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SEPTEMBER 2014 Editor: Mimi Lozano
©2000-2014
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SEPTEMBER 2014 Editor: Mimi Lozano
©2000-2014
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THE LATINO JOURNEY CONTINUES
BY IGNACIO GOMEZ
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"I originally was commissioned to design a national ad
celebrating the quincentennial and the importance of the latinos.
My thinking behind the art was to show the emerging strength of the Latino presence in the United States, via education. I developed, 'The Latino Journey Continues' using my family and me, along with national Latino Heroes and other role models. Viva Education!" Ignacio Gomez For information to purchase print copies, please contact: Imelda Gomez: imeldagomez@me.com |
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| Somos
Primos Staff Mimi Lozano, Editor Mercy Bautista Olvera Roberto Calderon, Ph,D. Bill Carmena Lila Guzman, Ph.D John Inclan Galal Kernahan Juan Marinez J.V. Martinez, Ph.D Dorinda Moreno Rafael Ojeda Ángel Custodio Rebollo Tony Santiago John P. Schmal Submitters to September 2014 Rodolfo F. Acuña Ray John de Aragón Dr. L. Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq. Dan Arellano Salomon R Baldenegro Francisco Barragan Tanya Bowers Shlomo Buzaglo Eddie AAA Calderón, Ph.D. Terry Cannon Melody Capote Rosie Carbo |
Bill
Carmena Roy Cavazos Bill & Bonnie Chapa Robin Collins Tricia Cortez Michael H. Cottman José Antonio Crespo-Francés Joan De Soto Winston De Ville Cherilyn Eagar Stephen V. Estopiñál Refugio Fernandez Frank Feuille Marylouise Fraijo Ambriz Guillermo Fresser Eddie U. Garcia Henry A. García, jr. Dr. Lino García, Jr. Daisy Wanda Garcia Jimmie E. Gates Ignacio Gomez Imelda Gomez Francisco J. Gonzalez Yvonne Gonzalez Duncan Eddie Grijalva Richard Griswold Del Castillo Odell Harwell Walter Herbeck |
José Angel Hernández
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J.
Gilberto Quezada Oscar Ramirez Ángel Custodio Rebollo Armando Rendón Stephen R. Renouf Erasmo Riojas Refugio Rochin, Ph.D. Letty Rodella Norman Rozell Steve Rubin Lorena Ruiz de Frain Bill Rumble Margarita Sandoval Skare Tony Santiago Richard Santillan John P. Schmal Louis F. Serna Herman Sillas Monica Smith Corinne Staacke Dr. Frank Talamantes, Ph.D. Nadia Tamez-Robledo Viola Teeter Lenny Trujillo Val Valdez Gibbons Yomar Villarreal Cleary Davis Walker Kirk Whisler Tony Zapata |
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Letters to the Editor |
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| America -
New Song!
fantastic song and video ------ makes you proud to be an
American!! http://www.youtube.com/v/6TPgJSZf5Vw?version=3&autohide=1&autoplay=1
This
is to all of those from the 40s and 50s.
I can't believe we survived it . . http://vimeo.com/52231459
Sent by Val Valdez Gibbons |
P.O.
415 Midway City, CA 92655-0490 mimilozano@aol.com www.SomosPrimos.com 714-894-8161
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Quotes
to Consider |
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"Good
people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibility, while bad
people will find away around the laws." |
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"There
is no nonsense to errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast
majority by adequate governmental action." |
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"There
is a lure to power. It can get into a man's blood just as gambling
and lust for money have been know to do." |
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"The
work of the individual still remains the spark that moves mankind
forward." |
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September
11, 2001 Jihadist Attack Remembered: Sept 10-12 conference,
Washington, D.C. |
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September
11, 2001 Jihadist attack Remembered
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ACT!
For America’s |
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As our nation pauses to remember the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks, ACT! For America will be highlighting the importance
of national security issues, providing valuable information on how YOU
can impact the security of our country and the preservation of our
liberty. |
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| 9/11
Memorial Museum in New York, opened May 2014 where the Twin Towers once
stood. The museum itself offers a multilevel experience: part history of
the World trade Center and why it became a target; part remembrance of
the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day; part tribute to
the resilience of New York; in all an impactful recapturing of the sights and sounds of that terrible day. In the quiet inner space of the "In Memoriam" exhibit are images of those who died, accompanied by stories from family and friends. In the central historical exhibition, audio and video clips re-create the timeline of events. artifacts, both large and small, include a ruined ambulance, bits of charred paper, outdated mobile phones, ID cards, shoes, and a shop's rack of dust-covered clothes. at the years pass and our individual memories fade, these items and the exhibits they represent will continue to bear witness. 180
Greenwich Street, New York, 212-266-5211 Source:
Westways, September 2014, pg. 28 |
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Student suspended for saying 'Bless You' in class |
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Navy
Bibles will stay! A victory for religious liberty! |
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Dear Mimi, That decision was made in
response to just one letter from the atheistic Freedom From
Religion Foundation. We urged you to contact the admiral in charge
of all Navy lodging, and you did! Today, AFA has received word
that the Navy has reversed its wrong-headed and unconstitutional
decision, and the Bibles will be allowed to stay! Said
Tim Wildmon, president of AFA: |
Are
you registered to vote? |
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In the words of President John F. Kennedy
reflecting on Dante's Inferno: |
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Discover Our Shared Heritage: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro |
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Dear
Friends and Colleagues: |
Thank you to all who
contributed to the preparation of the itinerary. Sent by Tanya Bowers |
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The Rise of Latina & Latino Studies in the United
States Dr. Cynthia E. Orozco, chair, History, Humanities, and Social
Sciences, Eastern New Mexico University, Ruidoso; Co-founder, Chicana
Caucus, National Association for Chicano Studies in 1983, and author, No
Mexicans, Women or Dogs Allowed, The Rise of the Mexican American Civil
Rights Movement |
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The
children of Central America crossing the US Mexico border are in the
news. Another equally important development not noticed by the media was
the Chicago inaugural meeting creating the first national Latina and
Latino Studies Association. Mexican American studies courses have
existed since the late 1960s. The National Association for Chicano
Studies has existed since 1972. The Puerto Rican Studies Association was
founded in 1993. Cuban scholars also
organized in the Cuban and Cuban-American Studies group in 2004. And
there has even been a national Hispanic and Latino group connected to an
ethnic studies organization..
The Latina/Latino Studies Association took root in downtown
Chicago. It is “the first organization dedicated to the comparative
and interdisciplinary study of Latinas/os.” Latinos, like Arturo
Schomburg, an Afro-Latino, wrote about Latinos in the 1920s. LULAC first
called for the study of, curriculum about, and centers about Latin
America and Mexican Americans in the United States in 1940. A few early
Latino scholars existed in Texas such as Dr. Carlos Castaneda, a
naturalized Mexican, and Tejana Jovita Gonzalez. Mexican Manuel Gamio
studied Mexicans in the United States. In New Mexico there was Dr.
George I. Sanchez and Dr. Ruben Cobos. Ernesto Galarza, a Californian,
also wrote. |
After
World War II more Latinos had access to the G.I. Bill and then the Great
Society programs allowed for the first significant wave of Latino
students. The first Chicano Studies program developed in 1969 and others
followed in the Southwest and Midwest.
The1970s saw another wave of Mexican immigrants. Puerto Rican
Frank Bonilla founded the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter
College in New York in 1973 and Julian Samora created Latino Studies at
Notre Dame. In 1971 Chicano-Boricua
(Puerto Rican) Studies was founded at Wayne State University in Detroit,
another early Latino program. In 1981 the Mujeres Activas en Letras y
Cambio Social, a Latina academic organization, was formed. According to
Ramona Hernandez by 1990 there were at least thirty research centers
studying Latinos.
In 1986 the Inter-University Program for Latino Research was
created, perhaps the first national Latino Studies institutional
network. Florida International University in Miami created the Cuban
Research Institute in 1999. The Dominican Studies Institute at City
College in New York appeared too. Feminists introduced gender in the 80s
and the LBGT community ensured that
by the 1990s sexuality was integrated in these studies.
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Major reference books on Latina/os have been available for years.
These include the Latinas in the US: A Historical Encyclopedia and the
Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas.
The Journal of Latino Studies was created in 1993 and the Journal
of Latino/ Latin American Studies in 2004. The 1980s saw the first
wave of “new immigrants.” El Salvadoreans, Hondurans, and
Guatemalans, many fleeing native civil wars and typically impacted by US
foreign policies. The children of these immigrants have slowly made it
to the professoriate. Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican,
Salvador, Columbian, Guatemala, Mexican, and Spanish scholars
were present in Chicago. In
more recent times, the newest immigrants (now often called migrants)
have felt an uncomfortable fit with the name “Latino,” feeling the
need to refer to “pan-Latino.” “Latino,” they argue, was
imagined or enacted with Mexicans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans in mind;
today newer migrants feel excluded by “Latino” or feel it is just
too Mexican. Moreover, by the mid-1990s the synthesis between the Latino
and Latin American experience was considered more readily. Thus, though
the conference called itself “international,” there was an attempt
to think transnationally rather than get Latin Americans to this distant
land for a conference. |
Many
conference sessions made reference to “Latinidad,”-- what it means
to me Latino in the US and Latin America. And nowadays this is not a
one-way process—more often than not it is transnational with Latinos
moving back and forth to their various homelands. This is the Latino
diaspora. Several sessions focused on the regions of the American
Southeast, “El Sur” (The South), West Coast, and even America del
Norte (US). Recall that the United States is not America—all of Latin
America and Canada are part of America.
The conference included presentations, roundtables, and film. The
session on the blog called “La Bloga” noted that ten years ago seven
writers dedicated assigned days to write about Latino literature; now
they have 1,000,000 readers. Some of these bloggers have written seven
or eight books themselves. They conduct interviews such as with Richard
Blanco, Obama’s inaugural poet. They even review children’s books.
Films shown there included Cesar’s Last Fast; Wildness; Mala
Mala; and a review of US-Mexico
Borderlands filmmaker Paul Espinosa’s works. Recent films about
Salvadorean Americans include Words of Revolution, Gay Latino Los
Angeles, and Children of the Disapora as discussed by scholar Ester
Trujillo. |
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Presentations addressed diverse topics such as Latino Chicago,
sexualities, Afro-Latinos, and archives. Latino Chicago focused on
Latina/o Chicago: 1960-1980s; Columbian Migration to Chicago; and the
emergence of a Latino arts movement in Chicago.
Maya Chinchilla, a Guatemalan American lesbian poet, discussed
the politics of being a “Central American American” and read from
her recent book “The Cha Cha Files: a Chapina Poetica.” A panel on
sexuality was titled “This Bridge Called
My Lack,” a reference to the book “This Bridge Called My
Back.” Afro-Latinos with origins toHaiti and other Caribbean nations
discussed musicians like Arsenio Rodriguez and Negrophobia.
The panel “New Approaches to the History of Cuban America”
included talks about Grupo Abdala, a progressive student organization of
nationalists and anti-imperialists. Sitela Alvarez addressed Padre Felix
Varela’s relevance in New York and how a US stamp was named after him.
Julio Capo talked about “sexiles,” queer Marielitos in the making of
Cuban Miami. Heavy-weight scholar Maria de los Angeles Torres commented.
In another session Jeanine Navarette discussed the 1970-73 era when
politicians began greeting the new Cuban American voter. More often than
not elected officials addressed foreign policy, support of Cuban
American businesses, bilingual services, and naturalization. |
Perhaps
one of the most impressive sessions was “Central Americans in the US:
Notions of Belonging and Non-Belonging” organized by Yajaira M.
Padilla of the University of Arkansas. Perhaps it was one of the first
times that “Central American American” women scholars of Guatemalan,
Honduran, and Salvadorean descent discussed their field of study and the
“perpetual non-belonging” to Latinos.
Significant attention was given to the formation of a permanent
national/international Latina/o Studies Association. A committee had
already spent long months studying various organizational models.
Latina/o Studies is no longer Chicano-centric. Women and genders
are integral; sexualities are discussed. Conference chairs Frances
Aparicio and Loudes Torres made sure of this. Old school and new schools presenters came from Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Texas, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Utah, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Kansas, Connecticut, Tennessee, Missouri, Vermont, East Carolina University, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon, Louisiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington D.C. Wyoming has Latino |
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Studies but was not present. What happened to the Dakotas,
Montana, Alaska and Hawaii? Baja California, Cuernavaca, and at least
one Spaniard were there too. Women were present in large numbers, quite different than the first
National Association for Chicano Studies conference I attended in 1979
in Colorado Springs. Women
found it necessary to form a caucus in 1983 and the first major
conference addressing gender was in 1984, thirty years ago. |
The
new Latina/o World Order is here. When Long Beach, California can elect
a gay Latino immigrant and Bell, California can elect a past child
migrant mayor AND when Brazoria, Texas can refuse to admit Central
American migrant children, the new Latina/o World Order is here. Scholar
Maria de los Los Angeles Torres was right—the United States did not
realize Cuban Americans were here to stay; in the post 9/11 world and
anti-Latino immigration era, they too are no longer welcome. Regardless,
academia will have to continue to adjust. Latinas and Latinas, ever more
hybrid, diverse, and multi-dimensional, are here to stay.
More and more Latina/Latino studies are being demanded and
allowed. |
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This week’s installment we give you the Top Latino Writers, tha range from Transformers Roberto Orci to Peter Murrieta of the Disney Channel’s "Wizards of Waverly Place". Discover the Latino scribes every Latino media maker should know.
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Coto joined the writing crew of Enterprise in 2003, when the show was in its third season; his episodes include "Similitude", "Chosen Realm" and "Azati Prime". He became a co-executive producer later that season. In the fourth season he became executive producer of the show, alongside series creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. According to his bio on StarTrek.com, he has been a fan of Star Trek all his life and once wrote a Star Trek comic book.
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After
that he became executive producer on the fifth, sixth, seventh, and the
eighth and final season of 24. In 2010 Coto joined the crew of Showtime
drama series Dexter as a writer and executive producer for the fifth
season. He continued to work as a writer and executive producer for the
show's sixth and seventh seasons, airing 2011 and 2012. Coto has
also directed a number of films, including Cover Up (starring Dolph
Lundgren), Dr. Giggles, and Star Kid. Rep: Jackoway Tyerman Witheimer
Austen Mandelbaum Morris&Klein; UTA |
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which
the show received an Emmy Nomination for Best Dramatic Series.
Echevarria then took the job of Co-Supervising Producer on Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine (1993). His 30-plus episodes of Star Trek have won him a
Humanitas nomination, a Peabody nomination, two Hugo nominations, and a
NASA Vision award for best depiction of humanity's future in space. In
1994, he received a Special Achievement award from the Latino Media
Organization HAMAS. With fellow Star Trek Producer 'Ken Biller', he
developed the scenario for _Star Trek: The Experience (1998)_, a theme
park attraction built by Paramount Parks at the Las Vegas Hilton. In
1999-2000, Echevarria was supervising producing on Paramount's
short-lived but critically praised Now and Again (1999) on CBS. In July
2000, he signed on as co-executive producer of Dark Angel (2000) the
science fiction series created by James Cameron for the Fox network, as
part of an overall multiyear deal with 20th Century Fox Television to
develop new projects for the studio. |
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Murrieta
got his start at Second City in Chicago as an improv/sketch comedian,
and after moving to Los Angeles earned a coveted writing fellowship from
Walt Disney Television. That led to writing stints for
"Jesse," "Three Sisters" and "All About the
Andersons" before creating the critically acclaimed "Greetings
from Tucson" which was based on his own experiences growing up in
Tucson. He then went on to produce and write "Hope and Faith"
for ABC. A successful entrepreneur, in 1995, Murrieta and his wife Aliza
founded the Bang Comedy Theatre which prides itself on being a purveyor
of innovative comedy and a studio dedicated to the ongoing study and
performance of improvisation. Through intimate, hands-on improv and an
acting training staff, Bang offers the tools needed to create dynamic
scenes and characters in the moment. Their actors are delightfully
truthful, charmingly grounded and riveting dangerous. Murrieta has
written feature films for Revolution Studios and Paramount and currently
resides in Los Angeles with his wife, two children. Rep:
Odenkirk/Provissiero Talent Management; UTA |
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Orci is currently preparing for the premiere of
Matador starring Gabriel Luna and Alfred Molina. The spy drama, the
second scripted series for Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey network, will
premiere this July. Most recently, Orci co-wrote and executive produced
Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which was released this May, and has
earned over $630 million at the worldwide box office so far. Last year,
Paramount released the blockbuster Star Trek: Into Darkness, which Orci
co-wrote and produced alongside Kurtzman. Additionally, Summit released
Ender’s Game produced through K/O Paper Products as well as the
surprise summer hit Now You See Me, also produced through K/O Paper
Products. Orci is currently developing the sequel to Now You See Me as
well as Universal’s The Mummy. Orci began his career in television,
writing for the popular series Hercules. He went on to write for Xena:
Warrior Princess where he became a head writer for the show at age 23.
Orci also wrote on the hit J.J. Abrams series Alias, which began a
fruitful collaborative relationship. Orci eventually went on to serve as
an executive producer on Alias. Rep: CAA
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The Chicana/o Legacy Gaining
traction but still No. 9 |
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Students
and community activists don't appreciate how far we have come since
the 1960s as a result of activism. They take for granted that Latinos
are getting national attention, taking for granted simple things like
being able to go to a swimming pool, attend college or walk into a department
store. They rationalize that the attention is because of their hard
work, the Democratic Party or that people are getting less racist. |
The
truth be told, the Dreamers are the cream of our society, they are the
kids that every rational person would want as a daughter or son. They
survived all odds, made it to college, and are enduring despite society.
For Americans to kick them out at this stage would be more than stupid.
Given their scholastic achievement it would be like throwing $100,000
a deportee out the window -- a half million of them. |
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Just
twenty years ago the Democratic Party sold us out on Leticia A, a California
case that was filed in the 1980s to deny undocumented youth equal
access to higher education. Before Leticia A immigration status was
not an issue. Twenty years ago Proposition 187 was also passed by two-thirds
of California voters. |
During the 1960s, Chicana/o and Puerto Rican
militancy had widened access to higher education and grew a middle
class -- something that benefitted succeeding generations of
Latinos. Today the Mexican base is at least 35 million -- ten
times as large as in 1970. |
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After
all these years, Mexican Americans and Latinos are still not a
priority. A barometer to measure their traction is foreign aid from the
U.S. In 2012 the top recipients of U.S. foreign aid were: |
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*Top
25 Recipients of U.S. Aid* *In Millions $* |
Russia
440.90 |
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Note
the large number of African countries receiving aid; it is not based
on humanitarian grounds, but to protect the interests of American corporations
that in turn do not pay taxes. Note that Russia receives a hefty
sum of aid -- why? It has oil just like the African nations. Not one
nation in Middle America aside, from Haiti is in the top 25. [Editor:
Ethnic groups in Haiti, black 90%; mulatto 9%; white 1%. Only
Columbia is listed for South America.] This situation will never change based
on numbers alone; they will not reprioritize the Democratic Party
agenda. The American War on Drugs will continue as well as the
American stereotype of Mexico being a big Tijuana. |
Christi
Independent School District/ (1970) was the first case extending
the U.S. Supreme Court's /Brown v. the Board of Education of
Topeka/ to Mexican Americans and other Latinos. Editor: If you also want to look at where we stand, research the distribution of student VISA holders . . . by country. |
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What we Owe our Tejano
Ancestors by José Antonio “Joe” López |
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To
All: I was motivated to
write the article below after attending a workshop Jun 28th in Austin at
the Texas General Land Office. The
gathering (to develop materials for a Tejano History piece in the Texas
Handbook of History Online) was organized by Drs. Tijerina, Zamora, and
other top-notch historians. Sadly,
we’re on a bumpy path in sharing pre-1836 Texas history with others.
The on-going immigration debate is yet another obstacle in
reaching our goal. Very
candidly, I hope you join me in not allowing anyone to connect the
current illegal immigration debate with our endeavor to preserve our
long-standing Spanish Mexican heritage “on this side of the U.S.
Mexico border”.
Saludos, |
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SAN
ANTONIO, July 10 - For over 150 years, mainstream Texas history books
have been written as if Texas history begins in 1836.
By design, conventional Texas history books cut out or reject the
foundation story of Texas, simply because it doesn’t fit the Sam
Houston model. Equally
unfortunate, that restrictive method (l) tends to treat early (pre-1836)
Texas history as Spanish & Mexican “foreign” history; and (2)
ignores the direct connection between Native Americans and today’s
Mexican-descent Texans and Southwest people. The result? Mainstream
Texas history instruction omits the very roots of Texas. That is unfair
to the memory of the Spanish Mexican Tejano founders of Texas. How can
we fix this long-standing problem? For
about the last thirty years, a group of dedicated Tejano history
aficionados of both Tejano and Anglo backgrounds have tried to offer a
more fair and balanced account. However, selling that idea to a
skeptical public raised on movie myth-inspired Texas history hasn’t
been easy. That said, the unveiling of the Tejano Monument in Austin in 2012 has finally popped that balloon of ignorance. The memorial now serves as a permanent beacon putting a spotlight on pre-1836 Texas people, places, and events. There |
have
been other efforts to make Texas history curriculum more inclusive (see
next paragraph). More recently, a dedicated effort supported by the
Texas State Historical Association is about to bring together Tejano
history stories with the goal of establishing a Tejano History Handbook
Online. Based
on grass-roots petitions and testimony in 2010, the Texas State Board of
Education agreed that the teaching of Texas history in the classroom is
incomplete. As such, they approved the inclusion of some Spanish Mexican
people in the STAAR social studies and Texas history school curriculum.
It’s not much, but it’s a start. Albeit,
what is the main problem with the way Texas history is taught today? The
clear answer is that mainstream Texas history at all levels tends to
pigeonhole Texas history into three distinct eras: Spanish colonial,
Mexican Republic, and Republic/State of Texas. Worse, as presented in
the classroom, the first two eras are not connected to the third (Texas
history). Such an approach implies that the people who lived during the
first two eras have disappeared and thus are treated as detached
(unconnected) parts of mainstream Texas history. The fact is that the
descendants of the Spanish Mexican people who lived in the first two
eras (pioneer settlers who founded Texas) are still here today in the
form of Mexican-descent Texans. |
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Regrettably,
generations of Mexican-descent Texas students have been treated as
foreigners in their own homeland. They know little of their ancestors’
history. What are some lessons that a more open discussion of Texas
history will provide Texas children? Below is a partial list of topics
that especially Mexican-descent children in South Texas must discover,
study, and get to know their impact on (help or hurt) Spanish Mexican
people of the U.S. Southwest: (l)
The First Texas Independence occurred on April 6, 1813; (2) The 1836
Battles of the Álamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto are part of a
chronological chapter in Mexico’s history, not the U.S. Mexico
didn’t lose Texas, South Texas, & Southwest until 1848; (3) They
must learn that in Texas in 1836, the Anglo immigrants from the U.S.
were the aggressors, not General Santa Anna; and (4) they must learn
that the name Álamo refers to the Presidio (no longer exists) and not
to Mission San Antonio, sister mission to San José, San Juan, Concepción,
and Espada. |
(5)
The real story as to how the U.S. “won” the west by following El
Camino Real routes; (6) learn about “Borderlands” families that were
split in two in 1848 as a result of the U.S. Mexico War; and (7) for
high school and college students, develop lessons on the Mutualista
Movement, Jovita Idar, LULAC, Mexican-descent military veterans; Dr.
Hector P. Garcia and the American GI Forum, The Class Apart (1954
Supreme Court Decision - Hernandez v. Texas), 1964 Civil Rights Act,
etc.. Other aspects of little-known early Texas history facts that Texas students must know in higher grades: (a) The Black Legend (Leyenda Negra); (b) Manifest Destiny; (c) Learn why and how U.S. encroachment into the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Mississippi Valley and the Northwest displaced existing Spanish settlements, presidios, and missions; (d) 1836 Texas Independence negative effect on Spanish Mexican-descent Texans (Tejanos). |
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In
summary, nowhere else in history has one ethnic group robbed another
group of its heritage to embellish their own. Yet, that’s what’s
been done to the Álamo and La Bahia (Goliad) Presidio. It’s
time to honor these magnificent historical structures for their
strength, beauty, and creativity of their Spanish Mexican builders. They
must no longer be marketed only because armed Anglo expatriates from the
U.S. died there. So,
what do we owe the memory of our Tejano ancestors, founders of Texas,
and their growing number of descendants? We owe them inclusion in
mainstream Texas history. The first chapters of our state’s history
may be written in Spanish, but what’s wrong with admitting that Texas
history is truly bi-cultural and bi-lingual? |
Simply
stated, Tejano history is not a “separate but equal” history. Tejano
history is and will always be Texas history. |
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Editor:
I included Joe's article under US because the distortion of the
history of the Alamo affected the perception that US history has placed
on all Mexican-American: we are suspect, we are not real Americans
because our ancestors fought against the heroes of Alamo". |
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“Past
deeds pave our way to the future” |
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SAN
ANTONIO, August 10 - As the crown jewel of our blended Hispanic and
Native American family roots in Texas, the Tejano Monument in Austin
shines bright on the south lawn of the state capitol building. Since
its unveiling in March 2012, Austin residents, government officials,
tourists, and school children visiting our state capital are now able to
see for the very first time, a memorial dedicated to the true founding
of this great place we call Texas. All
Texans should be proud of the efforts led by Cayetano Barrera, M.D.,
McAllen, and carried out most ably by the Tejano Monument, Inc.
Committee members, Dr. Andrés Tijerina, Renato Ramirez, Homero Vera,
Richard Sánchez, Jaime Beaman, and so many others, such as Estella and
William Zermeño, Benny Martínez, and dedicated working group members.
Armando Hinojosa, Laredo, deserves special credit for his gifted
artistic creation. In bronze and stone, he expresses the dignity that
Tejano descendants feel in their hearts. |
Helping
to tell our incredible early Texas story, the following list of deeds
keeps growing, considering that the concerted effort began just a few
short years ago: 1. Our Native American kin has relentlessly tried to dispel undignified movie myths about cultures originating in what’s now the U.S. There are plenty of sites on the internet featuring each group’s goal to preserve their heritage. This is crucial learning for Mexican Americans because being Native American is what makes us Mexican-descent people of the Southwest. 2.
For years, Mr. Dan Arellano has organized tribute events to remember the
1st Texas Revolution (1810-1813); First President of Texas Don Bernardo
Gutiérrez de Lara’s reading of the 1st Texas Declaration of
Independence and 1st Constitution (1813); Battle of Medina (BOM)
memorial and archeological digs. |
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3.
An Austin school district has already set up Tejano history lessons as
part of its school curriculum. The Laredo ISD has added a block of early
Laredo history in the curriculum at my alma mater Martin High School.
Others are in the process of doing the same. 4.
Dr. Andrés Tijerina is part of an effort by the Texas State Historical
Association to identify and record long-forgotten early Texas Spanish
Mexican historical sites. 5.
More recently, Dr. Tijerina and Dr. Emilio Zamora plus others are also
putting together what will be a Tejano History segment of Texas Handbook
of History Online. 6.
Mr. Bill Millet has produced a long-awaited PBS film entitled “Texas
before the Alamo”. 7. Thanks to Texas State Representative Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin), a proclamation (H.R. 1411) was read honoring the 200th Anniversary of the first Texas Constitution (1813-2013). |
8. The Texas State Hispanic Genealogy/History Societies (Austin, Dallas, Corpus Christi, El Paso, East Texas, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Victoria, and Zapata) continue to spread the word regarding our early Texas pioneer families. Also, Laredo’s Webb Co. Heritage Foundation; Edinburg’s Museum of South Texas History, and Zapata County Museum of History preserve early Texas history via their unique memorabilia and displays. 9.
Mr. Renato Ramirez, Chairman of the Board/CEO, IBC-Zapata, continues to
promote mariachi bands at UT-Austin, Texas A&M Kingsville, and Texas
A&M College Station. His efforts are designed to raise funds to
assure awareness of mariachi music’s vital influence in Texas history.
In enthusiastically pursuing his goal, he aims for complete
understanding by the general public as to why it was proper for young
Sebastien de la Cruz to sing our national anthem for the San Antonio
Spurs attired in formal Mexican vaquero dress. Truly, Texas’ Mariachi
style roots are much older than other music genres in Texas that came
after 1836. |
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10.
Last but certainly not least, in the information management arena, Mimi
Lozano (Somos Primos) has spent great amounts of her energy, time, and
talents to provide a one-stop shop online web site for a worldwide
audience learning about Hispanic history; Armando Rendón does as well
with Somos En Escrito; there is also Beto Calderon; Foro de Comunicación;
as well as the online LARED-L list server; Steve Taylor, Rio Grande
Guardian; Dr. Lino Garcia, Jr.’s FESTIBA events at UTPA; LareDos, Mr.
Rudi Rodriguez of Texas Tejano is pressing on with plans for a
Williamsburg-style Tejano Village permanent interactive exhibit in
downtown San Antonio; and my own web site www.TejanosUnidos.org.
My apologies if I’m forgetting someone. |
Yet, our Tejano heritage is under attack. The threats are constant. The most recent immigration-related situation at the border is cause to worry. Certain politicians and media are raising the temperature of the immigration debate by questioning our Spanish Mexican heritage and Spanish language “on this side of the border.” To ensure we reach our goal to educate others about our rich story, the best defense is a good offense. Let’s combine our hard work. As
such, I make three appeals. |
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(2)
To Early Texas history aficionados mentioned above. All of our worthy
efforts will be for naught unless we push together. At every turn,
let’s reject any attempt to diminish our heritage. (3)
To our extended family living in the Rio Grande Valley. You are now
center stage due to the on-going immigration debate. Critics of your way
of life who are just recently becoming aware of the border don’t
understand why there are so many Mexican-descent Texans who choose to
speak Spanish as their language of choice. Only through learning of
early Texas history will they discover why it is we are not immigrants
in the U.S. To learn more, make plans to attend the 35th Annual Texas
State Hispanic Genealogy Conference in McAllen, TX on Sept 25-27. In closing, our past deeds do pave our way to the future. How do we fulfill our future? By speaking with one voice under an |
“Aztlán-Euro
Alliance” umbrella or something similar. Individually, we represent a
small group and cause a small ripple in the ocean of public opinion.
However, as a combined force, we will orchestrate millions of voices
causing an impact of tsunami proportions. Bottom line: If we don’t do
it ourselves, no one else is going to do it for us. José Antonio “Joe” López was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and is a USAF Veteran. He now lives in Universal City, Texas. He is the author of three books: “The Last Knight (Don Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero,”, “Nights of Wailing, Days of Pain (Life in 1920s South Texas)”, and “The First Texas Independence, 1813”. Lopez is also the founder of the Tejano Learning Center, LLC, and www.tejanosunidos.org, a web site dedicated to Spanish Mexican people and events in U.S. history that are mostly overlooked in mainstream history books. |
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All: The purpose of this e-mail is to acquaint you with an organization which promises to grow and unite the Latino/Hispanic Texas community. Its founder is Joe Lopez. Please go to the following web-site, read its description, information, and we would appreciate it if you will send the information to your distribution list: Here is the website address: www.TejanosUnidos.org Jose M. Pena
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It’s summer, time
for good fruit, good vegetables…and time for people to harvest them
– thousands of people. It’s
also a good time to think back on the bracero program, along with other
“programs” that brought farm laborers into the United States from
Mexico. Of course, not all
farm laborers in the United States have come from Mexico, but in the
past 50 years, the great majority did. Back to the bracero
program: it was originally
intended to be Mexico’s way of contributing to the World War II
effort. The United States
experienced a major labor shortage due to the war, and negotiated a
treaty with Mexico to supply that labor.
The workers were to be temporary, and would not be allowed to
apply for permanent residency or citizenship.
They also were to be confined primarily to farm labor.
This was the original bracero program. The program
provided farmers in the United States (especially owners of very large
farms) with labor, allowing for continued large-scale production of
food. In addition, it
gave Mexicans, who at that time were passing through an economic
downturn and anxious for jobs, what was theoretically to be decent work
under decent conditions for decent pay. |
While some owners
of these large farms indeed provided what they were supposed to, others
provided the workers with poor conditions, or failed to pay them all
they were owed, or engaged in other abuses.
In addition, as they first entered the United States, the workers
were subject to practices such as being sprayed with DDT at the border.
(At that time, the full extent of the harm of DDT was not known.) The work was very
hard, in many cases made especially difficult because they were required
to use something known as the “short-handled hoe,” a tool which
required the laborer to bend over all day while working in the fields.
Long-handled hoes existed which would not have required this, but
the farm owners considered these to be bad for the plants.
(Apparently, the plants were more important than the workers,
many of whom experienced severe back problems because of using the
short-handled hoe.) The bracero program
was continued in one form or another long past the end of World War II.
It ended in 1964 due to fears that the Mexican workers were
taking jobs from native born citizens of the United States.
In addition, a serious car accident involving a bus loaded with
braceros in which many were killed helped convince the Mexican
government that the program needed to be ended. |
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At the outset of
the bracero program, Texas (a major user of Mexicans as farm laborers)
was unwilling to join it. This
was because its farmers wanted to pay lower wages and be less careful
about the conditions under which the workers lived.
The workers entered the state illegally, and thus were
particularly vulnerable. The
farmers insultingly called them “wet backs,” since many of them had
to swim the Rio Grande in order to enter Texas, and employed them by the
thousands. In 1946, however,
the government of Mexico withdrew all its workers from Texas due to
serious abuses and at that point, the state entered the bracero program. There are many sites on the internet which talk about the bracero program and farm laborers from Mexico. The Smithsonian recently organized an exhibition about it, which can be found on-line and which I like very much. The exhibition includes some great posters with especially fine photographs, plus text in both English and Spanish. |
You can find the
posters at: http://www.sites.si.edu/bracero/Bracero%20Posters.pdf,
and traveling exhibit at http://www.sites.si.edu/bracero/.
Eve A. Ma (Dr. L.
Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq.)
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“Preserving Places
that Matter in American Latino History” |
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Concurrent
to the “Preserving Places that Matter in American Latino History”
session held at the 2014 National Council of La Raza Conference which
the National Trust for Historic Preservation cosponsored with the
National Park Foundation’s American Latino Heritage Fund, the Este
Lugar Vale: Preservation 101 training went live on
PreservationNation.org. The training provides an overview of the
approaches, players, and policies which can help save Latino cultural
resources.
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Please
spread word of the training with your networks. Many thanks go out to
the various subject matter experts who contributed case studies of
places that matter to different Latino communities. Should partners be
interested accessing the power point, they should get in touch with me, Tanya
Bowers or 202-588-6245. Thanks,
Tanya
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Percentage
of Hispanic associated with the Best Medical Schools in the US |
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Editor:
There was more data included on the list. I extracted what I thought
would be of most interest. |
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2014
Best Medical Schools 1.
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 2.
University of Miami, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine 3.
University of Texas 4.
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston 5.
Baylor College of Medicine |
6.
University of Texas Medical Branch, School of Medicine 7.
Stanford University, School of Medicine
9.
Florida International University 10.
University of New Mexico, School of Medicine Source:
Dr. Frank Talamantes, Ph.D,
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Good
afternoon Mimi -- I'm
attaching a letter I wrote to President Obama regarding a financial
crisis many of our elders are facing who have invested in 1031 Exchange
properties. The letter is about my family's struggle to care for our
mother with Stage 5 dementia while we face foreclosure of an investment
purchased with half of her life savings. Mimi,
I'd appreciate it if you would include my letter to the White House in
an upcoming issue.
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The
bottom line message to the letter was this: In April 2014, the
Obama Administration announced three new housing initiatives aimed at
providing struggling homeowners with federal mortgage assistance to help
them avoid losing their homes. Those who have invested in 1031 Exchange
properties are in the exact same situation. The properties they have
invested in have not recovered from the financial collapse of 2008 and
have foreclosed or are on the verge of doing so in the near future.
Their hope in the American Dream, like our mother’s, is fading fast.
Mr. Obama, please consider providing mortgage assistance for those who
will lose their life savings due to 1031 Exchange property foreclosures. |
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August
22, 2014 Dear
Mr. President: My
mother, Virginia Tapia y Mondello, is 86 years old and she will likely
lose half of her financial nest egg to a 1031 Exchange property
foreclosure. This woman
comes from a time in our country’s history where everyone who worked
hard and saved their money could live decently into their old age.
Now she and other elders in this tragic situation need your help
– and they need it NOW. Virginia
is a proud United
States citizen, a daughter
of Mexican immigrants, and she lives in a surreal paradigm. On one
hand, she is the epitome of the American Dream and on the other hand,
she is epitome of a real-life American financial horror story, in which
many abuelitos y abuelitas have lost most, if not all, of their life
savings due to ill-advised investment schemes. We,
her children, did not anticipate in 2005 that our mother would
eventually need specialized care due to a stroke. After many
discussions at the kitchen table, we kids decided to move our mom into a
personal care home close to us and we transferred the sale of her home
to a 1031 Exchange property that would provide tax deferment and monthly
dividends to cover her health care costs. Today,
Virginia has Stage 5 dementia with severe impairment, and half of her
nest egg will likely be lost this year to a 1031 Exchange property that
is about to go bankrupt. We worry that we will not have enough money
personally or by way of the family trust to provide her the care she
needs and deserves. In
April of this year, your Administration announced three new housing
initiatives aimed at providing struggling homeowners with federal
mortgage assistance to help them avoid losing their homes.
Those who have invested in 1031 Exchange properties are in the
exact same situation. The properties they have invested in have
not recovered from the financial collapse of 2008 and have foreclosed or
are on the verge of doing so in the near future.
Their hope in the American Dream, and like our mother’s, is
fading fast. Mr. Obama, please consider providing mortgage assistance
for those who will lose their life savings due to 1031 Exchange property
foreclosures. With
the utmost respect, Carol Mondello-Settle, MPH
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Who
Was Haym Solomon and what vital role did he play in United States
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On
the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles. Together,
they comprise the Great Seal of the United States . The First
Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men
come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and
another two years to get it approved. |
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The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, 'God has favored our undertaking.'The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, 'a new order has begun.' At the base of the pyramid is the Roman numeral for 1776. (MDCCLXXVI) |
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If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States . It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery , and is the centerpiece of most heroes' monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States , and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean. The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two
reasons: Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on its own. At the top of that shield there is a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation. |
In the
Eagle's beak: ' E PLURIBUS UNUM' Above the Eagle, we have the thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one. |
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Notice
what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and arrows.
This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to
preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in
time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows. |
13
original colonies, |
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And finally, notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle. You will see that they are arranged as a Star of David. This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Haym Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army. Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself, but he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result. Few people know it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions ...then died a pauper. Haym Solomon gave $25 million to save the Continental Army, money that was sorely needed to help realize America’s –our- freedom and independence from England |
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On America’s Freedom: Too many veterans gave up too much to let the meanings fade. Many veterans came home to an America that did not care. Too many veterans never came home at all. They served, they died for you … for me. Sent by Yomar Villarreal Cleary |
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Hispanic
Heritage Month |
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Guy Gabaldon Statue Project, Los Angeles, CA |
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Thursday, August 14th, on the recommendation of Chris Espinosa, the General Manager of El Pueblo de Los Angeles, a first informational presentation was made by Steve Rubin and Ignacio Gomez to acquaint the El Pueblo de Los Angeles commissioners with the Guy Gabaldon Statue Project. The meeting was held in the Pico House, located on historic Olvera Street. Steve read a letter addressing the
vision of a statue recognizing World War II East L.A. Marine hero, Guy Gabaldon
to be placed in a public site in the city of Los Angeles. Artist Ignacio
Gomez showed his clay model, based on a painting by Henry Godines, painted while
Gabaldon was alive and able to approve the details.
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We
now await being put on the formal agenda for approval of use of location in the
Father Serra Park.
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OTRA VEZ By Daisy Wanda
Garcia
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Every
time I go to Corpus Christi, Texas, it is an emotional experience.
For one, I feel that I am returning home and I am going to visit
my parents. The memories of
the times I lived in Corpus Christi, and then returned monthly to visit
my parents after I moved to Austin, TX keep flooding back when I pass
familiar sites. This time,
my trip to Corpus Christi, TX was about helping repurpose and renovate
Papa’s clinic at 1315 Bright at Morgan Ave.
My friend John Valadez, PBS documentary film producer took the
long drive with me from Austin to Corpus Christi.
We discussed his projects and other historical issues.
It began with breakfast with Tim Archuleta, Editor of the Corpus Christi Caller Times and Phil Sanchez of NEAT. John Valadez, Alicia Gallegos Gomez, South Texas radio personality and Patsy Vasquez Contes, National AGIF chair and event coordinator who put together this series of meetings to promote this goal. I called it a “power breakfast.” |
Tim Archuletta, Luis Vasquez Contes, Patsy Vasquez Contes, |
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Phil Sanchez presented his plan to use the clinic for a veterans
outreach facility while preserving the clinic historically. We were
impressed by Phil’s innovative and detailed plan.
Afterwards, Patsy organized a tour of the clinic.
My cousin Amador Garcia, President of the National Archives and
Historical Foundation was present. Also,
Representatives of the National Trust for Historic Preservation along
with elected officials, community leaders, representatives of corporate
America and the press were on hand. Inside I went to Papa’s office and I could visualize where he had his desk and papers and pictures which adorned the wall. I remembered many of the historically important personalities who passed through the doors of his clinic including Bill Clinton, future President of the U.S. In the reception area an old 1995 calendar still hung on the wall abandoned when the building was closed. John Valadez went through old drawers and noted that there were books left in the clinic as well. The walls and ceiling were ripped open where vandals had ripped the copper tubing out. The clinic though structurally sound was in need of a facelift. |
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Afterwards,
Patsy invited all who toured the building to a meeting at the Police
Lodge #22. Phil
Sanchez gave a power point presentation of his plan to set up a veterans
outreach program. John
Valadez gave an emotional plea why the building was important and its
role in the Hispanic Civil Rights movement.
Earlier in the month, John had traveled to Three Rivers Texas.
The funeral home where the Felix Longoria incident happened was
demolished. All that
remained was the historical marker that indicated the history of the
site. |
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According to Valadez, Papa’s clinic is one of the most important sites
of Historical significance in Texas of the Hispanic Civil Rights
movement and must be preserved. When
the public thinks of Civil Rights, they are only acquainted with the
African American movement. Most
are unaware that Hispanics had a civil rights movement. The Longoria
incident marked the beginning of this movement.
After listening to all the presentations, the National Trust
Representatives promised to help us qualify for funding. Alicia
Gallegos Gomez, South Texas radio personality. |
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VETERANS’
AND FAMILY OUTREACH CENTER
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The lights have been off for a long time at the clinic where Dr. Hector
P. Garcia served his patients. But Daisy Wanda Garcia, his oldest daughter, can see past the crumbling floors and peeling paint to what used to be there. His desk, his bookshelves, his bust of John F. Kennedy — which she now has. The place where the American GI Forum, the veterans and civil rights organization he founded, was born will have a second chance at life if a partnership of nonprofits reaches its fundraising goal of at least $100,000 to restore the building and begin working toward a Veterans’ and Family Outreach Center. Supporters and local officials toured the doctor’s old office Wednesday. The National Archives & Historical Foundation of the American GI Forum, which owns the building in the 1300 block of Bright Street, is working on the project with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the California-based nonprofit National Education, Advocacy & Training Inc. The latter was co-founded by American GI Forum member Phil Sanchez. |
 Daisy Wanda Garcia looks around what used to be her father’s
private office Wednesday during atour of Dr. Hector P. Garcia’s former
clinic.Photos: Michael Zamora/Caller-Times |
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The American GI Forum is trying to duplicate what Sanchez’s
organization
has done in California, "It's
long overdue for Dr. Hector," she said. "It's not going to
happen overnight, but we're moving forward." Larry Spaller, a
Corpus Christi resident and Vietnam War veteran, said it can be
frustrating for veterans to access their benefits. He was 30 percent
disabled when he applied for disability benefits and was 100 percent
disabled by the time he was granted benefits three years later, he said. |
They hope to open the center in 2015 or 2016
and will serve an area with 80,000 veterans, according to a news
release. Supporters said Wednesday the project also is about preserving part of civil rights history. The office was where people used to line up to ask Garcia's advice, medical or otherwise, and where the early American GI Forum laid its plans and where he called presidents directly to demand more Hispanic political appointees. It would be a perfect tribute to her father, Daisy Wanda Garcia said, because he wanted the building to be used by the forum and community organizations after the medical office closed in 1995. Efforts to create the center are the third time Garcia has been involved in trying to preserve the clinic. It's tough, but she remembers her father's example. "Did he ever give up? No, even when he should have," she said with a laugh. "So I plan to persevere with papa." Twitter: @CallerNadia |
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 Visitors walk through dark hallways Wednesday during a tour of Dr. hector p. Garcia's former clinic.
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The
group met in the morning and toured the historic building of Dr. Hector
P. Garcia Clinic located at 1315 Bright Street, Corpus Christi, TX. The
groups represented were the National Education, Advocacy & Training,
Inc. (NEAT) – Phil Sanchez. For
more information, contact: Patsy M. Vazquez-Contes |
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Raising Funds for the Santa Rosa de Lima Mission in Tucson |
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Estimadas/os: For those who may be interested, my latest
“Political Salsa y Más” blog, in which I focus on the Santa Rosa de Lima
Mission in Tucson’s Old Pascua Yaqui Village is on “Latinopia”—the link
is below. For the past 85 years, the Santa Rosa de Lima Mission
has been a spiritual and community anchor of the village. Like the Yaquis who
built it, Santa Rosa has a strong heart and spirit, but its frame has taken a
beating, and it is in need of serious repairs. As it always does, the Pascua
community has risen to the occasion and has launched a restoration fundraising
drive to pay for the needed repairs—and you can help! While you’re in Latinopia check out its other great
features. Created by Chicano media pioneer Jesús S.Treviño, Latinopia is a
video-driven website with sections on Art, Literature, Theater, Music, Cinema
and Television, Food, History, and Sci Fi. It is chock full of information!
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[The 1997 four-part PBS documentary series that Jesús
co-produced, “CHICANO! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights
Movement,” remains a classroom staple throughout the country.] Jesús is a talented Director who has directed episodes
of many popular television series (e.g., Law and Order, Criminal Minds, ER, NYPD
Blue, Crossing Jordan; The Practice, Chicago Hope) and has won dozens of
national and international awards and recognitions—e.g., ALMA Award for
Outstanding Director of a Television Drama and Outstanding Co-Executive Producer
of Best Prime-time drama series, and (twice) Directors Guild of America award. Sent by Salomon R Baldenegro |
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HERE’S THE LINK TO LATINOPIA: http://latinopia.com/blogs/political-salsa-y-mas-with-sal-baldenegro-8-17-14-mission/ |
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San Pedro Creek Restoration Project, San Antonio, TX |
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Members and Friends of Los Bexareños, 1) On Saturday, August 23, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. there
will be a Public Workshop at the Christopher Columbus Italian Society hall at
201 Piazza Italia, San Antonio, TX. Jerry
Geyer, Co-Chair of the San Pedro Creek Subcommittee is urging all Hispanic
heritage supporters to attend. The San Pedro Creek was the primary water source for the
first Spanish presidio and for the settlement that grew into modern San Antonio.
The goal is to have at least one part of the improved creek ready for San
Antonio's 300th Anniversary celebrations in 2018. |
All design concepts created thus far will be on display, and the public can ask questions, make recommendations and participate in the design process. This will be the most efficient way to learn about the project. The engineers and architects will be there along with our citizen volunteer team and the San Antonio River Authority. This is a great opportunity to make a contribution that will impact future generations. Sent by Luis Antonio Morales
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Saving
Lincoln Center: An El Paso Community’s Effort to Protect its Chicano Heritage Latina
Lista: News from the Latino perspective
By Cassie Keener |
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Owned by the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT), the fate of the Lincoln Center has been uncertain for
the past few years. Demolition was planned in order to create a connecting path
between Interstate 10 and Cesar Chavez Highway, but the opinions of the public
are making an impact strong enough to delay the project. The walls of the Lincoln Center hold
an incredible amount of history for the people of Chicano ancestry in the El
Paso area, and the community has demonstrated how much they value the center
through their preservation efforts. Created and organized by the Lincoln
Park Conservation Committee (LPCC), the Save Lincoln Center Campaign is
leaning on strong community involvement as a form of advocacy. |
In addition to the support of
community members, the LPCC is partnered with the Senecu Fine Arts Society and
the Fire Power 40 Program, has strong support from Senator Jose Rodriguez, and
is in the process of working with El Paso Community College. Together, their
advocacy efforts have halted demolition of the Lincoln Center and continue to
raise awareness of the historical significance of the building.
Young members of the community
participate in a traditional dance at the Annual Lincoln Park Day. Community members have attended City
Council and Metropolitan Planning Organization Meetings to voice their concerns
and stay updated with the progress of the campaign, and they also rally outside
of the center when impending decisions are being made or when the building is
threatened to show their support. |
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“We start the rallies with music
to kick off the event, and invite speakers like Senator Rodriguez to motivate
the crowd and thank them for their support,” said Miguel Juárez, member of
the LPCC and advocate for Lincoln Center. “This place has served as a
community center since 1912. There’s a lot of history and a lot of people who
care about it.” Without notice, TxDOT put a fence
around the building in May with the intent to demolish it. The community was
there when it happened, and some advocates even formed a human chain around the
building to prevent the fence from going up. “We didn’t even know [in
advance] it was happening,” Juárez said. “We had to be notified through
social media.” An emergency City Council Meeting
was held that same day to seek a temporary restraining order to delay
demolition. Nearly 100 people attended within two hours’ notice to offer their
support. The public outcry from this community for the preservation of Lincoln
Center was certainly heard, as the fence has been taken down. |
“It’s a very textured project.
There are a lot of issues, issues that are very technical,” said Juárez.
“But it’s also very community-driven and community-focused.”
“El Corazón de El Paso,”
painted in 2009 by Gabriel S. Gaytán. The heart and arteries is a symbol of
freeways US 54 and I-10 meeting at Lincoln Park, then branching out to other
areas of the city. The LPCC hosts an Annual Lincoln
Park Day in September to raise awareness and celebrate the art and culture that
has stemmed from the Lincoln Center, such as the large-scale murals on the
pillars of the I-10 and US 54 freeway interchange. |
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The mural project began in 1983, but
wasn’t fully carried out until Chicano artist Carlos Callejo proposed working
with several other artists and students in the area to help complete the murals
in 1999. The murals have various themes, but
many depict images of Chicano heritage and relate to the history of the culture.
There are also large murals inside of the Lincoln Center, and if the building is
saved, advocates hope for it to be turned into a Latino Cultural Arts Center.
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Follow the progress of the Save Lincoln Center
Campaign on the campaign’s website
and Facebook
page. The National Trust for Historic
Preservation works to save America’s historic places. Join
us today to help protect the places that matter to you. Cassie Keener is an Editorial Intern
at the National Trust. She enjoys writing, spending time outdoors, and is a
movie and music enthusiast. Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com
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Looking for Mexican Americans and baseball in Texas |
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08/07/14,
jorge.iber@ttu.edu writes: Ms.
Lozano: I
am a historian who specializes in the story of Mexican Americans/Latinos
and sport. I am currently
working on a project that deals with Mexican Americans and baseball in
Texas. I was wondering if
Somos Primos might have some photos that we could utilize?
If possible, please give me a call at 806-834-5511 at your
convenience, so that we can touch base.
Thanks. Sincerely, August 08, 2014
mimilozano@aol.com Cc:
andrest@austincc.edu; jlopez8182@satx.rr.com; jmpena@aol.com; darellano@austin.rr.com;
jmarinezmaya@gmail.com; euribe000@aol.com Subject:
Re: Searching for baseball photos |
August 08, 2014
mimilozano@aol.com I
think a good contact is Terry Cannon. His work is national in scope,
viewing local baseball teams as an important recreational pastime in the
United States, with many social benefits to individuals, their families,
and their communities. He
has been quite inclusive of Mexican Americans involved with city teams,
sponsored by local merchants, Los Angeles and Orange County. I
am also forwarding your email to Texas historians, Andres Tijerina, Joe
Lopez, Jose Pena, Dan Arrellano, Juan Marinez, and
Ernesto Uribe who may have some contact suggestions for you. Since
you are acquainted with Somos Primos, you know, along with Latino
history and heritage, I look for and include articles on successful and
outstanding individuals. I
would welcome any articles on Latino athletes from you, over-coming
great odds, breaking barriers, breaking records, etc. Best
wishes on your research. |
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Friends
& Reliquarians: Longtime
Baseball Reliquary chronicler Don Malcolm has written a fascinating
article, “A Purpose Pitch for the Ages,” which was posted today on
The Hardball Times Web site. We are sharing the link to the article
here, because Malcolm’s essay offers much food for thought. http://www.hardballtimes.com/purpose-pitch-for-the-ages/
In
the opening paragraphs of his essay, Malcolm makes the argument that
“we need accessible, alternative sources for history and culture that
maintain a critical distance from established and endowed institutions.
In the little world of baseball, the Baseball Reliquary is by far the
best shot to synthesize all the material necessary for such an ongoing
mission.” After
providing a brief interpretive history of the Baseball Reliquary,
Malcolm makes several recommendations for ways that the Reliquary might
develop more of a national presence while holding on to the grassroots,
“an ti-organization” flavor that has been its hallmark. Malcolm is
fully aware that a number of these actions would require financial
resources above and beyond the budget which the Reliquary currently
operates under; in fact, he is absolutely correct in his statement that
the organization is “far more monetarily impoverished than what’s
implied by the term ‘underfunded’” (and what modest operating
expenses the Reliquary has go to cover, or come close to covering, the
costs associated with the annual Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day). This
fall, the Baseball Reliquary will unveil a new and improved Web site,
and will make its substantial research collection available to the
public through the newly-formed Institute for Baseball Studies at
Whittier College – both projects which should elevate the national
profile for the Reliquary. The
timing of Malcolm’s article, just as the Baseball Reliquary (founded
in 1996) is about to transition from its teen years to adulthood, offers
a unique opportunity for a discussion about the Reliquary’s future and
where you, our loyal Reliquarians, would like to see our energies
focused over the next few years. We’d
welcome your reaction to Don Malcolm’s assessment, as well as your own
opinions as to how we might best, as the author states, make the
Baseball Reliquary “a viable ‘critical companion’” to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame. We
will look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely,
Terry Cannon
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From:
"Iber, Jorge" Subject:
RE: Searching for baseball photos Thank you so much for passing my name along to these individuals. In a nutshell, Dr. Richard Santillan and I are doing is an attempt to capture, via photos, the history of the significant ties between Mexican Americans and baseball here in Texas. Richard has authored several books on this topic in California. Here is a link to the most recent effort: http://www.amazon.com/Mexican-American-Baseball-Central-Images The
first work will cover the SA to CC area, but our goal is to eventually
do books that cover this history everywhere in the Lone Star State.
If any of you would be willing to help us in pursuing photos on
this topic, we would be very grateful. My
direct number at Texas Tech is: 806-834-5511, or you may reply via this
email address. Thanks, and I
look forward to working with all of you as we move these efforts
forward. Sincerely, |
In a message dated 08/12/14 08:42:37 Pacific Daylight Time, rsantillan@earthlink.net writes: Mimi,
this is Richard Santillan, thank you so much again for all your past and
continued support for our book series on Mexican American baseball, and
thank you even more for helping out my friend Jorge in Texas. Our
California book series, as you know, has been highly successful due in
large part with the generous help of individuals and groups like
yourself and Somos Primos, Richard In
a message dated 08/12/14 11:26:46 Pacific Daylight Time,
mimilozano writes: Dear
Richard and Jorge . . . I can do one more thing. Do
send along status updates . . God
bless your efforts mightily . . . Mimi
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New Charlesfort-Santa Elena National Park Service
Teaching |
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Dear Colleagues and Friends, We are pleased to announce that the National Park
Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program has launched its 155th
lesson plan: Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the 16th-Century
Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena.
The lesson is currently featured on the TwHP homepage, http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/
. The Charlesfort-Santa Elena lesson plan was created
cooperatively by the National Park Service, the Santa Elena Project Foundation,
and the Kingdom of Spain. It was
written by historian and education specialist Jaclyn Jecha for the Santa Elena
Project Foundation, with assistance from Dr. Paul E. Hoffman of Louisiana State
University. The project was initiated by the National Park Service Archeology
Program through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Spain and
supported by the Spanish Embassy. This lesson is the 155th in the Teaching with
Historic Places series that brings the important stories of historic sites
listed in the National Register of Historic Places into classrooms across the
country. Attached is a news release issued by the National Park
Service. Please let others know that the lesson plan is available and share the
news release widely, especially with the media in your area. We also hope that
those of you who administer appropriate websites will add a link from your
websites to the new lesson plan. Thank you to all who contributed to its
preparation. For a direct link, go to http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/155 |
Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the
16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena Images courtesy of the Library of Congress and the
National Park Service At the beginning of the 16th century, France and Spain
engaged in a series of wars. The conflict between these two powerful kingdoms
spread across the globe as the French and Spanish governments fought to increase
their power, wealth, and prestige in Europe. This competition transferred to "the new
world" of the Western Hemisphere, as European nations became interested in
the wealth available in areas like the Caribbean. During this time of conquest
and competition, France attacked Spanish ships and posed a threat to Spanish
interests in North America, creating an unstable environment. Both France and Spain raced to settle and control the
southern coast of North America. On a small island off the coast of present-day
South Carolina lie the ruins of Charlesfort, the French outpost for a year,
which later became Santa Elena, a Spanish colonial town from 1566 to 1587. The
site has been abandoned now for more than 400 years. For more than a century, historians and archeologists
have worked to piece together the story of Santa Elena. Today, documents have
been found that reveal the thoughts and motivations of Spanish colonists.
Excavations uncovered artifacts and outlines of homes and fortifications. This
valuable evidence lets us peek into the lives of the Spanish colonists and
Spain's ambitions for North America in the 16th century.
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At the beginning of the 16th century, France and Spain
engaged in a series of wars. The conflict between these two powerful kingdoms
spread across the globe as the French and Spanish governments fought to increase
their power, wealth, and prestige in Europe. This competition transferred to "the new
world" of the Western Hemisphere, as European nations became interested in
the wealth available in areas like the Caribbean. During this time of conquest
and competition, France attacked Spanish ships and posed a threat to Spanish
interests in North America, creating an unstable environment. Both France and Spain raced to settle and control the
southern coast of North America. On a small island off the coast of present-day
South Carolina lie the ruins of Charlesfort, the French outpost for a year,
which later became Santa Elena, a Spanish colonial town from 1566 to 1587. The
site has been abandoned now for more than 400 years. For more than a century, historians and archeologists
have worked to piece together the story of Santa Elena. Today, documents have
been found that reveal the thoughts and motivations of Spanish colonists.
Excavations uncovered artifacts and outlines of homes and fortifications. This
valuable evidence lets us peek into the lives of the Spanish colonists and
Spain's ambitions for North America in the 16th century. TABLE OF CONTENTS Setting the Stage: Historical Context |
Determining the Facts: Readings Visual Evidence: Images Illustration 2: French settlement at the mouth of St.
John’s River, present-day Florida. Putting it All Together RELATED
INFORMATION This lesson is based on historic Charlesfort-Santa
Elena, a National Historic Landmark located on Parris Island in South Carolina. It is among the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of
Historic Places. |
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Best wishes, Carol D. Shull |
Like us on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/HHPreservItNPS Sent by Tanya Bowers TBowers@savingplaces.org |
The Telling Project, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, San Antonio, Texas |
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For
many civilians, the realities of war are just images on the local news
from far-off lands in upheaval. Most only hear about war from talking
heads, not from those who lived it. KLRN, in partnership with the
Telling Project, the
Veterans Artist Program and the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, is
hoping to change this by bringing the highly acclaimed Telling Project
to San Antonio. Playwright
Jonathan Wei developed The Telling Project, a theater performance piece,
to give veterans a voice to share their experiences --about enlistment,
boot camp, deployment, and coming home—with the communities they have
served. Most importantly, veterans perform their own monologues, in
their own words. The goal of
the play is to connect veterans and their stories in an intimate setting
with civilians who may not fully understand the military experience and
the struggles many veterans face. The Telling Project has performed in Portland, Washington, DC, Sacramento, and 15 other communities around the country to positive reviews, and now it’s your chance to see this impactful project.
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Praise
for The Telling Project: “This
is real theatre – what we hope for – and connects us with a very
important national issue.” - a civilian “Very
real and honest.” -Combat veteran wounded warrior “Powerful,
truthful, very touching, gave me a clearer picture of the military.”-
Family member of a veteran “I
can’t say that doing the Telling Project is something that is easy for
me to do. But, I really do believe that telling my story is part of my
healing journey from PTSD, depression and alcoholism.
I thank you all for the opportunity to tell my story.
We did something good. We
brought a Little light into the darkness.”
- Telling Project performer http://thetellingproject.org/
Telling: San Antonio will run for six performances at the new,
state of the art Tobin Center for Performing Arts in the Carlos Alvarez
Studio Theater from October 1-5, 2014.
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STRANGERS
INTO NEIGHBORS: THE LATINOS AND HISPANICS IN ALAMANCE COUNTY, NORTH
CAROLINA Editor
Mimi: Thank you to Tanya Bowers, TBowers@savingplaces.org
who sent the following: |
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Latest
update on the Trujillo Adobe: The
project to restore the Trujillo Adobe in Riverside, California is titled
"Spanish Town Heritage Foundation".
The project is incorporated in California and registered with the
Registry of Charitable Trusts. The
project is incorporated in California and registered with the Registry
of Charitable Trusts. A
confirmation has been received from the IRS and the "Spanish Town
Heritage Foundation" is a 501(c)3 charitable organization
sanctioned by the IRS. The
2014 Riverside Tamale Festival made a profit of $14,000. Progress
is being made due to the selfless efforts of our Primas:
Darlene Elliott (Trujillo), Nancy Melendez (Trujillo) and Suzanne
Aramas (Trujillo). |
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| 2200 Apparitions of the Blessed
Mother throughout the world in the 20th century |
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Some
interesting revelations You
will be totally amazed with what will be revealed to you by following
all the links On
this site, especially the videos which deal with the Jumanos, Javier
Sierra, and the Apocalypse, and the over 2200 Apparitions of the Blessed
Mother throughout the world in the 20th century. |
http://mariadeagreda.webs.com/franciscanvideo.htm Listen to the Franciscan friar video, then explore all the links, especially the videos |
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Register Today: Doing Your own
Documentary, San Francisco
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Doing Your Doc: Diverse Voices, Regional Visions,
September 12-14, 2014 is a 3-day regional documentary development/production
seminar for Latino/a, African American, Native/Pacific Islanders, Asian, Middle
Eastern, LGBTQ, and regional documentary makers in communities traditionally
under-served by professional mentoring and information. The artists
participating in this program are producing personal, community, social justice,
and public media documentaries that reflect their experiences, and tell the
stories of their regions and cultures.
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From beginners to veterans, this weekend program gets
your project one step closer to completion with:
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Save
Our History, the Chicana/o Archive Project
rgriswol@mail.sdsu.edu We
want to make our history available to all. Our goal is to process 25
archival collections. |
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You
may not realize it but you can make history every day. Old photographs,
notes, posters, newspapers, movies, papers that are in the garage or
stored in the back of your closet, are important records for future
generations. They tell your story and by extension the story of our
time. For
five years now a committee of community members and academics have been
working to create a resource to tell the story of the Mexican American
people's struggles in San Diego, California - an important border town
with connections to Mexico. I
am the chair of the committee and have worked for 35 years as a history
professor at San Diego State University and have published eight books
about the Mexican and Chicano history of the U.S. Working with a committee of people we have have been developing a Chicana/o Archive. This is a collection of personal papers, documents, photos, and media gathered by people who have been active in the struggles of the 1970s. We have worked to build an important archive collection, one that will benefit present and future students and community members who want to tell the story of how Chicanas and Chicanos have sought to improve their lives here in the San Diego border region. |
I
am now retired from San Diego State University and my wife Rita is a
retired professor from Mesa College. We are devoting our lives to making
this archive available to as wide an audience as possible. The
Latino history of San Diego is largely unwritten because people do not
know about what others have done or their struggles in life. We
have taken old stuff and organized it and want to make it available to
the general public and to students and scholars. The archives will be a
permanent record for others to draw inspiration from. The library at San
Diego State University has been willing to house this collection and
give invaluable technical assistance, but their funds are not enough to
process and digitize this collection. The digitzation of the materials is costly. Here is the estimated cost to do this. Leonard Fierro I Carrie Fierro papers $ 300 Michael Ornelas Historical Audio Video Collection $300 David Martinez Papers $ 450 Felicitas Nunez Teatro Chicana Photos $ 150 Rita Sanchez Mesa College Papers $ 300 Sergio Elizondo Papers $ 750 Rene Nunez Papers $ 350 Chicano Collection Ephemera/C. Puerto $300 Chicano Moratorium Film Collection $500 Fallbrook History Audio Video Collection $100 Jose Villarino Audio Video Collection $300 |
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Oliva
Puentes Reynolds Audio Video Collection $300 Chicano Library and Chicano
Collection $200 Chicano Tribute Wall Collection (RitSanchez) $300 Cesar
and Bette Beattie Gonzalez Collection $400 Chicana/o Studies Department
Collection $400. Total
Cost $5360 The
digitization will be done by the SDSU Department of Special Collections
and Archives. The costs estimated above were provided by the head
archivist. So we need $5000 to make this archive usable for students in local high schools as well as outside of San Diego. Any
amount will help. If you donate at the $100 level we will send you a
historical poster created out of the more than 35 movement posters in
our collection. If you can give at the $500 level we will personally
give you a tour of the archive if you can make it as well as list you as
a major contributor on our website. If you donate in the $1000 level we
can place your name or that of your organization tagged to the permanent
finding aid for the collections listed. If we do not reach our funding goal we will use what funds we have to digitize the most important of the collections listed above. |
The
Impact Your
contribution will make a difference in thousands of people's lives,
students in colleges and high schools as well as those seeking
information about the Chicano movement around the world. The
San Diego State University Library’s Chicana & Chicano Archive
Project has been selected as a recipient of a 2011 Excellence in
Historic Preservation Award by the City of San Diego’s Historical
Resources Board. The
Archive has been recognized in national and regional media as being of
excellence and contributing to San Diego's community. Several
years ago the Committee was able to receive a SDSU presidential grant of
$30,000 to begin the process of collection development. We have had
numerous community fund raisers as well. You can help by passing this
campaign on to your friends and colleagues. Share it using the Indiegogo
tools.
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Our goal is to make the StoryCorps recording experience accessible to all. One way we do that is by partnering with local organizations that serve diverse populations. StoryCorps interviews celebrate the voices and milestones in your community and encourage meaningful interactions between your organization and the people you serve. Community partnerships are free of charge, and conversations can be recorded in any language. To learn more about the benefits of community partnership and our partner criteria contact mobiletour@storycorps.org.
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To
receive the StoryCorps Newsletter, write to: newsletter@storycorps.org
http://storycorps.org/listen/Subject:
To:
Monica Smith <tortelita@aol.com For
more stories, visit our Listen page and subscribe to our free podcast. 800-850-4406
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HISTORIC TIDBITS |
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WW II Aircraft Carriers on the Great Lakes by Oscar
Ramirez |
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WW II
Aircraft Carriers on the Great Lakes! |
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Shipmates: The Great Lakes provided vital support for the war effort in WWII, from building 28 fleet subs in Manitowoc to providing the bulk of US industrial output, we could not have won the war if not for the benefits of the Great Lakes and their related industry. However there was another benefit of the lakes that is often overlooked. Japan quickly lost the war because, among many other things, its navy could not replace its carrier pilot losses. We could. But how did we train so many pilots in both comfort (calm seas) and safety (no enemy subs)?
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We
took two old side-wheel Great Lakes passenger steamers and turned them
into training carriers on Lake Michigan! Virtually every carrier pilot
trained in the war got his landing training on these amazing ships!
Sadly nothing but these great photos and the wrecks of the aircraft that
ditched alongside them remain to tell their fascinating story! Thanks to
Tom Ursem for sending this link! BY
the way, there is also "Military Landing Strip" on Grosse Isle
Check it out! USS Sable and USS Wolverine |
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La
Battallia del Encinal de Medina To Protect, Preserve and Promote Tejano History |
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On
August 18th, 1813 ourTejano ancestors set out to fight in what would
become known as the biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas
soil; the Battle of Medina. Twenty
three years before the Alamo our anccestors would fight against a mighty
Spanish army and they would choose
to fight to the last man. After 300 years of Spanish tyranny they chose
to fight and die on their feet rather than to continue to live on their
knees. On
August 7th, 1812 Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and Augustus Magee crossed
the Sabine River flying the Emerald Green flag of the First Texas
Republic. This Green Flag would fly over Texas for 1 year and 11 days
and under this flag our ancestors would defeat the Spanish at every
skirmish and battle leading up to the Battle of Medina. Unfortunately
Spain was still a super power and would send a powerful Spanish Army to
quash the revolution. This army would be led by General Juaquin de
Arredondo who had earned the nick name "El Carnicero," the
butcher. He had earned that title because the previous
year he had murdered hundreds of Mayan Indians in the Yucatan
Penninsula for daring to revolt against his Spanish King. Under his
command would be a young 19 year old Lieutenant Antonio Lopez de Santa
Anna. |
At
the Battle of Medina the Republicans numbered 1400 combatants, comprised
of 900 Tejanos, 300 US Citizens and 200 Lipan Apaches. They would face a
Spanish Army with 1830 well armed, and well trained disciplined
men. The Republicans were lured into a trap which would result in
over 300 Republicans falling dead or mortally wounded, but the battle
would rage for over 3 hours. On the initial encounter the badly mauled
Republicans, shaken and scared would fall back in to the safety of the
forest and would regroup and continue to fight. Our Tejano ancestors would charge on the left trying to out flank the Spanish and then again to the right to no avail, suffering numerous losses. There was so much smoke and dust no one was sure who was winning. Suddenly over the shouts of wounded and dying men a gust of wind cleared the field of all the dust and Arredondo realized he was winning and orders his bugler to sound the bayonet charge. After the battle over 900 bodies were left to rot for over nine years. Another 100 would be captured and executed as they tried to escape to Louisiana.
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Charging into San Antonio the Spanish Cavalry arrested over 500 Tejanos suspected of supporting the rebels. The following morning several are released but 327 would be detained. Ten a day would be taken out and shot, numerous would be beheaded and their heads placed on spikes and displayed around Military Plaza. No one would be spared the wrath of Arredondo not even the women or children. Over 400 wives, mothers and daughters of the Tejanos were forced on their knees from 4 in the morning to ten at night to grind the corn to make the tortillas to feed the despised Spanish Army: several
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of
the women would be brutally and repeatedly raped several dying as a
result of the brutality and through the windows of their make shift
prison the mothers could see their children searching for food and
shelter. So disastrous was this event
that one third of our Tejano community would be dead, one third
would flee to Louisiana and the remaining
third would live in terror. To this day these unsung heroes have
remained unknown and unrecognized for their ultimate sacrifice. Dan
Arellano Author/Historian |
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On
this day in 1749, four Apache chiefs, accompanied by numerous followers,
buried a hatchet along with other weapons in a peace ceremony in San Antonio.
The ceremony signified the Apaches' acceptance of Christian
conversion in exchange for Spanish protection from Comanche raids, which
had decimated the Apache population. Five years later Giraldo de
Terreros established San Lorenzo, the first formal mission |
for
the Texas Apaches, in the jurisdiction of San Juan Bautista in Mexico.
When the Apaches revolted and abandoned the mission less than a year
later, the missionaries argued in favor of a new mission closer to
Apache territory. Construction of the ill-fated mission of Santa Cruz de
San Sabá, in the heart of Apachería, began in April 1757; on March 16
of the following year, a party of 2,000 Comanche and allied Indians
killed eight of the inhabitants and burned the mission buildings. |
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Emigdio
Vasquez, Renowned miuralist portrayed pride, struggle 1939-2014
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He’s
embellished walls with everything from pachucos to migrant workers to
other vivid scenes of barrio life. In his work, Vasquez illustrates
people walking along the shops of Santa Ana’s “Calle Cuatro,”
highlights day laborers waiting for work, and in one of his most
recognized murals, showcases “The Legacy of Cesar Chavez.” In
recent years, his family has defended his work as a depiction of
cultural and iconic pride amid outcry from some Orange County city
officials who saw it as validation of gang lifestyle. Vasquez,
the man behind numerous iconic paintings depicting the working class of
Orange County, died of pneumonia on Saturday. He was 75. Vasquez
was born in 1939 in the mining town of Jerome, Ariz. In the early 1940s,
his father, who worked for Phelps-Dodge copper mines, decided to move
the family to Orange. Vasquez attended Mater Dei High School and took
art classes in the early 1950s. He then transferred to Orange High,
where he continued creating his art. He also attended Santa Ana College
and Cal State Fullerton.
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He
started by making his own comic books as a child and turned to oil
painting in the late 1950s. He was creating murals about a decade later. To
date, Vasquez has painted 22 murals throughout Orange County, in
locations including Cal State Fullerton, the Fullerton Museum, Anaheim
City Hall, the wall of an Anaheim market, and Santa Ana College. “I
think he will be remembered as someone who cared about the working
class. He captured the community and the grittiness of life,” said his
daughter Rosemary Vasquez-Tuthill, 54. In
“Proletarian Family,” Vasquez portrays a middle-aged working-class
couple with their children. In “Bread Line,” he shows a line of men
smoking cigarettes, shuffling toward an unseen point. “His artwork is
timeless,” Vasquez-Tuthill said. In an undated artist’s statement, Vasquez said of his work, “Life often holds harsh realities. Many of these appear on my canvasses. Translating elements of beauty and struggle are essential to me. I want to convey to the viewer the intense reality which people experience ... These feelings are a commentary on our lives and times.” |
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Vasquez’s
son, Emigdio “Higgy” Jr., began working in October to restore the
artwork painted by his father in 1979. The project began after Chapman
University bought the apartment complex where the mural was painted on
the 400 block of North Cypress Street. Artists
and those involved in the Santa Ana arts scene began recalling
Vasquez’s work when news of his death began to spread.“Emigdio’s
art represents our community and celebrates Chicano culture like no
other artist has been able to do yet in Orange County,” said Alicia
Rojas, with the Santa Ana Community Artist/a Coalition. “His work
portrays working-class people, their struggles and also their pride.” “Emigdio was a significant artist for Santa Ana and Orange County because he captured a world and a culture that is rapidly disappearing,” said Sandra “Pocha” Peña, a downtown arts advocate and director of the OC Film Fiesta.
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In
2013, Vasquez, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, became the first
Orange County resident to be presented with a prestigious Maestro award
from the Latino Arts Network, an association of Latino museums and
cultural centers partnered with the California Arts Council. The award
recognizes unsung heroes, artists and cultural workers. “I
consider him the Diego Rivera of the modern age. He was the godfather of
Chicano art,” said fellow artist Abram Moya Jr., 64, of La Habra, who
has known Vasquez since the 80s. “He is one of the heroes of Orange
County. You get a lot of people who are all talk. He wasn’t like that.
He had his ideology, and he was very humble about all of it.” Vasquez
is survived by six children, Adolph, Rosemary, Dora, Emigdio Jr., Sarah
and Vera; four brothers and one sister. His wife, Rosie, died in 2011.
A memorial fund has been set up at gofundme.com/96l0e0.
Contact
the writer: amolina@ocregister.com
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Emigdio
Vasquez
CSUF Degrees: B.A. in art, 1978; M.A. in art, 1979 Background: Vasquez is an muralist and painter, known internationally for his work in the photo-realistic style. He made his own comic books as a child, basing them on stories his father told him about the Mexican Revolution. He began oil painting in the late 1950s and murals in the 1960s. His works can be seen on walls and buildings throughout Orange County. His body of work documents and comments on the daily life of working people in the barrio, capturing the urban experience. Mike Vines comments on Vasquez' work on the website Fine Art at Home: |
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"I first became acquainted with Emigdio
Vasquez some 20 years ago during one of my visits to Rita
Chemer’s Gallery in Tustin, California. When entering the gallery
that day I was confronted with an assortment of colorful and
realistically rendered scenes of Chicano life and historical figures
from the past and present. These reflective depictions of everyday,
ordinary people struck a chord with me as I had always thought a missing
study in modern art to be that of ordinary man. |
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Sara
Estela Ramírez . . . "La Musa Texana" dies
in Laredo
August 21st, 1910 |
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On
this day in 1910, poet and political leader Sara Estela Ramírez died in
Laredo at about the age of twenty-nine, twelve years after arriving in
Texas from her native Mexico. In Laredo, she taught Spanish and became a
prominent supporter of the Partido Liberal Mexicano, the most
progressive political party in the era leading up to the Mexican
Revolution, and a close friend of PLM leader Ricardo Flores Magón. She
probably published most of her poetry and essays in Spanish-language
newspapers such as La Crónica, and starting |
in 1901 became the publisher of two papers, La Corregidora and Aurora. Her journalism was apparently tied to her work with Regeneración y Concordia, a feminist organization to which she belonged, and she is considered one of the founders of Mexican feminism. Twenty-one of her poems and essays, all published between 1908 and 1910, constitute the body of her known work. She was eulogized in La Crónica by Jovita Idar, who bestowed on her the nickname "La Musa Texana."
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Insights From National Leaders,
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Antonio R. Flores, Ph.D., is the president and CEO of the Hispanic Association
of Colleges and Universities (HACU), which represents more than 450 colleges and
universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto
Rico, Latin America and Spain.
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2014 Nat'l Latino Voter Education Series Insights From National Leaders
The explosive Hispanic population growth of the past few
decades has propelled this youthful demographic to American politics' center
stage. Although Latinos have yet to register and vote proportionate to their
numbers, we can expect an increase in civic engagement as their education and
economic levels continue to improve. Last in line are likely to be Hispanic youth, since
voting participation rates for the young always lag those of the more mature.
Young people have more distractions from following political issues and
candidates and actually voting. Because the Hispanic median age of 27 is far
younger than other populations, this lag in Hispanic voter participation could
persist for some time. However, several issues could motivate greater Latino
youth civic engagement in the years ahead. One is federal and state higher
education policy and funding. We have seen how higher education can be one of
the first areas to be cut when state economies get tight. Education is not seen
as a necessity (like prisons) nor does it have a strong voting constituency to
support it. |
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The consequence of these state level cuts (and of
limitations in federal financial aid, especially Pell grants for low-income
students) is that educational opportunities are further limited. The reduction
of college slots, course offerings, and financial aid combine to make college
less accessible. Voting blocs of young Latinos could shine light on these
cuts and blighted opportunities, and force legislators to give the same priority
to the future they give to the present. For example, we have seen how "DREAMers" have
become increasingly organized and by going public have brought attention to the
plight of hundreds of thousands of undocumented students. Many have no ties to
their native country but are too often denied the opportunity to become full
citizens of, and full contributors to, their new homeland. Comprehensive immigration reform, and especially a fair
DREAM Act to create real higher education and citizenship opportunities for
undocumented students, is another issue that can galvanize young Latino voters.
Being a voice at the polls
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it became the U.S., but that we are
here to stay and have a stake in the future of this country. Every issue that touches Americans touches young
Hispanics as well, such as health care, for example. Many young Latinos deal
daily with minority health issues that impact their parents and grandparents,
and they want better health care options for their families. True, one has to
make the jump from personal experience of family health issues to power at the
polls to compel policy attention to health disparities. But the connection is
there to be made, especially if we consider that Hispanics remain the most
underinsured population. And, as we see the growth in numbers of Hispanic elected
officials, we have additional arguments in pushing for greater Latino
involvement. We have advocates in power and we can have more if we flex our
political strength in numbers at the polls. But we have seen that we can make a
difference. We have reason to hope. More
importantly we have reason to vote. Kirk Whisler kirk@whisler.com
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MICHAEL
DERRICK TUBBS FOUNDER, THE PHOENIX SCHOLARS, STOCKTON, CALIF |
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 Tubbs
was born into poverty with a teen mom and incarcerated dad.
"Growing up, it seemed as if the only options presented to people
from backgrounds like mine in the media and in society were prison or
death, and I promised God that if I ever became successful, I would give
back," he says. In 2012, the 23-year-old interned at the White
House, earned a master's degree from Stanford University and became the
youngest city councilman in Stockton, Calif.. |
Tubbs kept his promise to God by founding The Phoenix Scholars, a nonprofit organization he started in 2010 that matches first-generation college students with college mentors to help them navigate the school, financial aid and scholarship processes. To date, the organization has helped more than 400 high school students. Tubbs also is the co-founder and co-executive director of the Summer Success and Leadership Academy, a summer residential program that prepares 40 at-risk youth to be leaders in their communities and puts them on a trajectory for college. "The most rewarding part is [being] in a position to serve." Ebony
magazine, Vol. LXIX, No. 7 May 24
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FREE
Cash for College workshops! |
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8/5/14: Yearly, a broad array of community stakeholders and organizations,
regionally coordinated by LEAD, and jointly planned with the Partners of the IE
Regional Collaborative, host more than 100 FREE Cash for College workshops across
San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Students and families can attend FREE
Cash for College workshops for help to fill out the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) and Cal Grant GPA Verification Form required for Cal Grants.
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- assisted
close to 12,000
families in the Inland Empire to
complete their FAFSA financial aid application. - brought
in to date more than
$ 65 million dollars to our region in
what may or would have easily been otherwise unclaimed financial aid monies. This year (2014), we had: - scheduled a total of 104
workshops. Find out more about Cal Grants: http://lead.csusb.edu/cash.htm Sent by Enrique G. Murillo, Jr.,
Ph.D. |
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| Salón: Culture and Conversation by Bernadette Inclan September 17, 2014: The San Francisco Art Institute, ART and Revolutions Exhibit Seeking U.S. Art All Over Map The Xoloitzcuintli, Mexican Hairless Dog Ding dong, muerto me llevan en un cajon Lydia Mendoza, Loaf of Art La Virgin by Rafael Jesus Gonzalez |
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Salón: Culture and Comversation |
| Several years ago, my husband Joseph and I
attended a party at the home of a new friend, Chris. Although she
is part of the executive board of the hospital in which I work, she is
also a licensed chef and her buffet included homemade hors d'oeuvre and
interesting beverages. At the height of the party, she announced that
the entertainment would shortly as she gathered the guest to the sitting
area. We were fascinated; what kind of entertainment do you have
at a cocktail party? Was she going to introduce a celebrity, a musician,
or maybe an artist? During the mingling hour, I heard several of
teh guest ask when was the entertainment? But I didn't quite connect
what they meant. As we excitedly grabbed our chairs, Chris took
the mike and announced that it was "open mike," which meant,
as we learned that anyone could show of his or her talents. She
began the session by reciting a poem that she had written. Another
person choose to play a song on his guitar; another person read a story
that he had written and published; and another recited a part from a
play. It was one of the most enjoyable parties that we had ever attended
and it was a springboard to do what we do now at our gatherings.
During one of our first parties where I introduced Phoenix's Latin American novelist, Stella Pope Duarte, I learned from a guest that this soiree was similar to the gatherings of Early Modern and Revolutionary France. Salón, from the French word salon, a living room or parlor, was a conversational gathering. This was usually a select group of intellectuals, artists, and politicians who met in the private residence of a socially influential (and often wealthy) person. Well our circle of friends and family, who are well educated and talented in one field or another. Why not share their expertise and knowledge in a soiree? |
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| The theme for the this Salon was "Encuentros de las
Mentes" and a number of would-be writers presented their
stories. One reader read a chapter of a book that he was sending
to a publisher; I presented my children's book, while my graphic artist,
Darren Foster displayed the pictures that he drew. Stella Pope Duarte, presents her award winning novels. Chris Power reads one of her published poems. John Inclan mingles with the guests |
| The San Francisco Art Institute: ART and Revolutions |
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We will be screening the documentary ART and Revolutions at
The San Francisco Art Institute, September 17, 2014 at 7:30pm. Diego Rivera
created a mural at SFAI, one of his first in the USA, back in 1931. SFAI is one
of the top arts schools on the West Coast. Short background: This film tells the story of Mexican
artist and printmaker José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) who while working for
Mexican publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo (1852-1917) created a vast portfolio of
work. Posada's illustrations made through their twenty-three year collaboration
inspired and significantly influenced the graphic images of today's social
movements from battling fascism, to protesting wars and crusading for civil
rights. |
http://www.posada-art-foundation.com/#!events-exhibitions/c1f7e Thank you, Jim Nikas
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Seeking
U.S. Art All Over Map. Just Check GPS.
By
RANDY
KENNEDY |
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The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in
Bentonville, Ark., is trying to find 100 under-recognized artists, culled from a
list of more than 10,000, to feature. Go to: www.nytimes.com
PHOENIX — Two men stepped out of a rental car here
recently and walked up to a modest ranch-style house with a cat and a grapefruit
tree in the yard, worried that the homeowner might mistake them for missionaries
or salesmen. They were neither. They were representatives of one of the world’s wealthiest art patrons, Alice Walton, the Walmart heiress and founder of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. And they had come all the way from there to the door of Monica Aissa Martinez, 51, hoping to discover nothing less than genuine, unheralded American art talent. The men, Don Bacigalupi, the museum’s president, and Chad Alligood, a curator, crowded into the artist’s small studio off her kitchen and quickly admired her work, a mix of Southwestern mysticism and anatomical precision that looked something like X-ray images as painted by Gustav Klimt. Then they bade her goodbye and hopped back into the car. They had reason to hurry. Preparing for a show that will inevitably be seen as a kind of heartland response to |
the Whitney
Biennial, they had already logged 50,000 miles visiting 500 artists in 30
states, and they had almost 500 more artists to go. The goal of their unusual art hunt — an old-fashioned,
Kerouacian canvass of the country — is to find 100 underrecognized artists,
culled from a list of more than 10,000, to feature in September in an ambitious
show that will represent Ms. Walton’s first attempt to plant her
institution’s flag firmly in the world of contemporary art. Her museum, which has drawn more than a million visitors
since opening in 2011, is a 21st-century version of Gilded Age collections like
those amassed by Henry Clay Frick in New York and Isabella Stewart Gardner in
Boston. But Crystal Bridges is in a small city in the Ozarks, the first museum
of its size to open between the coasts in more than a generation. The Whitney Biennial, the much-argued-about barometer of
the country’s art, helped bring artists like Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson
Pollock and Jeff Koons to prominence. Hoping to make their own discoveries of
that caliber, Ms. Walton’s emissaries have looked high and low, sometimes
literally.
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During a trip to Portland, Ore., Mr. Bacigalupi was
invited to an artist’s dark basement where she showed him a sculpture
resembling a coffin and he momentarily feared for his safety. He and Mr.
Alligood, a Harvard-trained curator who grew up in rural Georgia, have ventured
to places so small the GPS has given up (a farm near the unincorporated town of
Ponca, Ark.). They have seen art on a goat farm, in a soap factory, in a defunct
pie factory. They interviewed one artist they were fairly sure was high on
cocaine and another who was profoundly stoned. “There have been times over the past few months,”
said Mr. Bacigalupi (pronounced BAH-chee-ga-LOO-pee), a Brooklyn-born
contemporary art specialist, “when I wake up and literally have no idea what
city I’m in.” While the Whitney many years ago broadened its focus
beyond the United States, Crystal Bridges is building its show not only around
the curators’ road trip but also against the all-American backdrop of the
museum’s growing collection by artists like Sargent, O’Keeffe, Rockwell and
Pollock. |
Searching for American Artists Since July, two curators for the Crystal Bridges Museum
of American Art have visited more than 650 artists across the country. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Jennifer Doyle, an English professor and contemporary
art specialist at the University of California, Riverside, said she saw the idea
as a challenge by a nonurban museum to the art-world dominance of New York and
Los Angeles. Bentonville has a population of 38,000, smaller than the average
weekly attendance at the Museum of Modern Art. “If you want to assert your own set of cultural
values, then this seems like a grandly ambitious scheme to try to do that,”
Ms. Doyle said. “It’s almost like a census.” She added: “Personally I wish it wasn’t Walmart
money that was doing this. But I guess it would be the shooting-fish-in-a-barrel
critique to point out that Walmart is often blamed for hurting the sorts of
places — small-town, middle-class America — where they’re now looking for
this kind of individual expression.” |
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Mr.
Bacigalupi said Walmart rarely came up in discussions with artists, though one,
in Ohio, was wary of showing them a work in which a miniature Walmart truck was
foundering in an oil spill — his sculptural metaphor for the recession. But
Mr. Bacigalupi reassured him it was “the kind of adventurous work we’re
looking for.” While
Walmart and its subsidiary Sam’s Club have contributed to make admission to
the exhibition free, he stressed that the company had no involvement in shaping
the show. “I
think certainly people are aware of the source of Alice’s wealth,” Mr.
Bacigalupi said. “But I think all of that is so far past now, and critics have
begun to take on the museum as a museum.” (Ms. Walton, 64, who is the youngest
child of Sam Walton, Walmart’s founder, but not involved in the company’s
operations, declined to be interviewed about the project. Forbes estimates her
worth at $33 billion, making her the world’s eighth richest person.) |
Catalina Delgado-Trunk, an artist, talked with the curators Don Bacigalupi, right, and Chad Alligood in Albuquerque. Credit Ruth Fremson/The New York Times. By early February, traveling together and separately,
Mr. Bacigalupi and Mr. Alligood had visited 650 artists in more than 120 cities
and towns. The only part of the country they had not yet penetrated was the
vast, tricky northern Great Plains, where airports and artists are few and far
between. “You see a lot of work that starts to look the same, a
lot of artists who have a career locally but aren’t going to be able to make
the jump, and then every once in a while you find that artist who blows you
away, who you just can’t believe, and it makes all the miles worth it,” Mr.
Bacigalupi said, describing a recent discovery of a young artist in Las Vegas
who mashes up art-historical imagery with that of Latino street culture.
(“Think Henry Moore meets a piñata, ” he wrote in an email.) |
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The curators have tried to stay away from commercial
galleries, hoping for artists the market has not discovered. They compiled their
list of prospective artists by talking to fellow curators, museum officials,
local art leaders and established artists. “For a lot of artists, this is the first time
they’ve ever been visited by an art professional, by a museum curator,” Mr.
Alligood said, adding that for all the artists visited personally, he and Mr.
Bacigalupi have interviewed more by Skype, telephone and email. To manage the stupendously difficult task of keeping
track of what they have seen, the curators have leaned toward the analog, a
ring-binder notebook with a rudimentary Olympic-type scoring system: 10 possible
points for a quality called “engagement,” 10 for “virtuosity” and 10 for
“appeal.” So far, the highest rating is a 28. In Mr. Bacigalupi’s office in Bentonville hangs a large map of the United States that sums up their thinking, months before they will make definitive choices. |
Pins are stuck in several states for likely
choices, but many more are clustered out over the Pacific Ocean, representing
artists from various states in a sort of holding pattern who may yet be brought
to shore (metaphorically) for this shot at art-world recognition. Unrolling paintings to show the curators in Phoenix, Ms.
Martinez said she hoped to be on their map’s terra firma. “I’m really fortunate because my work has been
collected here,” she said, knocking on her studio table. “That’s not the
hard part anymore; it’s getting out of Phoenix. But I’m trying.” Looking at her two visitors, soon on their way to meet
seven more artists across the city, she added, “I don’t know how this
happened, but I’m pretty happy about it.” A version of this article appears in print on February
9, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Seeking U.S. Art
All Over Map. Just Check GPS..
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The
Xoloitzcuintli Mexican
Hairless Dog By
John Inclan
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The
Xoloitzcuintli, native to Mexico, and
the national dog of Mexico, is one of three hairless breed of dogs in the
world. In America it is known as
Xolo and Mexican hairless dog and the
breed can trace its name from
the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs. Xōlōitzcuintli
Xolotl=God
and Itzcuīntli=Dog. Archaeological findings show that the Xoloitzcuintli has existed in Mexico for more than 3,000 years. Most likely, the early forerunners of the Xolo originated as spontaneous hairless mutations and this hairlessness may have offered a survival advantage in the tropical region of Mexico, Central and South America. In ancient times, they held high spiritual value evidenced by their frequent appearance in art and artifacts produced by the Toltec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations. The native people believed the dogs were needed by their masters’ souls to help them safely traverse through the underworld. They were also useful companion animals. According to Aztec mythology, the god Xolotl, created the Xoloitzcuintli from a sliver of the Bone of Life from which all mankind was made. Xolotl gave this gift to Man with the instruction to guard it with his life and in exchange it would guide Man through the dangers of Mictlan, the world of Death, and propell them toward the Evening Star in the Heavens. Today, some native people in Mexico continue to believe this breed has healing qualities. The Aztecs also raised the breed for their meat. Sixteenth-century Spanish accounts tell of large numbers of dogs being served at banquets. Aztec feasts could have 80-100 turkeys and 20-40 dogs served as communion food. One should note that archeological sites have found that the Aztecs consumed few domesticated animals like Xolos or turkey and over 90% of the bones found are of deer. |
When Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, his journal entries noted the presence of strange hairless dogs, subsequently, from this first European encounter, the Xolos were introduce to Europe. Despite the Xolo's more than 3000 year history in Mexico, the breed did not receive any official notice in its homeland until the 1950s. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) is an international federation of kennel clubs in Thuin, Belgium. Founded in 1940, it was not prepared to declare the Xolo an official purebred at that time. According to breed historian Norman Pelham Wright, author of The Enigma of the Xoloitzcuintli, Xolos began to turn up at Mexican dog shows in the late 1940s. While they were recognized as indigenous specimens of a native breed, interest in them was minimal at that time, because information was scarce and no standard existed by which to judge them. Within a decade, the FCI realized that the breed would become extinct if drastic action were not taken to save it. This led to the widely publicized Xolo Expedition of 1954. With the official sanction of the FCI, Wright and a team of Mexican and British dog authorities set off to discover if any purebred Xolos still existed in remote areas of Mexico. Eventually ten structurally strong Xolos were found and these dogs formed the foundation of Mexico's program to revive the breed. A committee headed by Wright authored the first official standard for the breed and on May 1, 1956 the Xolo was finally recognized. Currently Mexico is a member of the worldwide FCI.
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The
Xolo has been developed by natural selection for thousands of years, and is
therefore generally not prone to health and structure problems as other dog
breeds more modified by human selection efforts. Xolos came from tropical
climates and are not suited for outdoor life in colder temperate and northern
climates where they should be considered an indoor dog breed. They need bathing,
light grooming and skin care as with other dogs of similar physical type. Acne
as well as other skin problems can arise from poor breeding, neglect,
over-bathing and over-lotioning, stripping natural protections and clogging
pores. My
own interest with this breed comes from my rescued dog named Charlotte, AKA
Carlota. Unlike a Chihuahua, it’s a unique looking dog, and she draws a crowd
wherever she goes. You will find this breed entered in the Ugly dog contest
because some find this breed as UGLY.
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Ding dong, muerto me llevan en un
cajon |
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Mimi, I have been a reader for about two years now, and this is the first time I have contacted you. I have been trying to find an old Spanish or Mexican poem or saying that our grandmother used to sing for us, quite a few years ago. My grandmothers name was Eucebia Martin del Campo de Pegueros. She passed away in 1969. I think it is a Mexican poem because
the Spanish would not say borrego but cordero. Anyway, I hope some of your members may
know where to research this or may know the poem. I thank you in advance.
The poem, as I can
remember went like this: I remain: your seguro y atento servidor
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Si el cajon fuera de
palo, muerto me
llevan en un caballo; Si el caballo fuera
tordillo, muerto me
llevan en un Castillo; Si el Castillo fiera de
fuego, muerto
me llevan en un Borrego; Si el Borrego fuera de
lana, muerto me
llevan en una cama; Si la cama fuera muy
dura, muerto me
llevan en una sepulture, etc |
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Lydia Mendoza Lydia
Mendoza: The First Lady Of Tejano Sent by Bill and Bonnie Chapa thechapas@yahoo.com |
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© Rafael Jesús González 2014
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The virgin,
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Editor: I greatly admire Rafael's skill
in writing poetry in both Spanish and English, so beautiful. |
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BOOKS & PRINT MEDIA |
Ten
Years of "SOMOS PRIMOS"
DVD of past print issues (1990-1999) |
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TEN YEARS of "SOMOS PRIMOS" |
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YOU CAN NOW ORDER TEN YEARS
(1990-1999) OF PAST QUARTERLY ISSUES OF "SOMOS PRIMOS",
HERETOFORE ONLY AVAILABLE IN PRINT.
ALL ISSUES ARE INCLUDED IN ONE DVD IN JPG FORMAT.
INDEXES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST FIVE YEARS (1990-1995) AND
THE REMAINING COPIES EACH HAVE A TABLE OF CONTENTS. THE DVD WITH ALL THE PAST ISSUES
(1990-1999) IS AVAILABLE AT THE LOW PRICE OF $10.00 INCLUDING TAX PLUS
$2.50 FOR SHIPPING. TO ORDER
YOUR COPY SIMPLY COMPLETE THE ORDER FORM BELOW AND MAIL IT WITH YOUR
CHECK FOR $12.50. EXPECT
YOUR DVD WITHIN TEN DAYS AFTER YOUR ORDER HAS BEEN RECEIVED. NAME:___________________________________________ ADDRESS:
_____________________________________________________ CITY:_____________________
STATE:_______________________ ZIP:_____ NUMBER OF DVD'S DESIRED
____________________
AMOUNT ENCLOSED: ______________________
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Wilbur-Cruce
Spanish Mission/Ranch Horse
A Beautiful, Cruel Country
by
Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce |
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"These horses were brought here from Rancho
Dolores in Mexico, the headquarters of Father Kino, who had brought them
from Spain |
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Riding twenty miles away from any habitation, approximately seven hours away from any help, usually made me nervous and tense, and this put my horse on the alert, so I watched him closely for any signal. I knew if danger were near he would tell me. Years of close association had taught me his language. The Spanish horse was made to build the
West, and that he did. They carried themselves well and carried their riders with utmost care, placing their small feet on solid ground and balancing themselves as they reached out for better footing. |
It was amusing to see an 800-pound horse under a 200-pound man with an enormous saddle and a 1000-pound bull at the end of a rope. They knew the danger they were under, but they worked with their riders with courage and outstanding intelligence. And none more beautiful! These were the horses that went to that spring corrida." From ‘ Horses and Heroes’ Contact:
Robin Collins Sent by Robin Collins |
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Mimi, this is just off the press!!
The year is 1780 and the American Colonies are in revolt against
Britain. Spain entered the conflict as an ally of the rebels in 1779 and
seized Baton Rouge from the British, securing the flow of supplies to
the western front. Bernardo Gálvez, the Spanish Governor-General of
Louisiana has determined to send a reconnaissance force into Florida to
prepare for an assault on the British fort at Mobile. Sergeant Diego deMelilla of the Spanish Fixed Regiment of
Louisiana has been selected to lead that reconnaissance. Grieving over
the recent loss of his beautiful wife, deMelilla is confronted with
hardships, British soldiers and a mysterious woman. Through it all, one
fact remains – if Spain and the American Revolution are to succeed,
Mobile Must Fall. Stephen
V. Estopiñál
Author of The deMelilla Chronicles:
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Colonial Spanish Texas and Other Essays |
My book on ' Colonial Spanish Texas and Other Essays ' is now available for the
general public. |
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Essay
from Colonial Spanish Texas and Other Essays By
Dr. Lino García, Jr. |
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When
Pánfilo Narváez and Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca along with a few
hundred Spanish soldiers landed on Galveston Bay on November 6, 1528,
the exploration and the settlement of the territory of Texas brought
into this state European institutions that still prevail at the present
time. One of these was Spain’s yearning for and dedication to the
education of its citizens. Hundreds
of Spain’s best and most brilliant scholars, and educators from the
best universities in Spain and Europe flooded the New World with a
mission to educate the natives, and the children of the Spanish
explorers and conquerors that had subsequently arrived in the new world.
It is no wonder that in Colonial Spanish Texas early attempts were
initiated by the Spanish and Mexican authorities in establishing
schools. Max
Berger in his “Education in Texas during the Spanish/Mexican
Periods” gives us an insight into the early efforts by Spanish/Mexican
citizens of Colonial Spanish Texas in establishing the first system of
public schools. Spanish soldiers occupied Texas by establishing military
outposts, with the early Spanish missions an integral part of that
military policy. The Indian population was to be Christianized,
educated, and prepared to be citizens of the Spanish Empire. Thus, every
mission had as its component an industrial school for instructions in
industry and agriculture. |
The
Spanish language was also taught to the Indian population. The first of
such a mission with its instructional component was established in Texas
in 1690, and within five or more years twenty-five such Spanish missions
were also started. We know that the first settlement in Texas by Spanish
families and soldiers was the founding of San Fernando de Béxar (later
San Antonio) in 1718; and thereafter it was inevitable that a need for
education existed for the children of Spanish settlers, soldiers, and
governmental officials in the Texas of that time. It
is known that the first such non-mission school began its operation in
San Antonio, Texas, in the year 1746. It was a normal parish school as
was in place throughout the Spanish Empire; it was conducted and had as
its mission the training of the young in religious doctrines. Another
such school was opened in San Antonio in the year 1789, but closed soon
in 1792. A
few years later in 1802, an official edict was pronounced by the Spanish
government in Texas that called for a school to be in operation
prescribing compulsory attendance, and with penalties for parent for any
failure to comply. One year later another official order was proclaimed
establishing schools at all military posts in Texas, with provisions to
grant a small salary for its teachers. |
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Spanish
authorities had a penchant for details and for direct authority in all
its affairs in the New World, which also included Spanish Colonial
Texas, and it is no wonder that detailed instructions for the
organization of its schools also reflected that policy. Thus, in San
Antonio a school was established with public funds, offering free
tuition , and setting the stage for the later on famous “Public Free
Primary School’ that opened in San Antonio in the year 1828 and that
had its blessings from the Mexican authorities who then ruled Texas
after the state gained its independence from Spain in 1821. We
know that at La Bahía in the year 1818, a soldier by the name of Galán
taught a class of eighteen children; receiving no salary, except for a
few donations of meat, lard, salt, and the small salary he received as a
soldier. The majority of the children, wrote a citizen then, “...are
taught out of pure charity, the custom being not to give anything to
this unfortunate wretch.” It was difficult to sustain any semblance of
an educational system during the turbulent years of unrest between 1819
and 1821, when Texas was liberated by the Independence Movement of 1816,
and when the territory reverted back to the Mexican authorities. However
the Mexican government, which ruled Texas after 1821, issued a
proclamation allowing the states control of their educational endeavors,
and such was the case in Texas. Thus, the new constitution of Coahuila
and Texas of 1827 required all cities to establish primary schools in
the territory. |
We
know that in 1828 the then governor of Texas José María Viesca
encouraged parents to send their children to the best schools possible;
and that by 1833 the state of Texas started the practice of granting
land grants to establish local institutions of learning. However,
it was still difficult to establish a long lasting educational system of
learning given the political unrest that set upon the Texas of that
time. In San Antonio, the best of schools existed in all of the
territory, but they were still far from perfect. Other factors were lack
of teachers, and the high level of poverty of the state. However, San
Antonio managed to establish a law known as the “Public Free Primary
School,” which was free, subsidized by public funds and private
subscriptions. Rules
were immediately established to conduct this endeavor, such as classes
held from six to ten in the morning during the summer, and seven to
twelve in the winter months; with classes held in the afternoon from two
to six during the whole year. The instructor was to open the school with
a prayer; and held strict observances of religious events. The lessons
included the “three R’s”, with lessons in manners, morals, and
religion. The teacher was hired on a four year contract at a salary of
five hundred dollars a year, payable in monthly installments. These
early schools in Spanish/Mexican Colonial Texas existed until the year
1834. |
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By
this time in history the Mexican authorities were granting huge land
grants to northerners to come to Texas to settle but with certain
conditions, one being that they must learn the language spoken by its
citizens, which was the Spanish language, and the other that they
convert to Catholicism and pledge allegiance to the Mexican authorities. In
1831, the townspeople of San Antonio constructed a school building, with
contributions from the citizens of various sums of money; others gave
lumber, nails, hinges, a calf, a barrel of corn, or personal services. A
teacher from the north was hired but soon the citizens objected to his
being in the classroom due to the fact that it was discovered that he
lacked a proper passport to be in the Texas of that time. The early As
the year of Texas Independence approached, one of the provisions of the
new constitution was the establishment of a strong public school system
in Texas. Early advocates of such efforts included Tejano patriots such
as Lorenzo de Zavala, Antonio de Navarro, and Juan Seguín: Zavala
introducing legislature to establish the first system of higher
education in Texas; both Navarro and Seguín attempted to donate
thousands of their own land for the purpose of establishing the first
universities. |
After
the Texas Revolution culminated in the Battle of the Alamo of 1836,
schools again began to flourish, but it cannot be denied that the early
efforts of Spanish/Mexican authorities in establishing the first
schools, with laws governing its administration was the embryonic source
of the present Texas system of education now in existence. Sadly,
for much of the late 19th century and half of the 20th century,
Spanish/Mexican children of Texas were subjected to segregated schools.
This in spite of the fact that their ancestors worked diligently and did
the heavy lifting in order to establish an educational system in
Colonial Spanish Texas that set the stage for the present educational
institutions that we all now enjoy. Lino
García, Jr.,a Brownsville, Texas, native, is Professor Emeritus of
Spanish Literature at University of Texas-Pan American. He can be
reached at 956-381-3441 or at LGarcia@UTPA.edu. Posted 2nd February 2010 by Armando Rendón
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New Mexico is a land of shadow and mystery. From
the old coal mines near Ratón and the isolation of Isleta Pueblo to the
peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and beyond, ghouls and spirits
lie in wait. Witches transform into vampire bats, werewolves howl and
the undead rise with the light of the moon. La Llorona walks the banks
of rivers and roads, her legendary and mournful cries terrifying any who
cross her path. They are stories passed down by the fearless Comancheros,
devoted Franciscan monks, fierce ciboleros and others to the present day
as warnings of the evil in the world. In a captivating exploration of
New Mexico’s most fearful tales, Ray John de Aragón recounts stories
from the state’s rich and spine-chilling cultural folklore.
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| The History Press, based in Charleston, SC, brings a new way of thinking to history publishing—preserving and enriching community by empowering history enthusiasts to write local stories for local audiences. Since 2004, we have published nearly three thousand of the highest quality local and regional history titles from coast to coast. |
New Mexico Book of
the Dead By
Ray John de Argón ISBN: 978.1.62619.732.9$16.99; 128 pp. Access Catalogue Online at www.historypress.net Available as an e-book wherever books are sold Author interviews or high-res photographs, contact: Publicist: Danielle Raub 843.577.5971, ext 235 danielle.raub@historypress.net |
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Hello Mimi, I just want to let you know how much I enjoyed
reading the August edition of Somos Primos. And I also want to thank you
for including my small contribution. As always, it is a delightful
pleasure to read all the interesting and engaging news stories and to
view the color photographs. Kudos to you and your staff for doing a
superb and magnificent job. Your publication, a paragon of excellent
journalism, provides a wealth of wonderful information, and serves as a
beacon of inspiration and pride of our Hispanic cultural and historical
heritage. In essence, the novel I have written is, by my own definition, my memoirs, based on partly autobiographical and partly fiction, a combination of both if you will, to communicate all my recollections of my life of what I remember most growing up in the Barrio de la Azteca in Laredo, to my personal experiences at St. Augustine, St. Mary's University, and on through my life, and concluding with my tenure as an administrator in the South San Antonio Independent School District. I tried to recollect all the wonderful and colorful people who crossed my life and who influenced me along the way. These people are my characters in the novel, the persons I encountered growing up, living with, and working with, and whose voices I wanted to record by way of dialogues, for posterity. I hope you will enjoy my life story as much as you can discern between what is fiction and what is nonfiction, and that I will leave up to the you--the reader. |
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All
the fictional characters are based on real people and, by and large, the
circumstances and situations, are also based on true events. The school administration
building, for example, is based on the old Escuela
Amarilla
or Central Elementary School in Laredo. The description of Mount Sacred
Heart School, where my protagonist, Whitaker Saxon, went to school, is
really my beloved St. Augustine High School. I also make reference to the school's fighting song melody, which was borrowed from the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame. And Mount Sacred Heart Catholic Church is actually based on St. Augustine Catholic Church. Sister Teresa Benedicta, the school's librarian is based on Sister Casilda's character. Richard Morales, the star basketball player, wears number "54" on his jersey, which happens to be the number I wore. In my description of the Barrio de la Azteca, and I do not know if you ever went by there or lived there, but if you did, then you should recognize the Los Garcia grocery store, La Tienda de Don Felix, and the description of Pablo Torres's house is based on Julio Cantu's two story wooden house. Julio used to work for the Western Union Telegram and he would ride his bicycle delivering telegrams all over Laredo. |
I also make reference to the school's fighting song melody, which was borrowed from the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame. And Mount Sacred Heart Catholic Church is actually based on St. Augustine Catholic Church. Sister Teresa Benedicta, the school's librarian is based on Sister Casilda's character. Richard Morales, the star basketball player, wears number "54" on his jersey, which happens to be the number I wore. In my description of the Barrio de la Azteca, and I do not know if you ever went by there or lived there, but if you did, then you should recognize the Los Garcia grocery store, La Tienda de Don Felix, and the description of Pablo Torres's house is based on Julio Cantu's two story wooden house. Julio used to work for the Western Union Telegram and he would ride his bicycle delivering telegrams all over Laredo. My description of Nueva Santa Dolores is really Nuevo Laredo. As with most novels, my new novel is no different, as I stated earlier, it is partly autobiographical and is based on my own personal experiences as a school administrator. Any similarities between the school district in my novel and South San are entirely coincidental. All the characters and names are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is again purely coincidental (wink, wink). |
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The novel's main protagonists--Whitaker and his wife Sylvia--spend the entirety of the story living their personal and professional lives to which they are called by their talents and time and place in the world, while simultaneously confronting problems of drug cartels, religious faith, school board politics, a crippling personal psychological disorder, and unfulfilled dreams of parental expectations. My novel is a contemporary and multicultural work of adult fiction, a compelling fast-paced story, filled with 404 pages of drama, suspense, adventure, humor, and mystery. It took me six years to
write and re-write my novel, having done two or three drafts of each
chapter before I finally decided that I had done all the necessary
emendations. I spent about a year creating and developing every single
character and kept a profile folder on each one. I wanted them, whose
physical attributes and personalities were mostly based on real people,
to be just right for the different story lines. They had to fit just
right. Consequently, I did several revisions until I had all the
characters just like I had envisioned them in my mind.
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I
wanted to share with you these random thoughts, and I hope you will
enjoy reading my novel, Terror on the Border. When the book came
out in 2011, it was on the bestseller list for Amazon books for five
consecutive months. And, check out the customer review in Amazon
books.com under my name-- Stay healthy and may God bless you abundantly.
Gilberto
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Biographical
Sketch of J. Gilberto Quezada
J.
Gilberto Quezada, a native of Laredo, Texas, is an author, historian,
and a retired educator. He graduated from St. Augustine High School in
1965, and received a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Latin American
history from St. Mary's University in San Antonio. Later, Quezada earned
a Master's degree in Mid-Management from the University of Texas at San
Antonio.
He
served as president of the San Antonio Historical Association, the
second Hispanic to hold the leadership reins of the 74 year old
organization. In addition, Quezada also served on the Institute of Texan
Cultures Board of Directors, the Higher Education Advisory Board for the
City of San Antonio, and on the Executive Council of the Texas State
Historical Association. He was an active member of the Texas Oral
History Association, Los Bejareños Genealogical Society, and the Bexar
County Historical Commission.
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He
is the son of the late Eloisa L. Quezada and Pedro Quezada, and is
married to Jo Emma Bravo Quezada, daughter of the late Ana María Casso
Bravo and Eddie Bravo from Zapata, Texas.
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BORDER BOSS by J. Gilberto Quezada |
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This fine book is an excellent model for future historians wishing to explore the post 1945 inroads of minorities and women into the Texas political power structure." Border Boss was also discussed in a 2005 book titled, The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty, by Peter and Rochelle Schweizer, and was published by Knopf Doubleday. And
just recently, in Dr. Beatriz de
la Garza's new book, From
the Republic of the Rio Grande:
A Personal Historty
of the Place and the People, which was published in 2012 by Texas
University Press, she cites the leadership of Judge Bravo during the
construction of Falcon Dam. Border
Boss was also mentioned in Robert A. Caro's third installment on Lyndon
Johnson entitled, The
Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate (2002), and in Ignacio
M. García's book entitled, Viva
Kennedy: Mexican Americans in Search of Camelot (2000). I
believe Border
Boss has stood the test of time, and I hope it will continue to make
a worthwhile contribution to the historiography of Texas politics Take
care and may God bless you abundantly . . . Gilberto
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Hi! I would like to share with you: (a) an email I sent to Dr. James
Shapiro, and (b) his reply. He holds the Larry Miller Professor of
English at Columbia University. Moreover, he is an internationally
acclaimed Shakespeare scholar and has published award-winning books,
such as, Rival Playwrights, Shakespeare and the Jews, 1599: A
Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, and Contested Will: Who
Wrote Shakespeare? |
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Please accept my most
sincere congratulations on the publication of your new book, Shakespeare
in America: An Anthology From The Revolution to Now. I have
thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I am going to recommend it to my
family and friends. The selections of the essays and anthologies are not
only quite comprehensive but also exceedingly interesting, informative,
and engaging. After reading your book, I realized the tremendous and
widespread influence that Shakespeare had in our American literary
culture. You mentioned in the
Introduction that due to the voluminous collection of works on
Shakespeare and because this book is only a one volume collection, you
had to leave out other scholarly essays, treatises, and other works that
were too lengthy to be anthologized. There is another genre that was not
consulted and that would be the novels that talk about Shakespeare. In
this regard, I would like to inform you that William Shakespeare is
included in my novel, Terror on the Border, on pages
126-128, and I am attaching these pages to this email for your perusal.
When my novel was published in the summer of 2011, it was on the
bestseller list for Amazon books for five consecutive months.
My
name is J. Gilberto Quezada and I am also the award-winning author of a
political biography enitled, Border Boss: Manuel B. Bravo and
Zapata County, published by Texas A&M University Press.
And since it came out over fifteen years ago, I am
very happy to say that it has been well received by both the scholarly
community and the general public with equal enthusiasm. The hardbound
copy came out in April 1999 and the paperback edition was published in
2001. Border Boss won the prestigious Texas Institute of
Letters Award, the Webb County Heritage Foundation Award, and the
American Association for State and Local History Award. In somber
retrospect, I am extremely proud to have written this book and to have
juxtaposed it against the
backdrop of Texas and national politics.
At
any rate, I thought you might be interested in knowing that the Bard is
alive and well in my novel.
Cordially
yours,
Here is Dr. James Shapiro's reply:
Dear J. Gilberto
Quezada,
Thanks so much for your kind
letter and for bringing to my attention your novel, Terror on the
Border, a fine contribution to the ongoing history of Shakespeare in
American writing. With best wishes, James
Shapiro |
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The
Great Arizona Orphan Abduction
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"Gordon's
extraordinary achievement in this book lies in her narrative strategy as
much as in her insights as a social historian. . . . Class and the
dangers of copper mining are the aspects of the story most clearly
represented in the extraordinary photographs that illustrate the book. .
. . The complexities of class, race and gender, of labor and bigotry and
greed . . . are what this book is about." Women’s Review of
Books. |
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The
Great Arizona Orphan Abduction. Sent: Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com |
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"Mexican American
Colonization during the Nineteenth Century: |
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Mexican
American Colonization during the Nineteenth Century American
newspapers have started reporting on the difficulties faced by
“repatriated” long-term residents of the United States deported to
Mexico. "Mexican American Colonization during the Nineteenth
Century," an account of Mexican responses to Mexican repatriation
efforts, provides a backstory to contemporary issues of migration,
displacement, and repatriation that are reshaping popular understandings
of citizenship and belonging around the world. Although the
institutional scale and geographic range of these transnational removal
and repatriation programs [End Page 90] have expanded since the North
American Free Trade Agreement and the Patriot Act, the politics of
removal and repatriation were central to community formation in the
northern Mexican borderlands after 1848. This book makes a strong
argument that Mexican authorities aimed to capitalize on the skills and
resources developed by Mexicans in the United States to build
communities that would help demarcate and defend the Mexican border
against United States and American Indian encroachment. |
American
newspapers have started reporting on the difficulties faced by
“repatriated” long-term residents of the United States deported to
Mexico. "Mexican American Colonization during the Nineteenth
Century," an account of Mexican responses to Mexican repatriation
efforts, provides a back story to contemporary issues of migration,
displacement, and repatriation that are reshaping popular understandings
of citizenship and belonging around the world. Although the
institutional scale and geographic range of these transnational removal
and repatriation programs [End Page 90] have expanded since the North
American Free Trade Agreement and the Patriot Act, the politics of
removal and repatriation were central to community formation in the
northern Mexican borderlands after 1848. This book makes a strong
argument that Mexican authorities aimed to capitalize on the skills and
resources developed by Mexicans in the United States to build
communities that would help demarcate and defend the Mexican border
against United States and American Indian encroachment. Hernández’s historical analysis begins with organized attempts to help bring Mexican communities back to the Mexican fold after 1848. His historical intervention is fascinating, as Mexican American Colonization places the coerced and |
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recruited
movement of Mexicans to Mexico within larger debates over
nation-building in the Americas. The author argues that the
establishment of Mexican communities in northern Mexico should be
understood alongside the establishment of Seminole and European
religious and ethnic communities in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León,
Chihuahua, Sonora, and Baja California. Here he emphasizes that Mexicans
moved to populate most of northern Mexico, and the drama of multi-ethnic
European, American, and indigenous settlement has mistakenly
overshadowed this larger assertion of Mexican control and community
formation in this borderlands. This settlement in this multi-ethnic
region made it difficult for competing European and American migrants to
establish themselves and helps explain why Mexico managed not to become
a popular destination during the peak period of European migration and
commercial expansion. To me, this is the key insight: Mexico’s
relative lack of European settlement is evidence of successful
nation-building, not a failure to whiten or modernize according to
American norms. Hernández maintains a keen focus on the Mexican side of the repatriation question after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This is where the narrative is both dramatic and engaging. In Gold Rush California, Francisco Ramírez, the editor of 'El Clamor Público,' encouraged Mexicans and Latin Americans to |
seek their fortune
in Sonora, a place far less politically hostile to their presence. In
territorial New Mexico, Mexican emissaries like Father Ramón Ortiz
sought to recruit Hispanic ciboleros experienced in trade and conflict
with Comanche and Apache communities. In post-annexation Texas, families
like the Menchacas led families from East Texas to colonias in northern
Coahuila. This drama continued in Mexico, where many of the colonias
almost never received proper titles or guarantees to the land and
resources that they helped transform into productive rural communities. Hernández effectively moves repatriates from the dustbin of Mexican history and makes their experience of displacement, recruitment, and mobilization central to understanding key processes in Mexican and world history. In this sense, José Angel Hernández’s stark portrayal of displacement stands as a counterpoint to the blurry and unequal situations analyzed in American border towns in Anthony Mora’s "Border Dilemmas: Racial and National Uncertainties in New Mexico" and Omar Valerio-Jiménez’s "River of Hope: Forging Identity and Nation in the Rio Grande Borderlands." I strongly recommend this book. Sent
by Walter Herbeck walterhole@gmail.com
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| Youtube:
First "Air Force One". Youtube: Project Vigil: D-Day 2014 Youtube: Hitler's GI Death camp Photo: Erasmo "Doc" Riojas, SEAL Reunion Honoring Borinqueneer Raul Reyes Hispanic Medal of Honor Calendar of Upcoming Exhibits |
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I
just returned from the UDT/SEAL reunion in Little Creek VA. It will be my last,
I will turn 83 in 14 days, too old to travel on those lil UNITED airplanes made
by Mattell toys.
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A little bit of history.
Project
Vigil: D-Day 2014, The saluting 11-year-old boy on Omaha beach A documentary of a not well known
WW II travesty, that is until
recently, with the assistance of Joseph Mendez-Parr,
Colorado
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HISPANIC MEDAL OF HONOR CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EXHIBITS |
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2.
DIA (DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY) Sept 28-31 in Washington, D.C. Mr.
George Rodriguez, Division Chief, Americas Military Capabilities and
Director for Analysis (DIA and all the Division Committee Members are
all in agreement that having the displays at DIA during Hispanic
Heritage Month Celebration will greatly enhance our ability to educate
our work force about the significant contributions Hispanics have made
to our great Nation's history. Special Guests Note: (Same guests as
shown above plus Special Guests from the (DIA). 3.
The HMOH Traveling photo exhibit will be at the PENTAGON during Hispanic
Heritage Month Celebration on Oct 9th-16th in Arlington, Virginia. Mr.
Norvel "Rock" Dillard, Department of Defense, Acting Director,
DOD Diversity & Inclusion Management. Special Guests: Our HMOH
guests plus Special Guests from the Department of Defense. 4.
The amazing and Historic event will be held on Nov 9th, 2014 the
unveiling of the MEDAL OF HONOR SYLVESTRE HERRERA 'WALL OF HONOR' at the
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport "USO" at EAST end of
Terminal 4. The Wall will represent Arizona's 21 Medal of Honor
Recipients and there stories, Memobilia, Photos, Videos and performing
once again Jeff Senour Best Song of the Year.'YOU WON'T BE
FORGOTTEN" Special Guest to do the unveiling: Governor of Arizona,
Mayor the Adjutant General plus the HMOH Guests. 5. Nov. 11th Veterans Day Parade in Phoenix, Arizona (The largest parade in country). Medal of Honor recipients Santiago Erevia and Al Rascon will be Grand Marshal.
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Dorothy
Perez, Recipient of Prestigious SAR Award by
Henry A. García, jr. |
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DOROTHY
PÉREZ RECIPIENT
OF PRESTIGIOUS
SAR
AWARD By
Henry A. García, jr. |
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The
National Family of the Sons of the American Revolution Certificate reads as
follows: Dorothy has been both a DAR member and Canary Islands Descendants Association (CIDA) member for over 25 years. |
The award
was named after Lydia Darragh, who was a member of the Quaker faith. By
majority, they did not believe in warfare and most were neutral during the
Revolutionary War. However,
Lydia overheard the British Officers’ plan to initiate a surprise attack on
George Washington and his troops, who were bivouacked near Whitemarsh,
Pennsylvania. Lydia Darragh chose to forego potential British punishments, and managed to provide her data to George Washington and his troops of the impending attack; thus giving the American troops adequate time to prepare and counter the invasion. The four-day battle ended in a stalemate and the British withdrew their forces and went back to Philadelphia.
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United
States of Spain? |
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The U.S. Senate has just given the OK to hang on its walls a portrait of Bernardo de Galvez. Who? Bernardo de Galvez, the cheerful and humble Spaniard who was Governor of Louisiana, Viceroy of New Spain, Commander in Chief of the Caribbean fleet, which included the French navy, and one of the biggest heroes of the American Revolutionary War. Never heard about him? Don't be ashamed. I am not surprised. It's only recent that I accidentally discovered the immense contribution that Spain made to the creation of the United States while I was doing research for my book, One Hundred Miles from Manhattan. The Spanish legacy in the US is something nobody seems to have a clue about. Neither Americans, nor Spaniards. Two thirds of the actual territory of the U.S. was once under Spanish rule, and for some reason, that fascinating part of history has never been told. We tend to picture the Spanish conquistadors as being mostly located in Mexico or down in the jungles of Peru. Well, surprise, surprise. The Spaniards were also the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon, the first to cross the Mississippi River, the first nonnative Americans to populate the Great Plains or the first Europeans to land in Alaska. The reality, as portrayed in the book Banderas Lejanas (Far away Flags) is that "much before the United States existed as a nation, Spain had already conquered the Far West and fought or made treaties with the main Indian tribes that Hollywood would later make famous." Where do you think cowboys came from? Which language do you think the words lasso, corral, rodeo or stampede came from? Look for google images of the annual El Rocio pilgrimage in the south of Spain and you would think you are witnessing an episode of The Little House on the Prairie. |
It turns out that Spain also played a pivotal role when the United States gained its independence from England. I'll give you an example. Guess who was standing to the right of George Washington in the American victory parade of July 4, 1783. Ready? Bernardo de Galvez. Whaaat? Yes, Galvez, a guy from Macharaviaya (a small hamlet of 500 inhabitants in Malaga, Spain) after whom the city of Galveston, Texas, was named. Galveston is actually a derivation from the old Galveztown, you see. Now. Why on earth was this guy to the right of President Washington in such a historical moment for this nation? Very simple: Washington thought he owed a big portion of his victory to the King of Spain, both for his military and economic support. And he seemed to be particularly moved by the courage and fine military strategy of General Don Galvez (as the President warmly referred to the Spaniard in the complimentary letters that he addressed to His Catholic Majesty from his headquarters in New Windsor). As Martha Gutierrez-Steinkamp writes in her book Spain: The Forgotten Alliance, "it wasn't until Spain entered the war, as an ally of France on the side of the colonists, that British naval superiority was overwhelmed. What appeared to be a local conflict with the objective of controlling the rebellion in the colonies, suddenly turned into a naval conflict that took place in all the oceans." The Spanish participation was also crucial in the final battle of Yorktown. Spain had no soldiers in New York, but its generous infusion of money from Mexico and Cuba, paid for the French forces in America and made possible the full support of the combined troops of Rochambeau and Washington." |
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| Okay,
so what exactly did General Galvez do? Pretty much he denied the British the
opportunity of attacking the Americans from the South. Let me mention just a few
facts. First, he destroyed the English commerce on the Mississippi. In 1776, as
Governor of Louisiana, he issued an order urging all English subjects to abandon
the territory within fifteen days. Soon after, he signed a treaty with the
Americans which allowed them access to the Spanish port of New Orleans. The
patriots could then navigate and enjoy free trading along the Mississippi river,
making it possible for supplies to be sent to the their soldiers. But wait,
there's more. Bernardo and his troops (an army of 7,500 men made up of Spanish,
French, African-American, Mexican, Cuban and Anglo-American forces) defeated the
British at battles in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Natchez, Mississippi, and Mobile,
Alabama. Then, Galvez alone also gained control of British West Florida. In
1781, he managed to get past the English controlled Pensacola Bay (Panzacola
under prior Spanish domain), forcing his indecisive Caribbean fleet to follow
him. In addition to the conquest of this strategically crucial land for
Washington's defense, Galvez captured large quantities of English war material
and left the British with no naval bases in the Gulf of Mexico. For his bravery,
the King of Spain allowed him to include on his coat of arms a ship with a
flying pennant that had written on it, "Yo Solo," or "I
Alone." In Washington's words: "if the Spaniards would but join their fleets to those of France and commence hostilities, my doubts would all subside -without it, I fear the British Navy has it too much in its power to counteract the schemes of France." |
So, without the support of the Spanish Armada -- the world's most powerful fleet in the 18th century -- the colonies would have never won the war against England. But it was only the French that received the glory. Specifically General Lafayette, which has a street named after him in practically every city of the United States. How is that possible? Very simple. It wasn't in Spain's King Carlos III best interest to publicize the news that his country supported the freedom of the North American colonies ... since the idea of independence could dangerously spread to the Spanish colonies of Central and South America. And now, let me introduce to you Teresa ¨Tere¨ Valcarce, better known as "Demonstration Tere" due to her addiction to rallying for causes. Anytime there is a good reason to fight for justice, you will find her there. Tere was born in El Ferrol, Spain, and studied tourism in the Andalusian province of Malaga. There she used to work at the information counter of the airport. One day in 1991, a passenger approached her seeking help. He introduced himself as an American, but Tere detected a southern Spanish accent from Cadiz. "Pal, you're Spanish." "No, I am not" "I think you are." He was indeed an American, but raised on the military base of Rota where his father was posted. To make a long story short, they stayed in contact and approximately four years later, he sent her a message: "tomorrow morning I will land in Malaga again". It was meant to be. Malaga was celebrating its annual fair, la Feria. After having a drink over here, and a dance over there, they started to see each other and in 1999 they were married and moved to Maryland. Tere had her first child Paul in 2005, and two more would follow: Lucas and Lucia. In 2008 Demonstration Tere became a U.S. citizen. |
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At Christmas the response of the United States House of Representatives came. The recommendation was for Galvez's painting to be part of a temporary exhibit, and not to be displayed in the permanent collection on Capitol Hill. Big disappointment. Now what? In January, the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, came to the US for a visit. Tere managed to access Mariano and tell him the story. Rajoy went ahead and mentioned the Galvez Resolution to Obama. One day later, Rajoy granted the Medal of Queen Isabel to Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat of Cuban origin that has close ties with Spain. The Spanish Prime Minister decided to tell him the story too, and suddenly a door opened. Menendez, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, could accept gifts from foreign nations on behalf of the United States. What about a painting from an old Revolutionary War hero? |
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Tere went to pay a visit to Senator Menendez's staff. She presented the case, and Menendez thought it was fair to resolve such a historical error. The local government of Malaga (Diputacion Provincial) requested that a letter be send to the U.S. Senate which would grant permission to accept the painting. It did, and on Thursday October 17 the response of the Senate Ethics Committee came: the portrait of Galvez was accepted as a gift to the U.S. and earned a place on the Senate's walls. Yahoo! Now, what a great opportunity to set the story straight and to finally learn about a missing piece of our common past. So, in the country of show business, why don't we make it fun? Wouldn't it be exciting if the newly crowned King Felipe VI of Spain, on his first official trip to the United States in September, be the one to hang the picture? The momentum is now on Galvez's side. Last January, a group of Congressmen from Florida introduced a joint resolution in the House of Representatives requesting "that Bernardo de Galvez, who risked his life for the freedom of the United States, played an integral role in the Revolutionary War and helped secure the independence of the United States, is proclaimed posthumously to be an honorary citizen of the United States." On July 22, the resolution was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. An honorary citizenship is an extraordinary honor neither lightly conferred nor frequently granted. Only 7 people have obtained it to date. Among them: General Lafayette -the other Revolutionary War hero -- Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. |
If granted to
Galvez, people are going to want to know who
that fellow was. The painting's history may help to clarify Galvez importance to
our country. Otherwise, historian Douglas Brinkley will be spending many hours
going back and forth from CBS to CNN studios giving all sorts of explanations. I can't wait to see a happy ending of Galvez's last battle. There is nothing better than a country reconciling with its past. Through him, Americans may surprisingly discover how much Spanish influence plays a role in their daily lives, much more than can be imagined. I mean, I don't envision Steven Colbert to suddenly changing his name to Esteban... It's just that Galvez's legacy happened to be a single star in a constellation of many other Spanish American legends ... some of which may feed the appetite for the media, hungry for good stories. |
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| For example, did you know that the dollar was the Spanish currency used in the thirteen colonies and its actual symbol $ was directly copied from the peso sign? Or that the bearded medieval character, Lord of the Rings material, framed in laurels on the wall of the U.S. Capitol's Chamber of the House of Representatives is Alfonso X, king of Castile from 1252 to 1284? |
Meanwhile,
on the other side of the Atlantic, the hamlet of Macharaviaya, Malaga, will have
no choice but to ready itself for the imminent influx of American tourists
interested in discovering the land of the General that helped to achieve their
country's independence. Somebody better start working on new T-shirts with
Galvez style wigs and the logo I ALONE, because it may well be a bestseller next
4th of July. Sent by Maria Angeles O'donnell Olson, Honorary Consul of Spain, San Diego conhon.espana.sd@gmail.com
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TCARA celebrated its 10th Anniversary, July 23, 2014 |
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Dear
Mimi, TCARA
celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 23, 2014 on Bernardo de Galvez's
Birthday honoring LTC Jack Vance Cowan. Speakers who spoke about Jack's amazing leadership: Left to right seated Judge Robert Thonhoff, Honorary Historian of TCARA and Author of The Texas Connection with the American Revolution; LTC Jack Vance Cowan, Founder, Executive Director & Past President of TCARA; Standing left to right: Corinne Staacke, TCARA Founder , Past Regent DAR San Antonio de Bexar Chapter; Sylvia Sutton, Past TCARA President, National DAR Hispanic Task Force; Cathy Slaughter, TCARA President; Robert Hancock, President of San Antonio, Texas SAR, Chairman of Hondo Historic Commission, Rose Marie LaPenta, TCARA Founder and Past President. Absent Judge Edward Butler, Past National President of SAR (his speech was read by Cathy Slaughter). Jack was presented a special TCARA Medal by Corinne Staacke. Corinne
Staacke
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TCARA Minutes July 23, 2014 President Cathy Slaughter called the meeting to order, followed by the pledge to the American Flag. She asked that each person stand and introduce themselves. The
meeting celebrated Bernardo de Galvez’s birthday and the Tenth Anniversary of
TCARA and to honor LTC. Jack Vance Cowan, founder, past President, and Executive
Director of TCARA. Speakers
were: Judge Robert Thornhoff, author of the book The Texas Connection with
the American Revolution, Texas State Historical Commissioner, and
educator; Judge Edward Butler, Past Chapter President of San Antonio and Past
President of National Sons of the American Revolution (absent) with Cathy
Slaughter reading his message; Col. Robert Hancock, Chapter President of Sons of
the American Revolution and President of the Hondo County Historical Commission;
Sylvia Sutton, Past President of Texas Connection to the American Revolution
Association and National Daughters of the American Revolution Spanish Task
Force; Rose Marie La Penta, Founder and Past President of TCARA; Corinne Staacke,
Founder of TCARA, Past Regent of San Antonio de Bexar Chapter DAR, Founder and
Past President of the David Crockett Chapter United Daughters of the War of
1812, Founder and President of the Colonial Dames of America Chapter XXXVI, Past
Chapter President of Lanqueduc Chapter
National Society of Huegonots. |
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LTC
Jack Vance Cowan, Founder, Executive Director |
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| Each
speaker honored LTC Jack Vance Cowan with his valuable leadership in the Texas
Connection to the American Revolution Association as follows: Naming and
obtaining the State Charter, and IRS Tax Exemption; Giving Speeches from
Kindergartner to Senior Citizens, including University of Texas San Antonio,
Texas A. & M. San Antonio and Texas A. &M. at Kingsville, SAR, DAR, USD
1812, and many other organizations and places; Erecting TCARA booths at various
events; TCARA has participated in five July 4th Parades in Washington D. C. and
six George Washington Parades in Laredo, Texas as well as other towns with
Jack’s design and trailer for floats; Works
with Mimi Lozano in publishing events of TCARA in Somos Primos International
E-magazine; Sold or distributed between 200 to 300 Texas Connection with the American Revolution books; Arranged a Living Tree Planting honoring Judge Robert Thonhoff at Karnes City Courthouse; Arranged a Nacogdoches trip for members; Opened the door to DAR and SAR for Spanish descendants to join; Helped in forming SAR Chapter in Mexico City; TCARA sponsoring Spanish Medal of Honor Exhibits; A Margaret Thonhoff Hensley Scholarship for Texas A. & M. SA History Majors. Created a Collegiate TCARA Chapter at Texas A.& M. in San Antonio with Dr. Amy Porter; Contributed historical information on the panels made by Texas A. & M. and designed and built stands for each panel to stand alone; Designed the first web page for TCARA and recently arranged for an up dated professionally designed web-page by Carol Foreman. |
LTC
Cowan has served in the USA Army Special Forces, a U. S. Special Agent. He was
received the Best Writer Award from
the Army in Washington D. C.. After his military career he form his company,
American Claims and Investigations and later was with USAA in Claims,
Investigations and Negotiations Department. He
has been Chapter and State Presidents of the National Society of Huguenots,
Chapter President of SAR, and Chapter President of Los Grenaderos Y Damas de
Galvez. His other memberships
include Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (Knights Templar),
Order of the Founders of North America 1492-1692, Jamestowne, Founders of
Manakin the Colony of Virginia, War of 1812 and Sons of the Republic of Texas. Corinne
Staacke presented LTC Jack Vance Cowan with a special award of the TCARA pin
encircled with a silver bazel with Colonel Jack Vance Cowan and Founder engraved
on it. Announcements:John
L. Hinnant announced the Alamo Garrison Living History Guild will be joining
TCARA soon
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GRIJALVA |
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Don Juan Pablo Grijalva, soldier, settler, rancher and pioneer -- came to
California with the Anza expedition in 1775. At that time there were only five
missions, two presidios and a single Rancho of some 120 square yards (140 varas).
Grijalva's
heritages dates to the time of Cortez and his legacy includes the only Spanish
rancho in Orange County. |
The final quote is by Padre Presidente Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. Lasuen
founded nine missions, the last of which took away Grijalva's first rancho at
Las Flores.
* In actuality, grants were given only in the Mexican period; this was a
concession.
The Grijalva story begins in 1518 when Juan de Grijalva led an expedition to the Yucatan. Discovering a large river, the soldiers insisted it be named for Juan and the Rio de Grijalva, so named, flows today. The expedition itself was so successful Gobernador Diego de Velasquez ordered a second command for Hernando Cortez the following year; the result was the conquest of the Aztec empire. 7 Sebastian de Grijalva, a member of the entrada of Panfilo de Navarrez in New Spain, received his command of Sosola y Tenexpa in 1520 which was preserved in the hands of the family through three generations. 8 Hernando de Grijalva helped lead the exploration of the west coast of Mexico in 1533. The San Loranzo, a ship captained by Hernando de Grijalva, became separated from Hernando de Cortez' flagship, and later discovered an island about four hundred miles west of Colima, New Spain (Mexico) and later put in at Acapulco in 1534. Cortez discovered California as a part of the expedition. 8 |
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Presidio Terrenate Padre Kino, a Jesuit priest, opened the Sonora territory including Northern Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico from 1687 to 1711. Juan Pablo Grijalva, born near Mission Guevavi (Arizona) in 1741, grew up in Prima Alta Sonora. At that time, there were more than 50 Missions, six Pueblos and perhaps three Presidios. 9 He enlisted in the military at Presidio Terrenate, Sonora, (Mexico) on January 1, 1763. He married Maria Dolores Valencia about a year later and over the course of 12 years, they had two girls. 10 The record shows that he served honorably for ten years, receiving a promotion to corporal and that he could read and write. During his years of service in the garrison of Terrante, Sonora he had nine campaigns against both the Apaches and Seris, and during which he was twice wounded. 11 |
The
Anza Expedition Juan Pablo Grijalva was second corporal of the Presidio Terrenate when appointed by Juan Bautista de Anza as Sergeant of the Expedition to Alta California. An important factor of the trip were the women and children -- four of which were born along the way (Bancroft states eight). 12 The initial group of 177 people left San Miguel de Horcasitas on September 29, 1775, increasing the people to 240 at Presidio Tubac. From Tubac the march would slowly descend from an elevation of 3,250 to almost sea level at San Francisco. 12 During the stay at Santa Olaya, Padre Garces overtook the party, having already set out to explore the country toward the mouth of the Colorado. Anza divided his force into three parties under the command of himself, Sergeant Grijalva, and Alfaréz Moraga. 13 |
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Of Grijalva's family, his wife and two daughters, we know some detail. There is
a name of Claudio, listed as Grijalva's son, however it proves to be only a
young man who changed his last name to Grijalva so he could come on the
expedition. The expedition reached San Francisco on June 27, 1776. San
Francisco |
During Grijalva's tenure at Presidio San Francisco, both daughters married
soldiers at Mission Dolores. Maria Josefa Grijalva, the oldest married Antonio
Yorba, then a widower on November 3, 1782. She was then 16, he almost 40, only
two years younger than her father. 10 Maria del Carmen Grijalva married Pedro Regaldo Peralta on October 27, 1785. He had come as a boy on the Anza Expedition with his family. She was 14 he was 21. The following year, Juan Pablo Grijalva was transferred to San Diego. His wife went with him, leaving his two married daughters behind. The Yorba family followed by 1789. 10 In late 1785, a vacancy came available at the Presidio in San Diego through he death of Alfaréz Jose Velasquez. Transferring in 1786 to San Diego, Grijalva gained the promotion, and remained active as Alfaréz until his retirement. 12 The 1788 Registry of the existing Missions, [was taken] by Alfaréz Juan Pablo Grijalva at Presidio San Diego. From Loreto, Baja California to San Francisco, Alta California. 14 |
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Later, Grijalva led a group to Northern Baja California where "...having
founded this mission in the mountain range among the Rosario y Santo Domingo,
[we] fulfill the orders of the Viceroy on the 27th of March, 1793. The chosen
site was named for the indigenous Casilepe, and now has given it that of San Pedro M rtir de Verona. He returned again in April of 1794. 15 [Beginning] January 3 1795, [from] San Diego, Grijalva and Grejera, [had] ...taken the census of the missions of the North. Juan Pablo Grijalva on visit(s) to the Escoltas (Military Escorts) de San Miguel, de San Juan, San Gabriel, y de San Miguel. 14 Padre Juan Mariner in 1795 filed a "report on the survey which we made in company with Alfaréz Juan Pablo Grijalva, Corporal Juan Vicente, etc." Claudio, when in the military, accompanied them to locate the site for the Mission de San Luis Rey de Francia.16 On June 13, 1798 Padre Presidente founded this his last mission. |
Rancho
Las Flores |
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Rancho
Santiago De Santa Ana
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Grijalva
Testament |
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Casa
Remnants
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Rancho Towns The Peralta Hills are named for Juan Pablo Peralta - the grandson and namesake of Juan Pablo Grijalva - the original Ranchero of the Rancho de Santiago de Santa Ana. North of the hills by the Santa Ana River is Santa Ana Arriba, (Upper Santa Ana) the townsite and adobe of the Peraltas. 24 Southward near the vicinity of the Portola crossing of the Santa Ana river, is Santa Ana Viejo, (Old Santa Ana) the main town of the area. The name Santa Ana stayed with the river and this place: there is California State Historical Marker #204 near Lincoln and Orange-Olive road. Later, in the early 1800s, a town started up on the site, called Santa Ana. It grew to the point of having a general store and a mayor, but faded away prior to 1850. 25 The settlement of Santa Ana is mentioned in 1846-47 (Emory), and the name Santa Ana Viejo shows on maps after that time. The modern city of Santa Ana, at its present site south of Santiago Creek, was not founded until 1869. 24 The river is now west of the old river bed - floods have changed the course several times. Santa Ana Viejo was a real town, essentially started by the Yorba family. The Yorba hacienda site overlooks the location of the old town. One Yorba casa sat on the hill where the old Olive grade school is now on Orange-Olive Road, past Lincoln. 25 Near Chapman Ave. on the Santa Ana river was Santa Ana Abajo (Lower Santa Ana), an extension of the town to the north. Also here was (and still is) a favored crossing of the Santa Ana River, El Camino Real the forerunner of Highway 101, now the Santa Ana Freeway, I-5. South of here is the junction with Santiago Creek and the site of El Refugio (the Refuge), one of the earliest haciendas. 25 |
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Edward
Trinidad Grijalva
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"Presentations by Eddie Grijalva are a testament to California's heritage and inspire individuals to pursue their own history."2 "Eddie is a bona fide historian/researcher whose credentials include access to the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley." 28 "Spending time with Eddie Grijalva is like touching history." 3 * Again, grants were given only in the Mexican period; this was a concession. |
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References
& Bibliography (see footnote numbers next to text above): |
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DNA We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies. ~Shirley Abbott Sent by Marylouise Ambriz |
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My DNA tells me who I am |
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MY DNA TELLS ME WHO I AM |
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Dear Mimi, Thank you so much for letting us know
what is going on in our world. Roots?? Read This :My Mother's grandparents were from
Mexico but my grandparents on my father's side were CAVAZOS. Cavazos was my father's last name and
his mothers maiden name was De Leon, another family name
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Greek 25% Italian 25% Spanish 25% Native American 25% Mimi, had I known my heritage when I was a young boy and later in high school, it would have made a It is always nice to hear from you, God
Bless You. Roy Cavazos,
Tomball, Texas
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New DNA discovery: totally new outlook on evolution |
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December
2013: Scientists
have found the oldest DNA evidence of humans’ biological history – sounds
like an evolution breakthrough. However, instead of clarifying human evolution,
the finding is adding new mysteries, NYT reports. Analysis of a DNA test of a
400,000-year-old human thighbone found in a cave in northern Spain known as the
"Pit of Bones," shows an unexpected evolutionary twist, German
scientists report. The
fossil found in Spain, had previously seemed to many experts to belong to a
forerunner of Neanderthals and as the early hominins looked a little like
Neanderthals, researchers expected their DNA to share a common ancestor When Dr.
Meyer and his colleagues drilled into the femur, they found ancient human DNA
inside, just as they had hoped. However, after analyzing mitochondrial DNA
extracted from the bone, it was found that early Europeans share a common
ancestor with another mysterious species – eastern Eurasian sister group to
the Neanderthals, the Denisovans. "Our expectation was that it would be a
very early Neanderthal," Dr. Meyer said. First
discovered in Siberia in 2010, the Denisovans were a genetically different group
of people who are known only by a pinkie bone and a tooth. "Everybody had a
hard time believing it at first," Dr. Meyer said. "So we generated
more and more data to nail it down."
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Until
now, Denisovans were known only from DNA retrieved from 80,000-year-old remains
in Siberia, 4,000 miles east of where the new DNA was found. The
mismatch between the anatomical and genetic evidence surprised the scientists,
who are now rethinking human evolution over the past few hundred thousand years.
Since
the 1970s, Spanish scientists have excavated 28 nearly complete skeletons of
humans from the cave. Based on the anatomy of the fossils, Dr. Arsuaga has
argued that they belonged to ancestors of Neanderthals, which lived in western
Asia and Europe from about 200,000 to 30,000 years ago but the new finding give
a totally different picture of human evolution especially as Denisovans were
believed to be limited to East Asia, and they were not thought to look so
Neanderthal-like. |
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As
The New York Times writes, based on previously discovered ancient DNA and fossil
evidence, scientists generally agreed that humans’ direct ancestors shared a
common ancestor with Neanderthals and Denisovans that lived about half a million
years ago in Africa. In 2006, a team of French and Belgian researchers obtained
a fragment of Neanderthal DNA dating back 100,000 years, which until now was the
oldest human DNA ever found, Science Direct says. Around
the same time as that discovery, Russian scientists sent the Max Planck team
80,000-year-old Denisovans’ fossils they had found in a cave in Siberia. When
the German scientists sequenced the entire genome from the finger bone of a
girl, it turned out to be neither human nor Neanderthal. This
made the scientists assume that their shared ancestors split off from humans’
lineage and left Africa, then split further into the Denisovans and Neanderthals
about 300,000 years ago. The evidence suggested that Neanderthals headed west,
toward Europe, and that the Denisovans moved east. Humans’ ancestors,
meanwhile, stayed in Africa, giving rise to Homo sapiens about 200,000 years
ago. Humans then expanded from Africa into Asia and Europe about 60,000 years
ago. They then interbred not only with Neanderthals, but with Denisovans, too.
Later, both the Denisovans and Neanderthals became extinct. |
Dr.
Arsuaga doubts that Denisovans were spread out across so much of the Old World,
from Spain to Siberia, so one alternative explanation could be that the humans
of Sima de los Huesos were not true Neanderthals, but belonged to the ancestors
of both Denisovans and Neanderthals. It
is also possible that the newly discovered DNA was passed to both Neanderthals
and Denisovans, but eventually disappeared from Neanderthals, replaced by other
variants. Beth
Shapiro, an expert on ancient DNA at the University of California, Santa Cruz,
assumes that the humans of Sima de los Huesos belong to another branch of
humans, which might have been a species called Homo erectus and have originated
about 1.8 million years ago having become extinct within the last few hundred
thousand years. This
new genetic link has baffled experts from around the world. |
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Professor
Allan Cooper, the Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at Adelaide
University said the discovery is "quite remarkable and interestingly we're
starting to find similar patterns when we look at other animals and we use
ancient DNA and go back in time. We find that species are not sticking to their
own boundaries." Professor
Cooper added the discovery has turned human evolution theory on its head.
"If all, you know, humans are humans and they don't breed to anything else.
Then we find out humans have got Neanderthal and Denisovan in them, so they must
have interbred with both of them. Okay, that's complicated enough. Now we've got
Denisovans interbreeding with Neanderthals, we've got this group in Spain which
looks like Denisovan but should be Neanderthal." Dr. Meyer hopes that he and his colleagues will be able to get more DNA from the Spanish fossil, as well as other fossils from the site, to help solve the puzzle. http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_12_05/New-DNA-discovery- Sent
by John Inclan
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When
the Neanderthals Disappeared
Analysis
of 40 European archaeological sites suggests a gradual extinction of
Neanderthals over thousands of years. Sent by Juan Marinez marinezj@msu.edu
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FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH |
| About Genealogy by Kimberly Powell Search WWI POW Records Online for Free How to Trace the History of Your Home FamilySearch Adds More Than 1.5 Million Indexed Records and Images to Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Italy, and the United States Helpful Hints from Readers |
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Source:
About Genealogy by Kimberly Powell |
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Search
WWI POW Records Online for Free
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How
to Trace the History of Your Home |
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August 22, 2014 FamilySearch
Adds More Than 1.5 Million Indexed Records and Images to Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia, Ghana, Italy, and the United States FamilySearch
has added more than 1.5 million indexed records and images to collections from
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Spain, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 524,584
images from the Italy, Torino, Ivrea, Civil Registration (Tribunale),
1866–1937, collection; the 217,208 images from the New Zealand, Archives New
Zealand, Probate Records, 1848–1991, collection; and the 148,311 images from
Spain, Province of Tarragona, Municipal Records, 1430–1943, collection. See
the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections
and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org. Searchable
historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of
thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe
(index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them
easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can
read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images
being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to
help provide free access to the worldís historic genealogical records online at
FamilySearch.org . FamilySearch
is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit,
volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and
services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great
pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering,
preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years.
Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at
FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132
countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. |
Helpful
HINTS from readers If
you are conducting historical or genealogical research in your family roots, you
may want to consult the colonial records at the Archivo General de la Nación (AGN).
Google: http://www.agn.gob.mx1/.
And then, click on these two websites:
"agn.gob.mx--Inicio-Archivo General de la Nación," and
"Locating Colonial Records of Genealogical Value."
The AGN is currently working an agreement with the Family Search and
Ancestry.com to copy these valuable documents, which are of tremendous
significance in finding birth, death, and marriage information. Gilberto J. Quezada This
album of old pictures shows the reasons why we should all put labels, names, or
notations on every single picture. We might know what the pictures are all about
at the time we take them; however, later on, we forget and this creates
problems.......I am guilty of that situation. I have many photos from all over
the world, but I can't remember what the picture was meant to say. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mamaladama/sets Old
Laredo, TX
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September 13: SHHAR Monthly Meeting: John Schmal, "Finding
Your Roots in Mexico" |
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September 13 - SHHAR Monthly Meeting, Open to
the Public, no cost. |
| John will give some tips and how to do family
research in Mexico. John is a long time Board member of SHHAR
and author of the following books: The Dominguez Family a Mexican-American Journey (Paperback) The Indigenous Roots of a Mexican-American Family (Paperback) The Journey to Latino Political Representation (Hardcover) Naturalizations of Mexican Americans Extracts Volume 1 (Paperback) Naturalizations of Mexican Americans Extracts Volume 2 (Paperback) Naturalizations of Mexican Americans Extracts Volume 3 (Paperback Naturalizations of Mexican Americans Extracts Volume 4 (Paperback
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| 15th Logan Barrio Reunion Saturday, September 27, 2014, 12noon – 6pm: Family Members Of The Early Pioneers In Historic Logan Invite You To Celebrate the 15th Logan Barrio Reunion, Chepa’s Park , 1009 Custer St., Santa Ana, Ca 92701 For Information, please call: Norma Cardona Peralta(714) 543-5743 or Mary Acosta Garcia(714) 415-8629 |
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"Incoming Cultures: Influences and Legacies in
Orange County." The Heritage Museum of Orange County will be hosting a Smithsonian exhibit from October 6, 2014 to November 15, 2014. |
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On Saturday October 25,
2014 the theme is "Incoming Cultures: Influences and Legacies in the OC.
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Please let me know what you can
contribute or refer me to someone who can participate. We are very excited
about this event and will send you more information on each weekend's event.
I'm also working closely with Mimi Lozano and genealogy (which will be held on
November 15). Thank you for your help! Yvonne Gonzalez Duncan
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MARTYRED
PRIESTS THEIR
JOURNEY TO ORANGE COUNTY
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On the 21st of May, 2000, Pope John Paul II, celebrated a mass which elevated to Sainthood of twenty-seven martyrs, executed during 1920 - 1931 period in Mexico. Included among the Saints were Priests and lay persons who were brutally executed by federal troops for practicing their catholic faith. Six of the Priests were members of the Knights of Columbus; the celebration prompted the Knights of Columbus to create a memorial cross bearing the relics of the six Saints. The viewing of the relics was then scheduled to be viewed and have special masses of celebration. The journey was to be throughout Mexico, where it was received with great joy and piety by all of the faithful who attended. The decision was made to then extend the journey throughout the United States and eventually the entire continent. The
first celebration outside of Mexico was scheduled at the Cathedral in Los
Angeles, California on April 29, 2006. An unannounced and unscheduled
celebration mass was held on Friday, April 28, 2006 in Orange County, becoming the first mass
outside of Mexico. |
The mass was held at the beautiful church, of St. Anne, in the heart of Santa Ana, California. I personally became aware of the viewing the day before and was therefore able to attend on that date, April 28th along with five brother knights, becoming the first to share the honor representing the Knights of Columbus, along with the California State Deputy, Emilo Moure and the director of media relations, Andrew T. Walther of New Haven, Connecticut. I felt humbled and proud to be among the first to view outside of Mexico. The mass was presented by the pastor of St. Anne, Father Cirilo Flores and assistant pastor, Father Tim. The adoration and faith of all in the procession was indeed overwhelming. It is ironic that the relics of these Saints made their first visit in a humble but pious parish in Orange County. Henry Marquez Loza - Past Board Member of SHHAR
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Foresters and Picos shake away feud Two
of Orange County’s founding clans mend fences after a 125-year rift. By
Peter Larsen and Dan Chang
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Tony Forster, 60, and Al Pico, 79, participated in the peace-making Sunday, September 18, 1995.
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San Juan Capistrano: Tony Forester and Al Pico distant, distant cousins whose roots run deep in the history of California, met and shook hands Sunday. Big deal? You bet. Since
1873 when brother’s-in-law Juan Forester and Pio Pico sued each
other over ownership of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, the Picos
and Foresters have not had much to do with one another. The
rift drove a bitter wedge between the two families, although the
passing of time has dissolved nearly all trace of active acrimony. The
meeting Sunday — as part of Hispanic Heritage Days at the Mission
San Juan Capistrano — is "a symbol intended to bring the two
families back together. "It's
water under the bridge," said Al Pico, 79, as about 25 observers
looked on and the two men clasped hands. Tony Forster, 60, nodded and threw an arm around Pico's shoulder. That's right," Forster said. |
But
the past held a wealth of animosity after Forster, an Englishman who
found his fortune in the Wild West, and Pico, the last of the Mexican
governors of California, started to fight over the 133,000 acres that
today is Camp Pendleton. Both
families stand among the most prominent in California history. School
kids learn of the exploits of Gov. Pio Pico and Gen. Andres Pico in
the struggles they and Mexico eventually lost as California became the
31st state of the union. Their names, along with that of Forster. and
his descendants, are found attached to towns, schools and boulevards. Yet
for years; Forsters and Picos kept their distance, neither hostile nor
friendly, all because of the old land dispute. That
all changed Sunday because Mimi Lozano Holtzman, organizer of the
Hispanic Heritage Days, happened to mention to Tony Forster, a former
mayor of San Juan, Capistrano and current president of its historical
society that among those to speak at the program was Al Pico. "He said, 'Are you sure he's going to be there?' " she said, recalling that his manner seemed odd, prompting her to inquire of his interest in Pico. |
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"He
said, 'There's been a little family argument,' " Holtzman said.
"I said, 'How long?' "He
said, 125 years.' " Forster
told her that 10 years earlier when he had returned to the old Santa
Margarita ranch house used by Pico and later Forster— and now the
general's quarters at Camp Pendleton — a guest asked Forster if he
wanted to meet a Pico. "When
I extended my hand, he turned and walked away," Forster said.
"I just said, 'Gee, that's pretty deep-seated hostility.'" Forster
thought the man was Al Pico. Al Pico said it was not. As
Forster told Holtzman the story, Holtzman said, "I thought 'Gee,
wouldn't it be wonderful that this would act as a way to bring them
together,' " Holtzman said. Both Forster and Pico quickly agreed to meet and make peace, although both had been amused to see officials at the mission bill it as a meeting of two families "who have maintained a Hat-field-McCoy-style feud for over a century." |
Jim
Graves, a spokesman for the mission, later confessed to the non-mortal
sin of hyperbole. "It
was more like a cold war as opposed to a hot, shooting war," he
said sheepishly. Both
Pico and Forster said they had looked forward to meeting because of
all they had in common: the land their ancestors once roamed, the
Irish women their fathers married and a love for family history. Both
grew up in historic families, garnering bits and pieces of the family
lore. As
Mexican folk dancers twirled on a nearby stage and the smell of
frybread filled the air, Al Pico recapped his family's journey, from
Italy to Spain to Indiana and then California, as part of the
festival's lecture series on historic Hispanic families. Al Pico said he remembers that when he was a boy, his aunts still talked about the dirty trick they thought Forster had played on them — after marrying a Pico sister, no less.
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"I
can remember my aunt saying she would talk to Andres and he always
said, 'Dolores, I just cannot understand how my sister could let that
happen to us,' " Al Pico said. But
the old dispute never ruled his world so much as the old ways. 'Like
his great-grandfather Jose Antonio Pico, brother to Pio and Andres, Al
Pico was a rancher most of his life, raising cattle on old family land
near San Jacinto in Riverside County./ Tony
Forster, for his part, said he remembers playing with a neighbor as a
boy and discovering a cache of Juan Forster's diaries and letters that
had been thrown on a trash heap after the death of Tony Forster's
great-uncle. "All
that I had heard, though, was that something had gone on back a long
time ago, and that the Picos felt they had been swindled out of the
ranch," Forster said. What had happened, according to a variety of local historians; was that Pio and Andres Pico had rung up phenomenal debts and had fallen behind on the mortgage for Rancho Santa Margarita. Pio Pico cut a deal with his brother-in-law Forster and from there the family stories branch onto different paths.
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The
Forsters believe that Juan Forster agreed to purchase the ranch in
exchange for paying off the mortgage. The Picos believe that Pio Pico
only meant to sell half the ranch. The courts eventually sided with
Forster. In an irony not lost on Al Pico, Forster's heavy debts persuaded his heirs to sell much of his property to James Flood and Richard O’Neil after Forester’s death in 1882. The
O'Neill heirs still own Rancho Mission Viejo, from which the
communities of Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita have been
carved. So
in the end, Pico pointed out, he and Forster have another point in
common: Neither family managed to hold Rancho Santa Margarita into the
20th century, when its value soared. And Sunday's meeting brought one more irony. Among the observers to the ritual handshake was David Belardes, leader of 'Juaneno Indians who were the rancho land's first inhabitants. The
Juanenos have been gripped by a feud of their own, with a rival
north-county group challenging the leadership of Capistrano-based
organization that Belardes heads. The dispute has prevented the
Juanenos from receiving federal recognition as tribe, Belardes said. Will
the two groups ever come together, as did the usurpers their land? "I don't know," said Belardes shaking his head. "I don’t know."
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FORSTER FAMILY |
PICO
FAMILY . . . . Pico Siblings |
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Married-1837 |
Pio
Pico |
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Three sons, one of them was Marcos Antonio Forster |
Jose Pico children include Francisco Pico |
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Marcos
Antonio Forster's children include Frank Forster |
Francisco Pico's children included Albert Francisco Pico |
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Frank
Forster's children include Marco "Tom" Forster |
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Marco "Torn" Forster children include Tony Forster
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Albert
Francisco Pico's children include Al Pico |
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Yorba
Cemetery A
portal to the past
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The
Yorba's were the first family to be granted lands entirely within Orange County;
hence, they are considered one of the oldest pioneer families in the area. Their
history in this region dates back seven years before the American colonies
declared their Independence from Britain in 1776. It
is said that Jose Antonio Yorba was a soldier who accompanied the Portola
Expedition of 1769. Approximately forty years after this expedition and during
his retirement, Jose Yorba and his nephew Juan Pablo Peralta petitioned the
Spanish government for 62,000 acres of land that would become the Rancho
Santiago de Santa ana. In
1801, Don Bernardo Yorba was born. He was Jose Antonio's third surviving son.
When his father died in 1825, he inherited a portion of the Yorba lands. In
1834, Bernardo petitioned and received from Mexican Governor Figueroa 13,000
acres of land on the northern side of the Santa Ana River. Bernardo called this
land Rancho Canon de Santa Ana, the Canyon of St. Anne. |
Bernardo
built a two-story rancho on his land. It is said that the house had 50 rooms,
and was one of the finest adobes in California. The dwelling became known as
"San Antonio", in honor of St. Anthony de Padua, and had the
only school outside of the Mission School at San Juan Capistrano. Bernardo's Will The
cemetery was established approximately % mile northwest of the chapel on a
gently sloping hill on 100 square feet of land that some corrals were located.
The Yorba cemetery is the oldest private cemetery in Orange County and the
second oldest cemetery in county; the cemetery at San Juan Capistrano is the
oldest. Bernardo was laid to rest in the Old Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. In 1923, Bernardo and nine other family members were laid to rest in the cemetery after a road improvement project in Los Angeles forced the closure of the Calvary Cemetery. |
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The
cemetery and area ... The
first recorded burial at the cemetery is in 1862, the last burial was 1939. Over
400 people are buried in the cemetery; their names are recorded on two plaques
welcoming people to the site. In
1827, Bernardo's hacienda was torn down by the Kraemer family. The California
Centennials Commission established State Historic Marker #226 in 1950
incorporating pieces of the adobe salvaged from the building. The marker is
located Vz mile east of Imperial Hwy on Esperanza. The road was named for
Bernardo's granddaughter who died in infancy.
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The
Board of Supervisors in 1967 accepted the deed of trust for the Yorba cemetery
from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It is the goal of Harbors,
Beaches and Parks to preserve and maintain this one-acre site for public
visitation and education. When
visiting the site you will see white crosses. This is an effort, in conjunction
with the Santa Ana Canyon Historical Council and the Cemetery Angels, to
identify the burials of those who have since lost their headstone to vandals,
fires and time.
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Ramon
Peralta Adobe The
story of people and change |
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The
Ramon Peralta Adobe is the last surviving adobe structure in the Santa Ana
Canyon from the era of Spanish and Mexican land grants. The
house is located on land that was once part of the vast Rancho Santiago de
Santa Ana. The rancho was the only land grant in Orange County made by the
Spanish government. The
adobe was built in 1871 in what was then known as the town of Peralta. Paula
Peralta de Carlos Dominguez owned the land that the adobe was built on. The area
was a small ranching and farming community on the south side of the river. There
were nine adobes in the area. In the late 1800s, a saloon, pottery shop, and a
school were added to the community. In
1873, Ramon died. It is believed that a fire from vagrants scorched the interior
of the adobe in 1875 and that vandals caused further damaged between 1873 and
1881. |
In
1881, Pablo Dominguez and Felipe Yorba moved into the adobe. Changes were made
to the house to meet the needs of a growing family. These changes are reflected
in the adobe as it is seen today. Walter
E. Pyne purchased the adobe in 1908 after Felipa's health declined. The
adobe was converted to a roadside cafeteria in the 1920s to service motorist
traveling between Orange and Riverside Counties In
the late 1960s, the cafeteria (adobe) was abandoned after the completion of the
Riverside Fwy (91). Harbors,
Beaches and Parks assumed ownership of the property in 1976.
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the early 1980s, an agreement was made between the County of Orange and C.
Robert Langslet for the lease of the adobe property for commercial development.
The agreement stated the adobe would be restored and operated as a historic site
at no cost to the County. |
In
2006, family descendents from the Santa Ana Canyon Historical Council started
raising funds to build the Ramon Peralta Adobe Museum. The museum opened to the
public in April of the same year and is dedicated to the preservation of the
area's history and public education. |
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Adobe
owners... Ramon
Peralta built the adobe in 1871. The adobe was a small house, 20 feet x 20 feet
with six rooms. Rocks from the Santa Ana River were hauled to the site to make
the foundation. The walls are stacked "mud" bricks made of a sandy
loam with straw mixed in for binding. When Ramon died in 1873, the adobe was
abandoned for several years. Pablo
Dominguez married Felipa Yorba in 1881. The young couple moved into the adobe in
that same year after completing extensive repairs. Pablo and Felipe raised five
children in the house. As
their family grew, Pablo and Felipe modified the adobe to meet their family
needs. One of the interior walls was removed and the area enlarged to make a
main room. A gabled roof with a second-story bedroom was added, along with doors
and windows being hung |
Pablo
died in 1895. Felipe grew too ill to take care of her children and the adobe.
After she moved to the other side of the river, the house and property were sold
to Walter E. Pyne. Mr. Pyne purchased the property to extend his citrus farm
holdings in the area and fell in love with the adobe. He is given credit as the
person who saved the adobe. Mr.
Pyne converted the adobe to into a roadside cafeteria in 1920. The area saw a
boom of travelers along the newly paved Santa Ana Canyon Road; the only road
linking Riverside County to Orange and Los Angeles Counties. The
adobe experienced for the next four decades many new families and modifications
to meet the needs of a successful restaurant. Source: County of Orange- Harbor, Beaches and Parks/ Phone Number: 714-973-3190
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Editor: I have been going through files and came across this life Cuento from Larry Luera. Regretfully, I did not find it while preparing the August issue, in which I published the news of Larry's recent death. I am happy to share a little more about Larry. He was a dedicated community activist with LULAC, and in other capacities. Lorenzo
(Larry) Luera Ray High School Class of 1954
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In
January of 1959,1 did not sign up for any classes at the University of Arizona.
I was working 40 hours a week at the San Manuel mine for the past year and going
to school at the same time, while taking a full load. I lost three friends, who
were killed at work, and I had lost 25 pounds in weight at the same time. I
found myself falling asleep whenever I came to stop light on my way drive back
to Tucson, a drive of 47 miles. I kept working till April of 1959. When I quit
work, I packed my belongings in my car and headed for Southern California. I
drove west until I ran out of road in El Segundo, right by LAX. It was a Sunday
and the next day I went to North American Aviation and applied for work. I was
hired as a Junior Engineer on the XB-70 Bomber, a triple sonic bomber airplane.
I was in the mechanical department, drawing up parts of the outer skin of the
XB-70. One month prior, I was working 1,875 feet underground and 30 days later I
was working on a state-of-the-art bomber. It was a dream come true, to the point
where I used to pinch myself to make sure it was real. |
I,
as advised, filed my change of address with the draft board and received by
draft notice in June. I ended up in Fort Ord for the basic training and for the
second eight weeks of weapons specialist training. I was placed on special
assignment for about two weeks at the Presidio of Monterey Language School where
U.S. agents learn a foreign language/s with local dialects included. Now, it was the second week of December, 1959 and a group of us were given travel orders to Fairbanks, Alaska. I arrived at the Fairbanks Airport at 2:30 PM. My new home for the next 18 months was very dark and the outdoor temperature a cool -24 F°. I was assigned to the Military Police, Corp of Engineers working cross service with the Air Force at Ladd Airforce Base, on the outskirts of Fairbanks. A few days later, I and everybody else were invited to one of the big hangers. Bob Hope, Jane Mansfield and others were entertaining the troops. |
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waiting to be assigned, I was asked to join the boxing team since I took boxing
at the UofA. Before I knew it, I was in a boxing ring fighting against the
current Alaska welterweight champion who was supposed to be in a tune-up fight
on his road to the 1960 Olympics. He knocked me down 5 seconds after the start
of the fight. I slipped in the second round and it was called a knock down.
Right afterwards I caught him with a right flush to the jaw and he went down. I
could not knock him out, but he did not land another blow. I hit him hard and
often. He hung on but, had to be carried out of the ring. I won on a split
decision. He did not fight again but, neither did I. After
I got out of the service, I went back to North American Aviation. Soon after,
the XB-70 program was cancelled. I ended up in a special project, designing a
capsule that was implanted in a chimpanzee whom was then placed in a rocket,
send up into space while the capsule monitored five body functions that were
transmitted to ground equipment. Afterwards, I ended up in reseach projects, on
the Minute Man ICBM program, and then some secret projects and some just
dreaming up projects. I transferred to the Apollo Spacecraft Project in Downey, CA, around 1964. |
I was
assigned to the Apollo Space Craft electrical department. Before I knew it, I
was writing test procedures for electrical/electronic equipment before
installation on the spacecraft. I bought a time
delay relay (Leach Relays, Inc.) that was installed on Apollo I, right in the
area where the fire started, that killed three astronauts. I went through a lot
of research and analysis in order to successfully prove my relay was not the
cause of the fire. I worked on all of the Apollo space flights, supporting the
flights from our control center in Downey, CA . In
1972,1 was transferred to the Space Shuttle Program. I was now a responsible
engineer of different avionic spacecraft packages. Part of my assignment
involved traveling to Manchester, New Hampshire; Davenport, Iowa; Newark, New
Jersey; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Seattle, Washington on design reviews and
buyoff of equipment. I was involved in the design of all four space shuttles and
in the purchase of equipment that was used on the fifth space shuttle. I helped
design the first solid state instrument for use on spacecraft. I asked Weston
Instruments, Inc. in Newark, New Jersey to undertake the the project after
finding a Liquid Crystal manufacturer with the viewing angle needed for use on
spacecraft. |
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While
all these was going on I had gotten married and my three boys were born, one
after another, 1968,1970, and 1971 (Leo Louis, Joseph Frank, and Lawrence
Santos). My daughter (Ines Lydia) was born later in 1976. My two bedroom house
in Redondo Beach was too small, so in 1973 we moved to Westminster, CA. In
1982,1 received an offer from Northrop Aircraft in Hawthrone, CA. The big
increase in pay made me jump at the offer. I now found myself working on the
F-20, fly-by-wire, state-of-the-art fighter. It was a small flying machine,
compared to the Space Shuttle and I had a lot of fun on the program until it was
cancelled in 1987. That is when I was laid-off from Northrop. I
was hired at McDonnell Douglas in 1987 to work on the Navy Trainer, T-45
Program. The program was going great until the progam was transferred to
McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, MO (we were told that St. Louis was short on
work and needed the work). I then went to work on the new commercial passenger
aircraft, MD-90.1 worked on the new design of the Electrical Emergency Subsystem
and also, on any problems that were encountered by the airlines. I was again
laid off due to lack of orders and cancellation of orders from the airlines.
That was 1992.
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Meanwhile,
my kids were growing up from youngsters to young adults. All four graduated with
honors from Westminster High School. I now have a manager at Circuit City, a
civil engineer (UCLA), a high school science teacher (Long Beach State
University), and a manager at the Disney Land Store in Down Town Disney,
Anaheim, CA. After
getting laid off from McDonnell Douglas, I joined the other laid off, 250,000
Aerospace workers, going from odd job to odd job. Too many to talk about each
one. Now,
at the same time, somehow, I would like to slow down a bit, and just talk about
my grandkids. Six that are in school seem to be doing realyl good. I have been
blessed with one granddaughter and six grandsons. The granddaughter is the
oldest, age nine, and then six grandsons, ages eight years to four years of age. I
have been appointed by the Westminster Police Chief to his advisory committee.
This is in addition to being appointed in 1981 through the present to the Orange
County Harbors, Beaches, and Parks Commission (first Latino appointed to a paid
commission position in Orange County). Previously, I was appointed to City of
Los Angeles Police Department Hispanic Advisory Committee.
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| Nov
10th: Chronically
Homeless Vets to Get Homes in Boyle Heights Sept 7th: View from the Pier by Herman Sillas Ralph M. Terrazas: First Latino Chief of LA Fire Department Confirmed by City Council Great Read In this group, she's just Gloria Molina, quilter |
Dedication
of new building
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An apartment complex (1-bedroom units) to house chronically homeless senior citizens who are veterans of the US Armed Forces is going up on the eastside. Construction of the Beswick Senior Apartments—the first of its kind in Boyle Heights—is scheduled to be complete in fall of 2014. Lea esta nota en ESPAÑOL: Veteranos Crónicamente Sin Techo Tendrán Hogar en Boyle Heights The $12.5 million-dollar low-income development project at 3553 Beswick St. was celebrated last week with the signing of a construction beam by co-developers East LA Community Corporation (ELACC) and New Directions for Veterans, Inc., and others. The beam will be incorporated into the two-story structure with 32 one-bedroom units to house veterans. |
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The apartment complex is meant to be permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless and disabled U.S war veterans who are 62 and older, according to ELACC. “It’s about time something like this would happen… and hopefully this is the start of many” [more], said Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4696 Commander Tony Zapata, who led the Pledge of Allegiance. Zapata, a long-time resident of Boyle Heights, participated in ELACC’s community meetings, advocating for the apartments construction. “These brave people who have served this country deserve decent housing… I can’t stand to see a veteran living under a bridge,” Zapata said in a written statement. Zapata’s VFW members will help rename the development, according to ELACC. Maria Cabildo, president of ELACC, said construction on the development began five months ago but a ground-breaking ceremony was not held in order to “show action” and to cut perceptions about how long the construction is taking to complete. The project, however, was not without opposition, according to Cabildo who said some Boyle Heights residents do not support ELACC’s affordable housing developments. “These individuals have a serious compassion deficit,” said Cabildo, who at the same time commended veterans living in the community who support the development. |
New Direction for Veterans President and CEO Gregory Scott called the event historical, but he too acknowledged that they received pushback from residents who oppose homeless veterans moving into their neighborhood. “… New Directions is not far from that pushback when we’re trying to do right, but we always know that compassion always wins … no matter what the opposition is,” he said. Scott said New Directions wants to someday eliminate the term “homeless veteran.” “Our vision and mission is to empower all veterans and their families to live a vital and sustainable life. We believe that no man or woman who wears a service uniform, who risks their life to serve this county, should ever be without a home or a job or food in their homeland,” he said. “Nobody thinks being homeless is the best, most comfortable, safest way to live. Nobody wants to beg for food, or beg for attention looking for food, shelter, clothing…” Opponents of affordable housing in Boyle Heights have previously told EGP that they oppose such projects because they do not give priority to local residents and because they exclude undocumented immigrants in the mostly Latino community, while bringing in the homeless from other parts of the city. They in turn draw their homeless associates to loiter in the area. |
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Residents worry that the chronically homeless suffer from mental illness, perhaps caused by trauma. As a result, affordable housing projects targeted to the chronically homeless, including veterans, is unattractive to some local homeowners. According to ELACC, however, the new apartment complex will offer on-site case management, mental health services, and other services provided by New Directions. Other partners include the Department of Veteran Affairs, Los Angeles County Department of Military Affairs, Behavioral Health Services, and Weingart East LA YMCA. |
Eastern LA County is home to 856 homeless veterans according to the 2011 Greater LA Homeless Count Report, ELACC stated in a press release. http://egpnews.com/2013/10/chronically-homeless-vets-to For
more information on the Gabaldon dedication please contact Tony Zapata,
Commander VFW Post 4696, Tzap793@aol.com.
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Apostolate of La Virgen de Los Remedios |
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It
is with great honor that we join the Apostolate of La Virgen de Los Remedios and
the Filipino community of Southern California in celebrating the anniversary of
the Coronation of The Virgen de Los Remedios.
We invite you all to come and join us at the Cathedral of Our Lady of The
Angels on Sept 7th, 2014, 3:30PM.
Please arrive early. |
La
Hermandad de Las Américas de Nuestra Sra. del Rocio Tiene el honor de unirse al Apostolado de la Virgen de los Remedios y a la comunidad ! lipina de Sur de California en su Celebración de Virgen de los Remedios |
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“58th
Canonical Coronation Anniversary” |
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VIEW FROM THE PIER
by Herman Sillas |
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When I think of my cousin Eddie Barba, I get a big grin.
My first memory of him is a going away party his parents threw when he
left to fight in WW II. He was
seventeen and I was seven. Eddie was
my hero and I remember his good-looking girl friend as they danced the night
away along with all their friends.
By this time, Eddie had married a young English girl.
She came to the U.S. with their baby son, while Eddie remained in Europe
getting an education through the service. When
he came home, he and his wife had another son.
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During the 1965 Watts Riot, white owned businesses were being burnt down as rioting African Americans demonstrated their anger over their treatment by the establishment. Eddie’s business was in the middle of the riots, but his African American neighbors told him to go home, adding, “Nothing is going to happen to your building.” And nothing did. Eddie is that kind of guy. When you met him, you liked him. Again, when the police officers in the Rodney King incident were acquitted, Eddie’s business remained untouched by angry looters.
When Eddie turned eighty, he asked his sister Aurora and her husband Momi
if he could use their home and
sprawling backyard for his birthday party. By
this time, Eddie also had a daughter named Pamela.
More than three hundred persons attended.
The party started early in the afternoon with mariachis and finished in
the evening with two live bands. It was a party never to forget.
Unbeknown to Eddie, his younger sister, Chachi, was secretly handing out keys to women in attendance and telling them to hold the key until she asked for it. In the late afternoon designated speakers praised Eddie and kidded him about his adventures. The last speaker was Chachi. She took the mike and announced, “I know my brother. . . . . |
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has had a great life filled with romance. But
ladies, he is now eighty years old and it’s over.
He needs to rest. So all you
women, that have a key to his home, bring it up and turn it in.”
From all parts of the gathering women came forth holding a key high in
their hand. The yard rocked with
laughter. Eddie will be celebrating his ninetieth birthday in August at Momi’s house again. Eddie, now known in East Los Angeles as “Don Eddie,” is looking forward to the day as Pamela prepares the activities. Don Eddie quit playing golf a couple of years ago after over fifty years of weekly playing in a foursome. Now every morning he walks to the local coffee shop, where he presides over the meeting of “El Club de los Parjaritos Muertos” (The Club of the Dead Birds). |
On Mexican holidays celebrated in East Los Angeles, Don Eddie wears his
black Zapata sombrero and puts on his black charro outfit over his slim body.
Then he mingles with the crowd to its delight. The Don is loved for his
everlasting smile, sense of humor and outward enjoyment of life.
He is constantly told, “I can’t believe you are ninety.”
***30*** (Herman Sillas, a San Clemente resident and attorney, can be found most weekend mornings fishing on the San Clemente Pier. He may be reached at sillasla@aol.com)
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Ralph
M. Terrazas |
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The
Los Angeles Fire Department appointed its first Latino chief Friday since its
founding in 1886. Ralph
M. Terrazas, the department’s 18th fire chief, was chosen by Mayor Eric
Garcetti and confirmed by the L.A. City Council, on Aug. 8, 2014. (Credit: LAFD). “I
am honored and humbled to begin leading the 3,200 men and women of the LAFD as
their fire chief,” Terrazas said. “It’s an exciting and challenging time
to be taking the helm and together we will redouble our efforts to transform the
LAFD into a metric-driven, technologically sophisticated, community-focused
organization that reflects the communities we serve.”
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Terrazas
was a 31-year veteran of the department, where he was a chief officer for 14
years; developed the department’s Professional Standards division, which works
to ensure the department’s mission was maintained; and worked on the
Proposition “F” Fire Station Bond, which facilitated the construction of 19
new LAFD stations. Most
recently he managed and trained about 500 members at 54 fire stations as the
assistant fire chief at the South Division’s “A” Platoon, which covers
half of the city. Terrazas, a Long Beach native, earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration and certificate in fire protection administration from San Diego State University, and a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis on human resource management from California State University, Los Angeles
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Great
Read In this group, she's just Gloria Molina, quilter By Abby Sewell, L.A. Times |
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Women
filed into a classroom at an East Los Angeles community center. Some came alone,
some in groups of two and three. Most were Latina and edging past middle age.
They hauled tote bags full of fabric and rolled suitcases holding sewing
machines. One of them was Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina,
toting her own bundles of material. As
one of the "five kings and queens" who run a sprawling county
government, Molina is among the most powerful women in Los Angeles. She wrestles
weekly with issues including abused children slipping through the cracks,
overcrowded and aging jails, and how to spend a $26-billion annual budget. Some
people travel to golf courses. We travel to quilt shows. - Los Angeles County
Supervisor Gloria Molina In
the board room, Molina is known for the candid, sometimes caustic commentary she
levels at county employees and fellow officials. Former Sheriff Lee Baca was a
frequent target of her ire: On various occasions, she accused him of
"stealing" resources from communities in her district by cutting back
sheriff's patrols, and she publicly urged voters to oust him over abuses in the
county jails. |
But
on this Saturday morning, she was relaxed, even playful, and focused on a
different kind of mission: showing 35 or so women how to piece together a new
pattern for a quilt. It was the monthly meeting of the East Los Angeles
Stitchers, TELAS for short, a group that Molina and a few friends founded three
years ago to share their love of quilting with a larger, particularly Latina
audience. "I
have a bit of a cold, and I've been so busy I haven't gotten everything
done," Molina told the assembly from the front of the room, "but we're
going to get it done together." Then she began calling up members to show
off their latest projects. lRelated
LocalGloria Molina helps with quilting workshopSee all related8One
proudly unfurled a quilt in red, white and blue with a snowflake-like
carpenter's star pattern, to be donated to a veterans group. Another presented a
purse with intricately embroidered flowers in orange and pink on a black
background. Molina exclaimed, "You did not make this!" and then hugged
her, proclaiming, "This is our master embroiderer!" |
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Patricia
Lopez, a retired high school counselor who has known Molina since their
childhood in Pico Rivera, apologized for being late as she stood up to present
the sapphire-pattern block of the month to the group: "I slept through the
alarm, and I don't have a husband to wake me up." Another woman shouted,
"You're lucky!" and a third, "What about a lover?" Molina
launched into the day's project, a mystery block that the women would construct
step by step without having seen the final design. The quilters set to work,
cutting fabric and bending over their machines, trading gossip and jokes. Here,
I'm just another quilter. I'm Gloria. - Gloria Santos Molina
made the rounds to check on their progress, occasionally calling out,
"Ladies! Ladies!" At one point, she swatted an overly talkative friend
with a strip of fabric so she could demonstrate the next step. "Why aren't
you using your loud, outdoor voice?" her friend rejoined. "I know you
have one." As
one of 10 children in a family with limited means, Molina grew up sewing her own
clothes. So did her friends, some of whom later joined the quilting
group."I made everything I wore — I think Gloria did too," Lopez
said. |
Molina,
66, recalled that as young women she and another quilting group member
"would go shopping in the day for fabric, make a dress in the afternoon and
wear it in the evening." Some members of the quilting guild worked
with Molina in her days as an activist with the Chicana political group
Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional in the 1970s. Molina went on to become the
first Latina elected to the state Assembly, then to the Los Angeles City Council
and the county board. "Some
people travel to golf courses," Molina said. "We travel to quilt
shows." Molina, who has carried her sewing machine to government
conferences and to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, said she
tries to retreat to her sewing room each evening. "If I have 10 minutes,
there's something I can do with a quilt," she said. "If I have 20
minutes, there's something I can do." |
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| When
former Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke retired, she got a Molina quilt. So
did former county chief administrative officer David Janssen — made out of old
ties his wife had saved. Molina,
66, recalled that as young women she and another quilting group member
"would go shopping in the day for fabric, make a dress in the afternoon and
wear it in the evening." Some members of the quilting guild worked
with Molina in her days as an activist with the Chicana political group
Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional in the 1970s. Molina went on to become the
first Latina elected to the state Assembly, then to the Los Angeles City Council
and the county board. |
"Some
people travel to golf courses," Molina said. "We travel to quilt
shows." Molina, who has carried her sewing machine to government
conferences and to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, said she
tries to retreat to her sewing room each evening. "If I have 10 minutes,
there's something I can do with a quilt," she said. "If I have 20
minutes, there's something I can do." When
former Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke retired, she got a Molina quilt. So
did former county chief administrative officer David Janssen — made out of old
ties his wife had saved. Now
that Molina is preparing to retire from her county post at the end of the year,
she said, "Obviously, they're all waiting in the wings to get a
quilt." Back at the meeting in East L.A., the mystery block finally emerged as an Irish chain pattern in vibrant colors on a black background — although in Molina's haste to prepare the project after a grueling week at the county, she had been off on her math and made the block larger than intended. |
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"This mystery quilt
has been a mystery to all of us," she acknowledged ruefully, before sending
the women on their way until next month. People
who know Molina only from her tough political persona are often startled to
learn about her hobby. After all, this is a woman who recently blasted county
attorneys for not allowing her to see internal sheriff's department reports
about a man fatally shot by deputies, snapping, "It is unbelievable that I
have a set of lawyers that will not advocate on my behalf." But
the supervisor is not the "hard-ass that sometimes comes across," said
fellow quilter Evelyn Martinez, a longtime friend and former chief executive of
First 5 LA. "There's a very soft side to Gloria, a very nurturing
side."
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Constituents
have sometimes used the monthly gatherings to bring issues to Molina's attention
— like the 20 women who showed up one week with flowers and a petition about
neighborhood issues in City Terrace. But for the most part, the group is a
respite from political concerns. And many of the members take little interest in
Molina's public persona. "To me, it's neither here nor there," said
Lucinda Nuñez of San Fernando, who stumbled across the quilting group during an
Internet search. She now brings along her 11-year-old granddaughter, Jadin.
"It's just fun." That suits the supervisor fine.
"Here, I'm just another quilter," she said. "I'm Gloria."
Sent
by Joan De Soto |
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Irwindale,
Beauty in the Dust by
Marylouise Fraijo Ambriz |
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Irwindale,
Beauty in the Dust |
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We
are the roots that have broken through the rocks, and bask in the San Gabriel
sun. ~ Marylouise Fraijo Ambriz, Great Great Granddaughter of Gregorio and Maria Francisca Fraijo, the first settlers of Irwindale
Irwindale
is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. Attached is
a photo of Gregorio Fraijo, First settler of Irwindale and the other photo
is El Divino Salvador Church, built by the descendants of Gregorio Fraijo
and Facundo Ayon. Many descendants of these families
still live in Irwindale. Their properties have been in their families for over
100 years. I live in the house that my great grandfather, Fructouso
Fraijo, built for his bride Andrea Carrasco in 1885. Fructouso was the son
of Gregorio and Maria Francisca Fraijo and Andrea was the step daughter of
Facundo Ayon.
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A
History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights: Mary and Helen Marston
by Maria Garcia on July 12, 2014 in Culture, History of Neighborhood House SDFP exclusive series The History of Neighborhood House: From 1918 to the occupation in 1972 By
Maria Garcia, From
San Diego Free Press
The Marston family history is synonymous with the history of San Diego. Volumes have been written about their philanthropy and their contributions to the history of San Diego. For those of us that grew up in San Diego, we remember the Marston Department Store. My biggest memory of the department store is of the escalator and the smell of perfume. I am sure we never bought one thing there. Despite her fear of escalators, my mother would take us there for the express purpose of riding the escalator. It was our simple version of the “E” ride at Disneyland. We would walk around the store, go up to the second floor and ride the escalator down with that beautiful smell greeting us at about the halfway point. In my mind the “Marston” name and “rich” are one and the same. |
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George Marston came to San Diego in 1870. Within a few years he was in the mercantile business, working as a clerk. When he opened the Marston Company, it became the only major department store in San Diego. Over the course of his life he changed his political affiliation from Republican to New Deal Democrat. His wife Ann Marston came from a more progressive background. Her mother was a Quaker and her father had been an anti-slavery activist in Philadelphia. George and Ann Marston had an influence on the the political views of their daughters, Mary and Helen. Both Mary and Helen attended Wesley College, which was a very progressive school, especially for that time period. Social work had become an academically recognized profession. There was an expectation that women who attended college would participate in charity work upon graduation. In the early 1900’s the Settlement House movement had just come into being. It was natural that after Helen Marston’s volunteer work in both Chicago and New York settlement houses she would want to develop a settlement house in San Diego. Neighborhood House was the outcome. Both sisters served on the Neighborhood House board of directors, with Mary serving as Chairman of the Board at various times.
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Kyle E Ciani’s extensive research on Helen Marston Beardsley notes that the Helen and Mary, the reformers, were ultimately transformed by their actual interaction with the families they encountered in their settlement work. Mary and Helen Marston were raised in a privileged environment that was a veritable Who’s Who in San Diego society. Dinner guests included former President Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington. That same privilege limited their exposure to Mexican people and culture, leaving them with many preconceived notions. The stereotypes of Mexican people were that they were lazy, not motivated, etc. When Helen and Mary started their volunteer work at Neighborhood House they saw men who maintained two jobs in order to support their family. They saw women who not only maintained their own home, but did laundry or ironed for others in order to add to the household income. When the cannery opened, women worked there and continued to raise a family. Within a short period of time the reality of what they saw daily made many of the stereotypes visible for what they were.
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the other hand, a great deal of the newspaper stories about Neighborhood House
focused on character flaws or traits that were considered un-American. Newspaper
bylines would scream out with such things as “Mexican kids learn to drink
milk.” The Americanization of the Mexican is a theme seen over and over again.
These “ideas” had to come from someone and it stands to reason that Mary or
Helen Marston contributed to some of these topics, when being interviewed by the
press. It is also possible that these stories were put forth to solicit sympathy
for these “poor little Mexican kids,” knowing it would result in more
donations for Neighborhood House. Fund raising for Neighborhood House was ongoing and essential. Much of the fundraising was done at an annual Marston House garden party. They took place year after year. |
Activities were planned to show the work that was being done at Neighborhood House. Musicians, some of whom had learned to play musical instruments at Neighborhood House, performed in the beautiful garden. In the days before Hwy 163 existed music would flow across the canyon to the area where the Girl Scouts camp is now located. The dancers from Neighborhood House performed traditional Mexican dances and the “singing mothers” came and sang a few songs. Remember that many of the Marston’s guest were progressive and I am sure felt they were contributing, more than financial support to Neighborhood House. In future articles I will discuss the views of some of the performers.
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Something I often think about is the influence that the Marston family was able to use to solicit financial support for Neighborhood House. We cannot question that the name Marston brought other names such as Scripps to support the activities and the many causes or programs found at Neighborhood House. When the second floor was added to the 1809 National Ave building, it was paid for by Mary Marston. When the “escuelita” was added it was paid for by Ellen Scripps. This tells me that there was considerable influence used to support Neighborhood House. Books were donated to the library, children’s’ toys were donated to be used as Christmas gifts, thus there was a constant flow of money or in-kind contribution based on friendship or business contacts. In the 1930’s Helen became an active member of the Socialist Party and at one time was the secretary of the local Socialist Party. She was once a member of a delegation of ACLU that requested an injunction to allow farm workers to peacefully assemble. Over the years she would return to the Imperial Valley in support of farm workers. In 1936 she married and moved to Los Angeles. In the early 1950’s Helen Marston tried to start the first chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in conservative San Diego. For this effort she was tried as a communist in the shameful McCarthy era of our country’s history. Helen was found not guilty. |
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Helen’s husband died in 1961 and she moved to a small cottage in La Jolla. She worked along with her friend Florence Stevens in a variety of peace activities. Along with the Quakers, both Florence and Helen protested the Viet Nam war. She spent her final years in the Marston House, which she shared with her two sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. Upon her death, a Quaker religious service was held. Mary Marston, the oldest of the Marston children and was born in 1879. She was her father’s “consentida” (favorite). At one point Mary had a young man she was interested in marrying, but he was considered by George Marston as not being “good enough” to be a son-in-law. Mary was devastated and swore that if she could not marry the man of her choice she would not marry at all. Newspaper articles indicate that Mary became more involved and her presence at Neighborhood House became very obvious after Helen moved to Los Angeles. When shown a picture of Mary Marston, several of those interviewed would comment about how nice she was or that she was there a lot. It was Mary Marston, during the 1920′s, who promised Laura Rodriguez’ father, Mr. Gallo, that his young daughters could come and live with the Marston family upon his death, which they did. |
Miss Mary died in July of 1987 a few weeks short of her 108 birthday. When I called Laura Rodriguez to express my condolences — knowing that Miss Mary was the closest thing to a mother Laura had ever known — Laura was very sad, and later wrote me a note saying “I’m going to the [Marston] House for the last time as soon as I feel I can make it without drowning in tears.” Miss Mary, the last living child of George and Ann Marston, gave the Marston home to the City of San Diego in 1987. It is now a museum at the northwest corner of Balboa Park and has been operated by SOHO since 2009. More information can be obtained about the Marston family by searching historical documents, however for the purpose of this series, only information that helps to understand their involvement in Neighborhood House is being included. What cannot be denied about the Marston family and specifically about Helen and Mary Marston is that their work and dedication is the reason there was a Neighborhood House at 1809 National Ave. The community of Logan Heights and the Marston family would forever be tied through history as well as personal relationships.
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Maria
Garcia is a retired school principal and has been an activist in the Chicano
movement since 1968
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The History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights: Emma Lopez Posted: 02 Aug 2014 SDFP
exclusive series The History of Neighborhood House: From 1918 to the occupation
in 1972
By Maria Garcia Emma Lopez is a spunky lady who will turn eighty-eight
in November. She was born at 821 Beardsley in Logan Heights and started
attending Neighborhood House when she was around nine years old, in the early
1930's. Her parents owned the Neighborhood Café which they had purchased in
1935. The Neighborhood Café was next door to Neighborhood House. Like the
others interviewed Emma has very fond memories not only of Neighborhood House
but of the Logan Heights community. It has been very difficult finding women
that attended Neighborhood House. Unlike the boys that spent most of their day
at Neighborhood House the girls took a specific class and then went home. Emma's
participation in Neighborhood House activities reflected that social
expectation. While she was allowed to attend activities at a young age as she
got into her mid-teens her participation was more limited. Emma's independent
streak, however, exposed her to a few more adventures than other girls of that
time.
Sent by Dorinda Moreno
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The
History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights: Testing the Meaning of
“Americanized,” Part I The
Castro Sisters, Frank Peñuelas, Leonard Fierro and the beginnings of the Toltec
Club
By Maria Garcia One of the goals of the settlement house movement,
which was established in urban centers at the beginning of the twentieth
century, was to "Americanize" the immigrant populations that had
settled in those cities. When Neighborhood House was established in 1914 as the
only United States settlement house on the Mexican border, its role was to
"uplift" Mexican immigrants in the Logan Heights community and
Americanize them in doing so. The Americanization process included everything
from introducing Mexican families to white flour and white bread to the
provision of the first English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in the city to
support for cultural, social and recreational activities in which athletics
programs for the boys were particularly prominent. When I recently spoke to Rose
Castro, she provided a particularly illuminating comment about Neighborhood
House--"They taught us leadership!" ... Sent by Dorinda Moreno pueblosenmovimientonorte@gmail.com
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A
Trail for Humanity’s Final Walk Begins in Chicano Park
by Brent E. Beltrán on August 18, 2014 A
Trail for Humanity's walkers and supporters march through Barrio Logan. |
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San
Diego Free Press would like to welcome videographer Horacio Jones into the Freep
family. Horacio runs CinemaViva, a San Diego based video production company
where he recently created a documentary on Chicano Park called Cycles of Change:
Restoring Quetzalcoatl in Chicano Park. Horacio plans on creating one video
package a week for SDFP on a variety of topics. Please welcome him by commenting
below. On
the morning of Saturday, August 16 over 100 people gathered by the temescal
(sweat lodge) in Chicano Park for a ceremony to honor the walkers of A Trail for
Humanity. On July 22 a group of women and children left Merced, California on a
journey south to the US-Mexico border in San Ysidro to pressure the Obama
administration to put a halt to its deportation enforcement only policies; call
for an end to the use of police as immigration enforcement agents; demand an end
to family separations; and stem the tide of racial profiling that has
incarcerated so many migrants and African Americans. |
Those
gathered at Chicano Park came to support these dedicated women and march with
them on the final leg of their walk to the border. The video below, with
interviews of one of the lead organizers of the walk, Cindy Gonzalez, Barrio
Logan walk organizer Max Bojorquez, and Gretchen Burns-Bergman of Moms United,
captures the Barrio Logan portion of A Trail for Humanity’s 300+ mile
pilgrimage. Horacio
Jones has been a video producer, director, camera operator and editor for over
10 years. He has directed several documentaries, short films and numerous
corporate and event videos. Currently he is the owner of at http://www.CinemaViva.com
where he oversees the day-to-day video production and editing tasks necessary to
maintain a successful video production company. He also teaches filming and
editing techniques to students attending the Film Connection Film Institute.
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Brent
E. Beltrán is a third generation pocho that lives next door to Chicano Park in
San Diego's Barrio Logan. He's the former publisher of Calaca Press, is married
to his dreaming heart watcher and is the proud father of a baby Dino-saur. He's
an MMA watching junkie who likes to get his nerd on by viewing superhero and
sci-fi movies/tv shows. He writes the somewhat regular column Desde la Logan and
is the newest addition to the SDFP Editorial Board. He can be contacted via
email at desdelalogan@gmail.com and through his Twitter account @DesdeLaLogan. Sent
by Dorinda Moreno
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Mi Vida Con Carino by Lorena Ruiz de Frain Life
in Los Altos
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It
was now Spring, 1965, and Donaldo was working for the job shops and I was
working for an aerospace company in Sunnyvale. We lived in Los Altos where Maria
attended the local grammar school. That summer, Maria wanted to spend time with
her grandmother, Evita, who still lived in Pacoima. We drove Maria to the
airport in San Jose. The Pacific Airlines flight attendant escorted Maria to the
airplane for the flight to Burbank. I had dressed Maria in her Sunday best
clothes and she looked so grown up. One
of my favorite things to do was to fly with Donaldo in his Cessna airplane from
San Jose Airport to the Nut Tree in Vacaville. We would have lunch at the famous
restaurant and tour the farm and fly back to San Jose. On one of our flights, we
flew from San Jose to Whiteman Airpark in Pacoima. Mom picked us up at the
airport and drove us to her home which was across the street from the airpark.
The return flight was an adventure to remember, as it was getting dark and we
could barely see the highway below. Fortunately, there was a foil moon and we
did get back okay. On New Year's Eve, in the mid-1960's, Maria and I accompanied
Donaldo in his red and white 172 Cessna airplane for a flight over San
Francisco. It was truly a magnificent flight. Donaldo was an excellent pilot and
the single engine airplane, flew like a charm. |
In
the mid-1960's, we were living in a nice neighborhood in Los Altos close to the
Village when Dad Lyman left Philadelphia and came to live with us. Dad Lyman,
being an old-time farmer that he was, immediately went to work and planted a
vegetable garden in the back yard of our house. He planted corn and tomatoes. His home-grown, red tomatoes were the best. He planted flowers, mostly marigolds, in the front yard, and he took care of all the gardening around the house. Our place really looked nice. Even though he had achieved his fame as one of the oldest persons to have ever ridden a bicycle from the East Coast to the West Coast in August of 1964 at the age of 80 years, he continued riding his bicycle every day and rode all around town. Two years prior to relocating to Los Altos, Dad Lyman had felt so confident about himself that he once again took to the road on his bicycle. This time, he began his bicycle trip from Vancouver, Canada, and headed East. He soon discovered that the roads were narrow and unsafe, and the winds were blowing too strongly against him, so he decided to put his trip on hold, and took a flight back to his home in Philadelphia. |
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| This
was an amazing man, considering that he was a cancer survivor. He had been
working long hours at the mill in Philadelphia during World War I. Consequently,
he became ill from overwork and had been treated for a sore on his tongue that
wouldn't heal. A new, experimental treatment was employed to treat the cancerous
sore—the doctor inserted needles containing radium directly into the tongue
until the cancer was cured. Throughout the years, we all shared stories about
life in the early days and we became good friends. My
daughter, Maria, was a teenager when she went to the San Fernando Valley to live
with my mother, Evita, and Juan, and Barbie. By this time, Mom owned and
operated her own restaurant, El Zocalito, specializing in Mexican Cuisine. Maria
worked at the restaurant after school and on week ends. Mom, a gifted cook in
her own right, taught Maria the secrets of cooking Mexican foods. Eventually,
Mom closed down her restaurant due to Juan's failing health. Shortly thereafter,
Maria returned home and continued her education at Los Altos High School. |
My
Daughter. The Teenage Bride My
daughter, Maria, was still in high school when she decided to get married. She
had a nice wedding in the Village and many of her classmates attended the
ceremony. The following year, Maria's son, Steve, was born at El Camino Hospital
in Mountain View. This was a joyous occasion for all of us - I was now a
grandmother! Our baby boy was indeed a gift from heaven. The
Business Women The Business and Professional Women, Mountain View Local Organization, California Federation, voted me in to the organization in the mid-1970's. The installation ceremony was held upstairs, above the old Mervyn's Restaurant in downtown Mountain View. I have served as president, secretary, woman of achievement coordinator, and held many other posts during the past 25 years.
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| We celebrated
our 50th Anniversary on February 2, 2000 at Mac's Restaurant in Los Altos. In
attendance were many of the Past Presidents of the Local Organization. Long ago,
BPW/USA had branched out from the Young Women's Christian Association.
Fortunately, our Mountain View Local Organization has had neighbors in
the community and dear friends, especially the ones who worked at NASA Ames
Research Center in Mountain View, who supported us and provided guest speakers
for our meetings. Our members attended many luncheons and dinners at the Moffett
Field Facility. We were kept apprised of the latest technology and developments
regarding space exploration, astronauts and the space station, and programs such
as the SETI Program, with their Radio Astronomy Antennas located at the Arecebo,
Puerto Rico facility. My grandchildren attended many of these events and were
greatly inspired by all the space programs offered at their schools that they
became members of the young astronauts groups. Our club members and local
communities were supportive of projects and programs that dealt with outer
space. One of my favorite movies was, "2001: A Space Odyssey". Then,
there had been the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong,
said, as he stepped onto the moon's surface: "That's xone small step
for^Man, one giant leap for Mankind." Wow!! Times were great and we felt so
proud to be Americans and continued to embrace space exploration. |
The
Woman Astronaut On
June 3, 1993, the Mayor of San Jose, Susan Hammer, issued a Proclamation
declaring that day as "Ellen Ochoa Day" in San Jose. Our Latino club
held a reception at the space exhibit center in Sunnyvale honoring Dr. Ellen
Ochoa, the first Hispanic Woman Astronaut to fly into space aboard the Shuttle
Discovery, Mission STS-56. Dr. Ochoa showed a film about her space voyage and
answered many questions from the audience. Dr. Ochoa had been employed by NASA
Ames Research Center in Mountain View and had also attended Stanford University
in Palo Alto, so she was familiar with us and the Bay Area. Women
of Achievement Once a year, in October, our BPW/USA Local Organization honored a Woman of Achievement from the local community. One of our Woman of Achievement honorees was Ms. Zuniga, an engineer and a candidate for the astronaut program, who was working at NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View. Our Woman of Achievement in October 20, 1992, was Ms. Maria Loya, Principal at Slater Elementary School, Mountain View.
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| Ms. Loya was recognized for her dedication to educating her
students and for her own humanitarian efforts in providing food and shelter for
many of the students in her school district who were living below the poverty
level We will always remember Ms. Loya as a kind hearted, unselfish woman who
was one of the best ever role models for students and teachers, alike. Ms. Loya
was a former nun and she was taken from us while she was still in her prime. Our
organization has always supported upward mobility of women in the workplace, as
well as legislation that is in favor of fair treatment of women worldwide. The
members of BPW/USA have not only spent their time and expertise, but also
provided their own money needed to provide the many programs which have
contributed significantly to the betterment of humankind in our local
communities as well as throughout the world. My membership in the Mountain View
Local Organization of BPW/USA has been a good thing in my life, and I am
grateful to all the members who mentored and supported me throughout my working
career. |
The
USA Bi-Centennial In
the Spring of 1976, Donaldo picked up tickets for a 21-day tour of Europe. I had
recently completed an Arts History course at Foothill College so this was just
perfect timing for me to visit Europe. Our
trip began in San Francisco, where we boarded a flight on Pan American Airlines,
arriving 15 hours later in London's Heathrow Airport. We stayed overnight in
London then the next morning we took a flight aboard Caledonia Airlines from
Gatwick Airport to Schiphol, Amsterdam. One of the first places we visited was the Diamond polishing shop in Holland. A group of us entered a small room and the door behind us quickly locked. The jeweler brought out a handful of uncut diamonds for us to look at. The diamonds were exquisite. Unfortunately, Donaldo and I were not in the market for diamonds at that time. Holland is well known for its beautiful and numerous windmills that are prominently situated |
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| throughout the country. It seemed as though we had
gone back in time as we stood there, admiring these gigantic, functioning
windmills—a fantastic sight. We spent a night in Heidelberg, Germany, and the
next day took a cruise along the beautiful Rhine River. Lucerne,
Switzerland, is a quaint and beautiful city. We stayed there one night and
rested during the day before continuing on to the next country. We were
fortunate to visit Innsbruck, Austria, where just earlier this had been the site
of the Winter Olympics. We
visited the Louvre Museum and saw fantastic works of art, such as Leonardo da
Vinci's portrait of the Mona Lisa. We
toured the French Riviera, Nice, and Monte Carlo. We were allowed in the casino
at Monte Carlo. Not being a gambler, I could still appreciate the business
aspect of the place where the high-rollers came for fun and games. |
In
Italy, we stopped and toured Florence, which is beautiful—there is so much
history there, especially at the time of the Renaissance when the great artists
worked and lived there. We had a picture taken of all 50 people in our group as
we At
one stop, we had time for a quick lunch on the Spanish Steps, another historical
place. To
see Venice and its hundreds of water ways and the Rialto Bridge and all the
other bridges is really something to see—it is like living in a water world
all its own. We
spent an evening in Saint Mark's Square, where hundreds of sophisticated
Venetians congregate. Refreshments were being served along the out-door sidewalk
cafe while a symphony concert played the sweetest music I had ever heard. The
Roman Colosseum, a famous monument, is humongous. To think of all the popular
events that had taken place there, and all the blood shed, not to mention the
Gladiators who fought to the death, to me, seemed somewhat surreal as we walked
around the grounds. |
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| A
tour of Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel was in itself something to behold.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, depicting the Creation and all the other
frescos painted by Michelangelo, is breathtakingly spectacular. Kicked out - Saint Peter's Basilica In
the afternoon after our tour of Vatican City and Saint Peter's Basilica, I
remained inside the church so that I could see the Pope. The Pope was scheduled
to come to the church in a few minutes. A Swiss Guard approached me. He asked to
see my "cod". I did not know what he meant, so he asked me if I had an
appointment to see the Pope. I replied that I did not have an appointment so I
was quickly escorted out of the church. Oh, well, sometimes the best intentions
just don't work out. Towards
the end of our trip, we arrived in London, England, U.K. A guide took us through
Westminster Abbey, which is awesome, not only in architecture, but mostly the
history of it all. It
was then on to the Tower of London. The tour guide escorted us to a special room
where the Crown Jewels were kept. I could not believe my eyes—I could only
marvel at the sight of this treasure—even the Queen's crown, and a collection
of the most gorgeous, sparkling diamonds, rubies, emeralds and many other
precious gems which were encased in glass cabinets. |
Our
return flight home was via Charles De Gaulle International Airport to Heathrow
Airport then on to Seattle and on to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Traveling
in Europe at that time was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and a
most memorable one. We were
the happiest, however, when we finally got back home and were on U. S. soil. The
BBQ in San Fernando Brother
Lenny and his wife hosted a BBQ at their home in San Fernando in the late 1970's
to welcome our brother, Tim, and his family who were visiting from Michigan.
Tim's mother, Jessica (my step-mother), now a Valleyite, was among the guests as
was our mother, Evita, and two of our father's brothers. Everyone had a good
time and for sure, we were coming full circle. Maria's daughter, Martita, was born at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View in the early 1980's. Then Maria and her family moved from Mountain View to Montana where they lived and were all very happy. The children wrote the cutest letters to me about their adventures in the snow and how much they loved their new life.
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| Maria's
second son, Phil Baby, was born in Palo Alto in the mid-1980's. The family had
returned to the Bay Area and were adjusting to living in this fast-paced
environment. However, within a couple of years, they relocated to Vacaville
where Maria had a great new job as a Manager at a department store. Donaldo and I relocated to Mountain View in the early 1990's to be closer to our jobs. We were now close to transportation, the shopping centers, and El Camino Real, Highway 82. There are historic Bells all along El Camino Real, the path taken by Father Junipero Serra (1713-1784) when he was in the process of establishing the Spanish Missions in California in the 1700's. One afternoon in the mid-1990's, a Latino Mentoring club would be holding their meeting in Sunnyvale. My friend, Carmelita, took me with her to the meeting where she introduced me to Dr. and Mrs. Burciaga. This couple was affiliated with Casa Zapata at Stanford University. According to my Latina friends who had attended a women's conference in Palo Alto, the guest speaker at the conference was Mrs. Burciaga, whose topic was about Juana Briones. My friends were impressed with the Juana Briones legacy and talked to me about this extraordinary pioneer Latina woman who had lived in her Palo Alto adobe with her children in the mid-1800's. Soon, thereafter I, too, became a Juana Briones enthusiast. Carmelita and I had become good friends, and she and I shared many of our childhood stories about living in Santa Maria. Now, we were adult women, living and working in Silicon Valley—a long way from Santa Maria—it is a small world after all. All too soon, Carmelita and her husband retired and left the Bay Area. |
Searching
for My Roots Sometime in the early 1990's, my daughter, Maria referred me to a Ruiz family who resided in Vacaville. Maria was working and living with her three children in Vacaville at that time. Within a few months, I contacted Mr. Ruiz by phone and we chatted about our respective Ruiz family backgrounds. We discovered that we were not related; however, Mr. Ruiz referred me to the Los Californianos Organization that does family research. I contacted a member of Los Californianos and she invited me to attend a meeting with El Groupo scheduled for that coming Saturday at the library in San Leandro. The members at the meeting asked me for my "names"—well, I was a Ruiz from the Ruiz family. What they wanted to know was, who were my ancestors and their names. At that time, I knew the names of my parents and their parents—that was all. With the encouragement of these wonderful people, I began a serious search for my roots. It
was June, 1992, when Maria was still working and living in Vacaville, that her
fourth child, Toby, was bom . That same week, Maria's teenage daughter, Martita,
graduated from middle school. Then, a day or two later, Maria's eldest son,
Steve, graduated from high school. The following month, Maria's granddaughter,
Alejita, was born in Vacaville! Maria was like Mother Goose and the Old Lady Who
Lived in a Shoe, she had so many children she did not know what to do! What
Maria did was to move into a larger house in Vacaville to accommodate her new
baby, her three children, plus her new grandbaby and her mother—WOW!! Our
family was growing—now there there six generations of my maternal family
living in California. |
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Shortly
after Steve graduated from high school, he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps
and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, San Diego, California, for basic training.
Steve completed basic training and he invited the family to attend his
graduation ceremonies and we accepted. One could see that the Marines were in
top form and well trained as they marched in formation to the incredible
marching band music. All of us felt such pride to be Americans, and our Steve
was now a real Marine—a Warrior. During his military career, Steve was
deployed to Okinawa and then he was sent back state-side to Twenty-Nine Palms
where he served with the Military Police. Discovering
Our Heritage One
evening upon my return home from having spent the weekend in Vacaville with
Maria and her family, I received a telephone call from Ms. Taylor, the
genealogist with the Los Californianos Organization. It was September, 1993, and
Ms. Taylor informed me that our family qualified for membership in the
organization. We are descendants of the presidial soldiers who were garrisoned
at the Presidios in Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco, and at some of
the missions and pueblos. I was overjoyed with this news. Never in my entire
life did I ever expect such good news for our family. Now I could tell my
grandchildren true stories about how it was that our ancestors came to be in
Alta California in 1769.
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Who
We Are - Los Descendientes de Los Soldados de Cuera Inasmuch
as the time of my provisional membership with Los Californianos was running out,
Ms. Taylor, the Genealogist, provided me with the names of my antepasados (ancestors)and
I was able to create my pedigree chart.
Ms. Taylor had traced our family back to 1727 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
The news of this was overwhelming. How could this be, my long, lost heritage?
Who was I and was this really true? Was I worthy of such an honor? Did I deserve
this, me an ordinary citizen? And, now what? How could it be that my family and
I could be so blessed as to have ancestors who came to the New World and then
for them to go on a journey to the New Frontier, to colonize Alta California,
for a better life. Now, for sure, I had to begin a more thorough search of my
ancestors. To begin with, in my favor are the Mission records which were
maintained by the good Padres prior to 1850, and prior to Statehood. From our
earliest beginnings, we are confronted with self-identity. For example, we ask
the question, "Who Am I?", or, "Who really Am I?" There are
many answers to the question—it depends on the individual asking the question.
If the premise is true that we are a product of our environment, then our
Spanish Californio heritage speaks for itself—we (this family) are Californios
in every sense of the word and have been for the past two hundred and thirty
years. Our ancestors came to Alta California from what is now Mexico, with three
of the major colonizing expeditions. |
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Mom
referred me to cousin, Marion Moreno, who was living in Santa Barbara, and aunt
Felicia Moreno de Stepka, who was living in San Diego, to assist me with our
family search. We were able to obtain documents and information from various
sources, including Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Santa Barbara, and
copies of mission records owned by Los Californianos. There are stories about
the family that have been handed down from generation to generation, some of
which can be verified, such as the property in Santa Barbara owned by Soledad
Vasquez y Briones de Garcia, my great grandmother Tomasa's mother. Trip
to Hawaii My
brother, Lenny, and his wife, escorted a tour group to Hawaii in 1997. Our
brother Tim and his wife had signed up for this trip. However, Tim was unable to
travel so he invited me to go to Hawaii in his place and I accepted the offer.
The tours of the Island and the entertainment were superb. One day on my own, I
decided to take a bus to tour the World War II Memorial, the U.S.S. Arizona.
Standing directly in front of the Memorial Wall where the names of the brave men
who perished aboard the U.S.S Arizona are listed, is a very sad and sobering
experience—one that I shall never forget—the tour was also closure for me,
some 50 plus years later.
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Juan Briones de Miranda On
October 5, 1997, after ten years of hard work, the Women's Heritage Museum, the
Bay Area Network of Latinas (BANELA), City Officials, and the San Francisco
community, placed a plaque in honor of Juana Briones de Miranda in Washington
Square Park, North Beach, San Francisco. Juana Briones was a mother of eight
children and was greatly admired as a curandera and humanitarian. My
grandchildren and nephew participated in the unveiling of the plaque, an honor
indeed, for our family. Juana Briones was my great grandmother Tomasa's great
grandaunt. Even
though we had lived in Los Altos, it would be another 30 years later that I
realized that we were within a few miles from El Rancho La Purisima Concepcion,
the Juana Briones adobe. Aunt
Marie's Birthday Aunt Marie Moreno de Bierend celebrated her 104th birthday with family in Santa Barbara. Cousin, Marion Moreno y Yanez, hosted the birthday party at his home in Santa Barbara for her. Mother, Evita, and her sister, Bertie, were in attendance. That was a missed opportunity for me and I regret not making time
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to
attend this very special party. My family and I sent a bouquet of red and white
carnations to aunt Marie for her birthday which she liked very much. Aunt Marie
had been an Army Nurse in World War I in Demming, New Mexico. She was a
professional nurse throughout her career, and was inordinately proud of her
heritage. Our beloved Aunt Marie Moreno Bierend passed away on March 27, 2000,
in her sleep at home in Santa Barbara at age 105 years. Our
cousin, Marion Moreno passed away at his home, which he always referred to as
"Camelot" on August 27, 1999. My daughter, Maria, and her younger
daughter and I made the trip to Santa Barbara to attend the memorial services
which were held in Goleta in September. Many of Maestro Marion Moreno's friends
and former music students from all over the world came to pay their respects to
the man whom they loved and admired. The service was a fine tribute to Marion.
The pianist, Gil Rosas, played an Instrumental - Just a Closer Walk with Thee.
Marion was becoming so family oriented and liked visiting with us, especially
with Mom. The Year 2000 went quickly for me, in spite of all the hype and intimidation we endured going into it (Y2K). As in any family, we all shared the joys and happiness and achievements and sorrows that befall a family in everyday life.
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As
the saying goes, "Only in America" could we as a family have survived
what we did in the twelve months that were now history. As a family, we empower
and inspire each other, as well as motivate and encourage each and everyone to
be the very best that one can be. Maria's children have continued their studies,
realizing early on that education is the key to success. Phil is a college
student at U.C. Davis and is involved in sports—wrestling, football, rugby,
while holding down a job. In
the Spring of 2001, Maria's son, Steve received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from
Kansas Wesleyan University. Steve had been accepted at the university on a
football scholarship. Later
that Spring of 2001, Maria's daughter, Martita, received her Bachelor of Arts
Degree from Chico State. I was fortunate to attend the graduation commencement
exercise which was held in the morning. Much to my surprise, one of the guest
speakers was Dr. Carolyn Shoemaker, comet discoverer. As we look forward to the future and all the challenges it presents, we must not ever forget our past, and those who have gone before us.
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NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES |
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Mariachi Nuevo Santander Performed
in Oregon Shakespeare Festival |
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San Antonio- Roma High School’s award-winning Mariachi Nuevo Santander will travel to Ashland, Oregon to perform at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Show July 31 through August 6. This outstanding Roma, Texas ensemble will represent the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza as first place winners of that event’s high school mariachi group competition held in San Antonio last December. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a prestigious event that presents theatrical plays in the picturesque mountain community of Ashland, Oregon. The city has a worldwide reputation for cultivating the arts through live, intimate theater experiences, and is located in the majestic Southern Oregon wine country. Students from Roma High School’s mariachi will perform during the festival and will have the opportunity to see plays, explore the scenic parks in and around Ashland, and participate in community activities. |
The
13 members of Mariachi Nuevo Santander will perform 40-minute shows on the
following days: Friday, August 1; Sunday, August 3; and Tuesday, August 5. The
shows will include their award-winning performance from the Mariachi Vargas
Extravaganza, traditional songs representing different states of Mexico and
various eras of mariachi history, and a tribute to Mexico’s greatest artists
and songwriters.
Mariachi Nuevo Santander performs under the direction of Eloy Garza, mariachi director for Roma High School. “We’re honored and excited about this invitation to perform for a whole new audience in Oregon,” says Garza. “We’ve been working hard all summer long to put together a great show that will demonstrate our passion and pride for mariachi music and show the best of our culture. We hope to create new fans and show people how mariachi music has evolved through multiple generations.” All shows start at 6:45 p.m., and are free and open to the public. The shows are held on the main outdoor stage in the center of downtown Ashland. Mariachi Nuevo Santander's upcoming appearance in Ashland marks the fourth consecutive year that winners from the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza have been invited to perform at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Show, thanks to its producer, Claudia Alick. |
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| The Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza is a seven-day mariachi music
festival that hosts the largest, longest running, and most competitive mariachi
group and vocal competitions in the world. Members of Mariachi Nuevo Santander include: Jazmín Alaniz, Yarettsy Escobar, Clyde Guerra, Mario Gutiérrez, and Javier Martínez (violins); Luis Donaldo Cantú, Emmanuel Peña, and Héctor Ramírez (trumpets); José Alejandro García (vihuela); Alicia Alanís and César Pérez (guitars); Juan Mireles (guitarrón); and Juan Moya (harp). |
The group will be accompanied by director Eloy García, assistant directors Dominga Garza and Yamil Yunes, Roma Independent School District board member Clyde Guerra, chaperone María Isabel Escobar, and Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza producer Cynthia Muñoz. For
more information on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Show, log on to http://Osfashland.org/greenshow.
For information on this fall’s 20th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza in San
Antonio, log on to mariachimusic.com.
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World War II Bracero Program in Oregon |
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Last
night I saw a doc program on the Bracero Program back in the 1940's. I vaguely
remember something about it, but only vaguely. Back
when we badly needed foreign laborers to harvest our crops, feed our troops,
work on the rail roads, the government set up a legal agreement with the Mex gov
to get workers. Here in Oregon over 50,000 mexicans were
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It
was during WWII when labor was scarce. Over its life, 4 1/2 million workers came
to the US to work. It was a legal agreement with the Mex gov. Check
out the full story,
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Colores
YouTube |
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COLORES | Albuquerque Historic Rail Yard. |
This
is a great PBS 25 minute documentary on YouTube. |
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My
Days as a Colonist / Soldier with Don Juan de Onate – Part 8 By
Louis F. Serna
Oct 2013 |
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Gracias a Dios.! September came and went with several events I recorded for Capitan Villagra’s approval. He continues to compliment me on my work and even mentions me to the General who when we see each other, he jokingly says, “Vamos a tumbar otra carpa..!” Let’s go take down another tent..! I have seen his cold anger and I have seen his care-fre side… I prefer the latter..! It is October 6th and the General sets out with a sizeable squad to explore the salt beds near Manzano, and then east to the land of the Jumanos, and then back west to look for the elusive passage to the South Seas which he has heard so much about. The route takes him by the high rock face where the men stop to carve their names on the sandstone walls and he himself leaves his own message, saying that he is in search of the South Sea. They stop at Acoma to marvel at the pueblo atop the high mesa and how impregnable it appears. They can see natives along the edge peering down at them, waving to them to come up the steep walls. At first, they are apprehensive about exposing themselves to arrows, stones and even fiery oils that can be rained down on them, but Onatge decides that they must not show fear and climb the precipices to show their respect for the invitation. They reach the top and receive gifts of maize and tasty fowl. The General even receives a second show of obedience to the King of Spain and the God of the Spaniards! Onate is impressed but he feels an air of contempt from the Acoma’s. He warns his men to remain at the ready, saying to them, “Let us beware of Greeks bearing gifts!” a reference to the age-old story of the Trojan horse.! All goes well and the General leaves Acoma and heads west for the land of the Zuni where they are well received with a warm feast of maize, tortillas, and Conejos.. rabbit on the spit.! |
The next day, they leave for the lands of the Hawikuh where fifty eight years earlier, Vasquez de Coronado fought his first major skirmish of his expedition. Many years later, it was told that the battle was a terrible mistake made by two different cultures. The Chiefs of the Hawikuh gathered at the entrance of the village and drew a line of clean white maize pollen across the path of the on-coming Spanish. The line was their way of welcoming them by blessing their path to their village.! The Spaniards mistook the line as a challenge not to cross it and they drew their weapons and charged forward, starting a battle that was totally unnecessary.! Perhaps a perfect example of the term, “culture clash”.! On this day, there was only embracing and gestures of goodwill. A few days later, the Gobernador sent out a party to look for a salt lake said to be near-by and they chanced upon a lone haggard looking soldier who looked about to collapse! It was my Capitan Villagra! He had set out alone from Puaray, thinking to join the General at Acoma, but they had already left for the Zuni village. At Acoma, Villagra said that he had received a very cold reception so he decided to push on to the Zuni village. The Acomas directed him to a trail they said Onate had taken. That night, he stumbled into a cleverly disguised trap that had been set, perhaps for the General himself? His horse was killed in the fall and Villagra decided to rush away from the vicinity of the Acomas on foot, shedding all his equipment. Onate reflected on the apprehension he had felt while at Acoma, although they had been received courteously, and he decided to issue a warning to all the men at the home camp, to be very careful around the Acoma fortress. The trip continued cautiously until the 13th of December, when the General decided to return to the home camp. |
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| He had instructed Juan de Zaldivar to meet him at Zuni and he had not arrived so the General was worried that there might be trouble there so they started back by way of Agua de la Pena. Onate was surprised to see Bernabe de las Casas riding toward them at a full gallop with six other soldiers! The General rode up to meet them shouting, “Que pasa..? Que hasen aqui..?” “What happened? What are you doing here?” Bernabe responded out of breath and dropping his head reverently, “Senor… Juan is dead..! He was killed at Acoma along with Capitanes Escalante, Nunez and several others..!” Onate almost collapsed at the terrible news! Juan…! His favorite nephew who had been his right hand and his conscience on so many difficult decisions was dead..? How could this happen..? As Onate collapsed into a field stool that Villagra quickly brought to him, he asked, “Y ahora que..?” what now Villagra? Trying to maintain composure, Villagra gently said to the General, “We must leave now. The whole colony may be in mortal danger..!” With that, Onate said, “Yes! Break camp with all haste and let us return to our families.!” The trip back was terrible for everyone, expecting the worst and not knowing if this was just the work of the ever defensive Acomas, or a conspiracy of all the pueblos, to strike the colony while Onate was away. His only consolation was that he had left Vicente in charge of the colony and there could be no warrior as fierce as he when it came to defending the Espanoles. |
In
fact, Onate feared that Vicente might take it upon himself to go out and sate
his anger on all the pueblos in the state of rage that he must be in at losing
his brother, Juan! Onate and his troops arrived at their base camp to find
everything in order but in a state of shock at the loss of lives at Acoma! They
were overjoyed to see the men return and even celebrated their return, even in
their sorrow. I noted that life in this place was either moments of great joy or
great sorrow.., and only hardship in between.! Immediately, the General was in control again, issuing orders in preparation of
retaliation against the Acomas, whatever that might be, as this attack on the
Colony cannot go unpunished! Again, as if Juan was whispering in the General’s
ear, Onate knew that he must use restraint in order not to lose the obedience he
had worked so hard to develop among the other pueblos! It is indeed a time for
his finest hour., a time when his decisions whatever they may be, will determine
the future of the Espanoles in this new land. Onate whispers to himself, Dios
mio.. and Juan.. help me to make the right choices. He raises his eyes to the
heavens and calls out to everyone, “Let us pray for guidance… God bless
us.., our King… and Spain..!”
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By
Galal Kernahan
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"What-ifs" are intriguing. They can be helpful in understanding what happened in early years of California's mid-19th century between it's remarkable November 13, 1849 electoral birth as a Free State and the April 12, 1861 outbreak of Civil War. The State of California had already begun functioning before admission as the 31st State in the Union. The
Civil War had its origins largely in moves to extend slavery into the American
West. Slave States seceding from the Union grew from seven to eleven. Up to
750,000 lives were lost before the Confederate States of America ceased to
exist. Some California collaborators were among those who had done their most
for the South's Slave and King Cotton cause. How
close had they come to success? That depends on who was doing what and how the
score was kept. One compiled a remarkable success story almost to the very end.
His curtain dropped with the onset of the War Between the States. |
He
was well-schooled in the ways of Congress. He used his grasp of political
manipulation in California's first U.S. decade to augment a personal fortune and
amass notable personal influence. He had positioned himself as one of the first
U.S. Senators most of its California's decade as a State by avoiding the
"slavery issue." If the California State being born at the 1849
Monterey Convention he attended, was committed to being a State free of slavery
(as it had been when part of Mexico), it simply became an avoided non-issue for
him. California,
when part of Mexico, had long banned slavery. When the American Era came,
California gold-seekers concerned about slave holders deploying teams of slaves
in the diggings, adamantly supported California as State free of slavery. |
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| The
new State's population explosion of newcomers was turning Mexican Californians
into a diminishing minority in numbers and influence. The
remaining once influential Mexican leaders found their properties disappearing
during re-certification of their land rights. They were coming to be minority
subject to unanticipated prejudices. One was an extension of the low esteem in
which Native Americans were held. At
first glance, no one was likely to gainsay the advantages of sending an
experienced federal legislator back to the Nation's Capitol to speak for
California. Few understood all that might go with such a conferral of political
power. On
the other hand, newcomers increasingly dominated political privilege and
decision-making. Like how to use to one's personal advantage the patronage an
experienced federal legislator knows how to exploit. |
When
Dr. William McKendree Gwin won the draw to be California's Second Member (after
Fremont) of the U.S. Senate. He went on to a second lucky draw for a full
six-year term. About a year after that first California term, he won another. It
was actually his third election to Congress. Before winning office in a
California election, Mississippi sent him to the Nation's Capital for his first. His
new political base was San Francisco. With the approach of Civil War, the city
was undergoing explosively erratic growth. As the Civil War approached, American
California experienced controversial outbreaks of Southern sympathy. Even
leading San Francisco churches divided against each other. Dr. William A. Scott,
pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church, was "interlarding his sermons with
disunion politics" while Thomas Starr King of the Unitarian Church has been
described as "flaming with passion for the Union." (page 230, THE
THIRTY-FIRST STAR, by James A.B. Sherer, Putnam Sons, NY, 371 pp.,) |
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The
thought the brand-new State of California was distant and disconnected from the
looming War between the States is simply untrue. In the end, young
"action" enthusiasts were outnumbered by those opposed to throwing
themselves into the rebellion while beginning to be involved in carving out
California lives for themselves. There weren't enough restive youths seeking
wartime adventure opportunities regardless of ideology. This was clearly
illustrated by the misadventure of Asbury Harpending, a Kentucky young adult
just turned twenty in San Francisco. His
story begins on Page 253 of the aforesaid THIRTY-FIRST STAR. He saw a great
opportunity for young San Franciscans like himself. They must be willing to arm
themselves and take up the cause of disunion. A great opportunity became clear
to him (and, he hoped, through him to other battle-ready young San Franciscans).
He was sure it was great news for him and all his young co-conspirators Here is a little of his reasoning: "He and his associates intended to seize Alcatraz Island and the other Federal strongholds by night. . .He reasoned that at least 30 percent of the population of California was from the South and most of the |
rest didn't much care either way. . .Then came what seemed a tremendously
encouraging development. Mid-January 1861, General Albert Sidney Johnston
was rotated into command of the U.S. Department of the Pacific. It
seemed to young Harpending as if he had won the lottery! Through General
Johnston's arteries flowed the blood of the South. He was a Kentuckian!
Harpending and some of his Associates were invited to meet the new local
commander. Their excited anticipation was so great they decided to ask him for
advice should war break out in California. The
General was a giant of a man. "Before we go further," he said,
"there is something I Want to mention. I have heard foolish talk about an
attempt to seize the strongholds of the government under my charge. Knowing this
I have prepared for emergencies, and will defend the property of the United
States with every resource at my command and with the last drop of blood in my
body, "Tell
that to all our Southern friends."
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Hello
to everyone, family and friends. I
hope everyone had a great 4 th of July, 2014. Best
regards-Old guy
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I
have read, but I’m slow to respond to some of the recent mail on topics of
interest. Not that I didn’t want to, but I’m slowing down in my actions and
response in reacting to news. I just celebrated my 80 th birthday on July 6,
2014 during a trip visit to Colorado and New Mexico. If you can bear with me, I
would like to share the events on the trip. If any recall some of the JAB photo
albums (Angel’s pictures, f80 crasher, JAB in the 50’s, etc) I show a fellow
named Glen Simpson. Glen and I have been friends since our days at Johnson, when
we met in 1956. Glen stayed in the Air Force and retired Master Sergeant, while
I separated from the service in 1959 and pursued a successful engineering career
in Industrial and Military works. It was a pleasant drive from Las Vegas to Glen
and his family at Fort Collins Colorado. If you have never traveled the route I
took, up I-15, west on I-70 through Grand Junction to Denver, you might want to
one day. Beautiful country, but only travel it in the spring or summer and never
in winter, unless of course you are going skiing at Vail or Aspen Rocky Mountain
High. By the way, I stopped in on my niece Aloha and husband Ronald Min and
spent the night at their home in St. George, Utah. Such great people, worried
that I was traveling alone and called me to make sure I was OK during my trip.
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While
at Glens, he took me touring the area of interest around there, in particular,
Estes Park. While having lunch in the pictures village, I notice a large
gorgeous hotel up on a hillside slope that reminded me of the Coronado Hotel in
San Diego. I mention this to Glen and he stated that it was The Stanley Hotel,
the one built by the Stanley Steamer fame and the one used in the movie “The
shining” starring Jack Nicholson. It’s no wonder it caught my attention, as
it stands out in its surrounding. Never knew this fact, though I saw the movie
many times. On the way to Estes Park we took hwy34 west out of Loveland, along
the Big Thompson Canyon Road that only recently was reopen after a devastating
rainstorm in September of 2013 of the Big Thomson River. All the way from Hwy 34
to almost Estes Park the swollen river had wiped out bridges, roadway, houses
and cabins with a massive destruction overflow of water. As we passed the wiped
out towns and resident area, local people were just recently allowed to return
to pick up and clean up the storm damage. In one section of the road we
encountered a lady asking for donation relief money to help on reconstruction. A
very nice lady, that gave us a description account of what happen along that
area, we gave gladly, but she need not have accounted what happen, because we
saw the devastating after effect along the way.
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While at Glens I was also finally able to meet Glen’s brother-in-law, Alvin Plucker. Some of you may recall the January 23, 1968 incident when the North Koreans fired on and captured the USS Pueblo off North Korea and held the crew prisoners for eleven months. Alvin was a navy crewman aboard the Pueblo at that time. He invited us over to his house in nearby La Salie to tour his house and property and I was able to get to know him. A very pleasant man with a quite disposition and soft speaking voice, he related some of incidents of the attack by the North Koreans, and the brutal tortuous treatment they received. He is sort of a celebrity, especially in Pueblo Colorado, the town’s name sake of the ship. The North Koreans by the way still have possession of the USS Pueblo, though they released all the crew members. The US government still has the Pueblo listed as an active naval vessel, though it is in a North Korean port. Alvin still does speaking engagements on occasion on the Pueblo incident. Alvin and wife have about 15 acres of property behind his home with a creek or stream running through it with the house situated about 80-90 feet above it. Good thing too, because the September 2013 storm also hit the lowland and the water reached half way up to the house. |
The small lake and stream he had is now filled with
trash and debris and it will take some time in order to recover to its former
condition. I said good thing because the lower level of his house is actually a
four room museum showcase of many interesting articles. Beside to having one
room full of Pueblo memorabilia, the other rooms are full of archeological, and
geological artifacts of museum quality that his has found and dug and excavated
over the years. He has 3 rooms full of Items such as arrow and spear heads,
genuine bow and arrows, skeleton and bone remains of prehistoric animals. A man
after my own heart, a geologist, archeologist, rock hound, tool maker, digger ,
artifacts and gold searcher all wrapped into one. I have attached a few photos I
took of Glen and I in our Johnson AB jackets, Alvin, and the USS Pueblo before
the capture. Behind Alvin there is a picture of Commander Lloyd Bucher, Captain
of the Pueblo during the incident I have just finished reading the Commanders
book “ Bucher: My Story” that Alvin gave me along with an ABC film movie
“PUEBLO” starring Hal Holbrook .
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After a week at Glen’s, I traveled down I-25 from Denver to New Mexico to visit my daughter Nancy and her family. Nancy’s job was moved from Albuquerque to Huntsville, Alabama, so she and her family (husband Ed and daughter Sokie) relocated to live in Huntsville this last spring. Her son Eddie, however stayed in Albuquerque, working and living there in their home. Nancy and family drove to Albuquerque on a week vacation for the 4 th of July and I was able to go and meet them there at this time. It was great seeing them again after a long time, especially the grandkids (Sokie and Eddie), when I last saw then was at Kathy’s wedding back in June 2008. Sokie has grown into a smart beautiful woman and Eddie as well, into a big strong guy. Nancy had a half a dozen invitation for dinner from her friends there in Albuquerque so I was able to eat, drink and party with and also meet them. We spent the 4 th of July night watching fireworks and partying at one Nancy’s friend who is a retired postal worker that lives in Los Lunas, about 30 miles south of Albuquerque. While in Albuquerque, we were able to go to a new Indian casino ( can’t remember the name), that recently opened. Lots of slot games that I hadn’t seen before (new games I don’t see in Vegas), lots of fun. Had to go and did visit the Albuquerque fea market , and picked up some cool items, mostly books to read.
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Also attached is a photo of Nancy and her family. Too soon, Nancy and family had
to leave and I also to get back in time to attend Pete and Lois Congo’s 50 th
wedding anniversary party in L.A. Pete and Lois had a great anniversary bash
where I was able to see old friends again (Honeywell/Hughes and Rockwell
Collins). I didn’t get to see the little munckens while in LA, since Kathy,
David and the kids were in Seattle visiting her in-laws and others friends.
Best
regards-Old guy
Editor: Sorry, I transferred this charming cuento, but
did not remember to get the name and email of "Old Guy".
Even though "Old Guy" is 80 years old, it is obvious that his
memory, sharp mind, and enthusiasm is young at heart. Will "Old Guy" please contact me. . . .
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Sept 25-27, 2014: 35th Annual Texas Hispanic Genealogical and Historical Conference Sept 28: Post conference luncheon planned |
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Dear Texas History Enthusiast Legacy of Texas, maps, art, flags Laredo, Texas Memories by Gilberto J. Quezada Laredo Transportation Laredo Exhibit Honoring Sisters of Mercy's 120 Years of Service in Laredo An Unforgettable Reunion Correspondence between Gilberto and Jose M. Pena Do any of these Laredo streets look familiar? Creating Beauty from Devastation in Galveston by Rosie Carbo A 1954 Candidate Uses Family History to Help Him Win an Election by Eddie Garcia Las Porciones Society House Resolution 709 Clash with Ranchers radicalizes rancher Border Bandits, Part III by Norman Rozzell |
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35th
Annual Texas Hispanic Genealogical and Historical Conference Alex
Moreno, President State
Conference Email: amoreno1947@gmail.com
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Post
conference luncheon planned, September 28 in Edingburg Following the de Leon's exile from Texas in 1836, half of our ancestry returned to the Victoria area (approx 1846) and the other half settled in the valley. Here is a chance for us to get together with the family that settled in the Valley, on Sunday, September 28 in Edingburg. Please,
if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call, either me, using the number
below, my cell 361-649-4680 or Viola Teeter in Harlingen, 956 357-0160. |
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Dear Texas History
Enthusiast |
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The day was February 13, 1897. Ten individuals met on the campus of the
University of Texas in Austin for the purpose of founding an organization to
promote the discovery, collection, preservation, and publication of historical
material pertaining to Texas. Less than one month later, twenty-five men and
women gathered for the first formal meeting of the Texas State Historical
Association. The meeting was conducted by the light of two lanterns, since the
lighting system failed; lanterns lighting the path of historical discovery have
served as the symbol of the association ever since.
Every spring, in commemoration of that very first meeting in 1897, hundreds of
Texas enthusiasts gather at the annual meeting of the Texas State Historical
Association (TSHA) to discuss virtually every topic and era of Texas history.
This much-anticipated annual meeting draws TSHA members from almost all 50
states, making it one of the most widely attended annual conventions of any
state historical society. In fact, the number of new members at this year’s
annual meeting more than doubled!
There is nothing like a TSHA Annual Meeting for seeing old friends and for being
energized and inspired by the latest work being done by scholars who work in the
field. |
But the TSHA annual meeting is just one of many exclusive events and resources
offered by the Texas State Historical Association.
Recognized as the most trusted authority on Texas history, TSHA is among the
fastest-growing historical societies in the country. Just look at the many ways
we are making Texas history available to the world: |
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| There’s no doubt that TSHA has experienced unprecedented growth in the past
several years. That’s why we need devoted Texas enthusiasts like you to help
us meet this growing demand.
TSHA has many exciting endeavors on the horizon—taking the Texas Quiz Show
online and improving FREE access to the last 115 years of the Southwestern
Historical Quarterly, for example—and we want you to be a part of this
exciting future. Become a member of
TSHA at the $50 level or higher before our fiscal year ends on August 31, and
you will receive a FREE copy of the 2014–2015 Texas Almanac! Imagine, you get
the satisfaction of passing on our rich Texas heritage and you receive a FREE
copy of the go-to source for all things Texas! Time is running out, so add your
name to TSHA’s exclusive membership roster right now! Thank you for your
support and for keeping Texas history alive.
Sincerely, John Liston Nau, III
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1871 tax assessment document of Cameron County |
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In
searching for information for my book, I found the 1871 tax assessment
document of Cameron Cnty, which shows the "estate" of what I
believe to be Jose Angel Fernandez, my great, great grandfather.
He did not have very much property left by that time, as you might
be able to see, about $300's worth. But the U.S. Census of 1860/70
show that at least two of his children, Demetrio and Marcelino, my great
grandfather, had what I believe to be their share of the inheritance
left behind by Jose Angel. Marcelino's inheritance ended up in the
attic of Papa Refugio/Mama Lolita's house, and lay forgotten, the house
sold, and the bakery people in the corner of 19th and Coleman ended up
with it and proceeded to buy/construct what they have now. The old
gold/silver coins they had to slowly use so as not to be found.
And so goes all of Papa Refugio's inheritance... Oh well... Sinceramente,
Refugio Fernandez
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LAREDO, TEXAS MEMORIES |
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Editor: Thank you Gilberto . . . When
did your Dad start working with the bus line . . . Gilberto:
More than likely, your Chapa family ancestor is correct in that they
came to Laredo by train. At that time, the Texas Mexican Railway was the
favorite and modern mode of transportation between Mexico and the United
States. By 1888, the National Railways of Mexico was completed from
Nuevo Laredo to Mexico City. Seven years earlier, the railroads from
Corpus Christi and San Antonio had reached Laredo. Also, an
international railroad bridge was erected across the Río Grande at
Laredo so that trains could travel back and forth between the interior
of Mexico and Laredo. |
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SISTERS
OF MERCY’S 120 YEARS OF SERVICE IN LAREDO
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The
Webb County Heritage Foundation will present a retrospective exhibit of
historic photos, artifacts, and memorabilia documenting the Sisters of
Mercy’s 120th anniversary of service in the Laredo border
community beginning with an opening reception on Thursday, August 14
from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum, 810
Zaragoza St. in Laredo. “We
are proud to present this visual chronicle of the Sisters of Mercy’s
work in our community beginning with their arrival in 1894 and following
the evolution of their mission to the present,” said Margarita Araiza,
Executive Director of the Webb County Heritage Foundation. “The
Sisters have had a personal and professional influence on countless
families and individuals in Laredo, and are associated with the
advancement of public medical services and social outreach unparalleled
in our community,” she said. |
The public is invited to the opening reception and
following that, the exhibit will be on display throughout the months
of August and September. For
more information, contact the Webb County Heritage Foundation at http://www.webbheritage.org/, |
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Margarita
Araiza, Executive
Director |
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Photo above: Early Religious Sisters of Mercy, Sister Mary
Ernestine Colgan, Sister Mary Benigna McGrath, Sister Mary Pauline
Curtin, and Sister Mary Veronica McCarthy, are shown wearing the old
style habits during the late 1930's |
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An
Unforgettable Reunion |
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| For
the past several years, I had made it a point to call my first grade teacher and
my other three nuns often and to visit with them at least twice a year.
I vividly remember Sister M. Elvira, she now goes by her baptismal name
of Sister Rosa Ruiz, when as a six-year-old in 1953, I was in her class at St.
Augustine Parochial School in Laredo, Texas.
She was in her late twenties and in her fifth year as a teacher.
There were forty-one well-behaved students in the class.
We were all seated in alphabetical order facing the front of the room in
five straight rows. She managed
quite successfully with no teacher assistants to teach us the rudiments of a
first grade education in that learning environment that consisted of two large
rectangular blackboards with the alphabet on top of each one, printed in white
letters against a green background, a colorful globe, and on the front wall were
two small flags--the United States and Texas, with a big crucifix in the middle,
a set of abacus, a record player, and the three-foot shelves around the room
were filled with library books, 45 and 78 rpm records and art supplies. |
Three
ceiling fans circulated the northwesterly air that swooped in through four
elongated windows on the west side and six elongated windows on the north side.
The classroom was in the northwest corner of the second floor, allowing
us a clear view of San Agustín Plaza and of the neighboring two-story
commercial buildings. I had to
laboriously climb three flights of stairs amongst a sea of strange faces.
In those days, the first grade students were not required to wear a
uniform. From
my diminutive position, I had to crook my little neck every time this towering
Anglo-looking woman, clothed in a black wool serge habit that concealed her
towering slender body, with a white roman collar that covered her throat, and
her head, ears, and forehead were covered with a starched shortened coronet (The
Sisters of Divine Providence did away with the guimpe a couple of years before),
called on me. As she stood by my
side, the rustling sound of her rosary with the large black beads and the gold
crucifix that hung around her waist came to a standstill.
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On
many occasions, this distinctive sound was a warning signal of her imminent
approach and for us to behave. She
eventually caught on and would sometimes hold the rosary with her right hand to
catch us off guard. Staring down at
me, I listened attentively to her authoritarian but soft voice that flowed from
her colorless lips. And from my
vantage point, all I could see was a pair of gentle, smiling green eyes evenly
affixed on a small white oval face, and her cheeks were always rosy like if she
had a permanent blush. Her exposed
small and delicate hands were as white and smooth as her face.
I sometimes wondered what color of hair she had.
When she got close to me, I would take a deep breath, I liked the way she
smell, it was an impalpable emanation, an aura of a holy scent.
I was intimidated by this commanding adult figure, but I was more
frightened by the massive three-story yellow brick building with no central
air-conditioning that was built in 1927, and that housed grades first through
twelve. |
After
I was promoted to the second grade, I never saw her again until forty-three
years later when I was working in the South San Antonio Independent School
District. On an unusual cool Monday
morning, May of 1996, it was an inservice day and all the first grade teachers
were participating in an all-day workshop in the spacious room across the hall
from my office. I heard noises in
the hall. The teachers were on a
break when I heard a knock at my open office door, at the Parent Development
Center, where I was working as a school administrator, and there was this petite
elderly woman, with short dyed brown wavy hair, wearing gold rimmed glasses, and
a brown skirt with a white blouse, covered by a navy sweater, pointing to my
nameplate on the door. I got up from
behind my executive mahogany desk and politely offered her a seat on one of the
two comfortable leather black armchairs in front of the desk.
The conversation went something like this: |
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She:
"Your last name--Quezada--is rather unusual.
Are you from Laredo?" Me:
"Why, yes, I am from Laredo."
I was surprised that she had guessed my hometown. She:
"There are not too many people with that last name.
It is a very memorable one. Did
you attend St. Augustine
School?" And she smiled. Me:
"Why, yes, I did." Now
my curiosity was really piqued. I
cleared my throat and straightened my posture. She:
"Do you remember the name of your first grade teacher?" Me:
"Yes, of course. Her
name was Sister Elvira." I
responded proudly and even pulled my chest up. |
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| She paused a few seconds, smiled and still looking at me with her gentle green eyes that seemed magnified almost four times by the thickness of the lenses. Then without blinking an eye, she calmly replied, "I am Sister Elvira, and I have never forgotten you." I literally fell off my chair, I did not recognize her. She said something to me in Spanish; I could not believe what I had just heard. My beloved first grade teacher was sitting in front of me after all these years. My mouth felt dry like if I had a huge cotton ball inside my throat, and I tried to swallow, but a knot in my throat delayed any immediate response. I regained my composure and was finally able to utter something like, "You are!! But you were so tall and Anglo-Saxon looking and spoke no Spanish." ( I was now six-three and she was still five even). She smiled again and said, "I now go by my baptismal name of Sister Rosa Ruiz. And as you can see, I no longer have to wear the religious habit. I had to speak English because in those days we were not allowed to speak Spanish in class." |
Her authoritarian
and soft voice had not changed, but somehow, I was no longer intimidated by her
presence. With
tears in our eyes, we warmly embraced, and we had a very good and long visit.
I looked at her and said, "My debt to you, Sister Rosa, is eternal.
I owe you a debt of immeasurable gratitude."
And she responded, "I have always had a special place in my heart
for you." She told me that she
grew up in Lower Colonias, New Mexico, and had taken her vows at Our Lady of the
Lake Convent in San Antonio when she was eighteen.
I found out that she was the oldest of seven children and that her father
was a farmer and a carpenter and her mother took care of the household.
She also told me that her Mother Superior had given permission for the
Sisters to work in public schools if they so desired.
Their salary, of course, would be handed over to the convent.
Many parochial Catholic schools had closed throughout the state,
including a few in San Antonio. |
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I
had a rare opportunity, perhaps once in a lifetime, to express my gratitude to
her personally for giving me such a great start.
She worked for the school district for five year teaching first grade at
Price Elementary School before retiring. Then
she went to work in an orphanage in Mexico for a few more years before finally
retiring. Sister Rosa lived at Our
Lady of the Lake Convent when she went to her eternal reward at the age of 85
years old. She passed away on
Sunday, July 27, 2014, and I attended her wake and rosary four days later. May
God bless you abundantly. Gilberto
Quezada
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| Correspondence between Gilberto and Jose M. Pena |
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Yesterday
evening, I was reviewing the voluminous folder I have in my file cabinet
entitled, "The Spanish Archives of Laredo," which contain my research
notes when I worked with Miss Carmen Perry at St. Mary's University during the
late 1960s in translating, cataloguing, and indexing the Laredo Archives. The
folder also contains my research notes on a number of topics pertinent to the
history of Laredo. These invaluable
and venerable old documents provide a glimpse, among other factors, into the
social history of Laredo under Spanish (1749 to 1820) and Mexican (1821 to 1848)
rule. It
is interesting to note that what we take for granted nowadays, like taking a
bath in the privacy of our own home, with all the conveniences of cold and hot
running water, was not the case in Laredo during the latter part of the
eighteenth century. In 1784, and
perhaps earlier, it was customary for both sexes to bathe together in the Río
Grande, and nobody thought otherwise, keeping in mind that the frontier town of
Laredo was surrounded by wilderness and marauding Indians.
Laredo consisted of about seven hundred inhabitants, composed of
Spaniards, mestizos, mulatos, and Carrizo Indians.
There were about eighty-five primitive dwellings. |
The
Franciscan padre who had to travel by horseback all the way from Revilla
(Guerrero Viejo) at least once a week to administer the sacraments, however,
thought differently about such a practice, and he gained the support of Don
Santiago de Jesús Sánchez, the lieutenant alcalde, to put a stop to this
indecent behavior. During the month
of May of 1784, the alcalde issued a decree against the practice of mix bathing
in the Río Grande, and after the people were summoned to the plaza de San
Agustín by the drum-roll, he stood in the middle of the plaza and read it in a
very loud voice to those present, stating in part, "because it has been
carried to excess and without any regard for self-respect, setting a bad example
for the children, thus causing the loss of self-respect and morality, and
because. . .it is an offense to both Majesties, God and the King." Furthermore, the decree ordered the heads of families to prohibit their daughters to bathe in the company of men, even if it included their own brothers, and to report any one caught watching the girls bathe. Whereby, the alcalde might, "proceed forthwith to place any girl so offending in a safe place where she may be properly admonished." The decree further stated that married men might accompany their wives while bathing, "it being well understood that they must go alone, or at most |
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with their daughters, but no other outsiders shall go with them; and in
order to avoid any kind of friction and frivolous quarrels, which are taking
place constantly." And the
alcalde concluded by stating that, " I further order that those who may be
present inform those who may not be present of the same."
That way, nobody would be ignorant of the new law. Even
specific times during the day were set aside for separate bathing of the sexes.
Men were to bath after the ringing of the Angelus (around noon) and the
women at sunset. The alcalde in his
efforts to enforce the decree and to establish some semblance of morality in the
frontier town of Laredo, declared a penalty for violating the decree, which
amounted to ten days in jail and a fine of six pesos.
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Gilberto:
Thanks
for a very interesting footnote in the history of Laredo.
During my research on my book I remember reading a similar document on
Laredo. During the period that I
reviewed, men and boys would bathe one day, women and girls would bathe the
next. There were also observations
of peeping toms and lovers meeting clandestinely and "making out"
which resulted in some pregnancies... What
is also interesting is that Jose Tienda de Cuervo made a survey of settlers in
the 23 villages and found mostly married families, some single people, a number
of widows or widowers, --- but only 1 "wayward! woman who had divorced or
separated from her rightful husband (the ratio was about 1 divorce out of
over 2,000)....Compare this with today's divorce rate (1 of every 2 or
3???).... Thanks
for the tidbit on the social life in Old Laredo...
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Can you identify any of these streets in Laredo, Texas?
TEXAS
HIGHWAYS article on Guerra family in South Texas http://www.texashighways.com/culture-lifestyle/
Sent by Walter
Herbeck
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/mamaladama This album of old pictures shows the reasons why we should all put labels, names, or notations on every single picture. We might know what the pictures are all about at the time we take them; however, later on, we forget and this creates problems.......I am guilty of that situation. I have many photos from all over the world, but I can't remember what the picture was meant to say...Jose M. Pena JMPENA@aol.com
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Creating Beauty from Devastation in Galveston,
Texas
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When I was a university student in Houston, Galveston Island was a magnet during holidays and after finals. Like many tourists, I was drawn to its beaches, flip-flop-friendly venues and overall Margaritaville culture. But this spring, I discovered that beneath Galveston’s fun-filled veneer, there’s a population of some 50,000 civic-minded residents. On a more recent trip with a group of other travel writers, I realized that Galveston is not just Houston’s laid-back neighbor 50 miles south. The residents of this town are as resilient as the 100-year-old oak trees, some of which date to the 1800s, that once shielded homes from the sizzling Texas sun. The East End Historic neighborhood, with gardens and yards dotted with whimsical tree sculptures, illustrates the indomitable spirit of Galveston Island. This residential district boasts what could be one of the largest outdoor collections of oak tree-sculptures in the nation. |
Take a walking tour or go by bike, car or solar-powered shuttle bus and you’ll see the “Tin Man and Toto” created by chainsaw artist Jim Phillips, “The Lion King” by fellow artist Earl Jones, and a “Great Dane” by artist Dale Lewis. These artists are not famous. They are no Picasso, Van Gogh or Matisse. But their work is every bit as inspiring as works by those artists. In fact, with 1.5 million visitors each year, Galveston’s tree-sculptures are a must-see outdoor attraction for many a tourist. “There’s something about the wood. It doesn’t matter what shape you put it in, they love it, especially the kids and the elderly,” said Jim Philips, one of the first artists commissioned to create works of art from salt-choked oak trees. Philips, who has turned his hobby into a full-time career, said most of the artworks represent what the homeowner envisioned the dead oak tree to be. For example, one of the directors of the Wizard of Oz film was born in the house where “Tin Man and Toto” now stands. |
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The tree sculptures also represent a family pet, an elusive dream, or a special memory for many of the homeowners. Take the Geisha sculpture on one front yard. It was commissioned by a homeowner who has traveled to Japan several times due to a special interest in the Far East. As we zipped up and down the East End neighborhood, I found that the unique sculptures resonated with me, rekindling memories of the disaster that led to the tree-sculpture saga five years ago. On September 13, 2008, Galveston was devastated by Hurricane Ike. Some residents headed to the Houston mainland on Interstate 45 north. Others hunkered down in beach houses, landmark hotels, and Victorian-era homes amid winds clocked beyond 110 mph. When it was over, much of Galveston Island and nearby Bolivar Peninsula lay in ruins. The Strand, a historic downtown business district, was inundated with more than 15 feet of saltwater. Quaint boutiques, restaurants and the Grand 1894 Opera House suffered water and wind damage. |
After Ike destroyed much of the town, including hundreds of oak trees, Donna Leibbert, a member of the Galveston Island Tree Committee and Galveston Island Tree Conservancy, began brainstorming. She told city officials dead oak trees could be re-purposed into art. When the city gave the go-ahead, she recruited Phillips, Jones, and Lewis. Galveston lost nearly 40,000 trees to Ike, but both organizations are devoted to ensuring the island is replanted. Since Ike, the conservancy has planted 11,000 new trees with the help of myriad volunteers. These two groups prevented dead oak from ending up in landfills. Ironically, 200 tons of the oak tree remnants went to Malaga, Spain to be used in completion of “Galveztown,” a full-scale 1779 replica of a historic brig. Bernardo de Galvez, Spanish Governor of Louisiana, is Galveston’s namesake. The brig is named in his honor and will one day sail to Galveston. Residents, whose homes and businesses were destroyed, found hope when their beloved oak trees became owls, dolphins, dogs, cats, birds and angels. A bit of Americana here and a touch of popular culture there popped up first in the East End. |
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Soon, the entire beach town was captivated by the tree-sculptures. A larger-than-life “Railroad Engineer” by Phillips towers near the Railroad Museum and Schreiber Park has a “Wildlife Tree” by Lewis. At Adoue Park, Jones sculpted a “Grandmother Reading to Her Grandchildren” through a donation from the Adoue family.
In my tour group, a New York-based writer was so amazed with the outdoor sculptures that she wrote: “This not only told me a story of survival but of making something beautiful from remnants of a devastating natural disaster as well.” |
New York’s Hurricane Sandy survivors, who also dealt with felled
trees, could learn from Galvestonians, she said. Still, there were die-hard businesses that refused to succumb to the deluge of Hurricane Ike. LaKing’s Confectionery, Couteux Couture, the Grand 1894 Opera House, Tremont House Wyndham Grand Hotel and many others stood their ground, shook a collective fist at Ike, and reopened after the storm. “This place was like a river, and when the water receded there was mud everywhere,” said Diane Olson, owner of Olson Historic Properties and the chic lady’s boutique Couteux Couture. “I was born and raised here, so where was I gonna go?” She didn’t go far, reopening down the street on The Strand.
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Olson articulated what most Galveston residents felt after Hurricane Ike, the most devastating hurricane since the storm of 1900, which took more than 6,000 lives. Still residents remained, prompting officials to build a giant seawall. The 17-foot high wall had withstood other storms, until Ike came ashore. Nevertheless, a full year after Ike devastated the island, and outsiders reported Galveston’s demise, news spread of its miraculous resurrection. A local business mogul, who owns a chain of restaurants and built the Pleasure Pier, said that despite hurricanes people always return to the Gulf of Mexico waters. He may have a point. In the late 1880s Galveston was christened the “Playground of the South” due to its 32 miles of beaches, the vibrant Strand, several cultural venues, and family-friendly activities. Coincidentally, post-Ike rebuilding efforts have spurred the town’s Golden Age revival. Today, the island has reclaimed its playground title with new and
restored entertainment venues. Some of the most popular include Moody
Gardens with its remodeled Rainforest Pyramid, the Pleasure Pier, Lone
Star Flight Museum and the Galveston Railroad Museum. |
Since 2010, Galveston has
attracted five new cruise ships, including Disney Magic, Crown Princess,
Carnival Magic, Carnival Triumph, and Royal Caribbean’s Mariners of
the Seas. In May 2011, the Historic Pleasure Pier replaced the 1960s-era
Flagship Hotel damaged beyond repair by Ike.
Gaido’s Seafood restaurant resisted Ike’s fury and continues to thrive more than 102 years after its founding. The landmark is one of many businesses along Seawall Boulevard, across from the pedestrian-friendly beachfront promenade.
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Founded in 1837, Galveston was also known as the “Ellis Island of the South,” according to our tour guide. It was the gateway for European immigration in the South. That’s why Galveston has the largest and well-preserved concentration of Victorian architecture in the country. Also, European values inspired the building of The Grand 1894 Opera House. Since I’m an opera fan, I broke away from my group while strolling around bustling Pier 21. It was an easy, walking distance escape to the Opera House. Inside, I saw a waterline marker denoting the 9 feet of saltwater that had inundated the opulent lobby. I could see from the main theatre’s interior why so many opera legends had once performed here.
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As I looked back on my forays to Galveston as a Houston university student, I felt guilty. I had missed this hallowed island’s soul in my quest to swim and sunbathe. Had I not taken this journey, I may never have seen the sculptures or known about Mother Nature’s dual role in spurring artistic endeavors and bringing closure for some survivors. Realizing Galveston is more than Texas’ number one vacation destination was my epiphany. This island is a living, breathing, ever-evolving oasis, reinventing and reshaping itself through its residents and the artists it inspires. Now, as I recall the Tin Man, the Great Dane, the Geisha and so many other symbols of man’s triumph over nature, I too smile broadly. Rosie Carbo is a travel writer, who finds both the history and beauty of the cities and countries that she visits. Source: Literary
Traveler. August 10, 2014
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Jose
Francisco Garcia was killed by bandits on August 25, 1877. Some details about
his death would have remained hidden from the public if that 1954 article had
not been located by Helen Wallace, a descendant of Ventura
Flores.
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Juan
wrote about his Flores family and San Diego during another century. His father
Jose Dario Garcia was a Deputy under Sheriff Corrigan
and his mother Maria Andrea Garcia was among the older girls that were educated
at Incarnate Word Convent in Corpus Christi. The boys were sent to St.
Patrick’s during those early years of San Diego. Juan
G Garcia knowledge about the Flores family must have been attributed to his
birth in 1898 during the Spanish American War. He was raised among other direct
Flores descendants and some had multiple Flores lineages like himself.
As the candidate that wrote the article Juan estimated that it was possible that 300 Garcia voters in 1954 might be able to trace their ancestry to Maria Isabel Flores (+Jose Remigio Garcia). All her grandchildren had the Garcia surname even the ones from a daughter that married a Garcia.
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The Estate of Isabel Flores from her father Julian Flores, 3452 1/6 acres of the San Diego de Arriba Land Grant, was inherited by 7 children, but only 3 heirs were listed in the article. 1
Jose Antonio Garcia
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At the end of Juan G Garcia’s article he made a personal appeal to all the 800
Flores descendants he estimated living That
1954 article also included an unusual reference to a comment that James G Luby
apparently made to the author of the article. It was stated that the father of
Julian Flores was a pure Aztec Indian and his wife was an Irish woman. Except
for that article there is no confirmation available of an Indian heritage for
Diego Flores and the surname Hinojosa is not an Irish name. In genealogy untrue
facts seem to continue being in print and it is seen by others.
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Another
article¹, “San Diego de Arriba
and San Diego de Abajo”,
from the El Mesteno
that was published in December 1997 provides historical facts about the San
Diego Land Grants. That article is now being reprinted at the end of this Somos
Primos article. It was researched and
authored by Homero S Vera, Museum
Coordinator of the Kenedy Ranch
Museum, Sarita, Texas.
This article also establishes a more accurate timeframe
when Julian Flores lived in the region and the grants were located within the
future Duval County and Jim Wells
County.
By
Eddie U Garcia
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Note¹:
From the EL MESTEÑO:
Vol. 1 No. 3 December 1997 San
Diego de Arriba
and San Diego de Abajo
The
grant of San Diego de Arriba
and San Diego de Abajo
were first surveyed by Don Faustino Contreras on May 5, 1809. He had come to the
place called San Diego to survey 16 Leagues of agostadero
de grande
mayor for four citizens of the Villa of Mier:
San Diego de Arriba
for Don Julián Flores, San Diego de
Abajo for Don Ventura
Flores – (Julián’s son), San Leandro
for Jose Antonio de la Peña,
and Santa Florentina for Juan Sánchez
Rosales. Each tract consisted of four leagues.
They
were denounced on May 30, 1810 on behalf of the grantees by Don Jose Pascual
Guerra, for the sum of $184.00 pesos and paid to the government treasury of San
Luis Potosi.
The
Grantees graze the land for several years but due to flood and unfriendly Natives
they were forced to go back to Cuidad
Mier. After Spain lost the war for
Independence, they set out to reclaim their lands. With a new government
installed they had to file a claim and on February 19, 1831 paid $296.00 pesos
to the treasury of Cuidad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
On April 18, 1831 the possession of land was granted to them.
During this time José Antonio
de la Peña
died and his son, Ygnacio de
la Peña, was the heir to his four
leagues. On
July 22, 1831, Don José Santiago de
Ynojosa, Mayor of the Villa de
Mier, went to said tract of land, San
Diego de Abajo,
and rode with Ventura Flores in all
four direction and legally declared him owner of his four leagues. He also
rode with Jacinto Flores, brother of Ventura,
and heir of Julián in all four
directions of San Diego de Arriba
and legally declared him owner. by
Homero S Vera,
Grant Addendum Timeframe
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Las
Porciones Society
http://southtexasgenealogy.org/history/
Brief History of Las Porciones Society 1. Informal group meetings began before 1984 when individuals would attend State Hispanic Genealogy Conferences which began in 1979. These meetings usually revolved around sharing genealogy information. 2. 1984-the Las Porciones Genealogical Society began meeting on a semi-formal basis at the homes of different members. The leaders of the group were Gilberto and Patsy Diaz, Carroll (Kelly) and Odie Norquest, George Gause, Ramiro Davila, Jr. and Eloy Gonzalez. 3. 1987-Formal organization of the group. Las Porciones Society is formally incorporated in Texas and a tax-exemption is secured from the IRS. The word “Genealogy” was deleted from the name to indicate that the group was expanding its focus to include not only genealogy, but also local and regional history. 4. 1987, 1992 and 2002-LPS hosts the State Hispanic Genealogy Conference. Tours were organized around the area. In 2002 five busloads of genealogists traveled to Mier and Camargo to view historical sites and genealogical resources. LPS received many compliments for its conferences. 5. Book Sales-George Gause, a member of LPS, was one of the first book sellers at the State Hispanic Genealogy Conferences selling history books from Mexico and South Texas. LPS took the lead in promoting the first Carl Duaine book that was a trailblazer in Hispanic Genealogy of South Texas. In recent years, LPS has gotten away from book sales. 6. Journals-LPS was one of the first Hispanic Genealogy groups to publish journals on South Texas and Northern Mexico Genealogy. In 1988 and 1989, LPS published journals twice a year. The Journals featured transcriptions of census and other primary materials which had not been previously published. 7. Efforts of Members a) Joe Escobar-Illustrated and published the English version of “Mier en la Historia” b) Joel Rene Escobar-Translated the notes of attorney Seabury on South Texas family trees and published it in 1995 as “The Seabury Papers”. This book covers many families whose land titles were litigated by the attorney. He complied additional family tree books on the Escobar, Saenz, Gonzalez, Balli and Guerra families. c) Kelly Norquest-Developed Database of Pena Family Tree and will custom publish for different lines upon request. d) Dr. Cayetano Barrera-Inspired the Tejano Monument and was the President of the group that succeeded in placing it on the front lawn of the Texas Capitol. e) Amancio Chapa-Documented the Chapa family tree which descends from Juan Bautista Chapa who came to Monterrey in about 1650. He has established a connection with the Italian village from which his ancestor came and recently worked with a relative who republished the 17th century accounts of Juan Bautista Chapa and a family tree in Italian. f) Dr. Lino Garcia-Writing monthly newspaper articles on Spanish, Mexican and Tejano history. He got into a dispute with Texas Monthly as to whether Stephen F. Austin was the father of Texas, arguing that Austin couldn’t be called the father if he wasn’t here when Texas was named, but came more than 100 years later. 8. Association with Special Collections at UTPA-LPS donated SAGA books to library for use of genealogists. LPS has helped procure genealogy books for the collection which has one of the most extensive holdings re Hispanic genealogy. LPS loaned a Miniature Spanish Vaquero statute (replica of Tejano Monument figure) to Library. For many years, LPS meetings were held there until parking became a severe problem. 9. Collection of Porciones Maps-Purchased from Texas General Land Office and placed on large panels. Displayed at various museums and schools. 10. Monthly meetings-For many years now, LPS has met monthly about 10 times a year. Most meeting feature a speaker on genealogy or historical issues. Recent speakers have included Joe Lopez, well-known author and advocate; Dr. Alejo Salinas, author of a family history; and Dr. Lino Garcia, UTPA professor on his recent trip to Spain.
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House Resolution 709 |
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House
Resolution 709 adopted by the 83rd Texas State Legislature recognizes
that Texas has been a Republic on two different occasions. We celebrate
March 2nd as Texas Independence Day but we must never forget the one
founded by our Tejano ancestors on April 6, 1813
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This
First Republic was founded at the Spanish Governors Palace, across the
street from City Hall in downtown San Antonio by Bernardo Gutierrez de
Lara , a Tejano Hero on April 6th 1813. Our request is a simple one; to
fly the Green Flag in honor of our ancestors who fought and died in
order to be free and to fly it in front of the Spanish Governors Palace;
and we even donate the flag. Please
show your support by signing up to speak or just be present at 6 PM. If
we do not preserve, protect and promote our Tejano History no one will
do it for us. Citizens
to be heard City Hall Downtown San Antonio
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Clash
with Rangers radicalizes rancher
August
3, 1915 |
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On
this day in 1915, Aniceto Pizaña escaped a gunfight with Texas Rangers
at his ranch north of Brownsville and became a full-fledged
revolutionary. Pizaña was born in Cameron County about 1870. He met
Ricardo Flores Magón in 1904 and with Luis De la Rosa helped formed the
Floresmagonista movement to redress the injustices done to Mexicans on
both sides of the Rio Grande. In Brownsville Pizaña helped to form a
branch of the Mexican Liberal party, which by 1915 had joined other
Floresmagonistas in using the Plan of San Diego to combat injustices by
guerrilla warfare. The plan called for the American Southwest to become
an independent republic. |
Pizaña's wife, brother, and son were captured, the latter having been shot in the leg, by rangers who arrived at his ranch to investigate a raid near Brownsville, Pizaña swore revenge and decided to support the plan. Commanding raiding parties from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, he was primarily responsible for the guerrilla activities of the revolutionaries, generally swift nocturnal attacks. He used regular Mexican troops in the raids, weeded out ineffective men, and used strict discipline to produce troops of combat quality. By 1916 Mexican provisional president Venustiano Carranza was being pressured by the United States government to stop Pizaña's raids. Pizaña was arrested in Monterrey in February 1916 and lived in Tamaulipas until his death in 1957.
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BORDER
BANDITS, PART_III |
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What brought Washington officials off the
fence, September
28, 1915 a woman living near
Harlingen was attacked by two and wounded in her forearm. October
5, 1915 patrol of 6th Cavalry ambushed near Mercedes, casualties are
sketchy October
17,1915 bandits derail and burn locomotive and train three miles south of Olmito
near the Tandy Ranch. engineer dies and two passengers are murdered. The
two-passenger car train was on its way from Harlingen to Brownsville. Spikes and
fish plates were removed from the track and then the bandits used a wire cable
to pull the rail to one side just as the train approached. When the locomotive
hit this section, it tipped over and plunged to its side in a ditch. The
throttle of the engine pierced engineer
H. H. Kendall's chest. It later had to be cut in two in order to remove his
body. Fireman Woodall was badly scolded from the hot steam which escaped from
the ruptured boiler but survived. The stopped train was then riddled with
bullets before the bandits boarded it. The armed guard of 3rd U.
S. Cavalry soldiers in civilian dress were shot as well as civilians. One
soldier named McBee was dead, having been shot several times. Soldier Claude J.
Brasher had been shot in the face but was still alive and the last soldier, H.
C. Layton was painfully wounded. Passengers took cover wherever they could. Dr.
S. E. McCain and Harry Wallace, who took refuge in the men's toilet were both
wounded. Brownsville businessman Morris Edelstein and Brownsville attorney John
Kleber had safely found shelter on the floor between seats. While the baggage
and mail cars had overturned the two passenger car had remained upright. Morris
Edelstein, the Brownsville merchant, who was aboard the train documented what
had occurred with the help of his son Ben. As the bandits had approached him, he
addressed them in Spanish and asked that his suitcase be left alone. They took
him for a Mexican and did so. “There was another passenger, a traveling
salesman, whom the bandits seized and were ready to kill, when my father shouted
in Spanish, 'Don't kill him he is German!' (Which he was not). In those days the
people in Mexico had a high respect for Germans. Some of the generals in the
Mexican army were of German descent. The
Germans were also friendly to the bandits. They
furnished the bandits with guns, ammunition and other necessities, hoping that
the bandits would drive all of the Texas settlers out of the state. The bandits
stole the black porter's shoes forcing him to run some three miles barefoot [to
the Cottingham Ranch] before he could spread the news of the train robbery. The
traveling salesman profusely thanked Dad for having saved his life but swore
that he would never return to Texas. For as long as he lived, every year at
Christmas time the traveling salesman mailed Dad a Christmas card.” “
There was also an elderly Mexican couple on the wrecked train. When the Rangers
came to examine the wreck, they came across the elderly couple, thinking that
they may have assisted the bandits. Dad told the Rangers that these people had
boarded the train in Houston, that they were only passengers and had no
connection with the bandits. The Rangers proceeded down the aisle. (One can only
imagine Lawman
John Peavey was among those who arrived early on the scene. He and others then
commenced to track the bandit band. They found stolen items (the raiders had
taken personal possessions from both the living and the dead, including shoes
from all the men) discarded all the way to the river and to near the Villa Nueva
Ranch where the bandits crossed the river into Mexico. He
also wrote of vigilante justice associated with the incident. Ten Mexicans
living near the Tandy Ranch had been taken into custody and four had been hung.
Peavey later wrote “It was an ugly and grim sight. I had seen things like this
before but to me it still seemed cold and cruel.” Six others were shot by
their Ranger and civilian captors. Peavey, who had seen the bandit tracks coming
and going to the river knew that these men were innocent. Sheriff Vann fingered
Ranger Captain Ransom as the leader of the executioners. Vann, who was no
“white hat” lawmen did gain some admiration in 1915 and 1916 for his
objections to the lynching of Tejanos. Years later Vann would arrest three
Rangers for going into people's homes and taking their guns. October
21, 1915 bandits attack army outpost at Ojo de Agua Ranch; three soldiers are
killed. Sgt. Schaefer and eight
soldiers were camping and most asleep at the site that afforded little cover.
About 60 to 80 Mexican bandits attacked them and killed the sergeant along with
privates Joyce and McConnell. The
carnage would have been worst had not Capt. W.J. Scott heard shots from his camp
near Penitas. With 20 raw recruits from New York and New Jersey they rode
bareback toward the fray and the attacking Mexicans fled. Nine soldiers of the
combined group were wounded. This was not until six Mexicans and their Japanese
leader had been killed. These
same Sediciosos also mounted an attack on the nearby Dillard homestead. The
Spanish speaking son, George, in this mixed Anglo-Tejano family helped scout for
army units. After
Texas Senator Sheppard personally came to the Valley to assess the border unrest
and the situation as a whole, he wanted to see the site of the skirmish. Frank
Rabb arranged for the Senator and three or four colonels to visit the site. From
Mission he drove them there by car but was later admonished for not bringing
along added protection. After
the engagement, Major General Frederick Funston, Commanding General Southern
Department, "asked for another regiment of infantry to be placed in
Harlingen to act as a guard so that the size of each cavalry patrol could be
increased. The War Department
complied by sending the 28th Infantry from Dallas.", this according to
historian Charles Cumberland. October
25, 1915 bandits attack the outpost that had been set up near the October 17
train derailment near Olmito After
dark a volley is fired into the encampment but before any retaliation can be
enacted the culprits disappear into the thick brush. Herman Moore of the 4th
U.S. Infantry is shot and later dies of his wound. November
5, 1915 river patrol of 6th Cavalry fired upon near Mercedes pump
house; many bandits reportedly shot and killed January
24, 1916 some members of the 4th U. S. Cavalry were picked up by
Mexican bandits and made prisoners The two men, stationed near Progreso,
apparently swam across the river to purchase liquor. Carranza soldiers nabbed
Wheeler and Peterson. The Commanding Officer of the 5th Field
Artillery foolishly directed a lieutenant and twenty-four men to cross the river
to negotiate a return of the two soldiers. In doing so , four of the 26 swimmers
drowned. After being brought to Matamoros the two derelict soldiers on the third
day were transferred across the bridge. They were tried by a special court
martial and suitably punished. “The officers who permitted the crossing of the
river were reprimanded for violating existing orders.” June
11, 1916 Matamoros commander General
Ricaut orders the arrest of de la Rosa and his followers in Monterrey, however
most of de la Rosa's followers get away June
16, 1916 a band of sixty de la Rosa
marauders attacks an army patrol in Webb County and four American soldiers are
killed June
14-17, 1916 10 miles north of
Brownsville and a few miles from San Benito a detachment of soldiers is fired
upon by a group of about 20 raiders One raider is killed. Still in pursuit three
days later 50 soldiers cross the river. Ignoring warnings by Mexico's General
Ricaut not to cross the border, General Parker orders over a hundred more
cavalrymen to follow this band into Mexico. They do so with considerable
equipment. After a one-day incursion and camping the night seven miles outside
Matamoros, a minor skirmish, and a pledge by Ricaut to apprehend the raiders,
the U.S. troops return across the border. July
17, 1917 Hill Sugar mill in
Harlingen burned to ground; fire attributed to bandits More likely as the bandit
troubles were well winding down, the fire were set by disgruntled individuals
who had an ax to grind with Lon C. Hill. The wood-clad factory, located at the
site of the present baseball stadium, had been closed since the spring of 1914.
It had cost at least $125,000 to erect in 1911. December
1917 Historian Benjamin Heber
Johnson tells us in his Revolution in Texas". "Although
the identities of most raiders were usually completely unknown, army officers
sometimes suspected former Sediciosos. This
was the case in a December 1917 incident, when a cavalry unit near Harlingen
shot at five men attempting to cross the Rio Grande.
They killed one of the men who, an officer stated, 'may be one Mariano
Casarez, wanted by civil authorities for charges of banditry…connected with de
la Rosa and Pizaña in their raids of 1915.' " By
July 8, 1915, Cameron County Judge H. L. Yates had seen enough. He wrote General
Frederick Funston, now in charge of the Southern Division of the very real
dangers confronting Americans in the Valley. With
unsettled conditions along the border the fort had been reactivated in 1914.
Cavalry patrols were scheduled to begin along the border. Despite the turmoil,
active regular land promotional excursions for northerners continued, and
thousands of dollars of sales were reported. Even the somewhat isolated
community of Monte Christo northwest of Edinburg had come into existence.
It had been founded in 1909 by the Melado Land Company of Houston and the
following year had a post office. The community was to disappear by 1915 when
the town’s main water well failed. The
men of La Feria organized themselves for self-protection. The vigilance
committee and a rifle club obtained
fifteen Krag rifles and 3,000 rounds of ball cartridges from the government. If
threatened the women and children would use the substantial Bailey Dunlap house
for refuge. Later Captain Broadstreet would command an army unit stationed in
the town.
When on October 19, 1915 the U.S. government under President Woodrow Wilson
officially recognized Carranza as the head of Mexico it believed cross-border
disturbances would cease. They didn't entirely.
Fortunately Gen. Frederick W. Funston, upon request, had in early August
begun to receive sufficient military help to supplement his 300 troops at Fort
Brown. Two batteries of artillery and the 26th Infantry Regiment from
Texas City had been dispatched to Brownsville. Soon Funston dispersed 14,000
troops along the South Texas border. By the end of the month,the now distraught
Funston asked the War Department for additional reinforcements. Soon the 4th
Infantry and 16th Cavalry were sent to Harlingen and the 19th
Infantry split between Del Rio and Fort Houston. By November over half the total
mobile forces of the US Army were in south Texas. Additional National Guard
units from various states would supplement these soldiers. Funston had
additionally asked for twenty bloodhounds and fifty Apache Indians trained in
scouting work. He wished to track the raiders and, if necessary, follow them
into Mexico. The War Department and its Secretary, Lindley Miller Garrison, were
set aghast at this request but did send a new regiment of infantry, namely the
23rd Infantry who had recently come to Florida from duty in the
Philippines. With nearly all regular army soldiers now in the Valley any
additional ones would have to come from the national guard. Carranza
after inflicting defeats on Villa and Zapatista forces was able to consolidate
some control. On 10/1/15 he removed
Nafarrete from his post, likely in part to appease mounting American protests.
Several months later Carranza was able to make a triumphant visit to Matamoros,
but by 11/15/15 thousands of U.S. troops under the command of Maj.-Gen.
Frederick N. Funston, commander of the Southern District, had been dispatched to
the border. Even two military planes were dispatched to the Valley from Fort
Sill. They were used to survey suspected illicit activities along the US side of
the border but were frequently fired upon from south of the river. With
nearly six weeks of bandit, some historians now say—insurrectionist,
activities, many settlers were nervous and angry, but that was not reason enough
to take the law into their own hands. However
some did so on 7/25/15 when one Adolfo Muñoz was taken from the custody of
Deputy Sheriffs Frank Carr and Daniel Hinojosa while being transported from San
Benito to Brownsville. Eight masked men were in the highjacking party. This
suspect of the robbery and murder of a reclusive merchant was then both hung and
shot. Five days earlier Hidalgo County deputy sheriffs had, at Mercedes, killed
the Manriquez brothers, Lorenzo and Gregorio. Portrayed as robbers, they were
killed while “resisting arrest.” The
fact was that few law enforcement people were willing to risk their lives in
order to protect those in their custody. Most
were in fact sympathetic to the vigilante aggressors and the swiftness of
vigilante justice. They were not
unique. This had been made abundantly clear with national publicity when Leo
Frank, a Jewish businessman, was sprung from prison and lynched in Cobb County,
Georgia a half month later. His death sentence for the murder of his employee
13-year old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment by the governor.
Frank always maintained his innocence in the crime.
He was posthumously pardoned by the state in 1986. Some Valley victims
are only now receiving the scholarly objectivity which they deserve. In
what may have been the single worst episode, but glossed over by the newspapers,
was what occurred in a remote area west of Donna prior to October 2, 1915.
The bodies of fourteen Mexicans (some accounts say that they were
actually local Mexican Americans) were reportedly discovered strewn on a lonely
country road west of town. They had
been killed several days before as indicated by the condition of the corpses.
Who they were and who might have killed them was never explained by the
Brownsville newspaper which did not follow up on the subject.
Was this lack of follow due to the acceptance of the prevailing law
enforcement attitudes at this time, implicit agreement with the action, or
intimidation? The newspaper account had been very circumspect.
The victims were in fact hung and left to decompose near the Ebenezer
railroad depot. Later personal
accounts attributed the action to victorious Rangers who had encountered forty
raiders on September 28 and brought about the hanging of those taken prisoners. More
vigilante justice is revealed in a Brownsville Sentinel newspaper account
of Tuesday 5/23/16 in a front-page article submitted by a Special Correspondent.
It reads: "Sheriff
Atkins of Wallace (sic) County personally identified Col. Luis Morin, an alleged
Villista, as being "Captain Morin" who last fall lead an attack by
bandits on Norias ranch where two were killed and two wounded.
Morin was arrested two weeks ago near San Antonio by federal officers, it
being alleged that he was behind a plot hatched for a Mexican uprising in
Southern Texas.
Another important identification was made by Doc Scarrett (sic), a
brakeman on the Brownsville train wrecked last October near Brownsville, at
which time Dr. McCain and two others were fatally wounded.
Scarrett (sic) said that Victoriano Ponce was one of the bandits that
robbed the passengers on that train. Ponce,
who has been working as a baker at Kingsville, was arrested by Sheriff
Scarborough. Morin and Ponce tonight were taken to the Brownsville jail.
NOTE:--Inquiry at the jail at a late hour elicited the information that
no prisoners had been received during the night." The next day the
newspaper noted "J. S. Scarborough, Sheriff of Kleburg County, wired the
Sentinel last night that he had no information of the whereabouts of Luis Morin
further than that gleaned from newspaper accounts. Following reports yesterday
that Luis Morin and Victoriano Ponce had been killed while attempting to escape
from Willacy County officers and Texas state rangers near Norias, the Sentinel
wired Sheriff Scarborough for confirmation.
Mr. Scarborough replied as follows: "Morin was delivered to
authorities of Willacy County on 5/21 and was identified as a noted bandit who
took part in the Norias ranch raid
as well as other raids in the Valley. I have no further information other than
newspaper reports. Signed J.S.
Scarborough" Neither the men nor their bodies were ever found. The
Hebronville area was also the scene of Ranger depredations. Wounded suspects
were brought in and often incinerated near a lumberyard. There were other
documented and undocumented incidents regarding the local Hispanic population.
While legal maneuvering presents some semblance of justice, physical
intimidation is overtly unjust. So
it was with the lynchings which occurred in the Valley.
Lynching often refers to hanging; it means in broad terms execution in
any form without due process of law. To
its shame Texas stands third among the states, after Mississippi and Georgia, in
the total number of lynching victims between 1885 and 1942 according to The
Handbook of Texas Online. Fifty-three
percent of these died in the 1915 troubles.
“Six mobs in Cameron, Willacy, and Hidalgo counties accounted for
twenty-six of the victims. Numerous
transgressions on the U.S. side occurred in this period.
These resulted in deaths, cattle rustling, thievery, and the destruction
of property. Frank C. Pierce, a
friend of the Tejano community, provides a detailed chronology of most raids and
the events leading up to them. He could personally list one hundred and two
victims by name. There is some evidence that followers of Carranza may have
instigated some of the thirty raids into Texas that resulted in twenty one
American deaths. On
the other hand Pierce and federal reports indicate more than 300 Mexicans or
Mexican-Americans were summarily (without due process of law) executed by Texas
Rangers and deputy sheriffs. Most occurred between 8/4/15 and 6/17/16. Major
General Frederick Funston, who commanded the army's Southern division estimated
that state and local authorities “did execute by hanging or shooting
approximately three hundred suspected Mexicans on the American side of the
river.”Walter Prescott Webb, the famous biographer of the Rangers estimates
that between 500 and 5,000 Mexicans were killed in the Valley during this
period. This is highly speculative as Webb was never in the area during this
period as Pierce was and his wide range of figures leaves them questionable.
Webb puts the American civilian
deaths at 62 and those of soldiers at 64. In April 1916 one newspaper placed the
number of killing of Latinos at 1,500. Pierce,
a Brownsville native, had some insightful comments to make about the situation.
Quoting from his book: “Proportionate to the number of new settlers,
comparatively few murders or killings took place, although thieving became a
profession so that almost every family of Americans in the valley suffered the
loss of their fine-blooded stock, farming implements, etc.”
He was very objective and honest when he wrote “The author cannot let
pass his opportunity to say that during the bandit raids of 1915 many evil
influences were brought to bear to clear the country of Mexicans.
To his knowledge more than one was forced to flee and convey his chattel
before going.” Tejanos fleeing into Mexico were entering a world every bit as
disruptive as they were leaving. There was to be little solace for them. By
early 1916 things had turned the corner for the better north of the river; many
Tejanos began to return. Not only that, but conditions were so poor in interior
Mexico that Mexican aliens began to come across the border to the United States.
With World War I on the horizon, America would need these potential workers. In
1998 Emma L. Balli and Perla B. Balli of Olmito would voice the sentiments still
held by many Valley Hispanics even after the passage of many decades. In the
book that they authored, Padre Island Trials and Tribulations “La Verdad”,
they offered the following critique: “The
original Tejanos and Mejicanos settled in what is now known as Tamaulipas, Nuevo
Leon, Cameron, Kenedy, Refugio, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy Counties.
In Texas not one single county is named for these early settlers:
The Ballis, Tijerinas, Hinojosas, Villareales and others.
They were to become unacceptable on their own lands, and ultimately
ostracized either by force, intimidation, murder, shooting, and burning of their
properties. They were offered no
protection from the anglo law. The
law itself was made up of the same anglos who wanted to take over their land --
unscrupulous persons, unethical attorneys, and corrupt judges, consequently many
people died defending their lands. When
the Texas Rangers or the sheriff arrived to confiscate a rancho, the owner had
no choice but to leave. Whole
families were lynched, shot, or tortured. Some
were forced to sign their life belongings away under threat of death.
Attorneys with the help of the law forced the land owners to sign away
their land deeds. These un-American
activities were repeated elsewhere in Texas, New Mexico, and California.
The same tactics were repeated again in the early turn of the 20th
Century 1915-1921 when immigration authorities rounded up many Mexicans.
The authorities raided homes and deported families back to Mexico, even
though they were born here. If you
were a Mexican, you were a target and if you owned land you were considered high
priority. You did not meet the new
status quo “white and spoke English”; it was the construction of power.
You did not meet the paradigm of race.
From Brownsville, Texas to San Diego, California, these exploits took
place. Somebody called this the
Rainbow Era because of the great settlement program initiated by the real estate
companies that seized the majority of the lands here in the Rio Grande Valley.
The real estate companies paid a prospective buyer a round trip ticket to
the valley. Large caravans of
northerners were seen traveling to the Rio Grande Valley to buy land.
What a sickening scenario this must have been for the local folks here in
the Valley. On one side you see the
poor land owners deported back to Mexico and on the other side you see the so
called Rainbow Era residents coming in to take over lands confiscated by
whatever means by these large real estate companies.
We call this: "The Era of Shame 1915-1921." Charles
C. Cumberland in his Southwestern Historical Quarterly article of 1953
titled “Border Raids in the Lower Rio Grande Valley—1915” had this to say: “But
the lynchings and executions were not the only indications of fear and
vengeance. Posses burned homes in which raiders purportedly held meetings;
vigilante committees and local officials seized arms and ammunition belonging to
families of Latin extraction; and other self-appointed law enforcers forced
Latin families in outlying regions to move into populated centers where they
could be more effectively watched. These
actions by the responsible citizens of the Valley precipitated a mass exodus
from the region. Families of Latin extraction, fearful of the actions which
might be taken by irate officials and posses, began leaving the rural areas in
great numbers. General Nafarrete reported that hundreds of families were fleeing
into Mexico in early September [1915]; one American observer estimated that
three hundred families arrived in Brownsville within a two-day period; and
another estimated that at least half the Latin-American families in the Valley
left the rural areas during September and October. So serious was the movement,
which threatened to disrupt the economy of the Valley, that mayors of the
principle towns issued a joint statement designed to allay the fears of the
fleeing group, but as long as the raids continued the feeling against the Latins
increased,and the mass migration continued.” Noted
here is that in the aftermath came the very brave actions of J.T.( Jose Tomas)
Canales. This Brownsville attorney and area representative in the Texas
legislature in 1919 launched an investigation into Texas Ranger conduct during
the Bandit Era. While he got no immediate satisfaction and his very life was
threatened by his aggressive action, the state would, in the next few years,
pass legislation that would reorganize the rangers, rein them in, and make them
more accountable. Anglo-Americans,
Cumberland reports, were moving north or to Corpus Christi and San Antonio.
Before the violence was over more than one-half of the Valley's population had
left and most farms were abandoned. The economy was in shambles. Upon
de facto recognition of Carranza on October 19 by the Wilson
administration, bandit activity ended for the most part.
Anders says “The Mexican government even paid Pizana and de la Rosa
$50,000 to stop organizing raids and awarded the latter a commission in the
regular army.” In early October
Carranza replaced Nafarrate with General Eugenio Lopez, who began to cooperate
with the U.S. Forces. In November, Carranza visited Matamoros and conferred with
Governor Ferguson and Colonel Blocksom. He pledged his full support to combat
lawlessness along the Rio Grande. He subsequently appointed General Alfredo
Ricaut to take charge of the Matamoros garrison. Ricaut was an outspoken
advocate of improved relations with the United States. The
massive military buildup along the border had commenced by the summer of 1916.
Public awareness and opinion had been raised by the Pancho Villa's
ordered-attack on Columbus, New Mexico, where seventeen soldiers and civilians
were killed. On May 7, 1916, President Wilson had ordered a partial mobilization
of the National Guard. Initially 5,260 men from units in Texas, Arizona, and New
Mexico were called up. Soon Wilson concluded that even this number, even
supplemented with all available regular Army troops, was insufficient to protect
the 3,000 mile border. On June 18, he ordered the mobilization of the National
Guards of all the remaining states. By July 4, 1916, 27,160 troops from fourteen
different states were on duty along the Rio Grande. This number rose to nearly
111,000 by the end of the month. By late August the border was home to 16,000
regular Army and 184,000 guardsmen. McAllen alone, with only 2,000 residents,
became home to nearly 19,000 guardsmen. Valley
political operatives were unhappy with General Funston. They lobbied to have him
replaced. On May 20, 1916, Funston was relieved by Brigadier General James S.
“Gallopin'” Parker. By August he took charge the newly created Brownsville
District headquartered in Fort Brown. Here 28,000 National Guard and regular
Army troops were stationed. In fact, the Brownsville area politicians and
district Congressman John Nance Garner had felt that Brownsville and its
businesses had been “short-changed” by the low number of troops stationed at
the fort. They had pushed for larger numbers and were successful. Because
General Pershing had launched various attacks within Mexico south of New Mexico
on June 21, 1916 and at earlier times, there was actually a threat of war with
Mexico, therefore the U.S. military remained “in a state of
readiness for large-scale action.” Fortunately this proved unnecessary. In
addition to Fort Brown, military units were stationed across the LRGV. These
were at at the outskirts (First Illinois Cavalry, three miles north on the Old
Alice Road) of Brownsville, San Benito, Harlingen, Mercedes, Donna, Pharr,
McAllen, Mission, and Rio Grande City. Parker commanded 2,000 regular Army
troops and National Guardsmen from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia.
In addition, Major General John F. O'Ryan commanded a separate 12,000 strong New
York National Guard Division, whose units were stationed in many of the
above-named towns. One
of the largest encampments was Camp Llano Grande occupied in 1916-17.
This was located near the present day Texas A & M Experiment Station
at the intersection of FM 1015 and Business 83.
Units from Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota, and North Dakota were stationed
here on an area occupying over 200 acres. The
camp included a headquarters building, commissary, and recreational facilities.
Wither's lodging house was transformed into the camp hospital. South of the
railroad tracks were parade grounds, tent encampments, and stock pens.
Once U.S. involvement into the Great War was imminent, the camp was
abandoned in March 1917, one month prior to U.S entry into the war.
The troops stationed there were then called to war service in France. Over
the period, there were stationed at the camp Indiana National Guard troops
totaling 3,702 in an artillery battalion, field hospitals, infantry regiments,
ambulance companies, sanitary company, and signal company.
Nebraska troops numbered 2,153 who, in addition to the above units, had a
machine gun company. Minnesota
guardsmen numbered 5,117 and consisted of infantry and field artillery
regiments. The North Dakota National
Guard contingent numbering 1,007 members was also headquartered there though its
camp was in Mercedes. Briefly
here is some information concerning the troops in Harlingen: The
26th U.S. Infantry was under the command of Col. R.L. Bullard.
The 3rd U.S. Cavalry was under the command of Col. A. P. Blocksom who had
been commanding officer of the LRGV from June 1914.
By the end of July 1916 the 2nd Texas Infantry in Harlingen was under the
command of Col. B. F. Delameter and the 3rd Texas Infantry in Harlingen under
Col. George P. Rains. One early AZO photo postcard shows a crude wooden
structure about 16' by 12'. This appears to be the quarters for officers.
Next to it is a tent of similar size with a fly to divert rain. In front
of these is an open convertible car with an enlisted man driver.
Standing beside it, as the label indicates, is Col. Gaston, 6th Cav.,
Harlingen, Tex. This is Joseph A. Gaston who arrived on August 14, 1915 and
departed on April 20, 1916. 1/19/15
With the area still fairly quiet servicemen were able to arrange for an
inter-service football match. The 12th
Cavalry at Harlingen played the Coast Artillery contingent from Brownsville to a
13:13 tie. Lt. Burwell was the Harlingen's team captain and quarterback. He
played well as did W. Largent and lineman Gee. 2/19/15
Captain A.O.P. Anderson commanding Troop B of the 12th Cavalry
thanks Lon C. Hill for suggesting willow poles for erection of a corral and then
permitting the cutting of them from his property. 4/14/16
By this date additional troops are already being stationed in Harlingen,
since Texas Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt has sent national guard units to the
Valley to ease border tensions which have escalated. 5/18/16
It is reported in the newspapers that Brig. Gen. James Parker is to
establish his headquarters in Brownsville. He
is to command the three regiments of Texas militia being sent to the Valley.
Two of these regiments will remain in the lower valley.
On
8/3/16 on the orders of Major A.R. Sholars, Companies K and L of the Third Texas
Infantry are moved by truck from San Benito into Harlingen as the first step in
consolidating all Texas troops into Harlingen.
On August 6 the City Council orders a committee of three to consult with
Texas State Adjutant General Hulen for plans of cooperation between the general
and the City Council and the City Health Officer regarding the campsite.
[Brigadier General John Augustus Hulen was later to organize and command the
36th Division in World War I. His profession was a railroad executive, but since
joining the Third Texas Volunteer Infantry as a private in1887 he had frequently
been called back to active duty. He
held the position of adjutant general from 1902 until his retirement in 1907.
He was recalled in 1916 as commander of the Sixth Separate Brigade.] This
month the city appoints a City Health Officer to overlook the soldiers.
The city provides the camp with free water and lights. The
Sixth Cavalry Camp site covered what would now be several city blocks.
It approximately encompassed the area between 3rd and 4th Streets and
apparently ran north to south between East Jackson and Harrison Avenues. A
goodly number of tents are lined up in orderly fashion. A large corral area is
bordered by what are now 2nd and 3rd Streets and serves to pen the horses. Under
the Sixth Cavalry was a band consisting of 18 individuals. A rare Runyon
postcard pictures these musicians. One
Robert Runyon photo is labeled "The Twelfth Cavalry Camp."
It shows a modest number of tents adjacent to and on the west side of the
rail tracks between where Adams and Washington Streets meet Commerce. This may
have been only a temporary bivouac for this unit. The 12th Cavalry
had arrived in the Valley on May 14, 1914 and left about a year later. Two other
Runyon photos show troops embarking on a train near the first Harlingen depot. South
Texas Lumber Company account records of early 1916-17 provide a record of some
of the units stationed in Harlingen. These
include Companies A, D, F, G, J, and L of the 26th Infantry and Companies C, E,
F, and H of the 3rd Texas National Guard (and later K and L). These are
supported by Field Hospital #5, Field Hospital #1 Texas National Guard, and
Ambulance Company #5. In addition to
the 6th U. S. Cavalry, there is also the 26th Infantry Band.
The officers of the 26th Infantry have organized an Officers' Club. Because
of unsettled conditions Gen. Funston responded to raids in the area by assigning
five-man guards of soldiers for trains running between Harlingen and
Raymondville. On
6/30/16 army engineers of the 2nd Division of the US Engineer Corps
sent from Washington DC arrived in Harlingen together with a trainload of
pontoons. These could be used to forge the Rio Grande should a large military
expedition force cross into Mexico. Accounts
with the South Texas Lumber Company indicate the names of some of the soldiers
stationed in Harlingen during the Border Trouble period.
These include: Major
A.R. Sholars
Lieutenant Purcell Major
J.G. Jenning
Lieutenant J.L. Redmond Captain
O.P. Storm of Dallas
Lieutenant W.R. Wheeler Captain
John B. Chambers
Lieutenant Malony Captain
W. B. Breedlove
Sergeant Furman Captain
B. Compton
Sergeant Vincent Captain
Everett Hughes
Sergeant G.M. Roper For
a time Capt. Charles J. Nelson was in charge of the quartermaster depot at
Harlingen. As
time passed, the individuals responsible for the disturbances were greatly
outnumbered by U.S. soldiers, therefore no set battles were instigated by
raiding forces, which could range in size up to 60 to 80 men. The Federal
military frowned upon vigilantism and eventually brought a semblance of order
and moderation to the chaotic situation. The
morale of many of the National Guard troops stationed in the Valley was low.
They didn't expect to be stationed here as long as they were, they were
experiencing primitive camp conditions, and the South Texas environment with its
heat, brush, and insects among other things was a challenge. Some mounted
cavalry units lacked their horses when sent south. For big-city folk, such as
the Seventh New York Infantry Regiment was, the Valley was an area of desolation
that depressed them. One of the positives of having troops on active duty in the
Valley was that they were made fit, were involved in active combat-type
situations, and were given training that they might not have received otherwise.
These paid dividends when many were called to serve in World War I. President
Wilson was to de- mobilized the fifty thousand guardsman still along the border
on February 18, 1917. He left fifty thousand regular army troops in place. In
early 1917 a 10-day war exercise had been held between soldiers of the
mid-Valley and Brownsville. This wound up the tour of duty for many of them. As
some troops in the Valley were sent home, some possibly to handle the impending
nationwide railroad strike, the cost of maintaining troops on the border had
added to the federal government’s budget deficit of
$50 million. This was one of
the reasons Congress had approved a federal income tax to take effect on 1/1/17.
Unmarried people earning $3,000 or more would be taxed 2%, married above
$4,000 the same, and those $20,000 or above on a graduated scale 1 to 13%.
Corporations with a capital stock value of $75,000 or more would pay a 2%
tax. As
late as January 8-9/1918 the Valley saw a foray of American soldiers crossing
into Mexico at La Grulla. The
Mexican Service Medal was an award of the U.S. Military by General Orders of the
U.S. War Department on December 12, 1917. The Mexican Service Medal recognizes
those service members who performed military service against Mexican forces
between the dates of April 12, 1911 and June 16, 1919 in eight specific
engagements. An
Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, created the Mexican Border Service Medal
recognizes those military service members who performed military service on the
U.S.- Mexico Border between the dates of January 1, 1916 and April 6, 1917. Individual
state also issued Border Service medals to their national guard units. I
conclude this series by noting events that took place far from the Valley. An
unusual photo was taken, likely in July 1919. The border law officers in the
picture were: V.C. Dow, deputy
sheriff from El Paso; Marcus Hines, U.S. Customs Officer; Tom Mayfield of Donna;
and E.W. Anglin police chief of Harlingen. The photo was preserved by Lawson
Anglin, one of E.W.'s sons and himself later a lawman as Cameron County motor
patrolman. Tom
Mayfield, who once worked as a supervisor on John Closner's San Juan Plantation,
became a Hidalgo County deputy sheriff and played a major role in uncovering the
Plan of San Diego, an insurrectionist manifesto conceived in 1915. Elmer
William Anglin managed the properties and business ventures, including land
clearing, of Hill. In this job he
was closely connected to the growing young town which came into official being
in April 1910. He served on the
first cemetery committee as a trustee, served as a school trustee prior to 1920,
and after 1910 he performed as police chief for 16 years. From 1939 through 1959
he was a justice of the peace. Marcus
Hinds was a U.S. Customs officer who had taken part in the fight at Norias Ranch
house. Surprisingly
the picture was not taken in Texas, but in Lansing, Michigan.
This is how it came about. After serious border incidents began to occur
along the U.S.-Mexico border and the turmoil related to the Mexican
revolutionists added to unsettled conditions, the federal government sent army
troops (nearly 50% of the total number in the ranks) to the border then had to
supplement them even more with National Guard troops.
Henry Ford, fearing the loss of some of his automobile factory workers to
guard call up duty, voiced opposition to government plans.
Opposing Ford was the equally vehement Chicago Tribune. When
the newspaper labeled him "an anarchist", he found reason to sue it
for a million dollars. Terry
hoover, archivist at the Henry Ford museum tells us “Robert McCormick, the
ultra-patriotic publisher of The
Chicago Tribune, ordered his staff to
contact large American businesses to learn whether they would continue to pay
employees called to duty their normal wage. When the newspaper contacted Ford
Motor Company, Frank Klinginsmith, the treasurer, responded with the standard
company policy that the men would forfeit their jobs and receive no aid. This
was incorrect—the 88 employees sent to the Mexican border had been given
special badges ensuring each man their current job when they returned. Knowing
Henry Ford’s pacifist position, the Tribune,
without checking the accuracy of Klinginsmith’s statement, immediately
published an article and editorial questioning Ford’s patriotism and calling
him an anarchist, stating that “If Ford allows this rule to stand he will
reveal himself not merely as an ignorant idealist, but as an anarchistic enemy
of the nation that protects him in his wealth.” Henry Ford was inclined to
ignore the articles, but his attorney Alfred Lucking thought the charges
intolerable and urged the industrialist to sue for libel saying it damaged
Ford’s reputation.” The
border lawmen were called north to testify in the trial that ensued in Mt.
Clemens, Michigan. They provided accounts of the border disorders and banditry.
According to a Fiesta magazine article Lawson Anglin recalls his father spending
thirty-eight days in Michigan. The
judgment ran against the Tribune, but the judgment by twelve farmers was
reduced to six cents. It was after
the trial that this group picture was taken.
In a jovial mood Hines and Dow donned Mexican sombreros rather than their
own usual hats, possibly Stetsons. In
1919 a 66th Congress U.S. Senate sub-committee headed by Senator Fall
conducted hearings later published in several volumes as Investigation of
Mexican Affairs, directing the committee in foreign affairs to investigate the
matter of outrages on citizens of the United States in Mexico. A number of
Valleyites, including Lon C. Hill, traveled to Washington , D.C. to testify
before the “notorious committee”. Historian Charles Cumberland, in his
Southwestern Historical Quarterly article, noted “most of the witnesses who
appeared and most of the members of the committee were biased against Mexico and
desired to bring about intervention by the United States. This material must be
used with extreme caution; much of the testimony is inaccurate.” So we learn
that years after the Bandit Wars had concluded, controversy still followed the
disturbing decade. That the LRGV was so resilient and was to offer so much in
the way of agricultural production in the 1920s is a reflection of a remarkable
period in its history.
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| 1691 Tira from Santa Catarina de Ixtepeji, Oaxaca Mexico, featured in Milwaukee,Wisconsin Mexican Fiesta John N. Harper’s ACADIANS, Writings by Winston De Ville |
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Tira from Santa Catarina de Ixtepeji,
Oaxaca Mexico |
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The Milwaukee Hispanic Scholarship Foundation hosted its annual Mexican Fiesta on the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 22, 23, 24, 2014 at the Henry W. Maier Festival Park also known as the Summerfest grounds. This year there was a special exhibit, in the genealogy booth, on a scroll or “tira” that was discovered at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) American Geographical Society Library (AGS) in 2012. |
A copy of the scroll from Santa Catarina de Ixtepeji, Oaxaca, Mexico, from 1691, was displayed along with maps from the 1800’s from the AGS Library collection. The seven foot long tira contains a genealogical history of a noble Zapotec family depicting their lineage and land ownership. The scroll is written in the Zapotec language as well as in Spanish. Below is a description of the tira written by Professor Laura Matthew from Marquette University. |
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The Tira de Santa Catarina Ixtepeji tells the
history of a Zapotec town in Oaxaca, Mexico, from its founding around
1350 until the creation of the Tira in 1691.
The
Tira was commissioned by the ruler of Ixtepeji, don Domingo Juárez de Zárate.
Don Domingo went to the Spanish colonial court claiming title to rich
agricultural lands outside the town. These lands appear on the right
hand side of the map, divided into grids with a pyramid on top. They
probably belonged to an ancient but poor founding family of the town,
not to don Domingo’s family.
Don Domingo and his sons also wanted to be recognized as descendants of “Indian conquistadors.” They claimed descent from Coqui Lay, lord of Santa Catarina Ixtepeji who helped Hernando Cortés fight the Aztecs in 1521. As an Indian conquistador, Coqui Lay was rewarded with privileges like riding a horse, carrying a sword, and not paying tribute – privileges that don Domingo and his sons also claimed and wanted to protect.
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The right-hand side of the Tira shows the
foundation of Ixtepeji, a migration of its inhabitants after the Spanish
came, and the disputed lands. The founding ancestor of Ixtepeji, named
Lao Quechi, is a large figure with a shield standing at the end of a
road.
The middle of the Tira shows Lao Quechi’s
great-granddaughter marrying into the family of Coqui Lay, the “Indian
conquistador.” Coqui Lay’s ancestors are represented for seven
generations until they reach Coqui Lay himself. A Spanish conquistador
appears on a horse below him.
The left-hand side of the Tira shows Coqui Lay’s descendants until don Domingo Juárez de Zárate and his sons. All these Zapotec rulers of Santa Catarina Ixtepeji have Spanish names and wear Spanish-style clothing. |
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Professors Laura Matthew and
Aims McGuinness shared their knowledge of the tira Information and photos
sent by Margarita Sandoval Skare, |
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Announcing ~ John N. Harper’s ACADIANS Writings by Winston De Ville |
With a preface by the editor, this volume offers genealogical and historical research material on Acadians in old Acadia and Acadians in Louisiana. With subjects dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, among the articles are Reuben Gold Thwaites’ Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents: |
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An
Essay Review ~
On Mouton Family History and Acadian Identity {1703}
~ The Melançon Family of
Acadia: A Vignette {1704} ~ The
Acadians in 1730 ~ A Note on the
Johnson Family of Nova Scotia: 1732 ~
Acadians at Opelousas: 1768 ~
Acadians at St. Gabriel: An Undated French Map of
Land Grants in Spanish Louisiana {1769} ~
Comments on “Acadians at St. Gabriel: An Undated French Map of Land
Grants in Spanish Louisiana” {1769} ~
The Militia of Iberville Post: 1770 ~ Acadians in Philadelphia: 1771
~ Farmers of Valenzuela in
1779 ~ Attakapas 1785 Militia List ~ The Louisiana Settlement of Some Acadians
in 1785 ~ Of Clavinette and Violin in Colonial Louisiana: Questions on Acadian
Music in 1785 ~
Michel
Leger: A Document for His Family History {1785}
~ The Guidry Family: Notes on
an Early Westward Migration in Louisiana {1785} ~
Opelousas Post Slave Sale of 1790 ~
Rice Farmers of the German Coast: 1792
~ Charles Johnson: A 1794
Vignette ~
Charles Jeansonne: His 1797 Succession
~ “Cajuns” and Neo-Ethnicity: Concerns of an Acadian-American Genealogist. |
Among the most numerous surnames (variously spelled) in the index are:
ARCENEAUX, BABIN, BERGERON, BLANCHARD, BOUDREAUX, BREAUX, BROUSSARD, COMMEAUX,
DOUCET, DUGAS, FOREST, GAUDET, HEBERT, JOHNSON/JEANSONNE, LANDRY, LEBLANC,
MELANCON, PREJEAN, RICHARD, SAVOY, THIBODEAUX.
129 pages. Index. Wrappers. ISBN 1-59804-725-6. $28.50.
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Maps of Spanish Missions |
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If
you have ever wondered about early presence of Spanish missions and exploration
this article has the best maps and historical background on what occurred during
the mid 1500 and up the 1700's. You can judge for yourself great maps as well
make it easier to follow. Sent by Juan Source:
José Antonio Crespo-Francés rio_grande@telefonica.net Estimados amigos, familia y compañeros de armas, Acompaño este sencillo trabajo publicado ayer para recordar a otro español olvidado explorador en tierras norteamericanas, se trata de Juan Pardo. spero resulte de vuestro agrado, JACrespo-Francés
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El domingo 13 de julio de 2014 en la publicación digital www.elespiadigital.com
aparece en la sección Informes el artículo titulado “La expedición de Juan
Pardo”. En estas líneas traemos a la luz la memoria de este capitán,
explorador y conquistador español, otro olvidado de la segunda mitad del siglo
XVI. Sus movimientos exploratorios se desarrollaron por las tierras de los
actuales estados de Carolina del Norte y del Sur así como por el este de
Tennessee, en los Estados Unidos de América. http://www.elespiadigital.com/index.php/informes/6151
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DON PEDRO MENÉNDEZ DE AVILÉS AND THE FOUNDING OF ST. AUGUSTINE Saturday,
September 6, 2014
Photo by Stacey Sather, courtesy of Florida Living History, Inc.
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This
heritage Event will feature: The
anniversary commemoration will begin at 10AM and will end,
approximately, at noon; admission is free of charge to the public.
Ample, free parking is available on-site. Seating is limited, so please
consider bringing a folding chair. Additional activities will take place
next door at Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park |
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Florida
Living History, Inc.’s partners in St. Augustine’s traditional
Founding Day Event include: This
heritage Event is sponsored by Mission Nombre de Dios ( www.missionandshrine.org/
) - the Birthplace of America and Cradle of Christianity in the
continental United States - and by Florida Living History, Inc. (www.floridalivinghistory.org
). Financial support is provided, in part, by the Florida Humanities
Council and by the continued support of Florida Living History, Inc.’s
donors.
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Founded
in St. Augustine, Florida, in 2009, Florida Living History, Inc. (FLH),
is a community based, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization of volunteers
dedicated to educating the public about Florida's colonial and
territorial history, using living-history programs, demonstrations, and
recreated portrayals of significant historical events. FLH supports
educational initiatives that promote a greater understanding and
appreciation of Florida's, and America’s, rich and diverse
heritage. For
more information on Florida Living History, Inc., please contact us via
e-mail at info@floridalivinghistory.org
or phone us, toll-free, at 1-877-FLA-HIST (1-877-352-4478)!
Copyright Florida Living History, Inc.
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LOS
FLORIDANOS SOCIETY
By Stephen R. Renouf, Vice President
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Los
Floridanos, Inc., Florida’s First Spanish Families, 1565-1763, is a historical
association formed to educate members of the public concerning the history,
heritage, and preservation of the First Florida Spanish Families; to learn what
is already known through the work of the Historical Society, University of
Florida, Flagler College and other college historical archives; to assist in
promoting and funding further historical research; and to promote fellowship
among the descendants of the First Spanish Period.
Research: Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, has scanned the
Catholic Church records of baptisms, marriages and deaths in St. Augustine, and
the scans can be accessed on their website:
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/esss-landers.pl.
This is a work in process, but many of the records going back to 1594 are
now online. Below is the page
showing the May 4, 1599 baptism of my ancestor, Juan Díaz, son of Luis Díaz
and María De Los Reyes, performed by Father Ricardo Artur (Richard Arthur), an
Irish Priest, in the City of St. Augustine. |
Who
are Los Floridanos?
Although Florida was discovered in 1513 by Adelantado Juan Ponce De León, the
Spanish were unable to establish a permanent colony for over 50 years.
After French Huguenots attempted to settle Florida, the Spanish
dispatched Adelantado Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to Florida in 1565.
Menéndez destroyed the French colony and founded the town of St.
Augustine on September 8, 1565. |
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In 1763, Spain ceded its Florida Colony to Great Britain, ending 250 years of
Spanish rule. The Floridanos were
evacuated by the Spanish to Cuba. Two
Floridanos, Manuel Lorenzo Solana and Francisco Xavier Sánchez, remained in St.
Augustine during the British Occupation. Some
of the Floridanos and their descendants returned to Florida in the years
following 1783, when Great Britain ceded East and West Florida back to Spain.
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Membership: Los Floridanos Society has three levels of membership: If you are interested in becoming a member of Los
Floridanos, please contact us
at the address or e-mail below. There
is also a membership information form on the website.
Los Floridanos Society
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Hard Times for Black Colleges by Michael H. Cottman |
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Hard Times for Black
Colleges |
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George Cooper, PhD. Is a man on a mission, but
safeguarding America’s 106 historically black colleges is not an easy
job. What we want to do is provide additional resources to allow these
institutions to survive. Cooper, who served four years as president of
South Carolina State University said ”branding” HBCUs is a top
priority in his effort to help struggling schools increase enrollment.
On historically black colleges and universities recently announced its
first class of HBCUs ,
recognizing 76 undergraduates, graduate and professional students for
their accomplishments in academics, leadership and civic engagement.
Cooper said these All-Stars will serve as ambassadors of the White House
initiative by providing outreach and communications with fellow students
about the value of education at HBCUs. |
Historically
Black Colleges and Universities that would support the development of
sustainable strategies for reducing cost and improving outcomes for
students, an “Obama administration official told Ebony, adding that
“under the Obama administration the Department of Education has
increased its overall funding for HBCUs from Although Cooper and knowledge the tremendous challenges for he faces, he insisted that he is prepared for the task ahead. I am really excited about being here, said Cooper was also served as administrative and faculty roles at Alabama A&M University and Tuskegee University. This is a great time to be here and a great opportunity for me to use my skills as an advocate for HBCUs. “I am proud that I am a graduate of two HBCUs,” he added. “My parents are HBCUs graduates, my daughters are graduates of Florida A&M. and Bowie State University. So it is true that the HBCU experience has really prepared me and my family to be successful, and those are the things that are important.
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CALL FOR 2015 NATIONAL ROSENWALD SCHOOLS SESSION PROPOSALS
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We seek proposals that explore timely, relevant ideas and issues and foster best
practices and models. Of special interest, are sessions that present innovative
practices and programming, target a compelling topic connected to Rosenwald
schools, and have the means to engage attendees and promote positive outcomes.
See the Rosenwald Schools Conference Sessions Submission page for session
descriptions and more information. Only online submissions will be accepted. |
Breaking
Ground |
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Join
the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute and our project
partners for a groundbreaking celebration for our new office at the historical
landmarked Firehouse located at 120 East 125th Street in Harlem, NY.
CCCADI has been named the developer of a decommissioned, historic landmark
firehouse located at 120 East 125th Street in East Harlem, El Barrio. Through
our Capital Campaign we have successfully raised $5.5 million in city and state
support to renovate the Firehouse, planned to be our new home for late 2015. We
want to acknowledge and thank the following supporters for their new and renewed
support of CCCADI, programs and capital campaign: Partners in
Preservation/American Express Initiative, the New York Community Trust, the Ford
Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rockefeller Foundation/Innovation Grant,
MetLife Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Hearst
Foundation, The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), Time Warner and
National Cares Mentoring Project. Further
information: Melody Capote, Deputy Director |
In
the words of Dr. Marta Moreno Vega. President & Founder of the Caribbean
Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute: "CCCADI values, connects and
advocates for the traditions, history, culture and advancement of the African
Diaspora. Through the dual tenants of arts and advocacy, CCCADI aims to create a
paradigm shift within the global community toward cultural equity and social
justice via new standards, policies and language. The Center has been, and will
remain, an accessible community resource, a "first voice" institution,
which produces culturally-grounded, purpose-driven and activist-oriented works,
while simultaneously serving as a beacon of motivation and inspiration for many.
"CCCADI's work has always been at the vanguard, in line with the living
tradition of Diasporic peoples as cultural innovators. Our work has helped
transform a lexicon reflective of self-empowerment. For example, the Center is
widely credited for coining the term "cultural equity" and for
popularizing use of the word "Diaspora" in relation to African
descendants. Additionally, we have produced watershed moments in the
presentation of innovative works - performances, exhibitions, conferences and
scholarship - that highlight the uniquely African aesthetics evident in our
global culture."
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B.B. King to chair National
Monument in the Mississippi Delta to honor cotton pickers. |
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B.B. King has become the honorary chairman of the effort to build a National
Monument in the Mississippi Delta to honor cotton pickers. King will replace the
late Maya Angelou as the Honorary Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the
Cotton Pickers of America and Sharecroppers Interpretative Center.
Khafre, Inc, based in Indianola, Mississippi, began the effort in 2009 to build
the complex to say thanks to those who helped without accolades, fanfare, or
even recognition, build the cotton empire that fueled the American economy for
nearly two centuries., says C. Sade Turnipseed, founder and executive director. |
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Contact Jimmie E. Gates at jgates@jackson.gannett.com or (601) 961-7212. Follow
@jgatesnews on Twitter
B.B. KING - Singin' the Blues FULL ALBUM - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCxbN9ZeHTA
Singin' the Blues is the 1956 compilation album of blues performer B.B. King on
the Bihari brothers' Crown ...
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| Indigenous Coahuila de Zaragoza by John P. Schmal |
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Indigenous
Coahuila de Zaragoza By
John P. Schmal |
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The
state of Coahuila is located in the northern reaches of the Mexican Republic.
Bordered by the United States (Texas) on its northern border, Coahuila also
touches the state of Chihuahua on its west, Durango on the southwest, Zacatecas
and San Luis Potosí on the south, and Nuevo León on the east. As the third
largest Mexican state, Coahuila is made up of 151,595 square kilometers, which
is equal to 7.7% of the national territory. Politically,
the State of Coahuila – with its capital in Saltillo -- is divided into
thirty-eight municipios. With a
population of 2,748,391 people in 2010, Coahuila has the 17th largest population
in the Mexican Republic, which is roughly 2.4% of the Mexican population. The
distribution of Coahuila’s population is roughly 90% urban and 10% rural,
compared to a 78% urban and 22% rural distribution, nationally.
Its largest cities are:
The
state was named Coahuila de Zaragoza: after the ethnic tribal group Coahuiltec
and General Ignacio Zaragoza (1829-1862), who was known for his defeat of the
French invasion force at Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Political
Chronology From
1575, the present-day area of Coahuila was part of Spain’s Nueva Vizcaya
province. On January 23, 1691, Coahuila became a part of the Province
of Coahuila and Texas, and later became part of Nueva
Vizcaya (until 1787). After that, Coahuila had become a separate province as
part of the “Provincias Internas,” a
colonial, administrative district of the northern Spanish Empire. In
1822, Mexico became an independent republic. The
Constitution of 1824 created Nuevo León, Coahuila and Texas as a single state.
Nuevo León was detached on May 7, 1824, after Coahuila and Texas had
adopted a new constitution on March 11, 1827.
Later, on November 14, 1835, Coahuila was separated from Texas and given
statehood on its own. Coahuila
was occupied by U.S. forces in 1847 and 1848, but stayed a part of Mexico after
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) detached a significant part of Northern
Mexico and annexed it to the United States. However, from 1856 to 1868, Coahuila
and Nuevo León were granted joint statehood. Finally, in 1868, Coahuila earned
separate status as the sovereign state of Coahuila de Zaragoza. First
Contacts with Spaniards After
the Spaniards had conquered Tenochtitlán (Mexico City), they began to gradually
expand to the north in search of new territories. The silver rush emerging in
Zacatecas (commencing in 1546) inspired an increasing number of Spanish
entrepreneurs to move further north. The first Spanish explorers probably
wandered into Coahuila sometime after 1535.
Initially, the arid conditions and fierce resistance of the indigenous
groups in the region made it difficult for the Spaniards and their Indian allies
to establish a permanent settlement. The
Spaniards’ initial interest in Coahuila was focused on the region’s mineral
wealth. Various entrepreneurs and explorers entered the area in the hopes of
beginning new settlements, where silver or gold could be mined. Nearly
all of the indigenous people encountered by the Spanish explorers and settlers
spoke dialects of Cotoname, a Coahuiltecan language in the Hokan group. But some of
the people living in the sparsely inhabited area west of the Sierra were called
Tobosos, who probably spoke an Uto-Aztecan language. In the South, the newcomers
confronted Coahuiltecan-speaking Cabezas. Alberto
del Canto, later the magistrate of Saltillo, is believed to have discovered
silver at the future site of Monclova in 1577, but his settlement – Minas de
la Trinidad – was subsequently abandoned because of Indian hostility. Irritilas
and Laguneros According
to Peter Gerhard, “The North Frontier of New
Spain” (1982), a missionary who knew the Parras region in 1595 wrote
that the “original” inhabitants of the area were Yritilas (Irritilas) and
Mayranos. Both groups are identified with the people who were later called
Laguneros or Salineros, who extended westward to the vicinity of Cerro Gordo. Inhabiting
the Laguna de Parras (San Pedro), the Laguneros – also known as the Irritilas
– were described by the Spaniards as “Lake People,” because they occupied
the lakes of the tablelands of Mapimí. They were believed to have been an
Aztecoidan branch of the Uto-Aztecan stock, but this is not certain. The Indians
lived primarily from fishing, hunting, and gathering, but they probably also
sowed maize around the lakeshores as floodwaters receded. They are now extinct. Tobosos The
linguist John Reed Swanton regarded the Toboso Indians as a “predatory tribe
living in the Seventeenth Century in the Bolsón de Mapimí and extending
northward at least to the Río Grande.” From their positions in both Coahuila
and Chihuahua, the Tobosos frequently raided Spanish settlements to the east in
Coahuila and Nuevo León. Some evidence originally linked the Tobosos with the
Athapaskans (Apaches), but more recent research has produced enough evidence to
indicate that the Toboso language was probably Uto-Aztecan. Guachichiles The
Guachichiles, of all the Chichimeca Indians, occupied the most extensive
territory, extending some 100,000 square kilometers from Lake Chapala (Jalisco)
in the south to Saltillo (Coahuila) in the north.
Considered both warlike and brave, the Guachichiles roamed through a
large section of the present-day state of Zacatecas. The Aztecs used the term
“Guachichile” as a reference to “heads painted of red,” a reference to
the red dye that they used to paint their bodies, faces and hair. The Guachichil
group of tribes is regarded as connected with the present-day Huichol language
group (of Jalisco and Nayarit) and has been classified as part of the Aztecoidan
division of the Uto-Aztecan linguistic family. The
Guachichiles and their “Chichimeca” cousins, the Zacatecos, waged the
40-year war (1550-1590) known as the “Chichimeca War” against Spanish
forces, primarily in the vast region south of Coahuila (Zacatecas, Northern
Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Western San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato).
They were never decisively defeated in battle, but were pacified through
gifts that included many of the materials used by Spaniards and “civilized”
Indians to live and thrive in their Spanish settlements. A detailed discussion
of the Chichimeca War is discussed in the article below: http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/zacatecas_indig.html Zacatecos The
Zacatecos were an indigenous tribe related to the Cazcan of the Aztecoidan
family and Uto-Aztecan stock, occupying a large part of the State of Zacatecas
and smaller portions of eastern Durango and southern Coahuila.
They were bordered by the Irritilas and Laguneros on the north, the
Tepehuán on the west, and the Guachichile on the east. On the south, they were
bordered by the Cora and Cazcan. According to David Frye, “Northeastern
Mexico,” by 1620, some elements of the Zacatecos had moved farther north to
live among indigenous groups in the mission town of Parras in the aftermath of
the Chichimeca War. Conchos
(Northwest Coahuila) The
Conchos have been described in great detail by several researchers.
They were named for the Spanish word for “shells,” a likely reference
to the many shellfish found in the Conchos River.
The Concho Indians lived near the junction of the Rio Concho River and
Rio Grande Rivers in northern Chihuahua. However,
the Conchos are also believed to have extended their reach into the modern-day
state of Coahuila. The
Conchos were placed by Mason and Johnson in the Taracahitian division of the
Uto-Aztecan linguistic stock, with two major subdivisions: the Chinarra around
the salt lakes and sand dunes of northern Chihuahua, and the Chizo, an eastern
subdivision that inhabits the area east of the Concho and near the big bend of
the Río Grande. In 1934,
Kroeber placed the Concho in the Cahita-Opata-Tarahumara group, most closely
related to Opata and less so with the Tarahumara. The
Apaches In
the north the Spanish frontier met the Apache southward expansion. In the first
half of the seventeenth century, Apaches acquired horses from Spanish colonists
of New Mexico and achieved dominance of the Southern Plains. The Apache
expansion was intensified by the Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680, when the Apaches
lost their prime source of horses and shifted south to prey on Spanish
settlements in Coahuila. Juan Domínguez de Mendoza recorded the names of
numerous Indian groups east of the lower Pecos River that were displaced by
Apaches. In
1780, the Comanches from the north began to harass the Apaches with raids that
reached as far south as Monclova. As a result, the Apaches moved toward the
coastal plain of Texas and became known as the Lipan Apaches. The Lipans in turn
displaced the last Indian groups native to southern Texas, most of whom went to
the Spanish missions in the San Antonio area. By 1790 the Spaniards had turned
their attention from the aboriginal groups and focused on containing the Apache
invaders in Coahuila, Chihuahua and Texas. |
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The
Coahuiltecan Tribes The
Coahuiltecan tribes were made up of hundreds of bands of hunter-gatherers who
ranged over the eastern part of Coahuila, northern Tamaulipas, Nuevo León and
southern Texas south and west of San Antonio River and Cibolo Creek. It is
believed that the Coahuiltecans reached all the way to the Gulf coast at the
mouth of the Nueces. Northeast of that point they were succeeded by Karankawan
tribes. Toward the north, the Coahuiltecans were displaced by the Apache and
Comanche. However, some tribes along the lower Rio Grande may have belonged to a
distinct family, Tamaulipecan (described in 1864 by Orozco y Berra). The
Coahuiltecans were tattooed and wore a breechcloth or hide skirt, fiber sandals,
and, in bad weather, they covered themselves with animal hides. Animal teeth,
bones, feathers, stones, and seeds were worn as jewelry and sometimes woven into
their intricately braided hair. Shelter consisted of small temporary huts of
brush or grass, sensible structures given their way of life and the climate of
the area over which they ranged. It was the practice of the Coahuiltecans (or
Coahuiltecos) to move from one traditional campsite to another, following the
seasons and herds of migrating animals. During the Spanish colonial period a
majority of the Coahuilatecan natives were displaced from their traditional
territories by Spaniards advancing from the south and Apaches advancing from the
north. A large number of the small tribal groups or bands belonging to the
Coahuiltecan stock remain unknown to this day and even their locations – in
some cases – are not clear. Early
Settlements On
July 25, 1577, the Portuguese explorer Captain Alberto del Canto founded San
Estevan (later known as La Villa de
Santiago del Saltillo) near a mission that had been established four years
earlier. Saltillo became the oldest post-conquest settlement in Northern Mexico.
However, in 1581, the Saltillo inhabitants were forced to retreat to
Durango and Mazapil by sustained Indian attacks. But after 14 years, the
Spaniards were able to return and establish San Esteban de Tlaxcala in 1591. In
1578, Francisco de Urdinola established the town of Parras,
which was actually abandoned for a few years, but settlers returned there in
1598. Between 1583 and 1585, an expedition led by Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva
resulted in the foundation of Nuevo
Almadén. Other settlements followed in the Seventeenth Century, but
unfortunately, no major concentrations of gold or silver veins were found.
Coahuila's earth's richness is in metalloids such as iron, carbon,
fluorite, and others, which would be discovered much later. Tlaxcaltecan Settlements In
1590, Viceroy Luis de Velasco II commanded that 400 families of loyal, converted
Tlaxcaltecans Indians (from Tlaxcala in the south) be settled alongside the
Chichimec and other nomadic tribes of the northern frontier area. In June 1591,
a caravan of 100 wagons and 932 colonists began their journey. These 932
colonists consisted of 690 married individuals, 187 children and 55 single or
widowed individuals. On August 5, 1591 the caravan arrived at Cuicillo, where
the caravan split up for different destinations. One of the four groups -- 245
Tlaxcaltecans led by Capitan Buenaventura Paz -- was sent from San Juan del Rio
to parts of Nuevo León, Durango and Coahuila. The
purpose of the Tlaxcaltecan caravan was to offer the Tlaxcalans an opportunity
to serve as examples of “civilized Indians” for the native Indians.
They would play a role in the Christianizing of the nomadic desert
tribes. The town of San Estebán de la
Nueva Tlaxcala in Coahuila was among the settlements founded for this
purpose. In 1674, Fray Juan de Larios conquered a great deal of the territory of
Coahuila and established the village of
Guadalupe, another Tlaxcalan settlement. Nearby, the city of Monclova was
also established in 1674 and soon after it was declared the capital of the area. Missions
as a Place of Refuge In
northeastern Coahuila and adjacent Texas, the displacement of Coahuiltecans and
other nomadic groups by the Spaniards and Apaches created an unusual ethnic mix.
Inevitably, the numerous Spanish missions in the region would provide a refuge
for the displaced and declining Indian populations. In the mission system, local
Indians mixed with displaced groups from Coahuila, Chihuahua and Texas. The
number of Indian groups at the missions varied from fewer than twenty groups to
as many as 100. Missions in existence the longest usually had more groups,
particularly in the north. Mission Indian villages usually consisted of about
100 Indians of mixed groups who generally came from a wide area surrounding a
mission. Although survivors of a group often entered a single mission,
individuals and families of one ethnic group might scatter to five or six
missions. Some Indians never entered a mission. The
former hunter-gatherers were willing to become part of the mission system for a
number of reasons. The irrigation system promised a more stable supply of food
than they normally enjoyed. Diseases brought by Europeans had depleted their
numbers, making the Coahuiltecans even more vulnerable to their now-mobile
enemies. The presidio – frequently located close to a mission -- offered much
greater protection from the Apaches. The
missionaries, along with lay helpers and usually no more than two soldiers and
their families, instructed the natives in the Catholic faith and in the elements
of Spanish peasant society. The Indians learned various trades, including
carpentry, masonry, blacksmithing, and weaving; they also did a great deal of
agricultural work. Because
the missions had an agricultural base, they declined when the Indian labor force
dwindled. Missions were distributed unevenly. Some were in remote areas, while
others were clustered, often two to five in number, in small areas. A large
number of displaced Indians collected in the clustered missions, which generally
had a military garrison (presidio) for protection. Eventually, all the Spanish
missions were abandoned or transferred to diocesan jurisdictions. Classification
of the Coahuiltecans Initially,
the Spaniards had little interest in describing the natives or classifying them
into ethnic units. There was no obvious basis for classification, and major
cultural contrasts and tribal organizations went unnoticed, as did similarities
and differences in the native languages and dialects. The Spanish padres
referred to each Indian group as a nación,
and described them according to their association with major terrain features or
with Spanish jurisdictional units. Only in Nuevo León did observers link Indian
populations by cultural peculiarities, such as hairstyle and body decoration.
Thus, modern scholars have found it difficult to identify these hunting and
gathering groups by language and culture. The
first attempt at classification of the Coahuila Indians was based on language,
but came after most of the Indian groups had become extinct. Over time, Indians
from other linguistic groups entered the Texas, Tamaulipas and Coahuila
missions. Eventually, many of the
ethnohistorians and anthropologists came to believe that the entire region was
occupied by numerous small Indian groups who spoke related languages and shared
the same basic culture, the Coahuiltecan culture. By the mid-nineteenth century,
Mexican linguists had constructed what is now known as "Coahuiltecan
culture" by assembling bits of specific and generalized information
recorded by Spaniards for widely scattered and limited parts of the region. A
majority of the Coahuiltecan Indians lost their identity during the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. Their names disappeared from the written record as
epidemics, warfare, migration, dispersion by Spaniards to work at distant
plantations and mines, high infant mortality, and general demoralization took
their toll. Small remnants of tribes merged with larger remnants of other
groups. By 1800 the names of few ethnic units appear in documents, and by 1900
the names of groups native to the region had disappeared. Loss
of Ethnic Identity A
majority of the Coahuiltecan Indians lost their identity during the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. Their names disappeared from the written record as
epidemics, warfare, migration, dispersion by Spaniards to work at distant
plantations and mines, high infant mortality, and general demoralization took
their toll. Small remnants merged with larger remnants. By 1800 the names of few
ethnic units appear in documents, and by 1900 the names of groups native to the
region had disappeared. Missions and refugee communities near Spanish or Mexican
towns were the last bastions of ethnic identity. The Indians caused little
trouble and provided unskilled labor. Ethnic names vanished with intermarriages.
By the end of the eighteenth century, missions closed and Indian families were
given small parcels of mission land. Eventually, the survivors passed into the
lower economic levels of Mexican society. Population
Figures According
to the “Handbook of Texas Online,” estimates of the total Coahuiltecan
population in 1690 vary widely. One scholar estimates the total nonagricultural
Indian population of northeastern Mexico, which included desert lands west to
the Río Conchos in Chihuahua, at 100,000; another scholar (Ruecking, 1953)
compiled a list of 614 group names (Coahuiltecan) for northeastern Mexico and
southern Texas and estimated the average population per group as 140 and
therefore reckoned the total population at 86,000. Kikapú Kikapú
is the only current indigenous language that might be considered indigenous to
Coahuila. The Kikapú of Coahuila are part of an Algonquin speaking tribe of
northern origin that also lives in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Mexican
Kikapú live primarily around the town of El Nacimiento de los Kikapúes,
located in the municipio of Melchor Múzquiz, Coahuila. According to the INI
(2003) and the National Council on Population (Consejo Nacional de Población
CONAPO), there were 339 Kikapú speakers in 1995 and only 138 in 2000, but it is
likely that many tribal members do not speak the language (but may be considered
part of the Kikapú ethnic group). The
Background of the “Kickapoo Indians” Before
contact with Europeans, the Kickapoo lived in northwest Ohio and southern
Michigan in the area between Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. Beginning in the
1640s, the Algonquin tribes in this region came under attack from the east,
first by the Ottawa and Iroquian-speaking Neutrals, and then the Iroquois. By
1658 the Kickapoo had been forced west into southwest Wisconsin. About
1700 they began to move south into northern Illinois and by 1770 had established
themselves in central Illinois (near Peoria) extending southeast into the Wabash
Valley on the western border of Indiana. After wars with the Americans and
settlement of the Ohio Valley, they signed treaties during 1819 ceding their
remaining land east of the Mississippi River and relocated to southern Missouri
(1819-24). Initially, most moved to the lands assigned them, but many remained
in central Illinois and refused to leave until they were forcibly removed by the
military in 1834. Several
bands of Kickapoo did not want to stay in Missouri and began wandering south and
west, spreading across Oklahoma and Texas all the way to the Mexican border (and
beyond). In 1832 the Missouri Kickapoo exchanged their reserve for lands in
northeast Kansas. After the move, factions developed, and in 1852, a large group
left and moved to Chihuahua in northern Mexico, where some of the Kickapoo had
already made their home. The Mexican Kickapoo (known as Kikapú in Mexico) were
joined by other tribal members between 1857 and 1863, but
between 1873 and 1878, approximately half of the Mexican Kickapoo
returned to Oklahoma in the United States. In
2000, the largest concentration of the Kikapú were found in the Coahuila’s
north central municipio of Múzquiz, where 106 of the 125 Kikapú speakers lived
at the time of the 2000 census. Indigenous
Coahuila in the Twentieth Century By
the late Nineteenth Century, nearly all the indigenous groups of Coahuila had
disappeared. The 1895 census
recorded only 19 indigenous speakers in the entire state.
This number increased slightly to 55 in 1900 and to 263 in 1910.
In 1910, Coahuila had 262 Kikapú speakers, which means that only one
indigenous person in the state spoke a language other than Kikapú. In
the unique 1921 Mexican census, residents of each state were asked to classify
themselves in several categories, including “indígena pura” (pure
indigenous), “indígena mezclada con blanca” (indigenous mixed with white)
and “blanca” (white). Out of a total state population of 393,480,
The
2010 Census According
to the 2010 Mexican census, only 6,105 persons five years of age or more in the
State of Coahuila actually spoke an indigenous language. The most represented
languages in the State were:
With
the exception of the Kikapú speakers, the majority of these indigenous speakers
were either migrants from other parts of Mexico or the children of migrants who
arrived in the State at a later date. In 2010, only 39 residents of Coahuila
were monolingual speakers of their indigenous language. In the final analysis,
Coahuila ranked at the bottom of all the Mexican states for the number of its
indigenous speakers. Mexicans
Considered Indigenous The
2010 census included a question that asked people if they considered themselves
indigenous, whether or not an indigenous language was spoken. The results of
this question indicated that 15.7 million persons in Mexico 3 years of age and
older identified themselves as “indigenous.”
By comparison, 6.9 million people in the same age bracket were tallied as
indigenous speakers, meaning that approximately 8.8 million Mexicans aged 3 and
older did not speak an indigenous language but considered themselves to be of
indigenous origin. In
all, only 14,638 residents of Coahuila in 2010 were classified as indigenous,
about 0.5% of the state’s population and more than double the number of
indigenous speakers (6,105). The two municipios with the largest number of
“indigenous” persons were Saltillo (3,992) and Torreón (3,219), but
Múzquiz with 760 indigenous persons had one of the highest percentages of all
Coahuila municipios. The
Future Most
of Coahuila’s indigenous population disappeared, dispersed or assimilated in
the Eighteenth Century. While the Kikapú speakers hang on in northern Coahuila,
the only other source of indigenous speakers in the State will come from the
migrant workers who travel from Oaxaca, Guerrero and other southern states. Coahuila
is Mexico’s top mining state in large part because of its large coal reserves.
Thanks to Coahuila’s coal industry, its export-oriented manufacturing industry
(the maquiladora) and Saltillo’s prosperous automobile industry, it is likely
that migrants will continue to enter Coahuila’s border, thus bringing an
influx of new indigenous speakers from other states. Copyright
© 2014, by John P. Schmal. Sources:
Alessio
Robles, Vito’ “Coahuila y Texas en la Epoca Colonial” (Mexico City:
Editorial Cultura, 1938; 2d ed., Mexico City: Editorial Porrúa, 1978). Bolton,
Herbert Eugene (ed.). “Spanish Exploration in the Southwest, 1542-1706” (New
York: Scribner, 1908; rpt., New York: Barnes and Noble, 1959) Campbell,
Thomas N. “Coahuiltecans and Their Neighbors,” in “Handbook of North
American Indians,” Vol. 10 (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1983). Campbell,
Thomas N. “The Indians of Southern Texas and Northeastern Mexico: Selected
Writings of Thomas Nolan Campbell.” (Austin: Texas Archeological Research
Laboratory, 1988). Campillo
Cuautli, Hector. “Diccionario Ilustrado y Enciclopedia Regional del Estado de
Coahuila” (Mexico, D.F.: Fernández Editories, 1987). Departamento
de la Estadística Nacional, “Annuario de 1930” (Tacubaya, D.F., Mexico,
1932). Departamento
de la Estadistica Nacional, Estados Unidos Mexicanos, “Censos General de
Habitantes: 30 de Noviembre de 1921, Estado de Jalisco,” (Mexico, Distrito
Federal: Talleres Graficos de la Nación, 1926) Forbes,
Jack D. “Unknown Athapaskans: The Identification of the Jano, Jocome, Jumano,
Manso, Suma, and Other Indian Tribes of the Southwest,” Ethnohistory 6
(Spring 1959). Frye,
David. “The Native Peoples of Northeastern Mexico” in “The Cambridge
History of the Native Peoples of the Americas: Volume II: Mesoamerica: Part 2”
(edited by Richard E.W. Adams and Murdo J. MacLeod (Cambridge University Press,
2000)). Gerhard,
Peter. “The North Frontier of New Spain” (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, 1982). Gibson,
Arrell Morgan, “The Kickapoos; Lords of the Middle Border” (Norman,
Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963). Griffen,
William B. “Culture Change and Shifting Populations in Central Northern Mexico”
(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1969). Hackett,
Charles W. (ed.) “Historical Documents Relating to New Mexico, Nueva Vizcaya,
and Approaches Thereto, to 1773” (Washington: Carnegie Institution, 1923-37). INEGI,
“Censo de Población y Vivienda (2010):
Panorama Sociodemográfico de México” (March 2011). Nielsen,
George R, “The Kickapoo People” (Phoenix Indian Tribal Series, 1975). Powell,
Philip Wayne. “Soldiers
Indians and Silver: North America's First Frontier War.” (Tempe,
Arizona: Center for Latin American Studies, Arizona State University, 1975). Ruecking,
Freidrich H., “The Economic Systems of the Coahuiltecan Indians of Southern
Texas and Northeastern Mexico (1953). Sauer,
Carl. “The Distribution of Aboriginal Tribes and Languages in Northwestern
Mexico” (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1934). Swanton,
J.R. “Linguistic Material from the Tribes of Southern Texas and Northeastern
Mexico” (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1940).
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Sephardic
Jews founded key cities in Mexico The
Different Perspectives of Jewish Law, the Jewish People, and the State of Israel
towards the Secret Jews (Anusim) |
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Sephardic
Jews founded key cities in Mexico
San Antonio scholar to discuss culture at Laredo temple
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When they were expelled from Spain in 1492, by order of King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella, many left for the New World and lived their lives as crypto-Jews,
practicing their religion in secret.
One key Sephardic colonizer in the New World is Don Luis de Carvajal y de la
Cueva, a Portuguese Jew, who established the kingdom, now state, of Nuevo Leon
in 1580. |
One interesting side note, Santos said, is that Don Luis de Carvajal changed the
name of Santa Lucia to San Luis in 1581, before the name was permanently changed
to Monterrey in 1596. |
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According to Santos, Don Luis de Carvajal and other Sephardic colonizers
"suffered the same fate as other conquistadores." "Once they were seen as being too powerful, they were removed from
office," he said. Santos said these Sephardic families were tightly knit and initially safeguarded their identity, property and wealth by only marrying among themselves. |
Tricia Cortez may be reached at 728-2568 or by e-mail at tricia@lmtonline.com
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By Shlomo Buzaglo |
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The
topic of the conference is an important area of concern when out of the millions
of descendants of the forced Jewish converts to Christianity (Conversos)
scattered around the world, there are potentially thousands who wish to return
to Judaism and to the Jewish people. The
conference was divided into two sessions: (1)
The
Descendants of the Marranos in Jewish Law |
NAC
Senior VP Dr. David Altman introduced the subject. He claimed the need to create
a kind of 'Yad Vashem' for the descendants of the Conversos since the subject is
unfamiliar to Israelis and to most Jews, and insisted on the need to place this
issue on the national agenda. The controversy dealing with whether our ancestors
were willing or forced to convert should not be our main concern; we have to
help those wishing to return to their religious heritage. In
the first Session, chaired by Prof. Zvi Gilat of Netanya Academic College, the
speakers tended to give their opinion about the Jewishness of the descendants of
the Conversos. Prof. Michael Corinaldi who is Chairman of the (IISSAJ) at NAC, stated categorically that the descendants of the Conversos are indeed part of the Jewish people. He explained that the New Christians were not considered as Old Christians, and therefore New Christians never married with Old Christians. The Anusim themselves submitted to the new religion only outwardly, which explains the position of Rabbi Shlomo ben Shimon Duran, the Rashbash (1400-1467), that Anusim should be returned to Judaism and not converted. |
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Rabbi
Eliahu Touitou who has worked in South America, Portugal and Spain in the field
of descendants of Anusim, also endorsed this viewpoint and emphasized the large
numbers of potential returnees to Judaism who have been turned away by the
mainstream Jewish authorities without halachic justification. Rabbi
MK Dov Lipman of the Yesh Atid party, and a member of the Knesset Committee for
Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, spoke about the need of looking
for and bringing back home all the zerah Israel (the "seed of Israel"
i.e., descendants or Jews). Rabbi
Moshe Pinchuk who is the head of the Jewish Heritage Center at NAC, emphasized
that the classical and clear-cut interpretation is that someone who is born of a
Jewish mother is by definition Jewish. But the problem arises when there are
people who have Jewish fathers or grandparents, known as "the seed of the
Jews" in rabbinical discourse. He stated that in the original Law of Return
adopted by the Knesset in 1949 the prior definition was used, but it was quickly
modified in practice in 1952 to include persons with Jewish fathers and
grandparents. In other words, a purely religious definition was inadequate for
the State of Israel, which needed an ethnic or national definition. Some
rabbinical authorities support this approach and others reject it. |
In
the second Session,Shai Hermesh spoke for the World Zionist Congress and
supported the view that more or less all descendants of Anusim were potentially
Jewish. By helping descendants of Anusim to come back to their roots, an
historical injustice will be corrected, our national demographic discrepancy
with non-Jewish populations compensated, and the drop in worldwide Jewish
figures during the last 70 years will level off. Abraham
Duvdevani of the World Zionist Organization spoke in more practical terms and
from his personal experience pointed out the difficulties of the shlichim
(emissaries) on the ground in determining whether or not after 500 years someone
is legitimately Jewish because they have some residual Jewish practices and
claim to be Jewish, or are moved by Messianic motivations. He concluded that
ultimately the secular state authorities must depend on the rabbinical
authorities to classify for them who indeed is or is not a Jew. The Session ended with two personal statements. The first was by Cecilia Mendes, a Portuguese attorney practicing law in Lisbon, who discovered in her teens that she was descended on her maternal side from Chuetas. Her grandmother left Majorca (an act that was previously forbidden to Chuetas), married and lived in Seville. Subsequently her mother married and moved |
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| to Lisbon. In her research on
her maternal descendants she discovered that over the centuries the Chuetas were
cruelly treated by the Christian authorities. They were not only forbidden to
leave the island, but were restricted to certain crafts and locations. The
Chuetas (a group of fifteen families who converted to Christianity in 1435 to
stay on the island) were required to take Christian names that were carefully
recorded for posterity, so that there was no intermarriage or social interaction
between 'Chuetas' and 'Old Christians' in Majorca. Thus, after taking conversion
classes in Judaism, Ms. Mendes was able to present her evidence of Jewish
matrilineal descent to the rabbinate in Jerusalem and was accepted as Jewish
without the need for conversion. She ended by pointing out that she was a
consultant for the drafting of the new law recently adopted by the Portuguese
Parliament that extends Portuguese citizenship to any Sephardic Jews who can
prove that their antecedents lived at any time in Portugal. |
The
Conference ended with a statement by Mrs. Gloria Mound, Executive Director of
Casa Shalom and Senior Advisor to the IISJAS, who pointed out in summary that
although the issue of the rights of the descendants of Anusim has been raised
numerous times with the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of
Immigration and Absorption, the Jewish Agency and personally with Rabbi Lipman,
as far as she could determine, apart from a lot of promises, nothing has
actually been done to facilitate the return of the descendants of the Anusim to
the Jewish people and to Israel.
Summary of the conference was prepared in four languages by Shlomo Buzaglo, the
new managing director of the International Institute for Secret Jews (Anusim)
Studies. Shlomo Buzaglo is also the coordinator between the Institute and Casa
Shalom, at Netanya Academic College, Netanya, Israel. With thanks to Shlomo
Buzaglo and Adina Moryosef, associate director. http://sephardichorizons.org/Volume4/Issue3/conference.html
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Before
they left Africa, early modern humans were 'culturally diverse' |
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(Phys.org, Aug 18, 2014) —Researchers have carried out the biggest ever comparative study of
stone tools dating to between 130,000 and 75,000 years ago found in the region
between sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia. They have discovered there are marked
differences in the way stone tools were made, reflecting a diversity of cultural
traditions. The study has also identified at least four distinct populations,
each relatively isolated from each other with their own different cultural
characteristics. The research paper also suggests that early populations took
advantage of rivers and lakes that criss-crossed the Saharan desert. A climate
model coupled with data about these ancient water courses was matched with the
new findings on stone tools to reveal that populations connected by rivers had
similarities in their cultures. This could be the earliest evidence of different
populations 'budding' across the Sahara, using the rivers to disperse and meet
people from other populations, says the paper published in the journal,
Quaternary Science Reviews. |
The researchers from the University of Oxford, Kings College London and the
University of Bordeaux took over 300,000 measurements of stone tools from 17
archaeological sites across North Africa, including the Sahara. For the first
time they combined the stone tool data with a model of the North African
environment during that period, which showed that the Sahara was then a
patchwork of savannah, grasslands and water, interspersed with desert. They also
mapped out known ancient rivers and major lakes, building on earlier research by
Professor Nick Drake, one of this paper's co-authors. By modelling and mapping
the environment, the researchers were then able to draw new inferences on the
contexts in which the ancient populations made and used their tools. The results
show, for the first time, how early populations of modern humans dispersed
across the Sahara, one after the other 'budding' into populations along the
ancient rivers and watercourses. |
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Lead researcher Dr Eleanor Scerri, visiting scholar at the University of Oxford,
said: 'This is the first time that scientists have identified that early modern
humans at the cusp of dispersal out of Africa were grouped in separate, isolated
and local populations. Stone tools are the only form of preserved material
culture for most of human history. In Africa, owing to the hot climate, ancient
DNA has not yet been found. These stone tools reveal how early populations of
modern humans dispersed across the Sahara just before they left North Africa.
While different populations were relatively isolated, we were interested to find
that when connected by rivers, they share similarities in their tool-making
suggesting some interaction with one another.' |
Dr Scerri said: 'Not much is known about the structure of early modern human
populations in Africa, particularly at the time of their earliest dispersals
into Eurasia. Our picture of modern human demography around 100,000 years ago is
that there were a number of populations, varying in size and degree of genetic
contact, distributed over a wide geographical area. This model of our population
history supports other theories recently put forward that modern humans may have
first successfully left Africa earlier than 60,000-50,000 years ago, which had
been the common view among scholars. Our work provides important new evidence
that sheds light on both the timing of early modern human dispersals out of
Africa and the character of our interaction with other human species, such as
Neanderthals.' |
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| Co-author Dr Huw Groucutt, from the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, said: 'The question of whether there was an early successful exit from Africa has become one of whether any of the populations discovered in this paper went in and out of Africa for some or all of this time. A crucial next step involves fieldwork in areas such as the Arabian Peninsula to understand how these populations spread into Eurasia. | The ongoing fieldwork by the Oxford
University based Palaeodeserts Project is seeking to do exactly that, and we are
making some remarkable discoveries in the deserts of Arabia, which may also have
been the region where both Neanderthal and Homo sapiens populations may have
interacted.' http://phys.org/news/2014-08-left-africa-early-modern-humans.html
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Lost and Found: Three hundred year-old Mexican document
found in Milwaukee |
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Lost and Found: Three hundred year-old Mexican document
found in Milwaukee |
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Published
April 3, 2012 Uncategorized4 Comments Laura
Matthew on the secret life of primary sources and the responsibility historians
have to them, and to each other, when documenting the past. I have
been thinking about how documents are lost, then found. A week
or so ago, my friend and colleague Aims McGuiness from the History department at
the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (UWM) left me a voice mail message.
“There’s this mysterious document at the American Geographical Society
Library here at UWM,” he said. “It looks colonial-era, and maybe Mexican.
The librarians don’t know what it is, or how they got it. Could you come look
at it?” “Ooh,
fun!” I emailed him back (yes, that’s a direct quote). “I can always make
time for a lost document.” Little did I know. A few days later, Jovanka Ristic and Kay Guilden at the AGS Library unrolled in front of me a piece of bark paper on textile, about six feet long and two feet wide. The document had the characteristic look of an indigenous land title from Mexico’s mid-colonial period, a mix of traditional pictographic narration and alphabetic text. |
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Two
sections in Spanish told me that the document dated from 1691-1709, and came
from Santa Catharina de Tepexi. The rest of the text looked oddly like Zapotec
– odd, because Tepexi is in the current state of Puebla, whereas Zapotec is
spoken further southwest in Oaxaca. Since I am no expert in indigenous languages
(nor, as it turns out, in Mexican geography), this was as far as my observations
could take me. But I knew who could take it further. The next day I wrote my friend and colleague Michel Oudijk at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Michel and I co-edited a book together in the mid-2000s. He studies ancient Zapotec history through the pictographic writings of the colonial period. He also wrote a book on the leader of Tepexi, Puebla, during the conquest period. “Hey Michel,” I wrote, “there’s this document here in Milwaukee….” I described what I’d seen, and sent some pictures the librarians had provided. |
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Michel Oudijk and Bas van Doesburg examining the tira |
Laura Matthew, Aims McGuinness and Christopher
Baruth looking at the tira |
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“Wooooooooooooooowwwwwwww,
Es el Códice de Santa Catarina Ixtepeji!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” came the response in my email a
day later. (Again, a direct quote). As it
turned out, Michel and his friend and colleague Sebastián van Doesburg
had been searching for this document for over a decade, in archives
throughout Mexico, Europe, and the United States. It is not from Tepexi
in Puebla, but from the Zapotec town of Santa Catarina Ixtepeji in
Oaxaca. Sebastián had even published an article on the document in 2000, based on a grainy
black-and-white photograph of the document’s left-hand corner from the
1950s that he had found in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico
City. Scholars
writing in the 1960s reported that a document on leather from Santa
Catarina Ixtepeji had been sold to a German consul in the early
twentieth century. The scholars included this information in their
catalogues of pictorial manuscripts from Mexico, with the hope that
someday, somewhere, a document that was once seen would resurface. (Sebastián’s
research suggested that in fact there may have been two lost
documents from Santa Catarina de Ixtepeji. The second, it seemed, was
sold by a British consular official in Oaxaca named Rickards, a Mexican
of Scottish descent, from his private collection. This is the document
at the AGS Library). I rode
the bus home that afternoon with a big, goofy smile on my face. I will
not use the once-lost Códice de Santa Catarina de Ixtepeji in my own
research – but I know exactly how excited Michel and Sebastián were
feeling at that moment. I
know, because last year I got an email from my friend and colleague
Christopher Lutz, informing me that Sebastián van Doesburg had found
the lost city council books of the first successful Spanish capital of Guatemala. Those
books, dating from 1530-1553. had been stolen and sold from Guatemala
sometime in the last decade of the nineteenth century. At the
time, Sebastián was doing research in the Hispanic Society in New York
City. The archivist there asked him to look at these books. Sebastián
looked, and though it wasn’t his area of research, knew they were
important. He wrote Chris, and voilá. A century-long mystery solved, an
incalculable resource for the history of Guatemala returned to the
scholarly community. The “lost” cabildo books are currently being
transcribed for publication by a Guatemalan team of historians. I rode
the bus with a big, goofy smile on my face that day, too. There
is an unpleasant side to this tale. Countless pieces of Mesoamerican
history are scattered throughout Europe and the United States, as a
consequence of direct or indirect imperialism and the power of the
purse. Antiquities-hunting became something of a craze in the nineteenth
century. Dealers scoured indigenous villages for old stuff they could
sell to the highest bidder, often a foreign business magnate with a
penchant for collecting. Scholars
also bought, copied, and “borrowed” manuscripts. Sometimes things
were simply taken. And this swindling continues. In 1995, the
politically-appointed president of the national archives in Guatemala sent his wife to sell sixteenth-century documents to Swann Gallery in New York
City. Oftentimes, these precious pieces of the past end up hanging on
someone’s living room wall or tucked away, “lost,” in an
unorganized bundle sold or donated to a library after the buyer’s
death. When I
once found a document signed by the famous conquistador Bernal Díaz de
Castillo in the Guatemalan archives, I sat in satisfied awe for a few
moments at my desk. But I was careful to mention it only to a few
trusted Guatemalan friends and colleagues. A document with Díaz del
Castillo’s signature currently goes for $125,000; royal decrees from
seventeenth-century Guatemala go for $30,000. |
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Today,
I can’t keep the smile off my face. I have repeated the mantra “friend and
colleague” because even though research and writing can be solitary, it also
means being part of a community. Friends and colleagues, librarians and
archivists, all share time together in the archive. We share ideas about what we
find, and the challenge of writing about it in some coherent, convincing way. We
also share information, and each other’s joy at finding a key fragment of the
past that was once lost. When one of those fragments is recovered, so is piece of history.
It’s why we do what we do, and there are few moments that are quite as
satisfying. Update: AGS curator emeritus Christopher Baruth has discovered that the Códice
was sold to the AGS in 1917 by a mining engineer, A.E. Place. Baruth suspects
that Place had bought it from the private collection of Rickards, whose family
was also involved in the mining industry. |
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Laura Matthew is an assistant professor of Latin American History who specializes in colonial Guatemala. Her first book, Memories of Conquest: Becoming Mexicano in Colonial Guatemala will be coming out soon (Spring 2012) through the University of North Carolina Press. |
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Genealogist volunteer Margarita Sandoval sent the article
by Dr. Matthew and shared the following: Margarita Sandoval Skare, 414-476-6702 |
For additional reading on the subject: 1. Matthew, Laura. "Lost and Found: Three hundred year-old Mexican document found in Milwaukee" Historians@Work: A blog from Marquette University history faculty April 3, 2012 http://marquettehistorians.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/lost-and-found-three-hundred-year-old-mexican-document-found-in-milwaukee/ Matthew, Laura. “El hallazgo del Codice de Ixtepeji” http://www.eljolgoriocultural.org.mx/index.php/del-impreso/en-portada/item/1069-el-hallazgo-del-odice-de-ixtepeji 2. Hunt, Laura L. "Scholar network turns lost into found" UWM Today website July 9, 2012 http://www5.uwm.edu/news/2012/07/09/scholar-network-turns-lost-into-found/ 3. El mapa histórico ilustrado de Santa Catarina Ixtepeji 7/09/2012 11:16:00 p. m. Pedro Donaire, Spanish translation of Laura Hunt’s article Referencia: ScienceDaily.com , 5 de julio de 2012 Fuente: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 4. Lank, Avrum D. “Scroll of the Centuries” Milwaukee Magazine, March 4, 2013 A document forgotten in a desk is unlocking the forgotten tale of a Mexican kingdom. http://www.milwaukeemag.com/article/342014-Scrollofthecenturies 5. AGS Library Collections website. http://www4.uwm.edu/Libraries/AGSL 6. Van Doesburg, Sebastián (2000). "El Lienzo de Santa Catarina Ixtepeji; un documento pictográfico tardío de la Sierra Juárez". Acervos (in Spanish) (Oaxaca) 17: 28–34. 7. “Codex of Santa Catarina de Ixtepeji” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_ofSanta_Catarina_Ixtepeji |
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"Carlos
Slim is one of the worlds most important philanthropists and most people have
never heard about his humanitarian activities. He owns stock in more than 200
companies that employ more than 200,000 people in Latin America and beyond. He
has used his resources to help develop the communities where his businesses are
located. In his own country, Mexico, he has personally supported more than
165,000 young people in attending university, paid for numerous surgeries,
provided equipment for rural schools and covered surety bonds for 50,000 people
who were entitled to their freedom but could not afford. He recently created the
Carso Institute for Health, and designed it to provide a new approach to health
care in Mexico. He has four billion dollars of investments ready to promote
education, health and other great challenges, and has recently announced an
additional six billion dollar investment in several programs, including his
Telmex Foundation."
www.carlosslim.com/responsabilidad_ing.html Sent
by Refugio Rochin, Ph.D. rrochin@me.com
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Registro del bautismo
DEODORO PEDRO REGALADO FRANCISCO DE PAULA DE LA SMA.TRINIDAD.
Envío la imagen del registro del bautismo ( ya había enviado la del Registro
Civil ) de Don Francisco Rincón Gallardo y Doblado esposo de Doña Luz Díaz
Ortega. LIBRO
DE BAUTISMOS DE LA YGLESIA PARROQUIAL DE LA ASUNCIÓN DE AGUASCALIENTES, AGS. |
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Márgen
izq. Reg. 380. Deodoro Pedro Regalado Francisco de Paula de la Santisima
Trinidad.
Jesus Torres.
Yg°. de la Parra. |
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Investigó
y paleografió.
Tte. Corl. Intdte. Ret. Ricardo Palmerín Cordero.
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La
historia familiar oral se desvanece en sólo tres generaciones
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¿Se ha sentido alguna vez alarmado por no poder recordar una historia familiar
o experiencias que usted sabe que ha escuchado muchas veces a sus abuelos
relatar? ¿Alguna vez se preguntó por qué sabe muy poco acerca de la vida
personal de sus abuelos o bisabuelos? Aaron
Holt de la Administración Nacional de Archivos y Registros dice que “sólo se
necesitan tres generaciones para perder una porción de historia familiar
oral”. Si quiere evitar la pérdida de esas preciadas historias de la familia
que han pasado de generación en generación, Holt continuó diciendo, la
historia “debe repetirse intencionalmente y con precisión una y otra vez a
través de las generaciones a fin de ser preservada”. Jim
Ison, un Gerente de Área de FamilySearch.org quien recientemente dirigió la
palabra en la conferencia nacional 2014 de la Sociedad Genealógica en Richmond,
Virginia, dijo que la idea de que los relatos de su familia pudieran perderse en
tres generaciones le dio la determinación de asegurarse que esto no sucediera. Ison,
un genealogista acreditado, compartió un descubrimiento similar que tuvo el
año pasado durante una sesión de RootsTech 2013 presentada por el director
general de FamilySearch, Dennis Brimhall. Dijo que Brimhall hizo una pregunta
para detenerse y pensar: “¿Qué desearán sus bisnietos que usted hubiera
hecho?” |
Ison
ha dedicado toda una vida investigando la genealogía de su familia, extendiendo
y documentando meticulosamente generación tras generación de su árbol
familiar. Pero se encontró frente a una pregunta muy interesante en verdad,
“¿Qué DESEARÍAN sus bisnietos, la mayoría de los cuales probablemente
nunca llegaría a conocer en esta vida, que él hubiera hecho?” Ison
pensó: “Nadie conoce a mis antepasados o sus historias como yo. Yo soy el
nexo entre mis nietos y mis abuelos.” Decidió en ese momento en 2013 poner a
un lado su pasión por la investigación genealógica y su objetivo a largo
plazo de rastrear su genealogía hasta el gran Carlomagno, y en su lugar
comenzó a enfocarse en las admirables historias personales de sus padres y
abuelos, cosas que él pensó que sus bisnietos querrían saber y que desearían
que él se hubiera tomado el tiempo para hacerlo. Comenzó
con una caja con fotos viejas de la familia que tenía guardada en el armario y
que su padre le había pasado a él, la cual su padre había recibido de su
madre. “Al igual que mi padre”, Ison señaló: “Guardé la caja en mi
armario para preservar su contenido por otra generación. El problema es que una
caja no permite que las fotos se puedan compartir, acceder o disfrutar a través
de las generaciones”.
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Para
comenzar con su nuevo proyecto, Ison escogió una pareja particular de abuelos,
Lorilla Spencer y Frank (Reight) Ison. Escaneó sus fotos y las cargó a su
cuenta gratuita de FamilySearch.orgy agregó otros documentos fuente que había
acumulado durante sus años de investigación. Luego editó y agregó historias
que su padre había escrito sobre sus abuelos años antes y las conservó y
compartió en línea a través del Árbol Familiar de FamilySearch. “Las
fotos pasaron de mi caja de zapatos a la ‘nube’ en línea en FamilySearch
para preservarlas para el futuro”, dijo Ison triunfalmente. “Ahora un
bisnieto a 1.600 kilómetros de distancia puede ver las mismas fotos y leer las
mismas historias”. Ison
citó la investigación de un artículo del New York Times de 2013 por el autor
Bruce Feiler, quien observó: “La cosa más importante que usted puede hacer
por su familia puede ser la más simple de todas: Desarrollar una fuerte
narrativa familiar”. La investigación observó que los niños que sabían
más acerca de sus antepasados—quiénes eran, dónde crecieron, las
enfermedades que sufrieron y las pruebas difíciles que tuvieron que enfrentar—tenían
mayor seguridad en sí mismos y manejaban el estrés personal de mejor manera. |
Por
el bien de la posteridad, Ison se centró en resaltar esos aspectos más
destacados de la vida personal de los antepasados que conoció y descubrió a
través de la investigación. Por
ejemplo, la madre de su abuelo bávaro murió cuando él era un niño pequeño.
Su bisabuelo se volvió casar con una “madrastra malvada”, que los castigaba
todas las mañanas y les decía que la paliza era por todo lo malo que fueran a
hacer durante el día que ella no se enteraría. Este abuelo y su hermano mayor,
finalmente huyeron de la casa y cambiaron su apellido para evitar su captura.
Emigraron a Estados Unidos, trabajaron duro y tuvieron mucho éxito. Su
abuela fue maestra de escuela a una edad muy joven. Ella quedó emocionalmente
afectada cuando su prometido murió en un trágico accidente. Para escapar del
constante recuerdo de su dolor en la comunidad local, solicitó enseñar en
Alaska, pero fue rechazada, irónicamente, porque no estaba casada. Solicitó en
Georgia pero se le negó porque era una “Yankee” de South Dakota. Solicitó
en Kentucky y fue aceptada, lo que explica por qué estuvo dispuesta a viajar
más de 2.000 kilómetros a caballo por su cuenta, sin las comodidades del hogar
y la familia. |
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Cuando
estaban recién casados, el hogar de estos mismos abuelos se quemó por completo. Ison
creó preguntas a partir de las historias y las fotos de estos dos abuelos,
Frank y Lorilla, que pudieran motivar a sus nietos a saber más sobre sus
fascinantes bisabuelos. A
los 9 años, ¿por qué Frank y su hermano se fueron de la casa?
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Ison
dijo que se maravilló al ver lo fascinados que estaban sus nietos buscando las
respuestas en las fotos e historias que publicó en internet en FamilySearch.org
y la facilidad con que navegaron las herramientas en línea para hacerlo. Para
los nietos más pequeños, publicó 75 páginas de historias y fotos, y ha
creado otras actividades divertidas como crucigramas, tablas de bingo y juegos
de memoria con información sobre los antepasados, que disfruta hacer con los
nietos cuando lo visitan. “Se sorprenderá al ver la cantidad de preguntas que
sus nietos tendrán de sólo una historia sobre algún antepasado”. Ison
ahora repetirá el proceso con otros abuelos y antepasados en su árbol, muy
contento en su nuevo papel como la conexión intergeneracional de su posteridad. https://familysearch.org/blog/es/tag/arbol-familiar/
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Envío la imagen del registro del bautismo de Aurelio Maicotte, |
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LIBRO DE BAUTISMOS DE LA IGLESIA DE SAN JOSÉ DEL PROGRESO, COAH. Nota.
transcribo tal como está escrito, como sabemos la madre se llamó Juana Camero
Martinez. |
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De los personajes extranjeros radicados en la Capital de nuestro País en la
primera mitad del Siglo XIX y que contrajeron matrimonio con Damas Mexicanas,
enseguida transcribo el registro del bautismo de un niño de ese origen y que se
llamó Archivaldo Hope Garay.
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LIBRO DE BAUTISMOS DE LA IGLESIA DEL SEÑOR SAN JOSÉ DE LA CD. DE MÉXICO. |
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LIBRO DE BAUTISMOS DE LA IGLESIA DEL SEÑOR SAN JOSÉ DE LA CD. DE MÉXICO. Márgen izq. 218. Archivaldo Pasqual Francisco Epitacio.
En 23 de Mayo de 1842 en esta Parroqa. del Sr. Sn. José de Mexc°. Yo el
Presb°. Franc°. Campuzano ( V. P.) bautisé solemnemente y puse los Stos.
Oleos á un Ynfante de seis dias de nacido á quien puse pr. nombres Archivaldo
Pasqual Franc°. Epitacio, hijo de legmo. matrimonio de D. Archivaldo Hope
natural de Liberpool, en Ynglaterra, y de Da. Ma. de los Dolores Garay, natl. de
Veracruz: nieto por linea paterna, de D. Pedro Hope de Liberpool, y de
Da.
Ana-------, natl. de Virginia en los Estados Unidos de Norte America: y por la
materna, de D. Pedro Garay y Aguado, natl. de Jalapa, y de Da. Maria de los
Reyes Jimenez, natl. de Veracruz: fueron sus padrinos D. Pedro Garay, y Da.
Guadalupe Garay, á quienes adverti su obligacion y parentesco espiritual, y
para que conste lo firmé con el Señor Cura. |
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Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos
Días.
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Señor
General de División Don Manuel María Lombardini Envío el registro del bautismo efectuado en el Sagrario Metropolitano de la Cd. de México del Señor General de División Don Manuel María Lombardini, ingresó a los doce años de edad en la carrera de las armas, fue un distinguido militar ( combatió durante la Primera Intervención Francesa en la llamada Guerra de los Pasteles, Intervención Norteamericana 1846-1848, Comandante General de la Plaza de México ), político conservador fué Presidente Provisional de la República por breve tiempo el año de 1853 falleciendo ese mismo año. Fuentes. Family Search. Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días. |
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"
En veinticinco de Julio del año del Señor de mil ochocientos dos con
licencia del Sor. Dr. y Mro. Don Josef Maria Alcala Cura de esta Santa
Yglesia. Yo el Br. D. Manuel Morales Cura y Juez Ecco. del pueblo de
Mazatepec bautise a un infante que nació el día veinte y tres del
presente, pusele por nombres Manuel Apolinario Josef Maria Ygnacio
Antonio, hijo legitimo de legitimo matrimonio de Don Juan Domingo
Lombardini natural de la Ciudad de Veracruz y de Da. Mariana de la
Torre, natural de esta. Nieto por linea paterna de Don Josef Antonio
Lombardini y de Doña Geronima Rita de Llano y por la materna de Don
Bernardo Josef de la Torre y de Doña Maria Luisa Sanchez Leñero fue
su padrino Don Vicente Francisco Vidal instruido en su obligacion y
parentesco espiritual ". Dr. y Mro. D. Jose Maria Alcala. Br.
Manuel Morales. Este
registro lo localicé hace más de nueve años así como todo lo que
hé investigado por espacio de más de doce años, gracias a los films
( bautismos, matrimonios y defunciones ) que posee la Iglesia de
Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días. Gracias hermanos
Mormones.
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Indigenous Guerrero: A Remnant of the Aztec Empire
By John P. Schmal
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Location and Description
The
Mexican state of Guerrero is located in the southern coastal region of
the Mexican Republic. Guerrero covers an area of 63,597
square kilometers, occupying 3.2% of the national territory.
The state is bordered to the north by the states of
Michoacán, Mexico and Morelos; to the east, by Puebla and Oaxaca; and
to the south, by the Pacific Ocean. Politically, Guerrero is divided
into eighty-one municipios. Dominated
by the Sierra Madre Mountains of southern Mexico, Guerrero is
extremely mountainous, except for a narrow coastal strip of flatlands.
Environmentally, the state is divided into the following regions: |
The
capital of Guerrero is Chilpancingo de los Bravos. In
2010, Guerrero had a population of 3,388,768 inhabitants, representing
3.0 of the total population of the Republic of Mexico. |
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The
capital of Guerrero is Chilpancingo de los Bravos. In
2010, Guerrero had a population of 3,388,768 inhabitants, representing
3.0 of the total population of the Republic of Mexico. Fifteenth
Century Inhabitants By the 15th century, the territory that now comprises the modern State of Guerrero was inhabited by several indigenous groups, none of whom had major cities or population centers. |
The most important groups were located in the following zones: · Tierra
Caliente: Purhépecha, Cuitlatecos, Ocuiltecas and Matlatzincas · La
Montaña: Tlapanecos and Mixtecs · Central
Valleys: the Coixcas and Tepoztecos · Sierra
del Norte: Chontales, Mazatecos and Tlahuicas (a Náhuatl language) · Costa
Chica: Yopis, Mixtecos and Amuzgos · Costa
Grande: Tolimecas, Chubias, Pantecas and Cuitlatecos During the 15th century, both
the rising Aztec and Purhépecha empires started to intrude upon the
Cuitlateco domain, which eventually fell. The Purhépecha held some
areas of the Costa Grande, while the Aztecs began moving into other
areas of Guerrero, eventually subduing nearly all the peoples shown
above. |
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From
the mid-Fifteenth Century to 1519, the Aztec Empire grew into the most
powerful Mesoamerican kingdoms of all time. By 1519, the island city
of Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) had become a city of about 300,000
citizens. And the Aztec
Empire itself ruled over about 80,000 square miles of territory
extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, and southward
to Oaxaca. This empire
contained some 15 million people, living in thirty-eight provinces.
In all, the Emperor received the tribute of 489 communities.
The term, Aztec, is used to describe all the Nahua-speaking peoples in
the Valley of Mexico, while the culture that dominated the Aztec
Empire was the tribe known as Mexica. Subjects
of the Aztec Empire By the early Sixteenth Century,
numerous native states existed in Guerrero as provinces and
tributaries of the powerful Aztec Empire. The authors Michael E. Smith
and Frances F. Berdan, in “Aztec Imperial Strategies” (Washington,
D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1996) divided the Empire into 52 tributary and
strategic provinces. The Aztec provinces that lay in the present-day
state of Guerrero were: |
· Chiauhtlan:
Located along the Morelos and Puebla borders in northeastern Guerrero,
this province was dominated by Náhuatl speakers. · Quiauhteopan:
Located south of the Mezcala River in Guerrero and in State of Pueblo,
this province had several languages spoken within it: Náhuatl, Mixtec,
Tlapanec and Matlame. · Tlacozauhtitlan:
In this part of present-day Guerrero, Tlapanec, Matlame, Tuxteca and
the Cohuixca variant of Náhuatl were spoken. · Tepequacuilco:
Located in north-central Guerrero, this province was divided between
Náhuatl-speakers (Cohuixca) in the east and Chontal speakers in the
west. · Zompanco:
Located in the mountainous area of east-central Guerrero, south of the
Río Mezcala, this area’s dominant language was the Cohuixca version
of Náhuatl. |
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· Tetellan:
This province located along the Río Balsas had inhabitants that spoke
the Cuitlatec, Tepuzteco and Chontal languages and was on the border
of Purépecha territory. · Tlalpan:
Located in the mountainous eastern part of Guerrero, this province
primarily had Tlapanec language speakers. · Cihuatlan:
This province located along the Costa Grande of Guerrero features “muchos
lenguas,” including Tepuzteco, Cuitlatec, Panteca and Náhuatl. · Tecpantepec:
This province – stretched out along the Costa Grande on either side
of the Cihuatlan province and extending inland – featured the
Cuitlatec language along the coast and Tepuzteco in the inland area. · Ayotlan:
This province was located on the edge of Yope territory in what is now
the Costa Chica of Guerrero and featured several languages: Náhuatl,
Tlapaneca, Yope, Zinteca and Quahuteca. · Ometepec:
This province – now located in southeastern Guerrero on the border
with Oaxaca – contained speakers of the Náhuatl, Ayacstla, Amuzgo
and Tlapanec languages. |
Yopitzinco For all its strength and breadth, the Aztec Empire
failed to conquer several regions that became “independent enclaves”
within their vast dominion. One
of those enclaves was in Guerrero. Yopitzinco – an isolated
mountainous area along the Costa Chica of Guerrero, southeast of
Acapulco – was occupied by the “Yope” or “Tlapaneca,” who
had a reputation as fierce warriors. Yopitzinco actually comprised
four Yopi states (Cacahuatépec,
Pochotitlan, Xocotlan, and Xochitépec).
The Tlapaneca call themselves Méphaa and are
discussed in more detail below. The Pacific coastal regions to the
north and south of Yopitzinco were conquered by the Aztec monarchs,
Ahuítzotl (reigned 1486-1502) and Moctezuma II (reigned 1502-1520),
but the Yope territory remained free of Aztec rule.
Indigenous Groups at Contact
With the collapse of the massive Aztec Empire in
August 1521, the Spaniards proceeded to assert their authority over
the many peoples who had been subject to the Aztecs – as well as the
fiercely independent Yopes who had avoided Aztec domination for so
long. The primary indigenous Guerrero groups living in the colonial
period are discussed below:
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The
Amuzgos
The Amuzgos lived in the lower
parts of the Sierra Madre del Sur in the present-day states of Oaxaca
and southeastern Guerrero. The
Amuzgo language belongs to the Otomanguean linguistic group and
consists of two dialects, one in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca. The
Amuzgo language is similar to the Mixtec and their territory overlaps
that of the Mixtec region. Linguists have estimated that
the Amuzgo language separated from the Mixtec language sometime
between 2000 and 1000 B.C.
For a long time, the Amuzgos were an independent
people, but around 1100 A.D., they came under the domination of the
strong coastal Mixtec kingdom of Tututepec. For
the next three hundred years, they paid tribute to the Mixtecs in the
form of animal cotton, fabrics, skins, gold, maize and frijoles. In
1457, the Aztecs began their conquest of Amuzgo territory, replacing
Mixtecs as the rulers of the region and then being replaced by the
Spaniards in the 1520s.
The arrival of the Spaniards and the Afro-Mexicans gradually pushed
the Amuzgos into the more inaccessible mountain regions and away from
the coast. They were devastated by several epidemics during the
Sixteenth Century and lost much of their land to intruders, although
they pressured authorities for restitution, which was finally
granted in the 1930s. |
The Amuzgos still maintain much of their language and dress and are
known for their textiles hand-woven on back strap looms with
two-dimensional designs which can be complicated. Today, most
of the Amuzgos live in or near four municipios: Xochistlahuaca,
Tlacoachistlahuaca and Ometepec in Guerrero and San Pedro Amuzgos and
Santa María Ipalapa in Oaxaca. Náhuatl
With the expansion of the Aztec Empire, several
Náhuatl languages were introduced into and gradually dominated
several regions of Guerrero, including the Sierra del Norte, the
Central Valleys, a sliver of Costa Grande and the Tierra Caliente.
Today, the Náhuatl enclaves that exist in some of the
far-flung reaches of the former Aztec Empire represent the remnants of
the early colonies established by the Mexica during their Fifteenth
Century expansion in the southern Mexico (including Guerrero).
The primary Náhuatl languages of Guerrero today
include the Coatepec, Guerrero and Ometepec tongues. The Tlahuica
tongue which was spoken in the Sierra del Norte is now primarily
spoken in Morelos, which has always been its stronghold.
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Matlatzinca
The Matlatzinca inhabited a
considerable amount of territory in pre-Hispanic Estado de Mexico and
Guerrero, as well as some smaller portions of present-day Michoacán.
The name Matlatzinca – a Náhuatl term given by the Mexica to
this group – can be translated as "the gentlemen of the
network" or "those that make networks."
The Aztec Empire overcame the Matlatzinca in 1474 who remained
under their rule till the arrival of the Spaniards in 1522. Today, the
majority of Matlatzinca live in one community: San Francisco
Oxtotilpan, located in the municipio of Temascaltepec, State of
Mexico.
Tlapaneca
The Tlapaneca call themselves Méphaa, which can be
translated as “the one that is an inhabitant of Tlapa.” “Tlapaneco”
is an Aztec designation that came from the Náhuatl word “tlauitl,”
meaning “red ocher” and has a pejorative connotation: “the one
that is painted (of the face),” which to the ears of the Méphaa
means “to have a dirty face.”
Tlapa included an extensive territory located in the eastern
portion of the present state of Guerrero that was contiguous with the
Mixtec region of Oaxaca.
Tlapaneca ranges from the coastal region of
Guerrero to the slopes of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range in the
southern part of the state. The Méphaa consist of two primary groups:
· The Méphaa of the north, seated
in Tlapa
· The Yopes of the south, centered
in Yopitzinco
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Tlapaneca ranges from the coastal region of
Guerrero to the slopes of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range in the
southern part of the state. The Méphaa consist of two primary groups:
· The Méphaa of the north, seated
in Tlapa
· The Yopes of the south, centered
in Yopitzinco
Tlapa was the more important ceremonial center of
the region and was divided in four chieftainships: Buáthá Wayíí (Huehuetepec),
Mañuwiín (Malinaltepec), Miwíín (Tlacoapa) and Xkutií (Tenamazapa).
The imperial expansion of the Mexica and the Aztec Empire led to
military incursions within the territory of the Méphaa, and by 1486,
Tlapa fell to the Mexica and became part of the Aztec Empire. The
Yopes, however, remained independent.
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Chontal
The Chontals – also called Tequistlatecan –
inhabited Oaxaca and a small amount of territory in the northern
Sierras of Guerrero. They spoke two related but mutually
unintelligible languages, Huamelultec (Lowland Oaxaca Chontal), and
Highland Oaxaca Chontal. The name “Chontal” comes from the
Náhuatl, meaning "foreigner" or "foreign", and is
also applied to an unrelated language from the State of Tabasco.
Cuicatec The
Cuicatecos (“People of Song”) inhabited a territory that now includes portions of present-day Guerrero,
Oaxaca and Michoacán. They
were neighbors of the Purépecha who occupied a large part of
Michoacán. It is believed
that the Cuicatec speakers may have numbered about 60,000 people
before the conquest. They
were defeated around 1456 by the Aztecs and then subdued later by the
Spanish conquistador, Martin Mezquita.
They resisted conversion to Catholicism during the colonial
period and fled into the mountains to avoid forced labor.
Today, many of the Cuicatec people still live in the mountains.
The Cuicatec language is an Oto-Manguean language which closely
resembles the
Mixtec language. |
The
Mixtecs Dr. Ronald Spores, in “The Mixtecs in Ancient and
Colonial Times,” wrote that “when the Spaniards arrived in
south-central Mexico in the early Sixteenth Century, they entered a
region of northwestern Oaxaca known to its inhabitants as Ñu
Ñudzahui and to the Náhuatl-speaking Aztecs as Mixtlan, “Place of
Clouds.” Soon, the Spaniards
would begin calling this region “La Mixteca.” Dr.
Spore’s description of the Mixteca states that “the Mixteca of
western Oaxaca was an extensive and diversified region extending about
270 kilometers from southern Puebla to the Pacific Ocean and about 180
to 200 kilometers from eastern Guerrero to the western edge of the
Valley of Oaxaca and the area known as La Cañada.” In all, it is
believed that the Mixtec Indians inhabited some 40,000 square
kilometers ranging from Oaxaca through parts of Guerrero and Puebla. The
Mixtec enjoyed considerable influence and prestige in southern Mexico
for several centuries, having eclipsed their neighbors the Zapotecs of
Oaxaca. However, around
1458, the Mexicas began their conquest of Mixtec territory and
eventually they became subjects of the powerful Aztec Empire. |
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The
Mixtec ethnic group is very diverse, speaking approximately 57
different languages that have evolved over time. Even now, the Mixteca
region is still divided into three primary areas: ·
The Mixteca
Baja (Ñuiñe) in the north and
northwest of present-day Oaxaca ·
The Mixteca Alta (Ñu Dzahui Ñuhu)
in the mountainous central area ·
The Mixteca de la Costa (Ñundehui)
in the southwest and south. The Mixtecs and their cousins, the Zapotecs
(discussed below), are discussed in greater detail in another article
by this author at the following link: |
The
Mixtecs Dr. Ronald Spores, in “The Mixtecs in Ancient and
Colonial Times,” wrote that “when the Spaniards arrived in
south-central Mexico in the early Sixteenth Century, they entered a
region of northwestern Oaxaca known to its inhabitants as Ñu
Ñudzahui and to the Náhuatl-speaking Aztecs as Mixtlan, “Place of
Clouds.” Soon, the Spaniards
would begin calling this region “La Mixteca.” Dr.
Spore’s description of the Mixteca states that “the Mixteca of
western Oaxaca was an extensive and diversified region extending about
270 kilometers from southern Puebla to the Pacific Ocean and about 180
to 200 kilometers from eastern Guerrero to the western edge of the
Valley of Oaxaca and the area known as La Cañada.” In all, it is
believed that the Mixtec Indians inhabited some 40,000 square
kilometers ranging from Oaxaca through parts of Guerrero and Puebla. |
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The Mixtec enjoyed considerable influence and prestige in
southern Mexico for several centuries, having eclipsed their neighbors
the Zapotecs of Oaxaca. However,
around 1458, the Mexicas began their conquest of Mixtec territory and
eventually they became subjects of the powerful Aztec Empire. The Mixtec
ethnic group is very diverse, speaking approximately 57 different
languages that have evolved over time. Even now, the Mixteca region is
still divided into three primary areas: ·
The Mixteca
Baja (Ñuiñe) in the north and
northwest of present-day Oaxaca
·
The Mixteca Alta (Ñu Dzahui Ñuhu)
in the mountainous central area ·
The Mixteca de la Costa (Ñundehui)
in the southwest and south. |
The Mixtecs and their cousins, the Zapotecs
(discussed below), are discussed in greater detail in another article
by this author at the following link: http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/oaxaca_cultures.html ·
The Mixteca
Baja (Ñuiñe) in the north and
northwest of present-day Oaxaca
·
The Mixteca Alta (Ñu Dzahui Ñuhu)
in the mountainous central area ·
The Mixteca de la Costa (Ñundehui)
in the southwest and south. The Mixtecs and their cousins, the Zapotecs
(discussed below), are discussed in greater detail in another article
by this author at the following link: http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/oaxaca_cultures.html
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The
Zapotecs From about 500 B.C. until 800 A.D., the Zapotecs were a dominant group. However, by 800 A.D., Zapotec culture went into decline with the invasion of their neighbors, the Mixtecs. For the most part, the Zapotecs of Oaxaca were able to avoid complete surrender to the Aztecs. However, after a several short campaigns, the Spaniards defeated the Zapotecs between 1522 and 1527. Even today, the Zapotecs speak the fifth most common language group in Mexico. However, the Zapotec ethnic group is so diverse that there are actually 64 separate Zapotec languages that have evolved over the last few thousand years, each language diverging as the Zapotec communities became isolated from one another over time. |
Purépecha
The Purépecha, in addition to living in the
neighboring state of Michoacán inhabited some portions of the present
day state of Guerrero, primarily in the north of the Costa Grande and
Tierra Caliente. A detailed discussion of the Purépecha and their
history can be found at the following link:
http://latinola.com/story.php?story=12428
Spanish
Infiltration Initial Spanish interest in the
Guerrero area revolved around the search for gold. In 1521, Rodrigo de Castañeda
took possession of the mining area of Taxco, while Gonzalo de Sandoval
took control of the Chontal area, the northern mountains, the Iguala
Valley and Coixcatlalpan. In the spring of 1523, Sandoval conquered
the coastal areas of present-day Guerrero and Colima and brought the Aztec tributary states under his
control.
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Further conquests were made by
Juan Rodríquez de Villafuerte and Simon de Cuenca in 1523 when they
occupied Cihuatlán and most of the rest of the coastline. They
destroyed the Indian settlement of Zacatula and founded Villa de
Concepción on its site. Villa de Concepción – the eighth Spanish
municipio established in Mexico and the first on the Pacific Coast –
initially contained 122 Spaniards and two brigantines. The settlement
included a shipyard which the Spaniards would use as a point of
departure to explore the Pacific Coast and seek a route to the
Philippines. However, the settlement was attacked and destroyed by
natives later in the century. Today, Zacatula is known as La Unión. For the most part, the Spanish takeover of the Costa Grande did not meet with serious resistance after the news about the fall of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) had arrived. This area produced cash crops such as cotton, cacao and coconuts. Under the Spaniards, these crops were produced on the large encomiendas and haciendas, which exploited the local indigenous population for labor.
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The
Founding of Taxco (1529) The
city of Taxco,
now
located in northern Guerrero – 164 kilometers (111 miles) southwest
of Mexico City and 50 miles south of Cuernavaca (in Morelos) -- was
founded in 1529 by Hernán Cortés as one of the oldest colonial
cities in Mexico. At the
time of the Spanish contact, Taxco, was an area of barren hills and
low mountains. Taxco is
famous for its beautiful colonial architecture and narrow cobbled
streets. Acapulco
The seaport of Acapulco, located 300 kilometers
(186 miles) from Mexico City, is one of Guerrero’s most precious
resources. Thanks to its
beautiful beaches and luxurious resorts, Acapulco, with its
year-around hot climate, is an important tourist center and the
destination of many Americans. The
area of Acapulco had a complex linguistic and political nature long
before the arrival of the Spaniards.
Several semi-independent states were associated in some way
with the neighboring Cuitlatecan Kingdom of Mexcaltépec. |
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In the autumn of 1521, the expedition of Rodrigo
Alvarez Chico discovered a large protected bay which he called Bahía
de Santa Lucía.
This natural port was later given the name Acapulco and was honored by
the Spanish crown as the “City of the Kings.” Acapulco became the most important shipping port
along Mexico’s Pacific coastline. Expeditions sailed from Acapulco
to Peru and the Far East in search of new conquests.
The commercial route from Acapulco to Asia became a very
profitable commercial endeavor for centuries to come. Zacatula (Southwestern Guerrero) The coastal province of Zacatula (now in southwestern Guerrero), explains Professor Gerhard, was the home of “a great many independent or autonomous states people by farmers and fisherman, speaking a variety of languages:” Chumbian, Tolimecan, Pantecan, and Cuitlatecan. The Mexica had invaded this area during the reign of Ahuítzotl (1486-1502) and established their control as far as Xuluchuca. |
Political Chronology (1821-1849) When
the Mexican Republic became independent in 1821, the present-day area
of Guerrero belonged to the states of Michoacán, Mexico, Puebla, and
Oaxaca. However, on
October 27, 1849, the state was established and named for the
revolutionary leader, Vicente Guerrero, with Chilpancingo de los Bravo
as its capital. Indigenous Guerrero in the Twentieth Century
The state of Guerrero has always had a significant population of
indigenous people. In the 1895 census, some 92,444 persons were
registered as speaking indigenous languages.
This figure rose to 117,735 persons in 1900 and to 121,234 in
1910. However, the ravages
of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) – which took the lives of one
in eight Mexicans – caused a steep drop in the population of
Guerrero. Thus, in the
1930 census, Guerrero’s population of indigenous speakers five years
of age or more had dropped to 79,585. |
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The
1921 Mexican Census In the special 1921 Mexican census, we can get
a view of the widespread mestizaje of Guanajuato’s modern
population. In this
census, residents of each state were asked to classify themselves in
several categories, including “indígena pura” (pure indigenous),
“indígena mezclada con blanca” (indigenous mixed with white) and
“blanca” (white). Out of a total district population of 566,836
people, the three classifications of race were tallied in Guerrero as
follows: In addition, 243 residents of Guerrero either
ignored the question or gave another classification (such as “other”
or “foreigner”). |
The 2000 Census
According to the 2000
census, the population of persons five years and more who spoke
indigenous languages in Guerrero amounted to 367,110 individuals.
These individuals spoke a wide range of languages, including:
· Náhuatl
(136,681)
· Mixteco (103,147)
· Tlapaneco
(90,443)
· Amuzgo (34,601)
· Zapoteco (660).
In the 2000 census,
the state of Guerrero had nine municipios that had populations of at
least 90% indigenous speakers. Metlatónoc
–with 24,025 indigenous speakers – had a 99.5% indigenous
population, with the Mixtecos making up the majority of these people.
Acatepec – with an indigenous population of 98.9% – was
primarily dominated by the Tlapaneco, who represented 20,002 of the
20,027 indigenous speakers in the municipio.
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The
Náhuatl Language Today,
the Náhuatl language continues to be the most common indigenous
language spoken in the Republic of Mexico. Speakers of this language
are dispersed across large areas of Mexico.
In the state of Guerrero, the Náhuatl speakers represents
around 40% of the indigenous population of the state and they are
distributed through forty-five municipios in the mountainous interior
of Guerrero. Náhuatl was the primary language spoken in seventeen of
Guerrero’s municipios in 2000. The
Mixteco Languages In
2000, the 103,147 Mixteco speakers in Guerrero represented 23.6% of
the indigenous-speaking language. But they represented less than a
quarter of Mexico’s total Mixteco-speaking population of 444,498 in
that census. Within Guerrero, the Mixtecos
mainly occupy 262 communities and 10 colonies (colonias) in 16
municipios in La Montaña and Costa Chica regions of the state. |
The
Tlapaneco Unlike
the Mixteco and Náhuatl languages, the languages of the Tlapanecos
are primarily confined to the State of Guerrero. The 90,443 Tlapaneco
speakers registered in Guerrero in 2000 represented 91% of all the
Tlapanecos in the entire Republic. Within the state itself, the
Tlapaneco – or
Méphaa – occupy about 536 communities located in 13 municipios. The
2010 Census In
the 2010 Mexican census, Guerrero boasted the sixth largest population
of indigenous speakers: 456,774 individuals in all. (Only Oaxaca,
Chiapas, Veracruz, Puebla and Yucatán had more indigenous speakers.) By
percentage, Guerrero ranked number five among the Mexican states with
indigenous speakers representing 15.1% of the entire population. The
Náhuatl language continued to be the single largest language group,
with 27.5% of the residents of Guerrero speaking that language. |
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Mexicans
Considered Indigenous The
2010 census also included a question that asked people if they
considered themselves indigenous, whether or not an indigenous
language was spoken. Within the State of Guerrero, 22.6% of the
persons 3 years of age and older were considered indigenous, ranking
the state as the eighth largest state with an indigenous population. Most
Spoken Languages In
the 2010 census, Náhuatl remained the most widely spoken language in
Mexico with 1,544,968 persons five years of age and older speaking
that tongue. Náhuatl speakers, in fact, represented 23.08% of the
indigenous speakers 5 and older in the Mexican Republic. |
The Mixtec language group was the third most common language group
(476,472 persons – or 7.12% of all indigenous speakers), and Zapotec
was the fifth most common language spoken. Even
the Tlapaneco language – spoken very little outside of Guerrero –
had 120,072 speakers, ranking it in 16th place among the
Mexican languages (1.79% of the total indigenous speaking population
of Mexico). Copyright
© 2014 by John P. Schmal. All Rights Reserved.
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Bibliography Berdan,
Frances F. et al. “Aztec Imperial Strategies” (Washington, D.C.:
Dumbarton Oaks, 1996). Carrasco,
David (ed.). “The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The
Civilizations of Mexcio and Central America, Volume 2” (Oxford
University Press, 2001). “Estado
de Guerrero – Coyuca de Benítez.” Enciclopedia de los Municipios
de México (in Spanish). Mexico: Instituto Nacional para el
Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal. 2009. Retrieved January 21,
2011. “Estado
de Guerrero – La Unión.” Enciclopedia de los Municipios de
México (in Spanish). Mexico: Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y
el Desarrollo Municipal. 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2011. Estado de Guerrero, “Los Pueblos
Indígenas de Guerrero y su Lengua Materna.” Online:
http://guerrero.gob.mx/articulos/los-pueblos-indigenas-de-guerrero-y-su-lengua-materna/ [Accessed
February 9, 2014]. "Estado
de Guerrero Historia" [State of Guerrero History]. Enciclopedia
de los Municipios de México (in Spanish). Mexico: Instituto Nacional
para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal. 2005. Retrieved June
24, 2010. Gerhard,
Peter. “A Guide to the Historical Geography of New Spain” (Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1972). Instituto
Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática (INEGI).
XII Censo General de Población y Vivienda 2000; Censo de Población y
Vivienda 2010. INEGI,
“Censo de Población y Vivienda (2010): Panorama Sociodemográfico
de México” (March 2011). López, Héctor F. “Diccionario Geográfico, Histórico, Biográfico y
Lingüístico del Estado de Guerrero” (México: Pluma y Lápiz de
México, 1942).
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Tony "the Marine" Santiago |
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Note: Tony the first portrait on thye Wikimedia
Foundation Report
CONGRATULATIONS. |
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Wikipedia updates Tony Santiago information For
his work, Santiago was recognized by the 23rd Senate of Puerto Rico
for being "one of the main contributors of content related to
Puerto Rico in the open online encyclopedia known as Wikipedia".
The Senate also recognized him as one of the main writers on
subjects which relate to Puerto Rico, and an important historian of
the Puerto Rican military experience.
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Photos
highlight some accomplishments. For the full information, Please
go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Santiago
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Pew Research, Hispanic
Trends Project Puerto
Ricans have left the financially troubled island for the U.S. mainland
this decade in their largest numbers Sent
by Bill Carmena |
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The darker the brown, the higher the concentration of Puerto Ricans residing in that area. |
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| Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin are a growing
population in the 50 U.S. states and District of Columbia. About half
of Puerto Ricans live in the Northeast, but the South, especially
Florida, is home to a growing share of this group. Of the nation’s
358 counties with at least a thousand Puerto Rican residents in 2010,
only five – all in the greater New York metropolitan area –
experienced declines in their Puerto Rican populations between 2000
and 2010.
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/08/11/puerto-rican-population-by-county/ |
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Puerto Rican leadership and activism
in the pro-immigration |
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| The
untold story of Puerto Rican leadership and activism in the
pro-immigration
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Puerto
Ricans and Immigration Reform
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Mexican and Central American Children at the U.S.
Border |
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Mexican
and Central American Children at the U.S. Border Moving children to, and over, the U.S. border is a big business; the region’s leaders say they are going to do something about it, but commentators are not so sure; Mexico plans to shut down traffic on “the beast.” |
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| In
El Universal of Mexico City Laura Castellanos looked at the business
of moving kids. In the
Honduran border town of Corinth a reporter talked to a coyote about
trafficking in persons, arms and drugs between Guatemala and Honduras.
“We charge six thousand U.S. dollars: $1500.00 here, $1000.00
in Villahermosa, and $3500.00 at the border,” he said bluntly. “I
work more with children than with adults,” he explained.
He said that on every trip he takes 12 to 14 children. This was
the second of the month. Organizations
and shelters that assist children repatriated in Tamaulipas, Chiapas,
Honduras and Guatemala, consulted by El Universal, estimate that at
least 75% of children who migrate to the United States unaccompanied
go with a coyote. The U.S.
Border Patrol arrested 56,547 unaccompanied children, 40% of whom were
girls, from October 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, a period in which the
number of migrant children exploded.
Of these, nearly a third were from Honduras, followed by those
from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.
A Conservative estimate is that 75% of the 56,547 minors
detained each paid $5000.00 dollars, whereas profits for organized
crime were about $212 million. That
rivals what the U.S. pays to patrol the Texas border with Mexico over
three years. El Faro Magazine of San Salvador editorialized that the presidents of El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, and Honduras say they will |
take action to prevent more children from making the dangerous journey through Mexico to reach the United States. Their primary effort was a campaign to announce throughout Central America what a bad idea it is. It warned parents of the dangers they face and the likely futility of the entire venture. Their children are in danger of being kidnapped, raped, killed, detained, abandoned, hunted by ranchers, or dying from dehydration or exhaustion. “But the campaign will hardly solve the problem, because parents do not send their children that way because they think there are no dangers.” They send them because they believe the risks are worth it. In exchange for the dangers, they might have the possibility of a better life, out of poverty, violence, and the lack of opportunities. The “humanitarian crisis,” as identified by the president of the United States and created by the arrival of children at the border, has helped to expose the drama many years in the making, but also raised the question of what has caused this sudden increase young migrants from Central America. The answer is not to be found in the “patches” so far proposed, but by analyzing the complexity and structure of the problem. Central America must generate more and better jobs and invest more public funds in the improvement of the quality of life of its people (and not to enrich corrupt officials). | |
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By purchasing a subscription now, you can read many more articles like this twice a month, now fully linked to the original stories.
|
In
our quest to expand the reach of news and analysis produced by Latin
American media we’re keeping subscription rates low to make sure
that this service is accessible to as many interested readers as
possible.
|
| Coyote about trafficking in persons, arms and drugs between Guatemala and Honduras. |
|
In
El Universal of Mexico City Laura Castellanos looked at the business
of moving kids. In the
Honduran border town of Corinth a reporter talked to a coyote about
trafficking in persons, arms and drugs between Guatemala and Honduras.
“We charge six thousand U.S. dollars: $1500.00 here, $1000.00
in Villahermosa, and $3500.00 at the border,” he said bluntly. “I
work more with children than with adults,” he explained.
He said that on every trip he takes 12 to 14 children. This was
the second of the month. Organizations
and shelters that assist children repatriated in Tamaulipas, Chiapas,
Honduras and Guatemala, consulted by El Universal, estimate that at
least 75% of children who migrate to the United States unaccompanied
go with a coyote. The U.S.
Border Patrol arrested 56,547 unaccompanied children, 40% of whom were
girls, from October 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, a period in which the
number of migrant children exploded.
Of these, nearly a third were from Honduras, followed by those
from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.
A Conservative estimate is that 75% of the 56,547 minors
detained each paid $5000.00 dollars, whereas profits for organized
crime were about $212 million. That
rivals what the U.S. pays to patrol the Texas border with Mexico over
three years.
By purchasing a
subscription now, you can read many more articles like this twice a
month, now fully linked to the original stories.
In our quest to expand the reach of news and analysis produced
by Latin American media we’re keeping subscription rates low to make
sure that this service is accessible to as many interested readers as
possible. But we can’t
do it without your help. Subscribe
today, and share this link.
If you have any trouble subscribing, logging in, opening a piece, or
anything else, please contact the editor at wjohngreen@latinamericannewsdigest.com.
Sent by Jose M. Pena JMPENA@aol.com
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Malfalda, Popular Comic Strip |
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MAFALDA is a
cartoon character that is very similar to the old US cartoon character
NANCY... they even look alike. The big
difference being that Mafalda is more philosophical and almost
exclusively aimed at an adult audience, while Nancy was enjoyed by
kids and adults alike. Mafalda is a
very popular comic strip in many South American newspapers from Panama
all the way down to Argentina and Chile.
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Nancy Is Happy: Complete Dailies 1943-1945 (Vol. 1) Editor: I find this a little strange. I remember the Nancy cartoons. How and why, it's main character is being used for a series in South American is both amusing and puzzling |
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Archaeologists
Uncover Ancient Mathematical Devices of the Inca in Peru |
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A team of archaeologists have discovered twenty-five well preserved quipus, an ancient form of record-keeping used by the Inca, in the archaeological complex of Incahuasi in Peru, according to a report in Peru This Week. The finding is rare and significant because the quipus were found in ancient warehouses rather than in burials, as most discoveries in the past. Quipus, sometimes called ‘talking knots’, were recording devices historically used in the region of Andean South America. A quipu usually consisted of coloured, spun, and plied thread or strings from llama or alpaca hair, or made of cotton cords. For the Inca, the system aided in collecting data and keeping records, ranging from monitoring tax obligations, properly collecting census records, calendrical information, and military organization. The cords contained numeric and other values encoded by knots in a base ten positional system. A quipu could have only a few or up to 2,000 cords. Together the type of wool, the colours, the knots and the joins held both |
statistical and narrative information that was once readable by several South American societies. In some villages, quipus were important items for the local community, and took on ritual rather than recording use. The discovery took place at Incahuasi (Inca House), located in the valley of Cañete, close to the town of Lunahuana. Built in the 15th century, it is the most important and strategic city built by the Incas in the region. It is kind of a small Cusco, as it is the exact image of this Inca city, built by orders of Inca Pachacutec. It comprises four sections: the palace of the Inca, the quarters with its barns and warehouses, the convent city, and the fortress. Sent by John Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com |
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José Antonio Manso de
Velasco, un 'tsunami' que dio nombre a un título nobiliario |
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El
Virrey José Antonio Manso de Velasco y Sánchez de Samaniego dirigió
eficazmente las tareas de reconstrucción de Lima en 1746 tras un
terrible tsunami. En
recientes fechas Chile padeció los terribles efectos de un fortísimo
terremoto y del 'tsunami' generado tras él. Al
leer sobre el tema y sobre la continua actividad sísmica en la costa
americana del Pacífico, me viene a la memoria otro caso tampoco muy
lejano y parecido. Parece
sorprendente el enunciado de estas líneas, pero un título nobiliario
español recuerda el dramático 'tsunami' ocurrido en el siglo XVIII
en el Virreinato del Perú así como la férrea voluntad de un hombre
para salir adelante y liderar la reconstrucción de Lima. |
Terremoto en 1746 Debemos
recapitular sobre el terremoto de Lima acaecido el 28 de octubre de
1746 y, a juzgar por sus efectos relatados por los cronistas, de
magnitud aproximada X/XI en la escala de Mercalli sobre un máximo de
XII. Las amplias zonas afectadas fueron la Costa y Andes del Centro de
Perú causando entre 15.000 y 20.000 muertes. Según
diversos testimonios, desde veintitrés días antes los marinos
notaban exhalaciones ígneas que parecían envolver al Callao y se
sentían ruidos bajo tierra, "similares al mugido de centenares
de bueyes y a disparos de piezas de artillería". |
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El
viernes 28 de octubre a las 22:30 la tierra comenzó a estremecerse
durante unos interminables cuatro minutos. Cayeron derribadas hasta
las más sólidas construcciones, templos, conventos, edificios
públicos y Grabado
del maremoto en Arica (Perú), en 1868 |
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Lima
contaba con 60.000 habitantes y 3000 edificaciones repartidas en un
diseño cuadrangular de 150 manzanas. Perecieron 1.141 personas; en la
ciudad sólo quedaron 25 casas en pie. La nocturnidad del seísmo, al
sorprender durmiendo a la población en sus casas, contribuyó a
aumentar el número de víctimas. Además,
casi simultáneamente, un tremendo 'tsunami' de 17 metros de altura
azotó el Callao penetrando el agua hasta cinco kilómetros tierra
adentro, matando aproximadamente a 5.000 personas; apenas se salvaron
200 en la zona afectada. Ambos fenómenos fueron de tal magnitud que
arrasaron por completo la costa central del Perú, considerando al
terremoto como el mayor ocurrido en Lima hasta la fecha y el segundo
en la historia del Perú después del de Arica de 1868, sucedido entre
Chile y Perú. El
coraje personal y cívico del entonces Virrey José Antonio Manso de
Velasco y Sánchez de Samaniego levantó al fondo la moral de sus
conciudadanos poniéndose de inmediato en apoyo a las víctimas y
manos a la obra para la reconstrucción. Su reacción ante el
terremoto fue el paradigma del triunfo del |
liderazgo,
trabajo, ejemplo y sacrificio que Tomó
especial interés en la reconstrucción de la Catedral Metropolitana y
Primada de las Indias Occidentales, ante la que quiso retratarse en su
cuadro más representativo. Lo sobresaliente de sus obras mereció el
reconocimiento unánime del pueblo y el mérito de sus acciones
traspasó el océano alcanzando el conocimiento del Rey. Reconocimiento
real 'Super' significa en grado sumo, enorme; y 'unda', onda u ola. Es decir, el título nobiliario guarda la memoria de la "ola gigante", aunque hay quien lo traduce erróneamente como "sobre las olas", y sigue vigente en la actualidad.
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Firma del Virrey Superunda |
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Vida
anterior José
Antonio Manso de Velasco y Sánchez de Samaniego, de la Casa de
Velasco, había nacido en Torrecilla de Cameros, en la Rioja actual.
Ingresó en los Reales Ejércitos en 1705, participando en los
conflictos relacionados con la Guerra de la Cuádruple Alianza1, la
Guerra de Sucesión hasta 1714, luego en las expediciones a Cerdeña2
(1717) con el marqués de Lede3 y el duque de Montemar4, Ceuta5
(1720), sitio de Gibraltar6 (1727), reconquista de Orán7 (1732), y
guerras de Italia8 (1733-1736), obteniendo al final el grado de
Brigadier y recibiendo, en recompensa a sus méritos, el hábito de la
Orden de Santiago. Pero
como las desgracias nunca vienen solas, le llegó el momento del
retiro que por su avanzada edad solicitó a S.M concediéndoselo. De
regreso a la península ibérica para terminar sus días, se
encontraba de paso en 1762 por el puerto de La Habana en la Capitanía
General de Cuba cuando le sorprende un conflicto armado con Inglaterra
que implica el sitio de la isla. |
Dado
que era el militar de más alto rango en ese momento en el territorio,
el Conde de Superunda es nombrado por el Gobernador de Cuba Presidente
de la Junta Consultiva de Guerra, y es así como el viejo conde a sus
74 años encabezó la resistencia de la plaza mal artillada de La
Habana con tropas mal entrenadas y con peor equipamiento, la cual
sólo duró 67 días debiendo rendirse ante los ingleses. Una
vez apresado por los ingleses es llevado a Cádiz donde en su calidad
de Presidente de la Junta Consultiva de Guerra fue llevado ante la
justicia marcial por el oprobio causado a la corona a causa de los
términos de la rendición de Cuba, siendo condenado a la pena de
"suspensión por 100 años de todo empleo militar" y
confinamiento en la ciudad de Granada, muriendo finalmente olvidado,
después de una vida de entrega, trabajo y sacrificio, en Priego de
Córdoba, sin poder volver a ver su tierra riojana. En
Priego se encuentran sepultados sus restos en la Iglesia de San Pedro. * Coronel en situación de Reserva. |
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1
La Guerra de la Cuádruple Alianza fue un conflicto bélico que tuvo
lugar entre 1717 y 1721 en Europa y que enfrentó a la Monarquía de
la España de Felipe V con la Cuádruple Alianza, coalición formada
por el Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico, la Monarquía de Francia, el
Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña y las Provincias Unidas de los Países
Bajos. |
6
El asedio a Gibraltar de 1727 fue el segundo llevado a cabo por las
tropas españolas, tras el primer sitio de 1704 con la intención de
recuperar la ciudad de Gibraltar tras haber sido tomada en 1704 por la
coalición anglo-holandesa en la Guerra de Sucesión española.
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Gray-Eyed Man of Destiny William Walker in Nicaragua William Walker (top) was an unlikely swashbuckler. He was short
and slight and had a squeaky uoice. |
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Only one native-born American has
ever become president of another sovereign nation. His name was
William Walker. At various times in his life he'd been a doctor, a
lawyer, a newspaperman, and a hypnotist. But it was as a filibuster
(from a Dutch word meaning freebooter or soldier of fortune) that he
seized the presidency of Nicaragua in 1856. |
From that point Walker was the power in Nicaragua. The newspaper
he founded touted him as gray-eyed man of destiny," foretold by
Indian lends, who would lead the nation. It was an myth to embrace,
for Walker, although he weighed barely 120 pounds, had piercing gray
eyes that seemed like windows on a will of steel. After ruling through
a puppet government, he himself took the oath as president on July 12,
1856.• But amid these moves to consolidate his empire, the
filibuster had made one fatal mistake: he had crossed Cornelius
Vanderbilt. Soon after seizing power, |
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Half a
Century of Being in the USA
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| It is indeed very hard for me to believe that I have been in this country for exactly 50 years, and the month of September, 2014 is the start of my anniversary year. I was a 22 year old M.A. political science student at the University of the Philippines (UP) and was six months shy of writing a Master's thesis when my professor in Political Science, Dr. Pedro L. Baldoria who received his Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Southern California asked me and two other UP students in August, 1964 if we were interested in pursuing an M.A. degree at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California on a Chevalier Scholarship grant in Diplomacy and World Affairs. |
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The scholarship award was administered by Dr. Edward W. Mill who was the head of the Diplomacy and World Affairs office at Occidental College. Dr. Mill, a Princeton University Ph.D. graduate, was vested with the Order of Sikatuna award, the highest official honour bestowed to outstanding people by the Philippine government. Dr. Mill received the honour by helping train the first Philippine diplomats right after the Philippines became independent in 1946. He was once an exchange professor of Political Science and International Relations at my alma mater. Dr.
Baldoria told me that if I would accept the scholarship offer, I had
to work fast to get all my travel papers and documents ready and to
leave in less than two weeks before the start of school by the third
week of September, 1964. He
also told us scholarship recipients that the transportation Dr.
Baldoria's scholarship news offer had rendered me speechless. I had
dreams and so much yearnings-- so did my parents for me-- of going to
the USA since my high school years. An emphatic yes was therefore my
answer as I trembled much in disbelief. I did tell this to my parents
that evening when |
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 My picture together with my parents, my sister, my maternal grandmother, closest relatives, and friends at home hours before my departure to Los Angeles, California on September 19, 1964.My dog whose name was Bulldog was in that picture and I did really miss him a lot when I was in the USA. |
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I
had never traveled outside the Philippines and though I was
overwhelmed with joy to study abroad and especially to receive a
scholarship grant, I felt some sort of an apprehension of living in a
foreign country especially for a long period of time and also going
there alone. My two other compatriots had already gone ahead of me by
three days and therefore I had to go on a solo flight. Despite the
fact again that I was overwhelmed with joy and emotion I thought of my
parents and sister, my friends, my relatives, my newly found
sweetheart, my dog Bulldog, and of course my country who I would miss
quite a bit. I also did not have the time to visit my relatives on
both sides in the two provinces to bid goodbye because I was too
engrossed in getting all my papers done. |
I
could not forget the reaction of my parents in the afternoon of
September 19, 1964 when I boarded the Philippine Airlines to go to Los
Angeles, California with happiness and sadness intertwined all over
their faces. It was my mother who could not stop shedding tears as she
hugged me intensely. My father told me that my sister who was studying
for the M.D. degree would follow me afterwards. |
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Dr.
Baldoria was to teach at Occidental College for the school year
1966-1967 as an exchange professor of international relations and
diplomacy. He was also an exchange professor of international
relations in a university in New York before this assignment. I
could not believe that being in the USA had accorded me opportunities
such as meeting and spending week-ends with American families (who
became my foster families) interested in foreign students, attending
many conferences sponsored by my two schools and by private
organisations for foreign students, visiting many parts of the country
sponsored by the Rotary Club and other private organisations, working
as an intern in a scholarship program during the Summer of 1967 for
VISTA (Volunteer in Service to the USA) with Puerto Rican tobacco farm
migrants, going to Chile, South America in 1968 on a five month living
and learning study program under the auspices of the University of
Minnesota, among others. I lived with a Chilean family in Santiago,
the nation's capital, during my whole stay and also had the
opportunity to travel to other parts of Chile. I could not believe
that Chile was located at the southernmost part of the world. |
In
1969, my sister, an M.D. came to the USA and has since lived in
Minnesota. My father's wish that she would follow me became a reality.
My sister told me upon arrival that I had to plan visiting the
Philippines soon because our mother was saddened by my and her absence
from home. So I did make that plan to go back home in consonance with
my doing a Ph.D. dissertation research in 1970. For
a travel plan to go home in 1970 to do the Ph.D. dissertation
research, I decided to take a world tour starting from Portugal. Upon
reaching home, my parents and my God son were there to greet me with
tremendous smiles from their faces and showered me with intense hugs.
My first order of business was to interview Dr. Carlos P. Rómulo
who was the topic of my dissertation. He was the first Philippine
delegate to the United Nations (UN) when it just came in existence and
later became the first President of the UN General Assembly from 1949
to 1950. He also became the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs (a
position similar to that of the US Secretary of State) from 1950 to
1952 and then Philippine Ambassador to the USA in 1952. He was
President of my alma mater, the UP, from 1962 to 1968 and also
Secretary of Education from 1966 to 1968 while still the President of
the UP. |
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After
my Philippine stay I proceeded to go back to the USA stopping first at
Papua-New Guinea and the rest including South America. The itinerary
of my world tour and pleasant experience is in a series of articles
that I wrote for the Somos
Primos Magazine attached
below**. My
parents came to Minnesota in 1971 for a year vacation. They came again
for good in 1976. My sister and I had sponsored their going with a
tour group from New York to see the Holy Land, Jordan, Egypt (riding a
camel by the great Sphinx of Giza), Rome/Vatican to see the Pope, and
Switzerland (the site of the Black Madonna). Then we gave them a car
tour of southern Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia and also
almost the whole of the USA. We also took them to Cancún, Mexico. Had
not my father suffered a heart attack, we would have taken him and our
mother to France for another vacation. I
then received a teaching position even before receiving my Ph.D. in a
college in a small town in northern Minnesota which is now a
university. After receiving my Ph.D. I felt really lonely living in a
small town and I decided to move back to Minneapolis, a larger and the
biggest city in Minnesota. I did get a nice job at the Minneapolis
Department of Civil Rights until I retired. While working for the
Civil Rights Department I was very happy to win many big and important
cases where our people and others filed complaints of |
discrimination
particularly in employment and housing based on race. The following
are few examples of the cases I handled. |
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Another
Filipino filed a a race discrimination complaint case against a city
public works department with my office which I did the investigation.
The Filipino alleged that he was refused to be hired as as an engineer
despite superior qualification because of his race. My investigation
showed that he was indeed discriminated. The case went to a public
hearing which supported the findings of discrimination. He was finally
given the job plus a $58,000 for lost employment opportunity, pain and
suffering award. This case was also jointly filed with the EEOC. These
two Filipino cases were featured in the Filipino newspaper, The
Philippine News from San Francisco, California in the early 80's. This
newspaper was founded in 1961 by Alex Esclamado. (I have lost my copy
of this newspaper which featured the two Filipinos who won their
cases.) The other big case I had was from the Hmong people about 160 of
them who filed complaints en masse of racial discrimination in
housing against their landlords when the landlords refused to return
their rent deposits after giving in writing a month's notice to leave
the apartments. The Hmong renters alleged that African-American and
Caucasian renters were able to get their |
before
I finished completing the investigation by agreeing to return to the
Hmong complainants their rent deposits. It was settled during a
meeting --an informal hearing-- I had with the owner and key
representatives of the Hmong renters. The Director of my office, the
Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights, was so pleased with this that
he informed the Mayor of Minneapolis and the US Department of Housing.
where the complaints with the city of Minneapolis was filed jointly,
of the good deeds that I had done. I consequently received
commendation from the Minneapolis Council and the US Housing
Department for resolving the housing complaints. I was also grantedan
advance pay hike by the Minneapolis City Council. From thence on, I
had become popular with the Hmong people and consequently many
Indochinese came to our office to file complaints of discrimination
with me and asked the Department that I be the investigator. The
rest of my life was spent as a bachelor as I was busy taking care of
my parents together with my sister until the Lord called our parents
to heaven in 1991 (father) and 1998 (mother). I also revisited the
Philippines 23 years later (1993) after my last visit in 1970, then in
1995, 1997, 1998 and the year 2000. |
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Asia
which used to be provinces/states of the defunct Soviet Union. Two
months later in May, May, 2001, I traveled to Poland to have a
rendezvous with a Ukrainian woman from Kremenchug, the Ukraine and I
paid for her travel to Poland and back to her country. I could not
forget this experience as we visited the concentration camp in Auschwitz
for a side trip.**** I was all set to go to Moscow in October of that
year to meet a Russian woman but I decided to cancel it as I already
made a decision who to marry. Getting
married in 2002 gave my Kyrgyz partner and I two sons ages 10 and 7.
My two sons keep me continuously active, making making me feel that I
am in the spring and summer instead of the autumn of life. Taking care
of my parents had again prevented me from having my own family which
my parents had been asking me to do. I still have the feeling of
sadness that my parents, especially my mother, were not able to see
their grandchildren. |
I
remember my mother in 1976 when I picked her and my father up from the
airport as they were coming to the USA for good. I
had been active in doing volunteer work for the non-profit
neighbourhood organisations during my bachelor years until my parents'
health became a concern. While working for the Minneapolis Department
of Civil Rights I also got involved in creating for the first time in
Minnesota which I called the Centre for Asians and Pacific
Islanders (CAPI) and I consequently became its first
president. That was in the early 80's when the Indochinese refugees
came to Minnesota and in particular the Twin Cities of St Paul and
Minneapolis due to the war in their country. |
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The
Mayor also heard negative rumours regarding the not so positive
reactions of the native American residents who were the predominant
residents of those southside neighbourhoods against Indochinese
refugees. He then asked the Director of my place of work in 1981 to
have me investigate the negative rumours and write a report. The
Indochinese people were from the former French Indochina consisting of
the Hmong and Lao people from Laos, the Vietnamese, and the
Cambodians. They also came to other parts of the USA and mostly in
California. The refugees who found their way in Minnesota were
sponsored by many private non-profit agencies. The University of
Minnesota was
very interested in my report that it asked my permission to have it in
the book that dealt with the Indochinese people, especially the Hmong,
in Minnesota. The book contains 19 page investigative reports I did
for the city of Minneapolis.***** The
Centre (CAPI) was created to help the refugees
resettle, find jobs, provide them with free grocery and clothing,
assist them find housing with the help of many private organisations,
health and legal assistance, and other vital matters. I had to seek
financial --fund raising-- and other assistance from the State of
Minnesota, Hennepin County, and private organisations to establish the
CAPI and to make it in continuous operation. The CAPI is
still in service in Minnesota. |
Getting
married and having children have cancelled my continuous involvement
in volunteer activities. But the coming of cyberspace communication
-the internet- has since provided me a new spice of life and that is
to be involved in the internet exchange of mails with friends in the
Philippines and all over the world. The internet has also made me join
other individuals and groups assisting our countrymates as they work
and live in foreign countries, especially in the Middle East. I also
found it enjoyable to write articles each month for the Somos
Primos Magazine which I started during my retirement which in
reality is not a retirement at all as I have two young sons to take
care. This opportunity to write has helped me mentally active and
productive in my "retirement years". And
last I and others who came to this country in 1964 are happy that the
year 1964 gave birth to the Civil Rights Act that was signed by
President Lyndon Johnson. This important Act is celebrating its
50 anniversary and it has afforded minorities and women the same
rights and equal opportunity as the Whites and the male population of
the USA. I
also could not believe that in all my 50 years in this country, the
Summer of 2014 is the coldest of all the summer seasons I have ever
experienced in life. |
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* 2/12
http://somosprimos.com/sp2012/spfeb12/spfeb12.htm#THE
PHILIPPINES 3/14 http://somosprimos.com/sp2014/spmar14/spmar14.htm#THE
PHILIPPINES **7/12 http://somosprimos.com/sp2012/spjul12/spjul12.htm#THE
PHILIPPINES 8/12 http://somosprimos.com/sp2012/spaug12/spaug12.htm#THE
PHILIPPINES ***6/12 http://somosprimos.com/sp2012/spjun12/spjun12.htm#THE
PHILIPPINES ****12/12 http://somosprimos.com/sp2012/spdec12/spdec12.htm#THE PHILIPPINES An Unforgettable Auschwitz Experience for a Filipino Tourist Calderon,
Eddie, The Impact of Indochinese Resettlement on the Phillips and
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Hernán
Cortés |
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Un
Fraile Franciscano de Sevilla Unido
a la historia de Hernán Cortés, a su regreso a Castilla Fray Pedro
Melgarejo fue distinguido con los títulos Hernán Cortés |
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Con
la envergadura que tenía la campaña que Hernán Cortés había
emprendido en México, las autoridades
decidieron enviar tropa de ayuda para reforzar su ejército. Se
encargó de formar expedición Rodrigo de Bastidas que equipó la
flota con tres barcos, “La María”, una nao de 150 toneladas
que iba acompañada por dos carabelas más pequeñas. Esta
fue la base de la que se ha denominado la “expedición de Julián de
Alderete”, porque ese era el nombre del Tesorero para la misma
designado por el Rey. Alderete, a quién nos hemos referido en un anterior artículo, había sido camarero del Obispo Fonseca y creo que esto influyó para que el prelado decidiera que acompañara a Julián, un fraile franciscano natural de Sevilla, llamado Pedro Melgarejo de Urrea.( Los apellidos no eran muy andaluces porque uno era de origen castellano y el otro aragonés, aunque suponemos que fuera descendiente de alguno de los muchos que apoyaron al
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Rey
en la conquista de Sevilla y después fijaron su residencia en
Andalucía.) Al
llegar Alderete y el Fraile a Texcoco, Cortés, que percibió la
influencia que los informes de esta pareja tendrían ante los
superiores, los llevó a lo alto del templo, para que viesen
Tenochtitlan desde allí y observaran la importancia de aquella
conquista. A
su regreso a Castilla
Fray Pedro Melgarejo fue distinguido con los
títulos de “Predicador de su Majestad y Consejero de Yndias”. El
29 de noviembre de 1528 fue designado Obispo de Dulcigno, una
población en el Adriático situada en lo que hoy es Montenegro, de
cuyo cargo dimitió en 1536.
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Estados Unidos... ¿de España? Publicado: 21/07/2014 07:05 CEST Actualizado: 21/07/2014
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El Comité de Ética del Senado estadounidense acaba de dar luz verde
para que se cuelgue en el Capitolio un retrato de Bernardo de Gálvez;
el malagueño alegre y sencillo que fuera gobernador de Luisiana,
virrey de Nueva España, comandante en jefe de todas las fuerzas del
Caribe (incluida la armada francesa) y héroe de la independencia
norteamericana con una talla equiparable al Marqués de Lafayette.
¡Un momento! ¿Gálvez? ¿El Capitolio? ¿A alguien le suena de algo
este pavo? ¿No?, pues no me extraña. A mí tampoco me sonaba de
nada. Sólo cuando empecé a documentarme para escribir el libro Esta es la historia de Teresa Valcarce, más conocida como Tere "Maripancartas" (debido a su adición a manifestarte en favor de causas justas), que es la española residente en |
Washington
DC que ha provocado la buena nueva, y de la necesidad de que el rey
Felipe VI, cuando venga en septiembre a la asamblea de la ONU, en su
primer viaje oficial a Estados Unidos, se traiga un martillo y un
clavito de acero especial para paredes de pladur - que es lo que aquí
se trabaja - para colgar personalmente el cuadro. ¿Por qué lo digo?
Porque ese martillazo real puede conseguir que el legado español
empiece a encontrar el reconocimiento que se merece en un país en el
que, no nos olvidemos, las 2 terceras partes de su territorio actual
estuvieron un día bajo bandera española. Así es: al pensar en la gesta de los conquistadores en América,
solemos imaginarlos siempre en México o en las selvas de Perú. Hasta
que cae en manos de uno Banderas Lejanas y descubre que españoles
fueron los primeros europeos que avistaron el Cañón del Colorado,
cruzaron el río Misisipi, atravesaron las grandes praderas o llegaron
a Alaska. Una fabulosa narración en la que Fernando Martínez Laínez
y Carlos Canales Torres dejan claro que, "mucho antes de que
Estados Unidos existiera como nación, España había conquistado ya
el Far West y combatido o pactado con las principales tribus indias
que luego el cine de Hollywood haría famosas." |
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| Pero
es que, además, España tuvo un papel preponderante en la
consecución de la independencia de Estados Unidos. Atención,
pregunta: En el primer desfile de la victoria norteamericano del 4 de
julio de 1783, ¿quién estaba a la derecha de Washington? Respuesta:
Bernardo de Gálvez, vecino de Macharaviaya (un pueblito de 500
habitantes a 30 minutos de Málaga ciudad). Bueno, pues ná. ¿Y qué
pintaba este paisano allí? Simplemente que se lo merecía. Este
militar que había dado nombre a una ciudad en Texas y a una bahía en
el golfo de México (Galveston, derivación de Galvez town, que es la
traducción inglesa de ciudad de Gálvez) ganó dos batallas
definitivas para la victoria de los patriotas norteamericanos. Primero
en Pensacola (hasta poco antes Panzacola), capital de una Florida que
llevaba siendo inglesa desde 1763. Allí Bernardo hizo la machada de
entrar en la bahía con su barco en solitario, forzando al resto de
los navíos a seguirle. Por su hazaña, el rey le permitió lucir en
su escudo de armas la leyenda YO SOLO. Y, finalmente, en Yorktown,
estado de Nueva York, donde la estrategia militar de Gálvez
consiguió ponerle punto y final a la American Revolucionary War. |
Tere Valcarce nace en El Ferrol y estudia turismo en Málaga. Trabaja en el mostrador del aeropuerto cuando, en 1991, se le acerca un pasajero a pedir información. Afirma que es norteamericano, pero Tere le detecta acento de Cádiz. El general Washington declaró que sin el apoyo de la Spanish Armada
- la flota más poderosa del mundo en el siglo XVIII- las colonias no
hubieran ganado nunca la guerra a Inglaterra. Pero sólo los franceses,
y especialmente Lafayette, que tiene calle prácticamente en todas las
ciudades de Estados Unidos, se llevaron la gloria. ¿Por qué? Muy
sencillo. Lo explica Martha Gutiérrez-Steinkamp en su Alianza
Olvidada: al rey Carlos III no le interesaba prodigar que España
apoyaba a las colonias del norte porque la idea de la independencia
podía contagiarse a las colonias del Sur. Y sin enterarnos seguimos.
Pero vamos de una vez con Maripancartas. "Nene, tu eres de El Puerto." "Que no soy" "Que si eres" Pues al final el chico tiene razón. Resulta que es norteamericano, pero criado en la base militar de Rota donde destinaron al padre. Total, que mantienen contacto y, 4 años más tarde, él la pone un llama/cuelga: "aterrizo mañana en Málaga". Es feria y, |
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cosas que tienen que suceder, una copitas y
empiezan a salir. En 1999 se casan y se vienen para USA. En 2005 Tere
tiene su primer hijo, Pablo, y luego vienen 2 más: Lucas y Lucía. En 2008 se hace ciudadana norteamericana. En marzo del año pasado su madre le manda un artículo del Diario
SUR en el que se menciona que EEUU tiene una cuenta pendiente con un
tal Gálvez. "¿Estados Unidos una cuenta pendiente con un héroe
de guerra?" se sorprende Maripancartas. No puede ser porque,
"si hay algo que los americanos hacen bien es honrar a sus
héroes." Contacta al autor del artículo, el periodista Manuel
Olmedo, investigador de la figura de Gálvez, y éste le proporciona
copia de un documento que descubrió en los archivos nacionales de
Washington. Se trata de una resolución fechada en mayo de 1783 por la
que el Congreso de Estados Unidos acepta un retrato de Gálvez, donado
por un patriota de nombre Pollok, y toma la decisión de colgarlo en
la sala "in which Congress meet", donde se reúne el
Congreso. Toma ya. En marzo del año pasado su madre le manda un artículo del Diario SUR en el que se menciona que EEUU tiene una cuenta pendiente con un tal Gálvez. "¿Estados Unidos una cuenta pendiente con un héroe de guerra?" se sorprende |
Maripancartas.
No puede ser porque, "si hay algo que losamericanos hacen bien es honrar a sus héroes." Contacta al
autor del artículo, el periodista Manuel Olmedo, investigador de la
figura de Gálvez, y éste le proporciona copia de un documento que
descubrió en los archivos nacionales de Washington. Se trata de una
resolución fechada en mayo de 1783 por la que el Congreso de Estados
Unidos acepta un retrato de Gálvez, donado por un patriota de nombre
Pollok, y toma la decisión de colgarlo en la sala "in which
Congress meet", donde se reúne el Congreso. Toma ya. Tere Maripancartas le consuela a Olmedo: "no te preocupes, que
en un momentito me acerco yo al Capitolio y les digo que hay un error
y que lo tienen que arreglar" Dicho y hecho. Maripancartas se
pone en marcha. Llama a Filadelfia, a Washington, al Congreso, a los
archivos... y a nadie le consta que la resolución de 1783 se haya
cumplido. Y Tere: "¿qué hago, que hago?" En esto aparece
un equipo de Españoles por el Mundo a rodar un programa en Washington.... y la citan. La casualidad
quiere que, el mismo día del rodaje, tengan que grabar a otro
español por el mundo que tiene cita con un congresista de Maryland. Y
nene, como diría Tere, mira por donde, se trataba de Chris Van-Hollen:
justo el congresista que le corresponde a Maripancartas. |
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Al terminar la entrevista Van-Hollen se despide de Tere, pensando que
es parte del equipo técnico. Le dice: "nice to meet you",
encantado de conocerte. Maripancartas le agarra del brazo y le
responde: "si, nice to meet you, pero usted de aquí no se mueve."
"¿Cómo que no me puedo ir?" protesta el diputado. "Porque
me tiene que ayudar." "¿Yo?" "A ver: no le queda
más remedio porque soy ciudadana norteamericana y usted es mi
congresista." (Diferencia sutil entre los políticos españoles
que se deben a sus partidos y los norteamericanos que están al
servicio de sus votantes. Es lo que tienen las listas abiertas.) |
Tere le cuenta: "existe una resolución del Congreso de hace 231
años que no hemos cumplido y tenemos que cumplirla." El tipo se
queda de piedra y tras una pausa, le pide que, por favor, se lo vuelva
a repetir. Maripancartas lo hace y la reacción de Van-Hollen consiste
sólo en 3 letras: "Wow!" Que en español se pronuncia guau.
Se despiden y, esa misma tarde, cuando llega a casa, ya tiene un
correo electrónico de la oficina del congresista: "estamos
interesados en el caso Gálvez. Por favor, ponte en contacto con
nosotros." Eso ocurre en Emancipation Day, el 16 de abril de
2013. Desde entonces y hasta octubre, Maripancartas prepara con la
oficina de Van-Hollen un informe para presentárselo a la Cámara de
Arte del Congreso. Por el camino surge un nuevo problema. El retrato original donado por Pollok ha desaparecido. ¿Qué hacer? La Asociación Bernardo de Gálvez en Málaga pone sosiego: "Tere, tú no te preocupes, que nosotros donamos un cuadro. Tú encárgate sólo de que lo cuelguen." ¿Cómo lo resuelven? Con una buena copia. |
| Cuando Bernardo de Gálvez volvió de Estados Unidos, Carlos III en
reconocimiento a sus hazañas le pidió al pintor de la corte, Maella,
que le hiciera un retrato. El óleo pertenece a una colección privada
que no tiene intención de soltarlo. Así que la diputación le pide a
Carlos Monserrate, malagueño que ha hecho retratos de ministros y
altos mandatarios (y que vive a 5 minutos de donde está el original
colgado, con lo cual lo ha podido ir a visitar infinidad de veces) el
favor de que lo calque. Y el 4 de junio, a las 4 de la tarde para ser
más precisos, llega el cuadro a la embajada de España en Washington. |
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Rebobinamos. Mientras Monserrate copia los pelos de Gálvez, en
navidades llega la respuesta de la Cámara de Representantes
norteamericana. Recomienda el cuadro para una exposición temporal,
pero no permanente. Disgustazo en toda regla. ¿Ahora qué? En Enero
aparece Rajoy y le hacen una foto fumándose un puro por las calles de
Nueva York. Maripancartas accede a Mariano, a quien le parece
interesante la historia y decide comentársela a Obama. También la
menciona en el Senado, donde acude a concederle la Encomienda de
Isabel la Católica al senador Robert
Menéndez, director del Comité de Asuntos Exteriores del
Senado. Un demócrata de Nueva Jersey, de origen cubano, que tiene
lazos muy estrechos con España. Menéndez, como Chairman, si España
le regala el cuadro, puede aceptarlo en nombre de Estados Unidos y
colgarlo en el Capitolio. Bingo. Maripancartas va a la oficina del senador, le plantea el caso, y a
Menéndez le parece estupendo. Solicita a la diputación de Málaga
que redacte una carta pidiendo al senado norteamericano que acepte el
cuadro.... Y el jueves 17 de octubre llegó la respuesta del Comité
de Ética del Senado, encargado de aceptar o rechazar regalos. El
retrato de Gálvez se acepta. Ahora sólo queda sacarle partido a esta oportunidad que nos |
brinda la historia. ¿Lo redondo? Que su majestad Felipe VI, ensu
primer viaje oficial como monarca a EEUU a finales de septiembre, sea
quien cuelgue el cuadro. ¿Motivos? Coinciden tres fundamentales para
sacar rendimiento a esta noticia. Primero: el estado de Florida acaba
de pedir al Congreso que le conceda a Bernardo de Gálvez la
ciudadanía honorífica. Va a ocurrir y ello va a provocar que se
hable de Gálvez en los medios de comunicación norteamericanos porque
este no es un honor que se conceda todos los días. Hasta la fecha
sólo 7 seres humanos han sido merecedores de ella. Entre ellos
Lafayette, el otro héroe revolucionario, Winston Churchill y la madre
Teresa de Calcuta. Así que la gente de USA se va a preguntar quién
diantres es este Gálvez y el historiador Douglas Brinkley no va a dar
abasto del estudio de la CBS al de la CNN dando explicaciones.
Segundo: la visita de Felipe VI coincide con el Spanish Heritage Month
(el mes del legado Hispano que se celebra en Estados Unidos del 15 de
septiembre al 15 de octubre), con lo cual encaja de maravilla
reivindicar un Spanish Legacy que nadie conoce pero que a todos les va
a fascinar en cuanto se enteren. Y, tercero: la entrega del cuadro
seguiría la tradición, pues Juan Carlos I en su primer viaje oficial
a Estados Unidos, en 1976, regaló una estatua ecuestre de Bernardo de
Gálvez. El bronce de Juan de Ávalos está con las estatuas de los libertadores en la Avenida de
Virginia, Washington DC, justo detrás del departamento de estado. |
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¿No
queríamos marca España? Pues este acontecimiento, si se lleva con
humildad pero con un plan estratégico, puede encumbrar la imagen de
nuestro país en Estados Unidos por todo lo alto. Y que se vaya
preparando Macharaviaya a recibir hordas de turistas norteamericanos
queriendo conocer la tierra del General al que su país le debe la
independencia. Si yo fuera el de Kukutxumutxu empezaba ya a diseñar
camisetas con los pelos de Gálvez y el logo YO SOLO, I ALONE porque
la primavera que viene se pueden empezar a vender como roscas por la
costa del sol. |
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España / DEFENSA/HISTORIA MILITAR Gálvez: el marino español que se aventuró |
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El país que estos días dirime entre Obama o
Romney vivió en Pensacola una batalla decisiva para su independencia. Y, fíjense por donde,
aquella lid de 1781 fue librada y ganada por la Infantería
de Marina de la siempre
olvidadiza España. Una vez más las casacas rojas de la Pérfida Albión se cruzaban
en el rumbo de nuestra Historia. Esa vez, al inglés le tocó
perder. El de Pensacola, en tierras de la Florida occidental, fue un desembarco
audaz y osado dada la dificultad de acceder a su bahía. Una
empresa temeraria que, exitosa finalmente, alumbraría para siempre el
arrojo (cojones, que se dice ahora) de uno de los personajes más
influyentes y desconocidos de la Historia común de España y de EE.UU:
Bernardo de Gálvez Gallardo Madrid, vizconde de Galvestón y conde de
Gálvez. Tras aquel fuego de Pensacola su escudo de armas siempre
luciría el lema de «Yo Solo», porque así fue cómo entró
en el bastión inglés de la Florida: «El que tenga honor y valor
que me siga». |
«Para entender el desembarco de Pensacola, antes debemos remontarnos
a la Guerra de los Siete Años (1756-1763), ganada por el Reino Unido
a una coalición de naciones entre las que se encontraba Francia y
España», relata José María Moreno Martín, jefe de la
sección de Cartografía del Museo Naval, que este mes exhibe como
«pieza destacada» un mapa en ocho viñetas sobre la batalla de
Pensacola. Tras esa guerra, la España de Carlos III y la Francia de Luis XV, y después Luis XVI, aguardaban avizor una primera oportunidad para devolver el golpe a Inglaterra. Y esa vino con la sublevación de las Trece Colonias (1775) que para sufragar las guerras de la metrópli veían cómo sus cargas impositivas aumentaban sin cesar. La gota que colmó el vaso fue el nuevo impuesto del té, que originó un motín en Boston. |
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España ayudó con dinero a los rebeldes norteamericanos desde el
inicio |
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España
desde el primer momento ayudó económicamente a los rebeldes
norteamericanos llegando a pertrechar a 30.000 rebeldes con sus
uniformes, fusiles y 216 cañones, pero... ¿debía intervenir
militarmente como hizo posteriormente la Francia de Luis XVI tras la
insistencia de Benjamin Franklin? He ahí el dilema del Rey Carlos
III. «España se encontraba en una posición más delicada. Por un
lado nos encontramos con las tesis del Conde de Floridablanca, que abogaba por mantenerse neutral so pena de desencadenar un
efecto dominó de independencias en las colonias españolas americanas.
Por otro lado, el Conde de Aranda, embajador de España en
París, veía en el apoyo a las Trece Colonias una oportunidad
idónea para recuperar Gibraltar», explica Moreno Martín. Definitivamente se impusieron las tesis del Conde de Aranda y en
1779 España declaró la guerra a Gran Bretaña. Ya nada sería
igual en la Guerra de Independencia de las Trece Colonias: Inglaterra
se vería obligada a dividir esfuerzos en el Canal de la Mancha
(contra Francia), el Mediterráneo (contra España) y el
Golfo de México, donde Inglaterra había arrebatado años antes a
España algunas plazas marítimas como era el caso de Pensacola,
también conocida como San Carlos de Panzacola. Conclusión: las
fuerzas de la guerra por la Independencia de las Trece Colonias se
niveló. Por un lado, Reino Unido (120 navíos y 100 fragatas) y,
por el otro, Francia (60 navíos y 60 fragatas) y España (60 navíos
y 30 fragatas). |
Es aquí donde saldrá a relucir el ingenio del entonces gobernador
de la Luisiana, el malagueño Bernardo de Gálvez (Macharaviaya,
1746 - Tacubaya, en Ciudad de México,1786) quien comenzó a forjar su
leyenda militar como capitán en tierras de Nueva España, llevando a
cabo una campaña contra los indios Apaches. Con 24 añitos y
heridas a doquier, el futuro «Yo Solo», ameritaba ya el
galón de comandante de armas de Nueva Vizcaya y Sonora (aproximadamente
el actual estado de Nuevo México). El héroe militar español en
tierras del ahora EE.UU. forjaba su leyenda, aunque antes regresaría
a España para participar en la fallida expedición de Argel (1775),
foco central de la piratería en el Mediterráneo. En su vuelta a América en 1776 Bernardo de Gálvez es destinado a la
plaza de Luisiana. Y es por eso que cuando España decide librar
batalla a Inglaterra en el Golfo de México todas las venturas se
dirigen hacia él. Fijó como objetivo recuperar Pensacola;
antes caerían las posesiones británicas de Manchac y Baton Rouge -en
la desembocadura del río Mississipi- o Mobila (1779). El círculo se
estrechaba así en torno a la capital de la Florida. Sin embargo, su
disposición geográfica y su estrecho con escasa profundidad impedía
acometer la empresa. |
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«Se trataba de una operación bastante complicada, por no decir
inverosímil», destaca el jefe de cartógrafos. Un 28 de
febrero de 1781 partía desde La Habana la expedición española
con 36 buques de guerra con José Calvo Irazábal como
de jefe de la escuadra. En sus tripas los ansiosos infantes de Marina
aguardaban el desembarco. Por tierras otras tropas españolas y
después francesas esperaban el desembarco para envolver la plaza de
Pensacola. En este momento nos dirigimos de nuevo al Museo Naval de Madrid. En el mapa de 8
viñetas que se exhibirá durante dos meses más como «la pieza
detallada» (encargado a raíz del
|
informe de la toma de Pensacola «con la clara
intención de narrar la historia de una batalla») observamos en
su parte central a los navíos españoles frente al escenario de la
batalla. La ciudad de Pensacola en su bahía y la isla de Santa
Rosa en la bocana de acceso, formando un estrecho con la posición
fortificada de Barrancas Coloradas, desde donde provenía el principal
riesgo de la empresa. María
Ángeles O'Donnell de Olson
Cónsul
Honoraria de España en San Diego
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Remembering 9/11 and the history of Muslim acts of Terrorism
Against Europeans |
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Remembering
9/11 and the history of Muslim acts of Terrorism Against Europeans |
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This
is all factually (and historically) correct - and verifiable if one
would decide to do some research toward that end...... ..... in 732 AD the Muslim Army which was moving on Paris was defeated and turned back at Tours, France. …in 1571 AD the Muslim Army/ Navy was defeated by the Italians
and Austrians as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to attack
southern Europe in the Battle of Lapanto.
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...in 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim
males. ...in 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim males. |
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'Hand
of God sent missile into sea'
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This
is a wonderful article regarding God's intervention for Israel in
their battle with Hamas. There have been several accounts coming out
giving God the glory for saving the nation of Israel is these times.
Our God is awesome. To Him be the glory.http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/hand-of-god-sent-missile-into-sea/ This
reminds me, too, of stories I’ve heard from “Wallbuilders” about
the history of the USA. Miraculously a fog also protected George
Washington and his men s they crossed the Delaware only feet from the
enemy. The fog even muffled the sound of their oars in the water.
More
claims of divine intervention are being reported in the ongoing
conflict between Israel and Hamas, with an operator of Israel’s Iron
Dome missile-defense system saying he personally witnessed “the hand
of God” diverting an incoming rocket out of harm’s way. Israel
Today translated a report from a Hebrew-language news site, which
noted the Iron Dome battery failed three times to intercept an
incoming rocket headed toward Tel Aviv last week. The commander recalled: “A missile was fired from Gaza. Iron Dome precisely calculated [its trajectory]. We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters. This particular missile was going to hit either the Azrieli Towers, the Kirya (Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon) or [a central Tel Aviv railway station]. Hundreds could have died.
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“We
fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It
missed. This is very rare. I was in shock. At this point we had just
four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified
emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned
of a mass-casualty incident. “Suddenly,
Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds, among other things) shows a
major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that … sends the
missile into the sea. We were all stunned. I stood up and shouted, ‘There
is a God!’ |
“I
witnessed this miracle with my own eyes. It was not told or reported
to me. I saw the hand of God send that missile into the sea.” The commander’s account is reminiscent of a recent newspaper headline which trumpeted the possibility of supernatural protection. |
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It
was a partial quote from Barbara Ordman, who lives in Ma’ale Adumim
on the West Bank. Her
exact quotation was: “As one of the terrorists from Gaza was
reported to say when asked why they couldn’t aim their rockets more
effectively: “We do aim them, but their God changes their path in
mid-air.” She
opened her piece by noting: “In October 1956, [Israeli Prime
Minister] David Ben Gurion was interviewed by CBS. He stated: ‘In
Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.’” |
Ordman
also noted religious texts, specifically the Jerusalem Talmud, teaches
Israelis not to depend on miracles for survival. “It
argues that we must not desist from our obligations and must not wait
for miraculous intervention from the Supernatural,” she wrote. Meanwhile, the Times of Israel reported a senior officer in Israel’s army said divine miracles protected his soldiers during fighting in the Gaza Strip.
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Givati
Brigade commander Col. Ofer Winter told the weekly publication
Mishpacha that he “witnessed a miraculous occurrence, the likes of
which he had never seen before during his military career.” Winter
indicated a predawn raid intended to use darkness as cover was
delayed, forcing the soldiers to move toward their objective as
sunrise was approaching. With
the troops in danger of being exposed at daybreak, Winter explained
how heavy fog quickly descended to shroud their movements until their
mission was accomplished. “Suddenly
a cloud protected us,” he said, referring to clouds the Bible says
guided the ancient Israelites as they wandered in the desert. “Clouds
of glory.” Winter said only when the soldiers were in a secure position, the fog finally lifted. |
“It
really was a fulfillment of the verse ‘For the Lord your God is the
one who goes with you to give you victory,’” he said, quoting
Deuteronomy 20:4. The
Times of Israel notes Winter made headlines over an official letter he
sent to battalion and company commanders July 9, telling his
subordinates that “history has chosen us to spearhead the fighting
(against) the terrorist ‘Gazan’ enemy which abuses, blasphemes and
curses the God of Israel’s (defense) forces.” The
dispatch came under fire from some, since it portrayed the Operation
Protective Edge as a religious war against non-Jews. The Israeli
government’s stated aim is to stop rocket attacks at Israel and
destroy a network of tunnels dug under the border from Gaza used to
launch terror attacks inside Israeli territory. In his interview with Mishpacha, Winter defended his message, saying everyone finds God when in combat. |
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“Anyone
who attacked me for the letter apparently has only seen weapons in
pictures, was never in combat, and doesn’t know what fighting spirit
is,” he said, revealing that before going into action his custom was
to recite the blessing with which the ancient Israelite priests would
bless the army before it went to war. “When
a person is in a life-threatening situation he connects with his
deepest internal truths, and when that happens, even the biggest
atheist meets God,” he said, claiming soldiers see so many miracles,
“it is hard not to believe [in God].” |
This
message may contain copyrighted material which is being made available
for research of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
scientific, social justice issues, etc., and constitutes a "fair
use" of such copyrighted material per section 107 of US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in
this message is distributed without profit or payment to those who
have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for
research/educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
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Catalonia
to Muslims:
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Muslim
leaders in the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia say they have
been promised a mega-mosque in Barcelona if they support independence
from Spain in a referendum set for November 9. Officials
from the Catalonia's ruling Convergence and Union Party (CiU) are
seeking the ballots of all of the roughly 100,000 Muslims in the
region who are eligible to vote. "If you support us in the
referendum, there will be a mosque," CiU officials are said to
have promised Muslim leaders, according
to Spanish media. The
mega-mosque in question is said to involve a 2.2 billion euro ($3
billion) project to convert a historic bullfighting stadium in
Barcelona into the third-largest mosque in the world, after those
in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The tentative plan calls
for the Emir of Qatar to purchase the stadium, known as the La
Monumental, and to cover all costs associated with
converting the property into a mosque. The 5-year project would be
completed around 2020. |
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The
mosque would have an interior capacity for 40,000 worshippers and an
exterior capacity for another 80,000. The mosque complex would include
a Koranic study center, a library, a conference room and a museum of
Islamic art and history. The
mosque would also include a research center on the history of Al
Andalus, the Arabic name given to those parts of Spain, Portugal and
France that were occupied by Muslim conquerors (also known as the
Moors) from 711 to 1492. Moreover,
the mosque would be accompanied by a towering 300-meter (985-foot)
minaret which, if approved, would dominate the Barcelona skyline. The
proposed minaret would completely overshadow the spectacularly
emblematic Sagrada
Familia, a Roman Catholic cathedral that is situated less
than one kilometer from the bullfighting arena. The spires of the
church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are only 170 meters (560 feet)
tall. |
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Catalonia
is home to an estimated 465,000 Muslims, who account for more than 6%
of the total Catalan population of 7.5 million. This gives Catalonia
the largest Muslim population in Spain. By
way of comparison, if Catalonia were to achieve independence, it would
emerge as the country with the third-largest Muslim population in
Western Europe, in percentage terms, just behind France and Belgium,
and far ahead of Britain and Germany Nevertheless,
there are no official mosques in Catalonia, and Muslims normally
worship in makeshift prayer centers that are located in shops and
basements. Although the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, is home to an
estimated 50,000 Muslims, it remains one of the only major cities in
Spain without an official mosque. The
Muslim community of Barcelona has pleaded with municipal officials for
a purpose-built mosque for more than two decades, and although many promises
have been made, none has materialized. "The
law says that everyone has the right to pray in a dignified place, not
in a shop," says
the leader of the Catalan Islamic Federation, Mowafak Kanfach, who is
heading the push to convert the stadium into Barcelona's first real
mosque. |
The
stadium, which opened in 1914, has been closed
since January 2012, when a Catalonia-wide ban on bullfighting entered
into effect. The current owners of the property, the Balañá Group,
are said
to be prepared to accept the Qatari offer. Kanfach
says that a "pre-project proposal" was submitted to
municipal officials in Barcelona in early 2014. He believes that the
project stands a good chance of being approved because the Qatar
Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by the current Emir's
father, already has a strong presence in the city, and the state-owned
Qatar Airways sponsors Barcelona's football team. But
a leader of the Catalan branch of the center-right Popular Party (PPC),
Alberto Fernández Díaz, says
the mega-mosque is "not suitable" for Barcelona because the
"people and countries" involved in the project may have
"values which collide with ours." Others
are worried that the mosque could become a hub for Islamic terrorism.
Analysts say
that Catalonia, which has the largest concentration of radical
Islamists in Europe, is already a main center for Salafi-Jihadism on
the continent and has the potential to become one of the top
incubators for Islamist terrorism in the West. |
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Adding
to those concerns, at least three Muslim proponents of the mega-mosque
with close links to the CiU have recently been tied to radical Islam.
Spanish counter-terrorism officials say
that the individual representing Pakistani immigrants within the CiU,
Khalid Shabaz (aka Chuhan), is believed to "hold extreme
ideological views." He was arrested in 2011 for fraud and
document forgery. During a recent trip to Pakistan, Chuhan was
photographed wearing traditional Pakistani dress and holding an
assault rifle in his hands. Shabaz's
right-hand man, Shaoib Satti, was arrested
in January 2013 for heroin trafficking in a major Catalan
anti-narcotics sting operation. Noureddine Ziani, a well-known
Moroccan proponent of the Barcelona mega-mosque, was deported
in May 2013 because the Spanish intelligence agency CNI considered him
to pose "a grave danger to the security of Spain." Kanfach
counters concerns about terrorism by saying that the citizens of
Barcelona "should be proud that Muslims are transforming the pain
of the bulls into a spiritual center." City
officials have so far denied that the mosque project even exists,
possibly to forestall public opposition to the plans. Kanfach
says that Catalan nationalism is at play in the official denials. |
"The only reason they are denying the existence of the project is
clear," Kanfach claims.
"They want Catalan construction companies to have part of the
pie. They do not care whether or not the project is 'in the local
interest,' they simply want guarantees that Catalan, and not Spanish,
companies will get contracts." According
to Spanish media reports,
the project as currently envisioned involves only German firms. So
far, the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Tamim al-Thani, has commissioned KSP
Engel, Zimmermann Architekten and Krebs und Kiefer International. In
mid-July, the PPC called
for a vote on a proposed municipal regulation that would
prohibit the stadium from being used for religious purposes. The CiU
abstained from voting on the basis that it cannot vote against a
project that does not exist. All of Barcelona's other political
groupings rejected the proposed regulation on the grounds that it was
"discriminatory and incoherent." It remains unclear whether Catalan Muslim leaders will rally Muslim voters for Catalan independence in the absence of clear guarantees on the mosque issue.
|
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|
|
Catalan
multiculturalists have long attempted to bribe Muslim immigrants into
voting for Catalan independence. Catalan pro-independence activists,
for example, often post signs in front of unofficial mosques around
Catalonia which state that "Catalan sovereignty will help to
integrate Muslim immigrants." Muslim mass immigration has been a key component
of the Catalan independence movement for many decades. In an effort to
promote
Catalan nationalism and the Catalan language, Catalonian
pro-independence parties have deliberately promoted immigration from
Arabic-speaking Muslim countries for more than three decades, in the
belief that these immigrants (unlike those from Latin America) would
learn the Catalan language rather than speak Spanish. |
Sharia
law in Catalonia and other parts of Europe. In
an ominous sign for the future of Catalonia, Salafi preachers—who
reject democracy because it is a form of government designed by man
rather than by Allah—are calling on Muslims who are eligible to vote
to support Catalan separatist parties as a means firmly to establish
Islamism in Catalonia. Consider
Abdelwahab Houzi, a Salafi jihadist preacher in the Catalan city of
Lleida who adheres to the radical Wahhabi sect of Islam. He recently declared:
"Muslims should vote for pro-independence parties, as they need
our votes. But what they do not know is that, once they allow us to
vote, we will all vote for Islamic parties because we do not believe
in left and right. This will make us win local councils and as we
begin to accumulate power in the Catalan autonomous region, Islam will
begin to be implemented."
|
|
|
|
by Soeren Kern Calls to reconquer
al-Andalus are becoming more frequent and more strident. |
|
"Clearly
Spain forms part of the strategic objectives of global jihad. We are
not the only ones but we are in their sights." — Spanish
Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz. The
campaign involves posters that include images of famous Spanish
landmarks and monuments emblazoned with Arabic slogans such as,
"We are all the Islamic State" and "Long Live the
Islamic State." One poster includes an image of the medieval Islamic Aljafería Palace in the Spanish city of Zaragoza and the black flag associated with the IS. Another uses an image of the famous La Concha beach in the Basque city of San Sebastián. Yet another includes an image of the statue of Jesus Christ on Monte Urgull in San Sebastián, with the Arabic words "Al-Andalus Country" instead of "Basque Country." |
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|
|
The
poster campaign comes after IS jihadists produced a video in which
they vow to liberate al-Andalus from non-Muslims and make it part of
their new Islamic Caliphate. The
video shows a jihadist speaking in Spanish with a heavy North African
accent. He says: "I
say to the entire world as a warning: We are living under the Islamic
flag, the Islamic caliphate. We will die for it until we liberate
those occupied lands, from Jakarta to Andalusia. And I declare: Spain
is the land of our forefathers and we are going to take it back with
the power of Allah." Radical
Muslims (and many moderate Muslims) believe that all territories
Muslims lost during the Christian Reconquista of Spain still belong to
the realm of Islam. They claim that Islamic law gives them the right
to return there and re-establish Muslim rule. In recent years, the return of "occupied" Al-Andalus to
the fold of Islam has become an obsession for Muslims of all stripes,
and calls to reconquer al-Andalus have become more frequent and more
strident. |
Commenting
on the latest video, Spain's Secretary of State for Security,
Francisco Martínez, said Spanish police were remaining
"vigilant" in the face of a "grave" jihadist
threat. Meanwhile,
Moroccan authorities have warned Spanish police that some of the more
than 3,000 Moroccan jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq are beginning
to return home, and that many of them are likely to attempt to
infiltrate the Spanish mainland via the North African Spanish exclaves
of Ceuta and Melilla. The
Moroccan Interior Minister, Mohamed Hassad, recently identified 1,221
Moroccan citizens who have joined jihadists groups in Syria and Iraq,
as well as another 2,000 ethnic Moroccans who are citizens of other
countries, including Spain. Spanish
and Moroccan counter-terrorism forces have stepped-up efforts to break
up jihadist cells that have been proliferating in both countries. On
August 14, nine members of a recruitment cell for the IS were arrested
in northern Morocco, not far from the North African Spanish exclave of
Ceuta. |
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|
|
The
arrests were made in the Moroccan cities of Fez, Tétouan and Fnideq,
in what the Spanish Interior Ministry said was a joint intelligence
operation between Moroccan and Spanish counter-terrorism police. All
the detainees are Moroccan citizens, several of whom made repeated
trips to Ceuta to recruit jihadists and raise financial support for
the IS. "The
jihadists recruited by the cell received instruction in weapons
handling, assembly and placement of explosive devices and car theft,
in order to participate in suicide terrorist attacks or to fight in
conflict zones," a statement by the Spanish Interior Ministry
reported. Some
of those recruited by the cell are believed to have participated in
beheadings in Syria and Iraq. Police say they are also examining
computers and data storage devices to determine if there were plans to
carry out a terror attack on Moroccan soil. On
August 4, a 19-year-old Spanish woman and a 14-year-old Spanish girl
were arrested in Melilla just days before they were due to join the
jihad in Syria. They are first Spanish females to be prevented from
becoming jihadists. |
"Both
were trying to cross the border to Morocco with the aim of contacting
the network that would move them immediately to a conflict zone
between Syria and Iraq," the Spanish Interior Ministry said in a
statement. The
19-year-old was released after surrendering her passport. The
14-year-old—who police say appeared "completely convinced"
that she was doing the right thing by becoming a jihadist—is
currently being held in a juvenile detention center where she has no
access to the Internet. The girl's parents said she had recently
become radicalized after spending time perusing jihadist websites. In
June, Spanish police in Madrid arrested ten individuals (eight
Moroccans, one Argentine and one Bulgarian) on allegations that they
were members of an international network that recruited jihadists for
the IS. The
ringleader was a 47-year-old Moroccan national named Lahcen Ikassrien,
who was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001, and released after
three-and-a-half years in Guantánamo. In July 2005, the U.S.
government handed him over to Spain, where he faced charges of
cooperating with al-Qaeda. In October 2006, the Spanish High Court
acquitted him on the grounds that no firm evidence existed of his ties
to the terrorist group. |
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|
|
Ikassrien,
who lives in Madrid, was part of a cell led by Abu Dahdah, a
Syrian-born Spaniard sentenced to a 27-year prison term in Spain for
his part in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and for being one of the
founders of al-Qaeda in Spain. In February 2006, the Spanish Supreme
Court reduced the Abu Dahdah's penalty to 12 years because it said
that his participation in the 9/11 conspiracy was not proven. He was
released in May 2013. In
May, Spanish police broke up a cell in Melilla that allegedly
recruited 26 jihadists (24 Moroccans and 2 Spaniards) for al-Qaeda
groups fighting in Libya and Mali. All six members of the cell are
Spanish citizens. One of them, Benaissa Laghmouchi Baghdadi, is the
first Spanish jihadist known to have returned from the fighting in
Mali. Police say the cell used social media platforms such as
"Sharia4Spain" to recruit jihadists. In
March, police in Spain and Morocco arrested seven suspected jihadists
who belonged to cell operating in the southern Spanish city of Málaga.
Four of the suspects were arrested in Spain and the other three in
Morocco. Spanish officials said the cell was one of the largest of its
kind in Europe and responsible for recruiting more jihadists than any
other network discovered in Spain so far. The suspected ringleader of the cell is a wheelchair-bound Spanish convert to Islam named Mustafa Maya Amaya. Maya, 51, was born in Brussels after his Spanish parents moved to Belgium in the |
1960s to look for
work there. After converting to Islam, he changed his given name from
Rafael to Mustafa. Police
say Maya—who maintained close ties to jihadist cells in Belgium,
France, Indonesia, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Syria—is
suspected of recruiting dozens of volunteer jihadists on the Internet
and, after a careful selection process, sending them to join terrorist
organizations in the Middle East and North Africa. The
sting operation was conducted on March 14, just three days after Spain
marked the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which
killed 191 people and wounded nearly 2,000. Since then, more than 470
suspected Islamic extremists have been arrested in Spain, according to
Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz. "Clearly
Spain forms part of the strategic objectives of global jihad,"
Fernández Díaz said on the eve of the anniversary. "We are not
the only ones but we are in their sights." Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter. |
09/02/2014 07:18 AM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNITED
STATES
September
11, 2001 Jihadist Attack Remembered: Sept 10-12 conference,
Washington, D.C.
9/11 Memorial Museum in New York, opened May 2014
Navy Bibles will stay! A victory for religious liberty!
Discover Our Shared Heritage: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, National
Historic Trail
The Rise of Latina & Latino Studies in the United
States
NALIP's Top Latino Writers
The Chicana/o Legacy Gaining
traction but still No. 9 by Rodolfo F. Acuña
What we Owe our Tejano
Ancestors
“Past
deeds pave our way to the future” by
José Antonio López
Braceros and farm workers from Mexico by Dr. L.
Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq.
Preserving Places
that Matter in American Latino History, National Trust for Historic
Preservation
Concerned daughter writes to White House about her mother and other
struggling homeowners
HERITAGE
PROJECTS
Guy Gabaldon Statue Project, Los Angeles, CA
Otra Vez by Daisy Wanda Garcia: Dr. Hector P.
Garcia Clinic Restoration, Corpus Christi, TX
Veterans' and Family Outreach Center, Big plan for Garcia's Old
Clinic by Nadia Tamez-Robledo
Raising Funds for the Santa Rosa de Lima
Mission in Tucson. AZ
The San Pedro Creek Improvement Project, TX
Saving Lincoln Center: An El Paso Community's Effort to Protect its
Chicano Heritage
Looking for Mexican Americans and baseball in Texas
New Charlesfort-Santa Elena National Park Service
Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plan
The Telling Project, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, San Antonio, Texas
HISTORIC
TIDBITS
WW II Aircraft Carriers on the Great Lakes by Oscar
Ramirez
La
Battallia del Encinal de Medina
by Dan Arellano
August 19th, 1749:
Apaches bury the hatchet in exchange of Conversion to Christianity
HISPANIC LEADERS
LATINO
PATRIOTS
Youtube:
First "Air Force One".
Youtube: Project Vigil: D-Day 2014
Youtube:
Hitler's
GI Death camp
Photo: Erasmo
"Doc" Riojas, SEAL Reunion
Honoring Borinqueneer Raul Reyes
Hispanic Medal of Honor Calendar of Upcoming Exhibits
EARLY LATINO PATRIOTS
Dorothy
Perez, Recipient of Prestigious SAR Award by
Henry A. García, jr.
United
States of Spain?
Guillermo Fresser
TCARA
celebrated its 10th Anniversary, July 23, 2014
SURNAMES
Grijalva
DNA
My DNA tells me who I am
New DNA discovery: totally new outlook on evolution
FAMILY HISTORY
About Genealogy by Kimberly Powell
Search
WWI POW Records Online for Free
How
to Trace the History of Your Home
FamilySearch
Adds More Than 1.5 Million Indexed Records and Images
to Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia, Ghana, Italy, and the United States
Helpful Hints from Readers
EDUCATION
Insights From National Leaders,
Michael Derrick Tubbs Founder, The Phoenix Scholars,
Stockton, California
Free Cash for College Workshops
CULTURE
Salon: Culture and Conversation by Bernadette Inclan
September 17, 2014:
The San Francisco Art Institute . . . . ART and Revolutions
Seeking U.S. Art All Over Map
The
Xoloitzcuintli, Mexican
Hairless Dog
Ding dong, muerto me llevan en un cajon
Lydia Mendoza,
Loaf of Art
La Virgin by Rafael Jesus Gonzalez
BOOKS AND PRINT MEDIA
Ten
Years of "SOMOS PRIMOS"
DVD of past print issues (1990-1999)
Wilbur-Cruce
Spanish Mission/Ranch Horse, A Beautiful, Cruel Country
by
Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce
Colonial Spanish Texas and Other Essays by Dr. Lino Garcia
The
Great Arizona Orphan Abduction
by Linda Gordon
Terror on the
Border by J. Gilberto Quezada
Border Boss by J. Gilberto Quezada
The
Great Arizona Orphan Abduction
by Linda Gordon
A History of the U.S.-Mexico
Borderlands by José Angel Hernández.
ORANGE COUNTY, CA
September 13, SHHAR Monthly Meeting: John Schmal, "Finding
Your Roots in Mexico"
September 27:
15th Logan Barrio Family Reunion
Incoming Cultures: Influences and Legacies in
Orange County, Smithsonian Collaboration
Martyred Priests, Their Journey to Orange County
Two
of Orange County’s founding clans mend fences after a 125-year rift,
September 18, 1995
Yorba
Cemetery, A
portal to the past,
Quick overview... family history
Ramon
Peralta Adobe, The
story of people and change,
Quick overview...
Lorenzo
(Larry) Luera Ray High School Class of 1954,
Part 1 of 2
LOS
ANGELES COUNTY
Nov
10th: Chronically
Homeless Vets to Get Homes in Boyle Heights
Sept 7th:
View from the Pier by Herman Sillas
Ralph
M. Terrazas: First
Latino Chief of LA Fire Department Confirmed by City Council
Great
Read In this group, she's just Gloria Molina, quilter
CALIFORNIA
Irwindale,
Beauty in the Dust by
Marylouise Fraijo Ambriz
A
History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights: Mary & Helen Marston
Mi Vida Con Carino by Lorena Ruiz de Frain,
Final, Part III, Life
in Los Altos
NORTHWESTERN,
US
Mariachi Nuevo Santander Performed
in Oregon Shakespeare Festival
World War II Bracero Program in Oregon
SOUTHWESTERN,
US
Colores
YouTube
My
Days as a Colonist / Soldier with Don Juan de Onate – Part 8
By
Galal Kernahan
I
hope everyone had a great 4th of July, 2014.
TEXAS
Sept
25-27, 2014: 35th Annual Texas Hispanic Genealogical and Historical
Conference
September 28: Post conference luncheon planned
Dear Texas History Enthusiast
Legacy of Texas, maps, art, flags
Laredo, Texas Memories by Gilberto J. Quezada
Laredo Transportation
Laredo Exhibit Honoring Sisters of Mercy's 120
Years of Service in Laredo
An Unforgettable Reunion
Correspondence between
Gilberto and Jose M. Pena
Do any of these Laredo streets look familiar?
Creating Beauty from Devastation in Galveston by Rosie Carbo
A 1954 Candidate Uses His Family History to Help Him Win an
Election
by Eddie Garcia
Las Porciones Society
House Resolution 709
Clash with Ranchers radicalizes rancher
Border Bandits, Part III by Norman Rozzell
MIDDLE AMERICA
1691 Tira from Santa Catarina de Ixtepeji, Oaxaca Mexico,
featured in Milwaukee,Wisconsin Mexican Fiesta
John N. Harper’s ACADIANS, Writings by Winston De Ville
EAST
COAST
Maps of Spanish Missions
September
6, 2014: Admiral
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
Hard Times for Black Colleges by Michael H. Cottman
Rosenwald
Schools
INDIGENOUS
Indigenous Coahuila de Zaragoza by John P. Schmal
SEPHARDIC
Sephardic
Jews founded key cities in Mexico
San Antonio scholar to discuss culture at Laredo temple
by Tricia Cortez, Laredo Morning Times
by Shlomo Buzaglo
ARCHAEOLOGY
Before
they left Africa, early modern humans were 'culturally diverse'
MEXICO
Lost and Found: Three hundred year-old Mexican document
found in Milwaukee
130 representative of the Yaqui Tribe went to Mexico City
Carlos Slim supported 165,000 young people to attend a university
Bautismo de
Deodoro Pedro Regalado Francisco de Paula de la Santisima Trinidad
La
historia familiar oral se desvanece en sólo tres generaciones
El
registro del bautismo de Aurelio
Maicotte
CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA
Malfalda, Popular Comic Strip
Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Mathematical Devices of the Inca in Peru by
April Holloway,
José Antonio Manso de Velasco, un 'tsunami' que dio nombre a un título
nobiliario
Por José A. Crespo Francés*
Gray-Eyed Man of Destiny by William Walker in Nicaragua
PHILIPPINES
Half a Century of Being in the USA by Eddie AAA Calderón, Ph.D.
SPAIN
Hernán Cortés
Estados Unidos... ¿de España?
INTERNATIONAL
Remembering 9/11 and the history of Muslim acts of Terrorism Against
Europeans
Hand of God sent missile into sea
Catalonia to Muslims: Support Independence, Get Mega-Mosque
Islamic Statement: "We Will Take Spain Back"
Born
and raised in Los Angeles, 
Two-time
Emmy Award winning producer/writer 
When
author Ray John de Aragón was a little boy, his family’s favorite
pastime was storytelling. He always enjoyed listening to the older
members tell about ghosts they claimed they heard or saw. They also told
of witches who had lived nearby and about haunted houses. If dishes
rattled, if furniture mysteriously moved or if musical instruments began
playing on their own, everyone knew some unexplainable supernatural
force was behind it. The stories were scary but exciting, and the author
admits he had trouble sleeping at night. Ray John went on to major in
American studies in college as an adult, further exploring the Spanish
traditions, heritage and culture of New Mexico. This included the
folklore. The author’s interest is in preserving the oral “ghost”
history of the region and passing it on to future generations.
While there are chainsaw artists scattered across the United States,
the three artists who surfaced after Hurricane Ike stand out like
superheroes. Armed with their shiny, powerful chainsaws, these men have
left a tree-sculpture legacy that inspires Galveston residents and
visitors alike.
Seawall Boulevard also stands as a testament to the resilient nature
of this barrier island and it residents. Cruise along the Seawall and
you’ll see hotels and restaurants dating back decades. The iconic
Hotel Galvez & Spa and San Luis Resort & Spa have weathered
several hurricanes and offer views of the Gulf of Mexico.
ST.
AUGUSTINE, FL – July 28, 2014 – Four hundred and forty-nine years
ago, in September 1565, Admiral
