Somos Primos

MAY 2009
113th Issue Online

Editor: Mimi Lozano ©2000-9

Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues
 Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research

America in Action
Orange County, California LULAC District 1. . . 59th Annual Convention
Swearing in of new officers, April 25, 2009.
Click to the article.

  Letters to the Editor : 

UNITED STATES

UCLA Professor Chon A. Noriega to Co-Host LATINO IMAGES IN FILM on TCM

HISPANICS BREAKING BARRIERS

Part V

By

Mercy Bautista-Olvera

  In the coming months this series “Hispanics Breaking Barriers” will present the   contributions of Hispanics in United States government and leadership. Their contributions have improved not only the local community but the country as well.   Sadly, they have not always received their due recognition. Their struggles, stories, and accomplishments will by example, illustrate to our youth and to future generations that everything and anything is possible.

Jeffrey Morales has been selected to work for the Department of Transportation President Obama’s Transition Team.   

The StoryCorps MobileBooth 

StoryCorps

StoryCorps is the largest multi-year oral history project ever undertaken. Since its launch in October 2003, StoryCorps has collected interviews in 100 towns in all 50 states -- over 23,000 stories in all. At the MobileBooth, interviews are conducted between two people who know and care about each other. A trained facilitator guides the participants through the interview process and handles the technical aspects of the recording. At the end of a 40-minute session, the participants walk away with a CD of their interview. With their permission, a second copy becomes part of an archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear. Selected segments may air nationally on NPR's Morning Edition.

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project in partnership with NPR and the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress. 

The Fifth Annual Texas Diversity & Leadership Conference & Exposition
Report by Wanda Garcia

EDUCATION IS OUR FREEDOM
By Daisy Wanda Garcia

Emerging Paths to Partnerships in Science and Technology;
Life sustaining products, services and employment opportunities for Latinos
59th Annual Convention
LULAC, California District 1, Council No. 147 
Held at Abrazar Community Services and Education Center
7101 Wyoming St.  Westminster, CA 92683

Guest speakers were Michael Marsh (standing in photo), Director of the Agricultural Worker Health Project (AWHP) of California rural Legal Assistance (CRLA).  Michael works from the Salinas office of CRLA, which has twenty-two offices through-out rural California.   Dr. Erualdo Romero Gonzalez, Assistant Professor in the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department at California State University, Fullerton.  His expertise is in the area of environmental health, special focus on Latino needs.  The discussion was centered on both the health problems associated with farm work, and employment opportunities for Latinos in alternate energy industries.

The meeting was conducted by District Director, Lola Gallardo, long time member.

Cory Anthony Aguirre and his wife Margie de la Torre Aguirre co-chaired the convention. The Host Council was Placentia, No. 174. I met them both many years ago. Cory, an Attorney, and his brother, Fredrick, a Superior Court Judge were taught service to their community, as children. Their father Alfred V. and mother Julia were dedicated members.

Judge Aguirre shared with me a memory, "I used to stand on a box and lead the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. I was eight."  

This meeting was of particular interest to me because Margie de la Torre Aguirre had completed a ten year historical project which was on display for the first time. As Chair of the California LULAC Heritage Committee, Margie had documented the growth of LULAC in California.  Using newspaper articles, minutes, reports, events, etc. Margie validated the historical facts of Latino activism and leadership.   Copies of this huge, 363 pages, spiral-bound work will soon be available. Margie's email is: maeflections@aol.com

Thank you to Dr. Hector Ron Godinez (on the right) for sharing these photos.
Mel Jurado  Anaheim Council, on the left.  

Data to share in Celebrating el Cinco de Mayo

WITNESS TO HERITAGE

Witness to Heritage Hero
NCLR 2009 Conference in Chicago

Special Announcement: May 16: THE LAS VEGAS HISPANIC HISTORIC FORUM 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
May 16: THE LAS VEGAS HISPANIC HISTORIC FORUM

The third of a series of five special public forums will be held in Las Vegas New Mexico co-hosted by the City of Las Vegas, Luna Community College and Highlands University.

The Forums are follow up to the Albuquerque Ruben Salaz presentation on his recent publication THE SANTA FE RING, self-published, 2009.

The First Forum was held in Sante Fe, New Mexico with presentations on the republished UNM 2009 work, THE TREE OF HATE.   The foreword to the new edition is by New Mexico's retired UNM Professor of History, Col. Robert Hemmerick y Valencia.  The second presentation by author Ruben Salaz, THE SANTA FE RING, How New Mexico land Grants changed ownership.

Attendees from throughout Northern New Mexico received the information well.  Interest was so high about land grants, it was decided to hold a Forum in Espanola, New Mexico, the end of the Camino Real.

The forum in Espanola was called THE HISPANOLA HISPANIC HISTORIC FORUM.  It was co-hosted by the City of Espanola and the Northern New Mexico College.  Attendance was excellent and one attendee wrote . . .  "I have been attending conferences, institutes and meetings for ten years, this was the finest, thanks" . . . 

May 16 the LAS VEGAS HISPANIC HISTORIC FORUM will be held at the Laveo Sanchez Lecture Hall, Highlands University, from 1-3:30.  Admission is free.

Dr. Robert Hemmerick will give an overview of the TREE OF HATE.  A special Land Grant Panel will be available with a major specially Power Point presentation being prepared by retired attorney Mike Scarborough addressing the U.S. Congree Treaty of Guadalupe GAO Report on New Mexico Land Grants and the Attorney General David King rebuttal to that Report, in which facts were left out. 

To attend, or for more information, contact:  
Dr. Henry J. Casso
Project Uplift
P.O. Box Drawer 30246
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87110
505-294-4157
projectiuplift02@msn.com

NATIONAL ISSUES

Interactive Map Showing Immigration Data Since 1890

Number of illegal immigrants' children soars, 
Pew Hispanic Center study finds
By Dianne Solis, The Dallas Morning News, April 15, 2009
dsolis@dallasnews.com
 

Arrests of illegal immigrants trying to cross U.S.-Mexico border

El Mosquito Zumbador

New Spanish language day laborers' newspaper, El Mosquito Zumbador will be distributed to more than 40 day labor sites in San Diego County.  The newsletter is focused on the problems and activities related to day laborers. For more information, contact:

Juan A. Gallegos & Associates
Community & Public Relations
t 619.246.7550 f 858.750.6648

Sent by Gus Chavez
guschavez2000@yahoo.com

Study Shows Sharp Rise in Latino Federal Convicts
By Solomon Moore 
http://www.nytimes, February 19, 2009

ACTION ITEMS

THIS IS A STAND DOWN CALL

There will be no rally!!!!!!  

Dr Andres Tijerina and I had a four hour meeting this morning and during the meeting he received a call from Renato Ramirez and Dr Cayetano Barrera. They informed us that the Tejano Monument bill has passed the House and last night it also passed in the Senate.  

                                             VICTORY IS AT HAND!!!  

Victory for our children and grandchildren who now will have a monument honoring their ancestors. Now when children visit the capital grounds there will be something else to be proud of. This victory is for everyone, and especially for this great State of Texas .

Congratulations to the Tejano Monument Committee For Never Giving Up

Y Que Vivan Los Tejanos

Long Live all American veterans of foreign wars including Tejano war veterans and heroes who proudly earned the American Congressional Medal of Honor and Distinguish Service Cross such as Jose Lopez, David Barkley, Lucian Adams, Rudolph Davila, Miguel Keith, Roy Benavides, Pedro Cano (check his story on Rio Grande Gaurdian web site) and all other TEJANO VALIENTES!

Comment by Walter Herbeck:

AUSTIN, April 15 – The dream held by many Texans of Mexican descent to honor their legendary ancestors with a monument on the grounds of the State Capitol is closer to becoming a reality, lawmakers said Thursday.

“Without a doubt, this is it. The (State Preservation) board is having a meeting and I fully anticipate it will be the recommendation of the board (to approve the monument),” said Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, D-Palmview.

Cayetano Barrera of McAllen 
Chairs Tejano Monument, Inc. 
(Photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)

Flores has spearheaded an effort to honor the state’s Tejanos for almost 10 years. Since then, the issue has been the focus of several heated discussions concerning where the monument should be placed on the Capitol grounds.

Flores filed House Concurrent Resolution 139 this session that would instruct the preservation board to amend its rules and allow placement of the monument on the south lawn of the Capitol, where supporters of the project say it should be.

John Snead with the State Preservation Board told the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism on Wednesday that legislation would be needed to allow for the move following a restoration project the state undertook 
in the mid-1990s.

“It was determined (in 1995) that the grounds should be reverted back to their historic nature and as a consequence four different monuments and features that had been added to the Capitol grounds were removed,” he said. “At that point the preservation board members amended their rules in the 1990s to say that there would be no further monuments placed on the historic grounds.”

In 2001 the legislature passed a resolution authored by Flores and state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, that authorized the monument at the Capitol. Because of the State Preservation Board’s amended rules, however, 
the monument was slated to be placed on the northwest grounds of the complex. 

On Wednesday historian Dan Arellano (photo, far right >) told the committee that agreeing to have the statue placed on the lesser traversed, northern Capitol grounds would be the equivalent of willingly “sitting at the back of the bus.”

The concern, some say, stems from the fact that the southern grounds are still considered the main entrance to the Capitol and is the area where most tourists and visitors enter the historic complex.

“The south side, that’s the state Capitol, those are the historical grounds,” said Flores. “The south side is what is recognized as the State Capitol of Texas.”

The monument is a series of sculptures designed by Laredo sculpture-artist Armando Hinojosa that represent historical events involving Texas’ Tejanos, according to the McAllen-based non-profit group, The Tejano Monument, Inc.

Correcting an article on David Crockett

Editor:  Dr. Garcia reports that Mr. Evan Smith responded positively, and has acted to be inclusive in articles dealing with Tejano History.

Hispanic Affairs Delay Draws Fire

By Jeff Jones, Journal Staff Writer, Thursday, April 09, 2009
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/091055162882newsstate04-09-09.htm

Report: Moraga Adobe threatened with development

Journey of the Plumed Serpent 
by Eddie Martinez

BUSINESS

Study: Hispanic Online Activity Skyrockets
By Rob Kuznia
HispanicBusiness.com, April 17, 2009

San Ildefonso Pueblo purchases trading post
Trading post gets face-lift

EDUCATION

DREAM ACT

DATA OF IMPORTANCE TO PARENTS

Breean and the Flying Farfans
13-Year-Old Pilot Flies 3,671 Nautical Miles

Breean Farfan isn't old enough to drive to the Compton airport from her home in Bellflower, but the flying Farfan piloted 31hours to Oshkosh, Wis. and back. She reached her lofty goal of flying to Wisconsin and attending the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) Young Eagles Camp with some hard work and support from her family. 

The Bellflower teenager needed $7,000 to cover round-trip expenses. So three months earlier she started a fund raising campaign that included sending out hundreds of letters and press releases.

Dennis Lord, of the L.A.County Aviation Commission, says Breean Farfan “is well on her way” to attending the Air Force Academy.

"I would have never been able to do this flight without my family," said Breean, a member of the local EAA chapter. "My little brother did the envelope sealing and he got lots of paper cuts, but he never complained. He was happy to help. And my sister was the main one who gave me the courage and hope to keep going. She's my best friend."

The family raised over $5,000 and the camp waived her tuition. All she had to do now was fly the small Cessna 172 across seven states. "The hardest part of the flight was going over the Rocky Mountains because it's so bumpy and the air is not steady," said the young pilot. 

"At one point I would be flying straight and level, then I would have a cross wind and my plane would be turning to the right, but inside the cockpit I'm turning hard left… So that was a little challenging, but I had fun the whole time."

Breean has "extraordinary poise and a willingness to learn," said Dennis Lord, a  commissioner with the County of Los Angeles Aviation Commission and a member of the local EAA chapter. "She understands the techniques and concepts, which all translates to a very poised and confident person in the cockpit."

One of Breean's goals is to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and one day pilot the stealth aircraft F-22 Raptor. Lord says he can help her achieve her goals, but he may have an entire
flock of flying Farfans under his wing. Breean's sister and two brothers want to follow in their big sister's footsteps, or should we say flight pattern.

One brother already has eight hours of flight time logged. Breean does have some advice for her siblings and all youngsters. "If you work hard on what you want, and stay
focused, and stay in school, you can do whatever you want," concluded the first flying Farfan. 

Dennis Lord, of the L.A. County Aviation Commission, says Breean Farfan “is well
on her way” to attending the Air Force Academy. Breean Farfan (at top) isn’t the only Flying Farfan. Just about the entire family flies, and one of her brothers has logged eight hours

Sent by Rafael Ojeda

Dropouts Cost CA Cities Millions
By Maureen Magee
Union-Tribune, April 12, 2009

Received from Clips 4.20.09
Estrada Communications Group, Inc.
13729 Research Boulevard, Suite 610
Austin, TX  78750
Tel: 512.335.7776 / Fax: 512.335.2226
Website: www.estradausa.com

Hispanics Become More
Prevalent on College Campuses
 

BILINGUAL/BICULTURAL EDUCATION

Let us Remember the Histories of those who have Preceded us
by Cristina Kirklighter

BOOKS

Sperry’s book is so compelling that it has already sparked the interest of screenwriters Robert Conder and Steve Gehrke (Script Supervisor for The Dark Knight). Together they are collaborating on a screenplay which is currently titled The Beautiful Game, A Beautiful Season.

Soon Sperry’s book will be available through traditional sources. However, the first $10,000 in profits from direct purchases will fund the Chula Vista Youth Soccer League where the Valle Lindo Eagles compete. 

You can contact Sperry directly by e-mail at gilsperry@yahho.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (619) 887-9288.


Sports Subject : Soccer  
About the author: Dan McLellan is a San Diego native and Charger season ticket holder since 1993. He also has a weekly Charger podcast at www.DanMcLellan.com.
More by this author.

Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia  
Three-volume encyclopedia 
Edited by historians Vicki L. Ruiz and Virginia Sánchez Korrol 

beto@unt.edu

Latino/a Rights and Justice in the United States: 
Perspectives and Approaches
By José Luis Morín
jmorin@jjay.cuny.edu

From the Foreword by Richard Delgado, University Professor, University of Seattle School of Law:  “Latino Rights and Justice in the United States brings history, theory, and case analysis to bear on the story of Latinos’ efforts to obtain fair treatment from the American judicial system.”

Praise for the previous edition:   “ . .. . a fine overview of a major phenomenon in contemporary American society.”  —D.O. Friedrichs, CHOICE 

“Latino/a Rights and Justice is an excellent primer on who Latino/as are in the United States, the discrimination they have faced, and some of the legal issues that they must address.”  —Kevin R. Johnson, Latino Studies

“ . .. . the book contributes to a better discourse and understanding of how Latinos have asserted their civil, constitutional, and human rights.”
—Juan Cartagena, CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies

José Luis Morín is Interim Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Professor in the Latin American Latina/o Studies Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
2009/ 376 pages / $40.00 paper / ISBN: 978-1-59460-406-5
Carolina Academic Press 1-800-489-7486
700 Kent Street, Durham, NC 27701
Order on line and save 10%: orders@cap-press.com 

ANNOUNCING

2009 ALLA BOOK AWARD

Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists

American Anthropological Association

Nominations must be received by 1 June 2009.

CULTURE

Another Elder has fallen: Herminia "Tecihtzin" 
Acosta Enrique, presente!

LITERATURE

LA BENDICION de ABRAHAM

Vicente Riva Palacio series,  

Translation by Ted Vincent

Introduction:  In a case of one-upmanship, Vicente Riva Palacio, creates a fable that pre-dates the events of a fable passed off as factual in an official document in the archives of early colonial Mexico .

--------------------------------------------------
THE BENEDICTION OF ABRAHAM

----------------------------------------------------
LA BENDICION DE ABRAHAM 

ANTI-SPANISH LEGENDS

LA LEYENDA NEGRA/THE BLACK LEGEND

HISTORICAL DISTORTION, DEFAMATION, SLANDER, LIBEL, AND STEREOTYPING OF HISPANICS  

By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca

Scholar in Residence/Chair, Department of Chicana/Chicano & Hemispheric Studies, Western New Mexico University; Professor Emeritus, Texas State University System—Sul Ross  

[The Towers and the Wall--Number 10 in a series on La Leyenda Negra]

As a consequence of the catastrophic events of 9/11, American Hispanics have come into the firing line of Nativist suspicions and aspersions that have equated Mexican narco-trafficking with terrorism and by extension have created a web that has ensnared Mexican Americans. The upshot has been that Mexican Americans specifically have fallen into the orbit of racial profiling along the U.S.—Mexico border. That the planes that demolished the twin towers of New York on 9/11 were all Saudi Arabians has been transmogrified into “Mexicans” including Mexican Americans.  

This nativist animosity towards Hispanics in the Southwest has resulted in the construction of an 1800 mile-long wall between Mexico and the United States justified in the name of national security when no such wall is being constructed between Canada and the United States (Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, “Bridges Not Walls: The ‘Great Wall of China’ in the United States,” The National Hispanic Forum, July 14, 2007). The growing number of Hispanics in the Southwest has raised the anxiety levels of nativists to the point of slanderous defamations of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the continuing fashion of the Black Legend.  

In a piece on “Fences and Neighbors,” Rick Toone characterized the U.S.—Mexico wall as “a shining symbol of American economic and environmental arrogance.” And in a washingtonpost.com article (Sunday, May 27, 2007; B01), Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer Prize finalist, quotes the Mexican consul in Tucson calling the U.S.—Mexico wall “the politics of stupidity.” In the National Geographic (May 2007), Charles Bowden concludes that “Fences may make good neighbors, but the barriers dividing U.S. and Mexico are proving much more complicated.” One wonders: Why a wall between the United States and Mexico?  

In his poem “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost was not advocating that “Good fences make good neighbors.”  The reference is to a statement by his neighbor who believes in keeping the fence between his property and the persona in the poem in good repair. We assume the persona in the poem is Robert Frost whose opinion is: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.”  

In the current flap over building a wall between Mexico and the United States, it would be well to keep in mind Robert Frost’s injunction “something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” That “something” is that a wall is a barrier. Frost says:  

There where it is we do not need the wall:

He is all pine and I am apple orchard.

My apple trees will never get across

And eat the cones under his pines . . . .

While Mexican apple trees will never get across the border to eat the cones under American pines, a wall between the United States and Mexico is intended to keep Mongol hordes of Mexicans at bay, a consummation devoutly to be wished by Xenophobic Americans as Hamlet would have put it.  

In the case of a “wall” between the United States and Mexico, a wall is a manifestation of conflict, just as the Berlin Wall was a manifestation of conflict. Essentially, conflict is an interactive process or behavior. That’s why the Berlin Wall escalated the Cold War. And why a wall between the United States and Mexico will only escalate the enmity between the two countries.  

Ronald Reagan’s plea to Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”—referring to the Berlin Wall—is not what brought down the wall. On the contrary, it was Mikhail Gorbachev’s response that brought down the wall. Instead of escalating the cycle of conflict, the Soviet leader chose to ignore the rhetoric of conflict and for whatever reasons take the first step in repairing U.S.—Soviet relations. There is no doubt that the U.S.—Soviet conflict had developed mutually destructive patterns of interactive behavior, the consequences of which heralded Armageddon.  

When asked about the U.S.—Mexico wall in a 2006 visit to the United States, Mikhail Gorbachev responded that the United States seemed to be building the Great Wall of China between itself and Mexico (Midland Reporter-Telegram, 10/18/2006).  

In the current American rhetoric about controlling the nation’s borders the question looms large: Why on the one hand did the U.S. want the Berlin Wall torn down and on the other hand does it want to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico? There is no evading the possibility of racism and selective amnesia about the history of walls emanating from the Black Legend.  

The history and philosophy of walls takes us back to antiquity. Between the 8^th and 5^th centuries BC, the northern states of China began to build a wall along their northern border with Mongolia in an effort to stave off Mongol penetration. Over centuries and dynasties, “the great wall of China” came into being as a 4,000 mile fortification in defense of Chinese borders. In places, the wall was 25 feet high and 30 feet wide.  

In 122 AD the Roman emperor Hadrian built a wall across Britain to keep Romans safe from the hostile Picts. The wall stretched from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, 80 Roman miles long, 10 feet wide and 15 feet high. The wall is still there (N.S. Gill, Your Guide to Ancient/Classical History).  

In like fashion, in the 20^th century the French built the “Maginot Line” as a walled fortification against German incursions. With the use of aeroplanes, the Germans simply flew over the Maginot Line. General George Patton called the Maginot Line a monument to man’s stupidity. Even the Berlin Wall was not impenetrable.  

While the Berlin Wall did function as the perimeter of a "prison" state, its principal objective was to keep out extra-territorial influences that were anathema to the state dictum of the Soviet Union. A U.S. wall on its border with Mexico has the same objectives--to keep out extra-territorial influences (the uninvited, the unwelcome, and the unwanted--Mexicans) that are deemed anathema to the apodictic values of the United States.  

Will a wall between the United States and Mexico help the United States in controlling its border with Mexico? The Harvard philosopher George Santayana put it well when he opined that those who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat it. 

What is that lesson here? 
That walls are no substitute for diplomacy.  

Those barriers are indeed complicated despite the facile rhetoric of Lou Dobbs and Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project (Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, “CNN and Lou Dobbs: Journalism or Jingoism,” posted on The Latino American Experience, Greenwood Press, January 18, 2008). Those barriers have their genesis in the historical conflict between Spain and England giving rise to the Black Legend, venomous defamation of the Spaniards by the English, perpetuated by the venomous defamation of Mexicans by Anglo Americans.  

American manifest destiny was fueled in part by the Black Legend. The vision of a United States from sea to shining sea was at the expense of Spain and its Hispanic progeny in the Hispanic Southwest. Manifestations of the Black Legend abound.  

A little known manifestation of the Black Legend occurred in the 1920’s in El Paso, Texas, where Zyklon-B (hydrocyanic acid used later in Hitler’s gas chambers) was used regularly as a vermin-control delousing agent on hundreds of thousands of “dirty, lousy people coming into this country from Mexico” (David Dorado Romo, Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez: 1893-1923, pp 240-243,Cinco Puntos Press, 2005). Eight decades later, the toll of that episode is still immeasurable. 

MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT HEROES

13^th ANNUAL VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION

A TRIBUTE TO MEXICAN AMERICAN VETERANS

 Saturday, November 7, 2009

Keynote Address by: 

Posting of Colors – 10:00 a.m
California State University, Fullerton  
Titan Student Union
800 N. State College Blvd.

Sponsored by  Latino Advocates for Education, Inc. and California State University, Fullerton

Latino Advocates for Education, Inc.
P.O. Box 5846
Orange, CA 92863
(714) 225-2499
www.latinoadvocates.org

On Saturday, November 7, 2009 our organization, Latino Advocates for Education, Inc. and California State University at Fullerton will host the 13th Annual Veterans Day Celebration: A Tribute to Mexican American Veterans. Colors will be posted at 10:00 a.m. It will be held inside the Pavilion of the Titan Student Union on the Fullerton campus. You and your family are cordially invited to attend. Admission and parking is free and the public is also invited to attend. Attached is our flyer.

The keynote will be delivered by Lt. General Richard S. Sanchez (born 1951), retired United States Army General who served as the V Corps Commander of Coalition Forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. He was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the United States Army when he retired on November 1, 2006. 

We have published 3 books: Undaunted Courage- Mexican American Patriots of World War II, a full color book profiling over 500 veterans and several Rosie the Riveters; Freedom is not Free-Mexican Americans in the Korean War, a full color book profiling 225 Korean War and 62 World War II veterans; and Strength and Honor-Mexican Americans in the Vietnam War, a full color book profiling 139 veterans.

 Art Garcia

 By

 Mercy Bautista-Olvera

Arthur Garcia in 1943  

Arthur (Art) Garcia turned 85 years old. He was born on April 6, 1924 in El Paso Texas; his father Jose Maria Garcia, was born in Durango, Mexico and his mother, Guadalupe Arrieta was born in Chihuahua, Mexico. Their families immigrated to El Paso in the early 1920’s. Here Jose Maria and Guadalupe met, fell in love and married. They had nine children, Art, Dolores, Jose, Carmen, Jesus, Irene, Alfonso and Jose, sadly to say Jose died at the age of 12 years old, eventually they named a later son Jose.  The six older children were born in El Paso , Texas . Eventually the Garcia family moved to Los Angeles , California . The younger children Alfonso and Jose were born in Los Angeles , California .  

Art attended Hollenbeck Junior High School , than Lincoln High School in the Lincoln Heights ' area of Los Angeles , leaving the school in 1941; His father Jose Maria was a good man, worked as a mechanic, provided for his family the best way he could, however, with the Depression at that time and a large family it was difficult for him. Art being the eldest decided to quit school and help his family.  Art was also a father figure for his brothers and sisters. He took a course at the Acetylene Welding Metropolitan Evening School .

In 1942, Art worked for the Super Cold Company in Los Angeles , California , coated tin cups. He also worked for the Richard Lowry Company in Los Angeles , California as a Shipping Clerk II Retail, sales and maintaining sales service files. Art also worked for a singing telegram for birthdays and anniversaries.  

Art joined the Army on March 6, 1943 Fort McArthur in California . He was assigned to AAF Basic Training, Military Policeman and Truck Driver. As PFC, Art Garcia served as a Military Policeman, served with the 1383^rd. Military Policemen Company (Aviation) in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations in United States . He was deployed to Honolulu , Hawaii from December 31 1943 to January 14, 1946.  He assisted in the enforcement of military laws and regulations. Guarded enemy prisoners-of-war and performed duties as a Gate Guard. He also assisted civilian police in maintaining law and order while performing town patrol duty.  He earned the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Lapel Button. Art Garcia was honorary discharged on January 18, 1946.  

Art Garcia received letters of Appreciation from President Harry Truman, Commanding General Army Air Forces and Cyril H. McGuire, Major Coast Artillery Corps.  

Art Garcia first met Teresa Carrillo in El Paso , Texas when they were children, her parents owned a bakery there, and Art usually saw her. Eventually both the Garcia’s’ and Carrillo’s migrated to California .  

After Art was discharged from the Army, once again he saw Teresa in February of 1946 in California after so many years. Art’s friend Manuel, who was also stationed in Hawaii and discharged from the Army, invited Art to go see “his girlfriend.” Teresa recognized Art right away; he asked her out after finding out that she was not his friend’s girlfriend after all. They dated for about a year, than married.  

Art worked for several years as a Carpenter, after his retirement he worked as a School Crossing Guard in Orange County .  

Art Garcia and Teresa had a double wedding ceremony; her sister Zenaida married Joseph Barrios Olvera and Art Garcia married Teresa Carrillo on June 8, 1947 in Los Angeles, California .    

Art and Teresa have two children Xavier, and Yolanda, Xavier married Cindy Gagne and Yolanda married Paul Lewanski. Art has four grandchildren Jan Paul, Greg, Derek and    Shannon. Art lost his wife Teresa on March 5, 1994 to cancer.  

Art is a favorite uncle to many nephews and nieces, he was always there for them, and he is kind and generous. Art is great communicator and storyteller. Art has a great sense of humor and makes both adults and children feel happy and comfortable. For many years Art and Teresa were frequent guests at Disneyland , dancing to live music was their true passion throughout their married years. Art loved dancing especially 1940’s dances as the Chattanooga Choo Choo, Pennsylvania 6-500 and many others. Art and Teresa favorite song was “At Last” by Glenn Miller.  

Art and Teresa (Terry) Garcia at a wedding             Son Xavier, grandson Derek and Art Garcia (1995) Reception (1980) 

Art is the kind of person that everyone admires; his honesty, integrity, gives us the sense of Art’s character. He is the kind of person who listens to conversations and makes the person talking to him feel like what they say is important.  He is a family man, with family values, who loves his family dearly.

Remains of Hero finally return home

The story of PFC Jose Ramon Sanchez
by
Tony (The Marine) Santiago

PFC. Jose Ramon Sanchez

Early years

Joe Ramon Sanchez was born in Brooklyn on March 15, 1949. His parents had moved to New York City in the 1940s from Puerto Rico in search of a better life as did many other Puerto Rican families during what became known as the "Great Puerto Rican Migration". His family struggled and lived in the Gowanus Public Houses . In 1959, his mother had another child whom she named Peter, to whom Jose would become a father figure after the death of their father in 1961.

Jose was an exceptional teenager and role model to follow. He was a religious Catholic whose voice was loudest when it came to praying as an altar boy. Instead of becoming a gang member like many of the youth at the time, Jose was a member of the Boy Scouts. He also spent his time swimming, playing football, baseball, basketball, you name it at the local YMCA, he was an all around athlete and role model to his brother Peter.

If you think that things are tough for Hispanics now, in the 1960s it was even tougher. In New York there were restaurants with signs on their windows which read "No Dogs, No Puerto Ricans allowed". Yet, despite the fact that discrimination was rampant, Puerto Ricans, descendants of the great Taino Chief Agüeybaná, have never hesitated to serve their country and where among the first to fight in Vietnam in defense of democracy. On December 1967, Jose left his school and joined the United States Marine Corps.

Vietnam War

Jose received his basic training in Paris Island, S.C. and advanced training in Camp Lajuene in North Carolina. Jose, whose MOS was that of an 81 MM Motarman was sent to the Republic of Vietnam and he was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion,
4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division.

On 6 June 1968, he was among a group of fellow Marines who comprised a patrol operating in the rugged jungle covered mountains southwest of Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Their mission was to block NVA troops and supplies from infiltrating toward Khe Sanh. The Marines engaged a communist force of unknown size in heavy combat. As the fierce firefight raged around them, the Marines, who were out numbered and rapidly running low on ammunition, requested an emergency extraction. A CH46A Sea Knight helicopter was sent for Sanchez and the rest of the patrol who were on Hill 672. As the helicopter gained altitude, it was immediately struck by intense and accurate enemy ground fire causing it to enter into a nose-low attitude and crash onto an east/west mountain ridgeline, roll down to the bottom of the hill and burst into flames. Within an hour and a half, a search and recovery (SAR) team was inserted into the crash site. The team members pulled the charred bodies of the aircrew and passengers from what was left of the burned out helicopter and placed them in body bags. Of the 12 of the 23 Marines aboard who were killed, 4 were reported as MIA/KIA, besides Sanchez the other three were L/Cpl. LaPlant, L/Cpl. Palacios and L/Cpl. Harper. Various attempts to recover the bodies of the four were made to no avail.

Heartbreaking News

Unaware of the events which occurred on June 6, the same day that Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated, the Sanchez family received the dreaded knock on their door by a military representative with the delivery of the bad news and were notified that not only was Jose dead, but worse, that he was Missing and therefore wasn't coming home. The military decorations which were handed to his mother Virginia and brother Peter could not fill the void in the family which Jose had left. As a mother, Virginia suffered greatly and began a decades-long vigil for her lost boy. His named was inscribed in panel 59W 013 of the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In 2006, a team began excavating the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material evidence including La Plant's identification tag. While at the site, a Vietnamese citizen turned over to the team human remains the he claimed to have found amid the wreckage. In 2007, another team completed the excavation and recovered additional human remains, life support material and aircraft wreckage. On November 05, 2008, The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced that the remains of four U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, were identified. The unexpected news reached the families just hours after President Obama’s election. The Sanchez family, who had been waiting to know any news in regard to Jose for 40 painful years, wept. Jose’s mother died five weeks later, almost as if she had been waiting for this moment in order to die in peace with her mind at ease.

The four men will share a single casket, side by side again, much as they were on Hill 672. It will hold a pressed Marines Corps dress uniform, along with a box engraved with their names and filled with their commingled remains. They will be buried this May at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. To PFC Jose Ramon Sanchez and his comrades - God Bless You - Rest in Peace.

Old vet takes old Jeep on one last mission

Sam Castillo drives 1948 Jeep cross country to say, 'Thanks.'

By TOM BERG
Article and photos, Orange County Register
Thursday, April 23, 2009

He's started a Web site, www.americans4americans.org , where people can sign up to send a letter, a birthday card or even a box of cookies to a vet.

Contact the writer: 714-796-6979 or tberg@ocregister.com
Sent by Ricardo Valverde West13rifa@aol.com

The play recounts how American Latinos lived, fought and died during the global struggle for democracy, despite a legacy of discrimination in the United States. "Voices of Valor" recalls in vivid detail how the war served as a catalyst for the Hispanic community’s struggle for civil rights and social recognition in our nation. Inspired by the "U.S. Latinos and Latinas World War II Oral History Project" created by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez at UT Austin and our American Latino veterans.  For information about the WWII project at UT Austin visit: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ww2latinos/index.html 

Below is an excerpt from the play, Voices of Valor, about Arizona native Hector Santa Ana (a descendent of Gen. Antonio de Santa Ana (the guy who won at the Alamo).
Hector Santa Ana, Miami, AZ, pilot, U.S. Army Corps

Published in the Austin Chronicle.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A347977 

Latino WWII Vets Share Their Stories by Yvonne Wingett of the Arizona Republic
http://azbilingualed.org/News_2006/latino_vets_of_wwii_share_stories.htm 

Read a review of “Voices of Valor” by Kyle Lawson
Premier of “Voices of Valor” puts end to myths By Kyle Lawson of the Arizona Republic
http://hispanic6.com/premiere_of_%27valor%27_puts_end_to_myths.htm 

*NOTE: This play is funded in part by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture and the Arizona Commission on the Arts

Information sent by James E. Garcia 
newcarpatheater@gmail.com 

Sent by Rudy Rodriguez
rudysgt@verizon.net

PATRIOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Macharaviaya - Sede de los Galvez
Sent by Paul Newfield III    skip@thebrasscannon.com 

Sylvia organizes world tours, including Spain at least 12 times.  Her traveling skill and experience started in 1968.  She was selected to be one of the tour guides for the San Antonio Convention Center for the 1968 Hemisfair. She gave tours in English and Spanish, and since then has taken at least two tour groups a year out of the Country.  Sylvia will be taking a group to Spain this year in November.  The June issue will have complete information.

Sylvia is also a very busy and frequent presenter.  She has presented to many DAR chapters in Texas including the, 100 year Celebration of the town of Edinburgh,Texas, She also spoke at the San Antonio de Bexar Chapter when they had a big event at the San Antonio Conservation Society Steaves Homestead. Recently, she spoke in Washington, D.C. to a committee of 20 who had been selected to become Certified Genealogy Consultants.     

Below in the outline of her presentation Outline.  Her topic is:
The NSDAR Spanish Task Force and the connection to The American Revolution.

A. History of the NSDAR Spanish Task Force
B. Objectives of the NSDAR Spanish Task Force
C. Map Study
D. Points in History
E. List of Approved Spanish Patriots
F. How your ancestral Spanish Patriot might be Approved
    1) Identification
     2) Documents: which ones and what to do with them
G. Sample of Mexico City files
H. Updates 
I. Reference Sources
J. NSDAR Spanish Task Force: Present and Future

If you would to like to invite Sylvia to speak to your group about acceptance into the NSDAR through your Spanish family heritage, she welcomes your contact.
Sylvia C. Sutton
9803 Carolwood
San Antonio,Texas, 78213
ssutton5@satx.rr.com 

SPAIN'S PATRIOTS OF PERU DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR (surnames Velazquez through Z.)  No. 19 

by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

Final segment for the Patriots of the Viceroyalty of Peru 
During the American Revolutionary War

With special thanks to Dr. Hough who has shared his research generously.

SURNAMES

GARZA/de la GARZA

Wednesday, June 9, 1993 *EXCELSIOR*

Volviendo a Nuestras Raices

HERALDICA
CONOZCA EL ORIGEN DEL APELLIDO

The GARZAS survived the harsh frontier and increased in great numbers.  Their success seemed to be attributed to two factors.  The women bore many children who survived to adulthood.  For example, Blas, son of Marcos Alonso married Beatriz Gonzalez Hidalgo.  She bore 17 children and managed to rear them all to adulthood.  In addition, histoiran Carl L. Duaine states, the GARZA men wounded in battle, did not die,  "No one seemed to be able to kill a de la GARZA.   Many were wounded but had a perfect survival rate . . . "

ALEJANDRO (Alex) GARZA of Sacramento, California suggests the knowledge of herbal remedies used by their native Indian ancestors contributed to the phenomenal GARZA'S frontier survival.

ALEX and his brother LES GARZA of Friendswood, Texas are researching together and have fully documented their line to great-great grandparents, AMBROCIO GARZA and Barbarita Garcia, married in Monterrey, Mexico, 1830.  Alex and Les were both born in Monterrey, as were their great grandparents, Sostenes Garza and Francisca Saenz, married 1850, and grandparents, Alonso GARZA and Andrea Morin.

Alex and Les' father, Aquiles GARZA and mother Aurora Gutierrez married in Monterrey, Mexico, February 1942.   Aquiles enlisted in the United States Army in 1944.  After the second World War, Aquiles found work through the Rio Grande Valley in the citrus industry.  Aurora remained in Monterrey with their four children.  By 1946, Aquiles was traveling back and forth to Mexico, learning English and taking college courses.  A job as traveling salesman for a Tennessee cosmetic company opened many door in the southwest.  Ultimately Aquiles brought Aurora and their 4 children to Corpus Christi.  Foure more children were born in Texas.  Aquiles became quite involved with community work.  he helped draft by-laws in the late 1940's for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and was one of the first broadcasters for a Spanish radio station in the United States, KCCT in Corpus Christi.

Fourth son, Alejandro (Alex) GARZA, born in Monterrey, Mexico, but raised in the Rio Grande Valley was attracted by the inexpensive Junior College systems in California. He migrated in the early 1970's, attended Santa Ana College, then University of California, Irvine, graduating with a B.A. in Comparative Cultures.  Alex, father of four sons, is an editor with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in Sacramento, California.  he is also family editor for "Los Garzas", distributed in California, Colorado, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Nuevo Leon.  Other surnames: Saenz, Gutierrez, Cedeno, Morin, Villarreal, Garcia, Cavazos, and Gonzalez.

Compiled by Mimi Lozano, Society of the Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research, 6-9-93.

CUENTOS

Staying Awake
Tim Giago: An older brother who paved the way
Los Cuentos de Kiko

Los Cuentos de Kiko

Sent by Joseph Puentes makas@nc.rr.com

ORANGE COUNTY, CA

LOS ANGELES, CA

Frank Martinez - His Legacy and Influence

Saturday, May 2, 2009
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
San Fernando Museum of Art and History
519 So. Brand Blvd.
San Fernando, CA

Admission to the Museum is free.
Entrada al Museo es Gratis.

Refreshments will be served.

Eastside high schoolers get a lesson in oral history

CALIFORNIA

Santa Barbara's 227th Birthday Celebration
Santa Barbara Mission, April 18, 2009

The Mission in Santa Barbara is one of the original 21 missions in California. It was founded in 1786 and still functions as a church today.

Juan Bautista Alvarado was  governor of California from 1836 till 1842. He was the leader of the Californian revolt against Mexican authority. Figueroa, the legitimate governor of the province, died in September, 1835, and Chico, a very obnoxious person in the eyes of Californians, was appointed in his stead by the Mexican government, his rule was so unpopular that he was forced to retire, upon which Alvarado in November 1836, rallied a force, including sundry adventurers from the United States, and other foreigners, seized Monterey, and sent the deputy, whom Chico had left, to Mexico. Independence was formally declared, and the legislature elected Alvarado governor ad interim. Southern California remained loyal for a time; but Alvarado, partly by a show of force, and partly through shrewd diplomacy, won over Santa Barbara and Los Angelos, and in January 1837, proclaimed the whole of California free and united. In June of the same year a Mexican commissioner was sent to negotiate with the revolted provinces, but the self-made governor, with characteristic address, won him over and sent him back to plead his (Alvarado's) cause. In the meantime the Mexican government had appointed a new and somewhat warlike governor for California, without consulting Alvarado, and hostilities forthwith began. A single " battle" took place at San Buena-ventura, in which one man was killed, the Mexican forces were routed, and Alvarado was soon recognized by the central government as governor of what was then designated as the "Department of California." For two years his jurisdiction was not seriously disputed, but in 1842 the Mexican government sent a new military representative, and Alvarado was deposed. He appeared subsequently as an intriguer of some ability, but never came to the front again in the character of a successful leader. The conquest by the United States followed in time to prevent further instances of the local tendency to revolution.

Source of information: http://www.famousamericans.net/juanbautistaalvarado/
Reenactor of Governor Alvarado,  portrayed by Louis Lopez 

The Queen of Santa Barbara with her mother, Margarita Villa, cousins, aunt, her uncle.  

Photos sent by Bob Smith, descendant of many Early California families.

SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

"Migrations of Jewish People Through History - 
Including the New World"
Louis Serna

190^th ANNIVERSARY POSTMARK OF THE LA JOYA LAND GRANT

On May 25^th, 1819, Carlos Gavaldó (Gabaldón), attorney and a resident of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Sebilleta in the name at the request of all the residents of that place, petitioned Miquel (Miguel) Aragón, Alcalde Mayor of the Jurisdiction of Belén, for a Land Grant.

On May 29^th, 1819, Don Facundo Melgares, the Spanish Governor for the Province of Nuevo Méjico, acting for Carlos IV, King of Spain, issued the grant called “Sevilleta de la Joya” and directed the Alcalde Mayor to place the parties in possession, designate their boundaries and return the completed documents for recordation.

The USPS will honor the 190^th Anniversary of the issuance of the Sevilleta de la Joya Land Grant with a Special Pictorial Postmark. The La Joya Post Office will be using the Special Pictorial Postmark on all outgoing mail on May 29, 2009.

Anyone wishing to obtain this postmark should affix a stamp to any envelope or postcard with at least the minimum First-Class Mail® postage (44¢ for envelopes and 28¢ for postcards) and addressed to themselves or others.  Place the envelope/s (SASE) and/or postcard/s in a larger envelope and address it to: Pictorial Postmark, La Joya Post Office, La Joya, NM 87028-9998.  Requests must be postmarked no later than 30 days following the requested pictorial postmark date.   Do not seal the SASE, but tuck in the flap.  Customers can also send stamped envelopes and postcards without addresses for postmark, as long as they supply a larger envelope with adequate postage and their return address.

La Joya Postal Clerk, Sarah Rivera de Córdova, who is a direct descendant of at least 7 Sevilleta de la Joya Grantees, suggests sending a No. 10 business size envelope with a small sized stamp to leave room for the 2-inch high by 4-inch long pictorial postmark before May 29^th, 2009.  All requests received before May 29^th, would be sent out on the 29^th of May.  For further information, you can call the La Joya Post Office at (505) 861-5708 during office hours of M-F 8:30am to 3:00pm & Sat. 8:30am to 12:00 noon.

Sent by Sam Quito
samquito@hotmail.com

  THE SPANISH ELEMENT IN OUR NATIONALITY  

Site sent by Monica Herrera Smith
Tortelita@aol.com

THOMAS GILCREASE AND HIS WESTERN MUSEUM

How Creek Indian number 1501 repaid a debt
by Walter Karp 
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1990/1/1990_1_94.shtml

New Spain, The Frontiers of Faith
Essay by Stanley Hordes, Ph.D. 
http://www.humanities-interactive.org/newspain/nusptex.htm

Southwest’s Mexican Roots: Untold Stories David E. Hayes-Bautista
Exclusive to EGP

SPANISH CORDILLERA WAS FORERUNNER OF THE PONY EXPRESS
                                  by                                    

Richard G. Santos  
richardgsantos@yahoo.com  

The Spanish Colonial Government distributed mail via the Cordillera relay system, a mail distribution system that was the forerunner of the later Pony Express. Mail from Spain to Mexico City would take 3 to 6 months (depending on season, hurricanes, storms, pirates, etc). Personal correspondence was checked by both the government and Inquisition at the aduana (custom house) at the Port of Veracruz while illegal mail, merchandise, banned books and items entered via Port of Tampico which did not have a custom house. Edicts, government documents and Papal Bulls or any Religious correspondence or documents were sent to the Viceroy in Mexico City to be printed or hand copied for distribution. The usual (non-emergency) mail was distribution from Mexico City throughout New Spain including communities in Texas and New Mexico. It took about one to three month for the mail to be delivered depending on the nature of the material (urgent, regular, and personal). Consequently, a hand written personal letter or any Church or State document might take from six to nine months before reaching its destination on the Spanish North American frontier.

If the mail or packet was of TREASURY matters the document was forwarded by the Viceroy to the Intendecias. Texas was under the Intendencia de San Luis Potosi. If MILITARY in nature, the document would be sent to the Comandancia Militar de la Nueva España in Mexico City or the Comandancia de las Provincias Internas. Texas was under the Interior Military Commandancy located first at Arispe and later Parral, Chihuahua. If a document was POLITICAL in nature (sans treasury, military or religious) the Viceregal office would send the document (printed or handwritten) to each Provincial Governor. If RELIGIOUS in nature, the Viceregal office would send the document to (1) Archdioceses of New Spain and (2) The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Both were located in Mexico City. The Archdioceses would then distribute their edicts and Papal Bulls to the dioceses. Texas was under The Diocese of Linares located at Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. The Archdiocese also sent material to the Colleges of the respective religious Missionary Orders. The missions of Texas were under the Franciscan Colleges of Zacatecas and Queretaro). The dioceses would also distribute the religious edicts and Papal Bulls to the parishes while the Colleges would distribute their copies to the missions.

Whether personal, printed or hand-copied political or religious correspondence, the mail was distributed via La Cordillera. Like its successor the Pony Express, La Cordillera was composed of single horseback riders working in relays from rest stations, camps sites and/or small outposts. Thus the mail was distributed to governors, townships, churches, missions or individuals. Using Los Caminos Real, the relay mailmen to and from Texas started in Mexico City, travelled via Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Saltillo, Monclova and Guerrero to Bexar. From San Fernando (later San Antonio) de Bexar, documents and correspondence would be distributed to Goliad, Nacogdoches and back to Bexar. Correspondence heading to present Zacatecas, Chihuahua and New Mexico veered north, northeast at San Luis Potosi. Likewise, correspondence heading to Laredo and the missions and communities of the Lower Rio Grande veered from Saltillo, Coahuila to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and then to the aforementioned communities and missions. Government documents either printed or hand copied, were signed and dated by the receiving official to attest the item had been received. A letter of acknowledgment would usually be sent back to the source in Mexico City, San Luis Potosi or the Comandancia Militar at Arispe or Parral, Chihuahua. Acknowledgments of having received religious documents or correspondence was sent to the Dioceses at Monterrey, Nuevo Leon or the Franciscan Missionary Colleges at Queretaro or Zacatecas. It should be noted that Edicts by and instructions issued by the Spanish Crown or Patriarch of the Indies for the Catholic Church in the New World were not always well received. One example is King Fernando VII’s Edict imposing a ten percent annual income tax. Another is the Patriarch’s reminder that Catholics were not to eat meat on Fridays. In both instances, as in many others, the Governors would read the document, place it over their head, make the sign of the cross and state “I comply but will not obey” (cumplo pero no obedezco). Hence the communities, parish churches and/or missions never received whatever law, instruction or material was not deemed acceptable by the provincial governors.

Along Los Caminos Reales from Mexico City to Texas and New Mexico, the mailmen of La Cordillera had to traverse immense deserts, semi arid areas, La Sierra Madre Oriental, hostile Native Americans, wild game and the weather. All this occurred during the Little Ice Age (Richard G. Santos article on January 7-8-2009, Little Ice Age, and the Alamo, in winter garden History) with its colder and wetter climate than the present. Only topographical and geophysical indentations and traces remain today of the many lakes, ponds, watering holes, marshes, swamps, swollen rivers and creeks which existed in Texas during the Little Ice Age. We know these sites today as floodplains, flood prone sites, trickles of water on a wide river beds and seasonal creeks which tend to be dry gullies but come to life during and after a heavy rain storm.

The Spanish soldados de cuera (leather jacket soldiers) were the militia of the Spanish frontier. Locally born, expert horsemen, wearing jackets of tanned skin so thick that arrows were repelled, the soldados de cuera borrowed much from the nomadic hostile Native Americans and were able to live off the land while on patrol along the cordillera (mail route) of the Caminos Real or during a military expedition. Small outposts, frequently nothing more than a camp site usually 15 miles apart, also served as relay points where one courier transferred his mail packets to another rider. The rider would wait at the campsite or outpost until he was given the mail packets going back to where he had started. From the day in 1519 when Hernan Cortes set foot on North America to the day Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836 and New Mexico which was occupied by the US Army in 1846, the cordillera mail distribution system was a functional and effective mail distribution system that served the empire well. Hostile Native Americans wanting horses and or weapons, snakes and wild game (such as bears, cougars and jabalinas), as well as the inclement weather and geography of the Little Ice Age were the greatest danger to interruptions of the cordillera. Not known to carry currency, gold or silver, they were rarely assaulted by highwaymen or bandidos. However, each carried an escopeta (musket), espada ancha (small broad sword), a hand held leather shield, machete or large knife, a side dagger and a lasso. They carried carne seca (dry meat jerky) which could be eaten dry or scrambled with eggs to make machacado (dry meat mixed with turkey or bird eggs) with chile del monte (a wild hot pepper commonly called  piquin) fresh off the bush when in season or dehydrated and carried in a pouch. In the 16^th and early 17the century Spanish horsemen used the leather adraga to protect the horse’s neck, flanks, rump and rider’s legs. By the latter part of the 17^th to 19^th century the riders dropped the clumsy and heavy adraga replacing it with chaparreras to protect their legs. Dropping the protective heavy leather adraga  provided the soldados de cuera and cordillera mail distributors a greater galloping speed. 

Both the cordillera mail distribution system and the local militia soldados de cuera came to an end when Texas gained independence from Mexico in 1836 and New Mexico being occupied by the US Army in 1846. Incidentally, the last Postmaster of Spanish and Mexican Texas was historic personality Don Erasmo Seguin, a native resident of San Antonio de Bexar. The famed Pony Express of US history and western movie fame in time replaced the cordillera mail distribution system. Never written about with names never recorded and long forgotten, the cordillera and its mail distribution riders are a silent but important page in Texas and New Mexico history.

   End ………………….. end …………………. End …………………. End

 Zavala County Sentinel ……… 25-26 February 2009

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

Image concept & design: Angelina Villanueva. Courtesy National Museum of Mexican Art Chicago.
Sent by Jaime Cader  jmcader@yahoo.com
and Dorinda Moreno fuerzamundial@gmail.com

"African Presence in México also allows Americans to better understand the complexity of race issues in the U.S. and Mexico," she said. The Spanish first brought Africans to Mexico in 1519 to labor in the agrarian and silver industries.  

In January 1609, Yanga, a runaway slave elder, led the cimarrones to successful resistance against a special army sent by the Spanish Crown to crush their actions. After several cimarrón victories the Spanish acquiesced to the slaves' demand for land and freedom. Yanga founded the first free African township in the Americas, San Lorenzo de los Negros, near Veracruz. It was renamed in his honor in the 1930s.

Slavery in Mexico was abolished in 1810 by Jose María Morelos y Pavón, leader of the Mexican War of Independence. As a mulatto (Spanish and African), Morelos was directly affected by Mexico's prejudices. Racial mixes were seen as undesirable by a society that aspired to purity of race and blood; i.e., Spanish only.

Mexico's caste system is evident in18th-century pictorial images that depict racial stereotypes via clothing, profession, or behavior. Several of these "caste paintings" are in The African Presence in México. The black population and its mixed-race members refuted such art through sabotage and protest.

In 1992, as part of the 500th anniversary of the arrival (encuentro) of the Spanish in the Americas, the Mexican government officially acknowledged that the African culture represented la tercera raiz (the third root) of Mexican culture, with the Spanish and indigenous peoples.

Saturday, May 9, 12- 4 p.m.
The African Presence in México Community Opening. Cascada de Flores performs "The Tree and the Donkey Who Wanted to Sing," a story that embraces the diversity of indigenous, Spanish, and African roots in traditional Mexican music and dance. Enjoy the rhythms of Africa as Diamano Coura jams with Cascada de Flores and a slide presentation with co-curator Cesáreo Moreno.

Sunday, May 17, 2- 4 p.m.
Art and Constructs of Race: Casta Paintings and Contemporary Conversations about Identity. Art historian Charlene Villaseñor Black discusses the social and historical relevance of the caste paintings in the exhibition. Testimonials from UC Berkeley's Afro-Latino Working group, spoken word, and poetry address identity, culture, and stereotypes.

Saturday, May 23, 2-5 p.m.
2 p.m. Curator Tour. Tour the exhibition with Chief Curator of Art Philip Linhares.
3 p.m. Scholars Café. An in-depth dialogue about the scholarship involved in the making of The African Presence in Mexico with scholars Carlos Munoz, Jr., Ted Vincent, Betita Martinez, and radio host Chuy Varela.

Sunday, May 24, 2 p.m.
Join a museum docent tour and learn more about the exhibition. Friday, June 5, 7 p.m. Confound, Confront, and Connect: A Discussion of the Work of Photographer Tony Gleaton. Gleaton talks about his photographs in the exhibition and his experiences documenting Afro-Mexican communities. Part of OMCA's First Fridays After Five.

Inaugura UNAM Festival Oaxaca Negra

INDIGENOUS

The North American Indian
My Life in Ruins
Tiguas to Lawmakers: Respect Our Tradition 

The North American Indian 

ARCHAEOLOGY

The poorly understood ballgame of pre-Columbian times.

SEPHARDIC

First Luso-Americans & Emergence of the Sephardic Elite of NY by Teresa Botelho
Signs of Judaism

First Luso-Americans & Emergence of New York's Sephardic Elite 
Teresa Botelho

Signs of Judaism

TEXAS

Attendance of three Historic Events during March 2009 by Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar
Family History of Pasqual Leo Buquor & Maria Jesus Delgado, Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar
May 2: "La Batalla de la Angostura" also known as "The Battle of Buena Vista". 
Getting State Recognition of Battle of Medina is Historian’s Quest, Dan Arellano
Founding Families from Canary Islands settlers of  Villa of San Fernando 
    by Ruben M. Perez
Old Spanish Trail Centennial Association
Preserving the Voices of Austin and Travis County Mexican American Elderly Residents
Tejano Children of the Alamo
Dallas State Fair Stories Wanted 

Attendance of three Historic Events during March 2009

 by 
Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar

Left to right, Stephanie, Pete and Cecile Gomez (Rene's daughter and family) SAR Member Tom Green, Rene Villarreal, my brother, and Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar, and unknown SAR member.

            
The first week in March 2009 was an incredible experience for me in San Antonio.  
A 9^th generation San Antonian, being a part of the three historic celebrations that took 
place in Texas during this week were memorable and I was proud to be a part of it. 

             First, on March 8^th was the Canary Islanders Luncheon and Re-enactment of the arrival of the 16 families who came to settle this part of New Spain .  The luncheon was held at the Marriott Hotel and gave everyone an opportunity to meet their distant cousins.  

I am proud to say that I descend from eight of these families -- Juan Leal-Goraz, Juan Leal, Juan Curbelo, Vicente Alvarez Travieso, Francisco de Arocha, Joseph Leal, Juan Leal and Mariana Meleano Delgado. 

            Members of the CIDA dressed in period costume and re-enacted the arrival, introducing themselves as they presented themselves to the citizens of San Antonio de Bejar.

                 Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar and brother Rene Villarreal

The second memorable event that I attended while in Texas during the first week of March was Texas Ranger Cross Dedication sponsored by the Former Texas Rangers Association honoring my second great-grandfather, P. L. Buquor.  

Sylvia Villarreal Bisnar and brother Rene Villarreal

The third memorable event I attended while in Texas was the Dedication Ceremony honoring the Texans who contributed to winning the American Revolution on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at the Texas State Cemetery.  The TSDAR build a monument and inscribed all the names of the patriots, including my two:  Jose Antonio Curbelo, a Canary Island Descendant, and Jose de la Baume.  Jose Antonio Curbelo was a rancher and during the American Revolution drove several hundred head of Texas longhorn cattle to General Bernardo de Galvez in Louisiana in order that he may feed his troops.  Because of this, Gen. Galvez was instrumental in winning the War for Independence .  Jose de la Baume came from France with the Marquis de Lafayette to fight in the American Revolution and was present when Gen Corwallis surrendered at Yorktown .  After the War for Independence , he was second in command and built Ft. Miro (now Monroe ) in Louisiana .  After 1805, he settled in San Antonio and died at the age of 103. 

INTRODUCING 
SYLVIA VILLARREAL BISNAR
Author of 
Family History of Pasqual Leo Buquor and Maria Jesus Delgado

"La Batalla de la Angostura" 
also known as "The Battle of Buena Vista" 

These are historically accurate sunglasses. Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.

Viva Tejanos

How much am I bid for this painting 
on the wall?

One Espanol, one Tejano

FOUNDING FAMILIES FROM THE CANARY ISLANDS 
THAT SETTLED 
THE VILLA OF SAN FERNANDO 
(SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS)

By Rueben M. Perez
RPerez106@satx.rr.com