juan José, "Address on Bernardo de Gálvez," The New Orleans Genesis, Vol XVI, #64, Sep 1977, pp v-vi.

Santa Maria y Sevilla, Manuel de. "Suspiros que en le muerte del exmô, señor cond de Gálvez, exsaló," Mexico, Inprenta nueva de J. F. Rangel, 1786.

Souviron, Sebastian. Bernardo de Gálvez, virrey de Méjico, un infante de la marina española, Malaga, 1946. "Spain furnishes authentic coat of arms of Gálvez," Galveston Daily News, no date, no page, no author, but apparently the City of Galveston, TX had requested and received a coat of arms for use in their city to commemorate their namesake.

Stanford, Donald E. Louisiana laurels. (various artists contributed articles, portraits, and other items to commemorate Louisiana heros), Baton Rouge, LA, for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge by Printing, Inc, c 1991.

Valdez, Manuel Antonio. "Apuntes de algunas de las gloriosas acciones del exmô. Señor d. Bernardo de Gálvez, conde de Gálvez, virey, gobernador y capitan general que fué de esta Nueva España, &c." Mexico, F. de Zúñiga y Ontiveros, 1787.

Valery S., Rafael. Miranda in Pensacola:génesis de la independencia hispanoamericana, Los Teques (Miranda, Venezuela), Biblioteca de Autores Y Temas Mirandinos, 1991. It is easy to overlook the ideas generated among the young Hispanic officers, born in the Americas, as they saw the successful struggle of the Americans for independence. Within a generation, nearly every part of Hispanic America was in an independent nation. The time had come, and the example was before these young officers.

De Varona, Frank. Bernardo de Gálvez, Milwaukee, Raintree Publishers, c1990. This is designed for juveniles with both Spanish and English, (juxtaposed, if I recall correctly) and is from the Raintree Hispanic stories.

De Ville, Winston. Yo solo: the battle journal of Bernardo de Gálvez during the American Revolution, with comments from E. A. Montemayor, Eric Beerman, Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, and Gerald R. Ford. English edition.

Woodward, Ralph Lee, Jr. Tribute to Don Bernardo de Gálvez: royal patents and an epic ballad honoring the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, Historic New Orleans Collection, 1779.

Works Progress Administration (LA). Louisiana Militia under Don Bernardo de Gálvez, 1770-1797. This is a work which the author of this list did not learn about while working on Louisiana Patriots. It was done during the Great Depression as a make-work enterprise for historians. It is available from FHL US/CAN Film #1794157, item 5.

May 3rd: General Bernardo de Galvez:
A Hero of the American Revolution

Michael Stevens Perez, 11:00 a.m.
Huntington Beach Central Library
Golden West & Talbert
7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach, CA

Michael Stevens Perez, Program Manager of the Bernardo de Galvez Project, accompanied by the Honorary Spanish Consul Maria Angeles Olson and Dr. Granville Hough will address the Orange County California Genealogical Society in Huntington Beach.

In 1779, General Bernardo de Galvez and his multi-ethnic army of Creoles, Indians, free African Americans and his own Spanish regulars, marched on the British-held forts at Baton Rouge and Natchez. Then they took the British at Mobile and Pensacola. They immobilized the British forces in the South when Great Britain needed them most, resulting in its eminent defeat. Today, Galveston, Texas bears honor to his name.

Come and learn more about this Spanish-American hero and others at our May meeting featuring Michael Stevens Perez. He will also be discussing the Bernardo de Galvez Project, which honors this great man. In the afternoon, Michael will speak on the de Riberas, a New Mexico family of Spanish Colonial soldiers, 1599-1843. Come and learn about the vital role that Spain played in creating our United States!

MEETING TIMETABLE
09:00 am - Morning Workshop(s)
9:00 AM - Room B Intermediate/Advanced Genealogy, Charlotte Smith
9:00 AM - Maddy Room Computer SIG. Dr. Lloyd Budwig, Chris Hansen
10:00 am - OCCGS Business Meeting starts
11:00 am - MONTHLY SPEAKER Michael Stevens Perez
12:30 pm - Afternoon Workshop(s)
12:30 PM - Room C
"The de Riberas: A New Mexico family of Spanish Colonial Soldiers"
Michael Stevens Perez
12:30 PM - Room D German Interest Group, Bill Toeppe
12:30 PM - Room D Basic Genealogy, Gretchen Slota, Charlene Haney
For more information: http://www.occgs.com/events.htm

Mother's Day Event at the Libreria Martinez

Our Mother's Day Event will be on May 3, 2003 at 3 pm with author Maria Perez-Brown. She will be presenting her new book "Mama: Hijas Latinas Celebran a Sus Madres."

And more coming events for you.
Thursday, May 15 at 7:00 pm. Louis Barajas: "The Latino Journey to Financial Greatness"

Rueben Martinez rueben@latinobooks.com
1110 N. Main St.
Santa Ana, Ca. 92701
PH 714-973-7900 FX 714-973-7902

May 31st:
Cristero Rebellion of 1926 to 1929

Steven Hernandez, 11 AM

Society of Hispanic Historical & Ancestral Research
Quarterly Meeting
Orange County Multi-Regional Family History Center
674 S. Yorba, City of Orange
FREE

Historian Steven Hernandez, completed his thesis on the topic of the Cristero Rebellion. He will be sharing data, documentations, and stories found during his investigation of that time period. For a little back ground information, here follows an article on the Cristeros written by Kazstelia Vasquez.

Schedule:
9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Networking
10:30 to 11:00 Introductions and Announcements
11:00 SPEAKER: Steven Hernandez

Cristeros Became Mexican Martyrs 1926-1929
by Kazstelia Vasquez

Borderlands 1800s to 1920s
Produced by the Students of El Paso Community College
2002-2003, Vol. 21

        In the U.S., betrothed couples can choose to have a religious or a civil wedding ceremony. If they choose the religious one, the state recognizes it. In Mexico, however, couples desiring to have a religious ceremony must also be married in a civil ceremony.
        This separation of church and state dates back to the 1857 Constitution and the government’s later enforcement of several articles which gave the state administrative power over the clerical profession and took away authority from the Catholic Church.
        In 1926, a small army of Catholic peasants who took on the name "Cristeros" (followers of Christ) fought to regain religious freedom. Before they were through, as many as 50,000 men from every socioeconomic background took up arms against the government.
        The "war" produced many religious refugees, some of whom came to El Paso. The city welcomed the persecuted, and from this support stemmed the founding of new seminaries and monasteries, which still exist today.
        In 1917, President Plutarco Eli as Calles and the former president, General Alvaro Obregon, weakened the Catholic church in Mexico by enforcing the articles of the 1857 Constitution included in the 1917 version. Article 3 called for secular education in the schools, thus outlawing parochial education. Article 5 closed all seminaries and convents. Article 24 forbade worship outside the physical boarders of the church.
        Article 27 prohibited religious groups from own real estate, thus nationalizing all church property. Article 130 prohibited priest and nuns from wearing religious vestments, but more importantly, it took away from the clergy the rights of voting and speech, prohibiting the criticism of government officials and comment on public affairs in religious publications.
        The closing of seminaries began during the Mexican Revolution, leaving nuns and priests with no place to live or work. The government also ruled that only Mexican-born clergy would be allowed to remain and participate in religious activities in Mexico. By 1917, hundreds of religious had been expelled from Mexico or had fled the country.
        The Catholic Church did not want to retaliate violently against the government, so from 1919 to 1926, they obeyed the laws. However, in 1926, President Calles introduced legislation which fined priests $250 for wearing religious vestments and imprisoned them for 5 years for criticizing the government.
        Archbishop of Mexico, Jose Maria Mora y del Rio, declared that the Catholic Church could not accept the government’s restraints. On July 31,1926, the Archbishop suspended all public worship by ordering Mexican clergy to refrain from administering any of the Church’s sacraments.
        Many priests were martyred while celebrating mass, either by being shot or by being beheaded. In a last affirmation of their faith, the Cristeros would shout, "Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long live Christ the King!) just before dying.
        Padre Miguel Agustin Pro was one of the best known of the martyred priests. Pro used elaborate disguises so that soldiers would not recognize him as a priest. Known for his indefatigable sense of humor, he visited the faithful often dressed as a beggar. He administered the sacraments, provided jokes and laughter, and helped financially those in need. Rich families often received the sacraments from Padre Pro in his disguise of businessman. Pro and his brother, Humberto, were arrested for being erroneously linked to a car bombing which injured ex-president Obregon. The car used in the bombing was traced back to Humberto Pro, the previous owner.
        Calles took advantage of the opportunity to execute a priest publicly in an attempt to discourage other priests from participating in politics. He ordered Pro be shot at the police station and invited reporters to the execution. Padre Pro carried a small crucifix and his rosary and held his arms out forming a cross as he was shot. Pope John Paul ll beatified him on September 25, 1988.
        Another martyr, San Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Lucero, served the people’s spiritual needs in Chihuahua, Mexico. Maldonado attended seminary in Mexico in1914, but the political conflict forced him to leave. He came to El Paso and received his ordination on January 25,1918, from Bishop Anthony J. Schuler at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Then he returned to Chihuahua to serve the faithful.
        After Calles’ anti-Catholic laws were implemented in 1926, Maldonado became a government target for performing religious ceremonies in private homes. He succeeded in celebrating night masses on one ranch or another, performing marriages and baptisms and administering other sacraments. In 1937 during Holy Week, the mayor and soldiers in Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, arrested him and beat him to death for defying government bans on hidden religious celebrations.
        Like Maldonado, many other priests and nuns along with ordinary Catholics, Mormons and Episcopalians left the country and found refuge in broader cities in the United States, among them, El Paso. Patrick Cross writes that by 1929, some 25,000 priests in approximately 12,000 parishes no longer could minister to the spiritual needs of Mexican Catholics, over 10 million strong.
        In a personal interview, Dr. Jesus Cuellar, this writer’s grandfather, recalled that at the age of 13, in 192, he was helping Father Gregorio Paredes with a secret mass in a house in Guanajuato.
        In order to save the priest’s life and to keep the Eucharist from desecration, Cuellar took the Chalice Containing the Eucharist and ran out to hide in the neighboring house. He and Father Paredes hid in a basement for 3 days, waiting for the soldiers to leave.
        Persecuted Mexican Catholics received worldwide sympathy. Boston banned the new religious regulations calling them "the most brutal tyranny." New York parishioners crowded Catholic and Protestant churches to offer prayers for a peaceful solution in Mexico.
        El Paso Bishop Revered Schuler welcomed Juarez Catholics and even granted priests permission to perform marriages and baptisms without requiring residency for the Mexican citizens. Between 1926 and 1929, the number of people attending services at El Paso Catholic churches suggested that downtown churches were serving great numbers of Catholics from Mexico.
        Since priests and nuns in Mexico could no longer teach there, many of them came to El Paso. Three nuns from the order of Perpetual Adoration and two from the servants of the Sacred Heart arrived in El Paso on August 2,1926. Sacred Heart church received the nuns from the Sacred Heart Order with open arms.
        Because there was no Perpetual Adoration order in El Paso, Bishop Schuler provided the funds for the foundation of such a monastery to train nuns. Other exiled nuns from Mexico City and Guadalajara soon joined the first nuns.
        Reverend Mother Maria Concepcion del Espiritu Santo was in charge of the nuns who came from Guadalajara. She found a suitable location for the monastery in a house at 1401 Magoffin. Along with money from the diocese, the Catholic community raised funds and helped pay $7,550 for the property in monthly installments.
        Once El Paso became a diocese in 1926, it allowed to establish seminaries and became the home to Franciscans at St. Anthony’s Seminary at Hastings and Crescent in 1935. Before this, the persecuted Franciscan order of Michoacan, which had not had a seminary since 1910, had lived in Santa Barbara, Calif., after their departure from Mexico.
        The monasteries and seminaries established at this time succeeded so well that an additional Perpetual Adoration Monastery in the Lower Valley and the Roger Bacon Seminary soon followed to house homeless priests and nuns.
        During the religious persecution, some Mexican nationals who sought and found asylum in El Paso decided to stay here. However, many returned to Mexico but continued to enroll their children in the parochial schools here. Perhaps the trend of bring children to school across the boarder began when El Paso met those needs so many years ago.
        Even though Catholicism is no longer openly persecuted in Mexico, the religious persecution of the 1920s is still felt. The government prohibits priests from owning property, criticizing government officials or commenting on public affairs. The state still does not recognize weddings performed by priests.
        In 2000, the Pope canonized 25 priests of the Cristero era, including San Maldonado. The blood of the thousands of Cristeros and martyrs that flooded the land nourished the spirits of those left behind; their courageous cry can still be heard in the hearts of the faithful, "Viva Cristo Rey!"
Sent by Ivonne Urveta Thompson guirodriguez@utep.educ

There is a growing interest in the historical religious thought of Tejanos and Mexicanos,
as evidence by a first- time ever conference being held this month in Texas.

Recovering Hispanic Religious Thought
in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Conference
No Registration is Required

May 22, 2003
University of Houston, University Center
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

The Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project with the sponsorship of the Graduate Students in Spanish Association and the Ford foundation announces its first Hispanic Religious Though Conference at the University of Houston Main Campus. Scholars from various disciplines will be presenting papers on diverse themes related to the recovery of the Hispanic written legacy.

Recovering Hispanic Religious Thought in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries is project to find, research and make accessible all religious documents and thought of Hispanics in the United States from colonial times to 1960. In the development of Hispanic culture, religious institutions, practices and discourses have been of primary importance in shaping Hispanic worldview.

For more information, please write, fax, or em-mail:
Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage
University of Houston
256 Cullen Performance Hall
Houston, TX 77204-2006
Tel: 713-743-3128
Fax: 713-743-3142
E-mail: artrec@mail.uh.edu

We invite readers to share family stories about this time period.
The following was sent by Sister Mary Sevilla, msevilla@attbi.com.
She received it from her cousins, residents of Mexico.

"The rebellion was the Cristeros. It happened in around the year 1930. It was persecution to take the land and the money from the church, since according to the government, it [church] was getting very powerful, and they [Cristeros] were trying to overthrow the Mexican government. This is what my dad told me, and he was a Teniente in the Mexican Cavalry at the time and served alongside Lazaro Cardenas and Avila Camacho." Carlos & Muriel

Extract: Sharing skills - Firefighters from Mexico train in Santa Fe Springs, CA
By Ben Baeder , 3-14-03, Whittier Daily News (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3024, or ben.baeder@sgvn.com
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207~12026~1245250,00.html
Source: Hispanicvista.com, Inc. 2003

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA – March 14, 2003 - Lagos de Moreno, a rural city in central Mexico that was the rebel base of operations during the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s, is changing fast. In an attempt to keep up, President Vicente Fox sent Alfonso Macias, director of civil protection in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico and Captain Jose de Jesus Alvarez of the the Lagos de Moreno Fire Department to learn emergency-response techniques. For two weeks in March, the two men trained and stayed with Santa Fe Springs firefighters at the fire station on Greenstone Avenue in California.
        While staying at the Santa Fe Springs fire station on Greenstone Avenue, the two Mexicans concentrated on how to respond to two of Lagos de Moreno's biggest problems: traffic collisions and field fires. because it is centrally located in Mexico, six major highways run through Lagos de Moreno, Macias said. As the result of new factories, traffic is increasing and so are traffic collisions, Alvarez said.
        Most of the firefighters are volunteers who lack adequate equipment and training, In fact, someone from the United States had donated air bags to the department, which are used to lift cars off the ground when rescuing collision victims. But the bags came with no directions and firefighters had no idea how to use them until Santa Fe Springs firefighters showed Alvarez how.
        The two visitors spent time learning how to control wildfires, knocking down fires in a burning cargo car, fire science and other rescue techniques. Macias is currently working on an emergency-response plan he hopes will eventually be adopted by the federal government to be used in all of Mexico.
        The Santa Fe Springs Fire Department is one of the more advanced city departments in the area, which gives them special qualifications to train firefighters, firefighter Jose Tovar said. The department has firefighters with the highest level of Urban Search and Rescue certification. They also have capability to handle hazardous materials and rescue people from fast-moving water, according to Chief Neal Welland.
        The arrangement to bring the Mexicans here was brought about by Santa Fe Springs businessman Bill Morgan, who owns SPU Automotive. Morgan, who is descended from a British family and was born and raised in Mexico, is the executive secretary for the International United States/Mexico Sister City Organization.
        Morgan said he is hoping the relationship between the fire departments will be a long one. "These firemen have friendships all over the world,' he said. "The fireman from here go to Mexico and spend their vacations and money out of their pockets to train (firefighters in Mexico). These guys are all brothers. "

Don Victor Castro Fights the French
By William Mero
First published in the Brentwood Press   http://www.cocohistory.com/essays-don-castro.html

Sent by Joan De Soto who writes: "Juan Salvio Pacheco is my husbands 2nd great-grandfather."

        Don Victor Castro was a fighter. His father was from Cordoba, Spain and Victor was proud of his Spanish heritage. Born in 1820, Don Victor Castro inherited the magnificent Rancho San Pablo, the first rancho in Contra Costa County. Don Castro did not gamble or carouse. He also had reputation for never smoking, drinking or using profanity. Tall and immensely strong, Victor was a renowned horseman. In 1840 he was made a jeuz de campo, "judge of the plains." As such Don Castro had absolute authority over the great roundups where cattle were separated for branding. He was active in wars against the Indians that raided the Mexican ranchos and in fighting the American squatters that swarmed on to his property after the gold rush. He was a leader both in war and peace. Under American rule in 1852, he was elected a Contra Costa County supervisor.
       Still Victor Castro never lost his concern for the plight of Mexico. During the early 1860's America's energies were occupied by its Civil War. France under Napoleon III took advantage of America's political turmoil by seizing Mexico and naming their political puppet, Archduke Ferdinand Maximillian, as the Emperor of Mexico. Mexico soon plunged into rebellion as it fought to regain its independence. President Benito Juarez was the leader of Mexico's struggle for freedom. Desperate in their fight against the power of France, the rebels sought financial and military support from outside of Mexico. In 1864 General Placido Vega was sent by Benito Juarez on a secret mission to California. To generate support for the constitutional government of Mexico, Vega met with the leading Mexican-American families of Contra Costa asking for their moral and monetary aid in the cause of Mexican independence. Seeking additional political influence General Vega also became a vice-president of the Union Club of San Francisco. As an officer of the Union Club, he contributed both time and money working on Lincoln's 1864 re-election.
        The primary purpose for General Vega's mission was to buy munitions for the struggling Juarez government. During our Civil War the American government had prohibited the export of arms to Mexico. Vega was soon deeply involved in smuggling guns into Mexico. General Vega also organized Mexican patriotic clubs throughout California and Nevada. Their purpose was to raise money and recruit volunteer soldiers to fight for a free Mexico. In Contra Costa County clubs were formed in San Pablo, Pinole, and Martinez. Vega's greatest success was the delivery of 8,000 rifles to Porfirio Diaz and 24,000 muskets to Juan Alvarez. With these arms, they eventually expelled the French from their parts of Mexico.
        The Pacheco, Castro and Vallejo families contributed money and moral support. Augustin Alviso, Salvio Pacheco, and Victor Castro even loaned General Vega $24,000. For Victor Castro money alone was not enough. He felt that he must go to Mexico and personally fight the French and their Mexican allies. The first military expedition in 1865 was stopped in San Francisco largely through the efforts of Edmund Burke, San Francisco Chief of Police and a deputy in the Port Collector's office. Original papers in the Bancroft Library reveal that at the time, the San Francisco Police Chief was actually a secret agent in the pay of the French government.
        In 1866 Don Victor Castro successfully raised a company of volunteers and was commissioned a captain in the Mexican army. Many of the officers and volunteers in the large invasion force organized by General Vega were Anglos, not


California Sons of the American Revolution Honor Bernardo de Galvez
On April 5th, 2003 Mimi Lozano and Michael Perez attended the California Sons of the American Revolution Annual Spring Banquet. Through the coordination of Clarence Lucas, an invitation was extended to the Spanish Consul. Colonial Soldiers from all over the United States added touching reminders of the historical sacrifices made for this great nations. SHHAR made a formal unveiling of this painting, which was commissioned by a supporter of the Galvez Project as a gift to the Sons of the American Revolution.			Honorary Consul of Spain in San Diego, Maria Angeles O'Donnell Olson and her husband, Quentin Olson Above Mimi Lozano & Clarence Lucas Below
	Colonial Spanish Soldier Artist: C.J. Wells, New Mexico The painting will be housed in Louisville, Kentucky, at the National Headquarter for the Sons of the American Revolution.

		Clarence Lucas is leading a movement to organize a Spanish colonial soldier chapter. If you would be interested in receiving help in tracing your Hispanic lines back to a Hispanic soldier, please email him directly at clucas@bart.gov Many Southwest and Mexican researchers with early ancestral connections on this continent will be surprised to find that their Spanish ancestors helped form this nation. Ante todo les estoy muy agradecida por habernos invitado a participar con ustedes en esta velada. El Cónsul General de España en Los Angeles, El Excmo. Sr. Don José Luis Dicenta Ballester me ha pedigo que les lea lo siguiente: Quisiera, en primer lugar, expresar mi agradecimiento a los organizadores del Annual Spring Banquet por invitación a compartir esta velada con Uds., y lamentar el no haber podido estar presente en esta ocasión por ineludibles compromisos previos. Lo hace, en mi representación en esta ocasión por ineludibles compromisos previos la Cónsul Honoraria de España en San Diego, María Ángeles Olson. En segundo término, deseo felicitarles por la iniciativa de Somos Primos y por el espíritu que la anima. Investigar nuestos orígenes es un elemento básico para definir nuestra propia identidad. Vengo sosteniendo desde hace muchos años que ningún español es plenamente consciente de su identidad si no conoce bien América Latina. Y ello porque la América Latina es una parte sustancial de nuestra propia historia, donde sangres y culturas se mezclaron para dar lugar a la realidad actual. Una realidad en la que la historia, la cultura y la lengua sirven de catalizadores básicos de cara a cualquier proyecto de futuro. Por esa misma razón, considero que el intento de conocer cabalmente la contribución histórica de los Latinos Americanos - y también de los españoles, en especial en esta región de los Estados Unidos - a la creación y articulación de este gran país constituye un noble empeño y también un esfuerzo ineludible si se quiere establecer con claridad la identidad nacional de millones de NorteAmericanos. Olvidar la historia, desconocer el pasado, es mala preparación para organizar el futuro. Espero tener muy pronto la ocasión de reunirme con Uds. y deseo que esta velada constituya un auténtico éxito. Cuenten Uds. con mi positiva predisposición para trabajar en el futuro en su proyecto.
It is a pleasure to be here today. the consul General of Spain in Los Angeles, his excellency Jose Luis Dicenta Ballester, has asked me to read the following: First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers of the Annual Spring Banquet for inviting me to shared this evening with you and my regret for not being able to attend due to unavoidable previous engagements. Maria Angeles Olson, the Honorary Consul of Spain in San Diego, is in attendance representing me. Second of all, I would like to congratulate you for the "Somos Primos" initiative and for the spirit behind it. To investigate our origins is a key element to define our own identity. I have been maintaining for years that no Spaniard can be fully conscious of its identity unless he or she has a good knowledge of Latin America. And this is because Latin America is a substantial part of our own history, where blood and cultures mixed to create today' reality. A reality where history, culture and language serve as basic channels for any future projects. For that same reason, I believe that the intent to know precisely the historic contribution of Latin American People - and also of Spaniards, especially in this region of the United States - to the creation and articulation of this great country, is a noble purpose, and also an unavoidable effort, in order to clearly establish the identity of millions of Americans. Forgetting about history and not knowing the past does not prepare us well to organize the future. I hope to have an opportunity very soon to meet with you and I wish this evening becomes a real success. You can count on my positive disposition to work on your project in the future.

Content Areas United States. . . . . . 2 Surname. . . . . . . .. 11 Bernardo de Galvez 11 Orange County, CA 19 Los Angeles, CA . . 24 California . . . . . . . . 25 Northwestern US . . 32 Southwestern US . . 36 Black . . . . . . . . . . 39 Indigenous . . . . . . 43 Sephardic. . . . . . . 62 Texas . . . . . . . . . 63 East Mississippi . . 79 East Coast . . . . . . 82 Mexico . . . . . . . . . 84 Caribbean/Cuba . . 95 International . . . . . 97 History . . . . . . . . 103 Archaeology . . . . 106 Miscellaneous . . 107 2003 Index Community Calendars Networking Meetings END. . . . . . . . . . . .111
	World Premiere Concert Honoring the Bravery of the Mexican Army
	On Saturday May 3rd, the world premiere of the new work about Cinco de Mayo composed and conducted by Music Director Enrique Arturo Diemecke will be performed at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California, 628 Alamitos Ave. It will be narrated by Museum Director Gregorio Luke. The chamber orchestra concert will also include works by Chávez, Ginastera, Revueltas and Ponce. Information: 562-437-1689 Learn more about Cinco de Mayo and events: http://www.nacnet.org/assunta/spa5may.htm http://latino.sscnet.ucla.edu/cinco.html http://www.cincodemayopdx.com/sig.html http://labmed.ucsf.edu/~terrazas/CincoDeMayo.html http://www.angelfire.com/az/cincodemayo http://shecat.freeservers.com/5a.html Links to Cinco de Mayo information: Los Angeles, Northwest,

Bernardo de Galvez
April 5th, SAR and C.J. Well Painting Rebuttal to 1997 letter by Robert H. Thonhoff	Bibliography by Dr. Granville Hough Recommended websites by Joan De Soto

ORANGE COUNTY, CA
May 3rd General Bernardo de Galvez, 1779 Orange County California Genealogical Society This is an opportunity to Meet both the Spanish Consul Maria Angeles Olson & author of the 8-Vol. Spanish Patriots, Dr. Granville Hough May 3rd: Mother's Day program, Martinez Libros Latinos	May 31st SHHAR Quarterly Meeting Steven Hernandez Thesis Study Presentation on the Cristero Rebellion Cristeros Became Mexican Martyrs 1926-1929 Recovering Hispanic Religious Thought Personal letter concerning this time period

LOS ANGELES
Los Amigos of Long Beach	“Ollita de Peltre”

CALIFORNIA
Mexico's Firefighters train in Santa Fe Springs, CA Don Victor Castro Fights the French The Mystery of the Missing Stones San Diego Media Arts Center	De Colores Art Show Woman's History Month Summer Workshops for Young Readers