Preserving Early Texas History: Essays of an Eighth-Generation South Texan

By José Antonio López

My passion for writing is based on both my parents love of early South Texas and northern Mexico history. My father was quite good at sharing oral history stories and for that reason I dedicate this book to him. Equally important, my mother, Maria de la Luz Snchez Uribe de Lpez was also gifted in recalling the stories she heard as a child. In both Spanish and English, she had tremendous communication abilities in vividly remembering stories about our ancestors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503530966

José Antonio López

Mr. Jos Antonio (Joe) Lpez was born and raised in Laredo, Texas. USAF Veteran. He is a direct descendant of Don Javier Uribe and Doa Apolinaria Bermdez de Uribe, one of the earliest families that settled in what is now South Texas in 1750. He is married to the former Cordelia Jean Cordy Dancause of Laredo. He has college degrees from Laredo Jr. College and Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, TX. He earned a Masters Degree in Education. Other books by the author: The Last Knight (Don Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero), Nights of Wailing, Days of Pain (Life in 1920s South Texas), The First Texas Independence, 1813 (a reprinted bilingual version of his first book The Last Knight), Preserving Early Texas History (Essays of an 8th Generation South Texan), and Friendly Betrayal. Mr. Lopez is also a newspaper columnist who writes about issues affecting Spanish-surnamed citizens in the Southwest. He and his wife visit school campuses and meet with genealogy, history, and social service groups throughout South Texas sharing the Spanish Mexican roots of Texas and Southwest. Mr. Lopez is 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.

Book preview

Preserving Early

Texas History

Essays of an

Eighth-Generation South Texan

José Antonio López

Copyright © 2015 by José Antonio López.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/12/2015

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Exhibits

1. Juventino López, Sr., (see Dedication Page)

2. Native Americans in Texas

3. Old Spain in New Spain (Northern Mexico and U.S. Southwest)

4. Spain in the U.S.

5. My Uribe and Gutiérrez de Lara Family Tree

6. The String of Pearls on the Lower Rio Grande

7. Treviño Uribe Fort

8. Building Blocks of Texas History Chart

9. Seven Phases of Texas Independence

10. Who are the Tejanos and where do they come from?

Chapter 1 (2008/2009)

A. Celebrating El Diezyseis (September 1⁶th) in Texas.

B. Goliad, Texas is named after Texas hero, Father Miguel Hidalgo.

C. Tejanos Unidos

D. Mr. President, treat Mexico with dignity, respect, and trust.

E. New Spain versus New England in the U.S.A.

F. The Tejano Monument must be erected on the South Lawn of the Texas State House.

G. Texas history doesn’t begin in 1836.

H. The Tejano Monument.

I. The Birth of the Vaquero (Cowboy)

J. The Gutiérrez-McGee Expedition

K. To a Stone Tool

L. When the call went out…

M. The Battlegrounds of Texas.

N. Battle of Medina.

O. Book: Nights of Wailing, Days of Pain (Life in 1920s South Texas)

Chapter 2 2010

A. Teaching Texas History

B. Analyzing Reader Reactions

C. Letter to Victoria Diocese Bishop David Fellhauer

D. A note to the Smithsonian Institution

E. The 17⁵th Anniversary of the Birth of Texas?

F. It’s time for the U.S. to share the words America and American

G. Papers, please Legislation in Arizona

H. The Second Battle of Béxar

I. A piece of Texas history missing in traditional studies

J. Seguin, Texas: We Salute You

Chapter 3 2011

A. Twelve things we should all know about Texas.

B. Laredo History Sketch

C. American Pioneers

D. Remember the first Texas revolution, 1813

E. Where do we go from here?

F. Homenaje a Joel

G. The United States of Lincoln and Juárez

H. Tejanos and Mexicanos United

I. Spanish Mexican – A term of honor

J. The Myth of the E Pluribus Unum Society

K. Viva Earl Warren; Civil Rights Hero in Texas

L. What the Tejano Monument Means to Me

M. Time to stop using Remember the Alamo Slogan

N. Anti-Hispanic Legislation in Texas

O. The Other Texas Independence Day

P. Texas History Thumbnail Sketch

Chapter 4 2012

A. Seven Flags over the Rio Grande.

B. Myth of the One-size-fits-all Hispanics.

C. Hispanic or Latino – Which is it?

D. It Took Fifty Years.

E. Liberty and Justice for All?

F. Letter to Commissioner Jerry Patterson

G. Open Letter to the Mayor, Goliad, Texas.

H. Letter to Superintendent Pedicone, Tucson, Arizona

I. Letter to U.S. State Department (First Texas Constitution)

J. Little elates me more…

K. Proud to be a First American

L. Re-browning of America.

M. Tejano/Tejana Bucket List.

N. U.S.A. – Let’s mean what we say.

O. ¡Viva Jimmy Carter!

P. More than an Expedition

Q. Tejano Monument – We’ve come a long way.

R. In Defense of Alejandrina Cabrera

S. Tejano Monument – Ya Era Tiempo

T. Rediscovering Early Texas History.

U. U.S.A., U.S.A.!

V. Best Friends – U.S. and Mexico.

Chapter 5 2013

A. Resolution to Honor 20⁰th Anniversary of First Texas Revolution.

B. Letter to Texas State Board of Education re: Book, ¹st Texas Independence, 1813

C. Christmas in Old South Texas

D. Letter to Commissioner Jerry Patterson re: Alamo

E. Letter to Councilman Bernal re: Alamo Historic Grounds

F. Mrs. Reed’s Christmas Tree.

G. Celebrating 20⁰th Anniversary of First Texas Constitution

H. De Vaca’s Dilemma

I. Fence on the Borderlands

J. The Grateful Generations.

K. Gutiérrez de Lara brought Texas its first independence

L. It still takes a village

M. Count José de Escandón versus Monsieur René de La Salle.

N. Pánfilo Narváez in early Texas history

O. Remembering our earliest Texas ancestors

P. Tejano history barely dodged the SB 1128 bullet

Q. The Unlikely Tejano, José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara

R. Children of Escandón

S. Young Sebastien de la Cruz

Chapter 6 2014

A. Book: The First Texas Independence, 1813

B. Letter to Commissioner Patterson re: Alamo Displays

C. Letter to History Channel re: Texas Mini Series

D. Letter to Texas SBOE re: Written Testimony

E. Past Deeds Pave Our Way to the Future

F. El Diezyseis and El Cinco in Texas History

G. The Forgotten Fourteen

H. Hispanic Heritage Month Honors Bilingual Texas

I. The SBOE – A Texas Stonewall

J. It’s Labor Day – Thanks to Unions

K. Mujeres in Texas History

L. Preserving Tejano History is not an option; it’s a must!

M. Sam Houston took over a work in progress.

N. ¡Viva Santa Ana!

O. What we owe our Tejano Ancestors.

P. Yo Solo

Q. Happy First Texas Independence, 1813

R. First Texas First Lady, Maria Josefa Uribe Gutiérrez de Lara

S. Vaquero – A Proud Tradition

T. Letter to U.S. Senator John Cornyn (reference U.S. citizenship to General Bernardo Gálvez)

U. Believer, learner, or skeptic. Which are you?

V. A New DRT is here

W. Gran España

X. Spanish explorers don’t get any respect!

Y. A Country Divided…

Z. The Fruit on your Family Tree

AA. Copper and Tin Equals Bronze

BB. Why we speak Spanish in Texas

CC. The String of Pearls of the Lower Rio Grande

DD. Who are the Tejanos and where do they come from?

EE. Education – The Recipe for Success

Chapter 7 A 16-Gun Salute to

El diezyseis de Septiembre

1. Happy Hispanic Heritage Month 2014. Preserving Early Texas History.

2. The Texas-Mexico historical context.

3. Who are the Tejanos/Tejanas and where do they come from?

4. Tejana and Tejano Terms are inclusive

5. Tejanos (Spanish Mexican pioneers) built the first towns and ranchos Deep in the Heart of Texas

6. Mission San Antonio de Valero and San Antonio de Béxar (Álamo) Presidio

7. Texas Independence Founders:

8. The First Texas Independence, 1813

9. The Battle of Medina

10. Sam Houston took over a work in progress.

11. Connecting the dots of the Birth of Texas Independence

12. The outlaw (gunslinger) persona’s popularity in U.S. western history

13. (U.S. Highway 59 — A Tale of Two Texas States)

14. Attaining higher education and equal rights for Mexican-descent Texans

15. LBJ, a friend of Mexican-descent Texans

16. Happy Texas Independence Day, September 1⁶th

Epilogue

Bibliography

DEDICATION

Juventino López, Sr.,

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To my Father, Juventino López, Sr.

My father embodied the best of both Old and New World qualities. A brilliant, industrious individual, he was the most energetic and resourceful man I have ever known. Often projecting a unique restlessness, he was happiest when he worked with his hands. And, yes, he often whistled while he worked. Personal productivity was his trademark long before it became popular with management consultants. He was busy all the time, and led my brothers and me by example.

For about the last twenty years of his life, he worked six days a week serving his customers at the Jitney Jungle Grocery Store in Laredo, Texas. The Jitney was also where some of my siblings and I got our first real paycheck job. What was unique about that experience is that we had two bosses at the same time; the store manager and Dad. (The reader must guess which of the two was hardest to please.) Dedicated to his work, he rarely called in sick; nor did he ever avail himself of the normal two daily coffee breaks allowed by management. His can-do attitude and friendly smile are what his customers tell me they remember most of Dad. He was a man who enjoyed social gatherings, but greatly valued his privacy.

One of his favorite phrases in life was Tu deja el mundo que ruede; cambia nada mas lo que abarcas. (You let the world turn as it does; change only those things within your grasp.) In fact, he said it to me several times. I took his advice to mean that I should accept things and other people as they are and to focus on my own life. He believed that if people minded their own business, it would result in the best of all possible worlds. In my view, he had figured out the secret for universal peace.

My dad was the personification of courage and self-discipline. Following is only one example of his strong-minded willpower. Losing her husband when my father was only a child, my grandmother struggled to raise her young family. In an effort to build a more stable home for her children, she agreed to re-marry. Her new husband turned out to be an abusive man. At age eleven my dad was already pulling his own weight by working part time. One day while he was at work, his sister Sara ran to tell him that their overly demanding step-father was physically attacking my grandmother. He quickly returned home with his sister and together they ran the man off. To provide for his mother, a younger brother, and his four sisters, my father quit school right then and there and found himself a full-time job. (He was only in the fifth grade!)

Having so many lives depend on him at such an early age formed his strong character. Helping his mother raise his siblings set a pattern that he followed for the rest of his life. He and my mother raised their own large family of nine boys and one girl.

In my view, he enjoyed most the role of a provider putting food on the table for his family. I will forever have the image in my mind of my dad’s daily routine of coming in the door after work carrying two grocery bags full of goods. True to his Native American stoic nature, he never complained. A quick learner and self-taught in several disciplines, he was a man of many talents. He taught himself how to read and write English. Born with an uncanny natural, gifted intelligence, one can only wonder what he would have accomplished had it been possible for him to pursue a formal education.

It is with great pride that I dedicate this book to my father, Juventino Tino López, Sr.

José Antonio López

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

B EGINNING MY WRITING career after officially retiring from a nearly 38-year career in the U.S. Air Force, my parents’ encouragement was the reason I decided to do so. For example, noticing that I paid special attention to detail as they shared oral history stories with my siblings and me, our sessions usually ended with the words, José, escribe un libro (José, write a book).

Yet, I was also influenced by early Texas historians whose work I’ve admired for a long time. Although there are many on my list, three of them stand apart as mentors. Among them are Dr. Lino Garcia, Jr., Dr. Andrés Tijerina, and Robert H. Thonhoff. Additionally, Mr. Steve Taylor, Editor of the online Rio Grande Guardian, deserves special mention because he has encouraged me to write and has steadily published my articles in his newspaper.

Truly, I am blessed, honored, and humbled to take part in a journey to rediscover pre-1836 Texas and make it part of mainstream Texas history in the classroom. Notably, we can look at several milestones we’ve reached in just a few years. Among these are the 2012 unveiling of the Tejano Monument in Austin, the first memorial in our state’s capital dedicated to the Spanish Mexican founders of Texas. Also, plans are underway to enhance the Handbook of Texas Online by adding a well-deserved, Tejano History Online segment.

In addition, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) unveiled a statue honoring Count José de Escandón on their campus. Most recently, the U.S. Senate approved legislation granting Spanish General Bernardo de Gálvez honorary U.S. citizenship for his brilliant role in support of the U.S. colonies in their war of independence against England.

Our voyage is far from over. Most certainly, if we push together more achievements are ahead. Hopefully, one day soon Texas classroom children of all backgrounds will learn to appreciate the vital role our Spanish Mexican ancestors played in the founding of this great place we call Texas.

INTRODUCTION

oOo

M Y PASSION FOR writing is based on both my parents’ love of early South Texas and northern Mexico history. My father was quite good at sharing oral history stories and for that reason I dedicate this book to him. Equally important, my mother, Maria de la Luz Sánchez Uribe de López was also gifted in recalling the stories she heard as a child. In both Spanish and English, she had tremendous communication abilities in vividly remembering stories about our ancestors.

Based on the oral information I began receiving as a young child, I was able to collect enough material to write three books. The first was titled, The Last Knight (Don Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero). The second book is Night of Wailing, Days of Pain (Life in 1920s South Texas). In 2014, I decided to re-issue my first book with a new title, The First Texas Independence, 1813, a bi-lingual version with the Spanish translation done by my cousin, Joel R. Uribe, (R.I.P.).

In addition to the above, I also write newspaper and magazine articles on issues affecting Spanish Mexican-descent citizens covering subjects usually missing in contemporary or mainstream media. It is in that respect that I offer a selected collection of essays below. Gratefully, the overwhelmingly positive response throughout my new career as an author, writer, and public speaker has been a humbling experience.

As you read through the articles you will notice that not all are essays per se. My involvement began slowly and took many forms, such as explanatory notes, emails, and short paragraphs. However, eventually I began to write essay-type pieces. My early essays began as letters to the editor. They are nonetheless part of my attempt for some years to at least begin a discussion involving long-neglected pre-1836 people, places, and events in Texas.

By their very nature, letters to the editor tend to be reactionary in response to a contentious issue. Mine are no different. However, I have tried to be polite and courteous in expressing my thoughts with the reading public. Those are basic and effective communication skills I recommend to others who ask for my advice. My rules are simple.

When addressing an issue; always write your words to educate others in the most positive manner. Also, I use humor as much as I can, plus other enhancements. For example, when a Spanish saying or phrase is useful, I tend to use it, although sometimes the English translation doesn’t convey exactly the same moral message as it does in Spanish.

How did I get started? After retiring from a nearly 38-year military and federal service career, I fulfilled my dream to write, including letters to the editor. Thus, after reading some of my letters to the newspaper, Mr. Bob Richter, Editor of the San Antonio Express News (SAEN) encouraged me to write early Texas history articles for the SAEN. He said he couldn’t hire and pay me as a staff writer, but that he would publish my articles on a quarterly basis as a guest writer. I agreed.

At the moment, I am honored that two media outlets, the online newspaper Rio Grande Guardian, Steve Taylor, Editor, and LareDos, Meg Guerra, Editor, a print newspaper based in Laredo, Texas publish my articles normally on a monthly basis. Also, the San Antonio Express-News publishes early Texas history articles that I write for them. Plus, I am deeply honored that several online publications and genealogy society newsletters re-publish my work for the benefit of their members.

In this regard, I still get emails from friends and strangers who read copies of my articles online and want to learn more of our beautiful early Texas history. Their interest is another reason why I collected the articles in this book. Generally, they are listed in chronological order. (Note: As this book goes to press, the sad news is that Meg Guerra has decided to retire. As such, LareDos is no longer in operation. It must be noted that for many years, LareDos served as an alternative news source for Laredoans and South Texas.

As a Texan who is especially proud of my pre-1836 Spanish-Mexican heritage in Texas, two things are most important to me. First, in uncovering the unrecognized early chapters of Texas history, the general public will discover the true roots of the ranching industry and the vaquero (cowboy) ways of life.

It is my hope that finding out they have honest ownership of Texas history, Mexican-descent children in Texas and throughout the southwest can feel proud of their heritage and reclaim the cowboy manner of dress. The cowboy and cowgirl persona is theirs and so they must regain it and display it with well-earned pride to re-establish their identity as descendants of the unique vaquero lifestyle famous throughout the world.

Second, early Texas history is not just for the enjoyment of Mexican-descent Texans. Generations of students of all backgrounds have been taught an incomplete story of our state; one that leaves out the very foundation of this great place we call Texas. In short, author historian John Francis Bannon in his book The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, (1513-1821) states it clearly when he writes:

The Anglo Americans who came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin were not in the true sense pioneers; they found not a wilderness but a society already in existence and a foreign power in possession; neither were the traders who came across the Great Plains. Folk of Spanish European origin were already well established and had a society ready to do business. U.S. ships in the Pacific Coast, as well as mountain men and settlers, found the same type of thriving communities in California… The Borderlands story is a fundamental starting point for the comprehension of the problem of one of the nation’s contemporary minority groups – the Mexican Americans. They are descendants of those sturdy Borderlanders of yesterday who made real contributions to that real, but somewhat nebulous thing called American civilization.

Those are two of the main aspects of Texas history that many of us Tejano historians, authors, and our supporters of all backgrounds have been sharing for the last few years. For too long, pre-1836 Texas history stories of our courageous, intrepid ancestors have been ignored. Sadly, many Spanish Mexican-descent U.S. citizens (many of them descendants of the first citizens of Texas) subscribe to the Anglophile story of our state as a form of coping. Therefore, for many years, many have been reluctant to even discuss their long, inspiring history.

Although most of the essays are historic in nature and apolitical, some include my defense of our heritage within the contentious political arena of the present era. Clearly, because strong political pressures have kept Mexican-descent Texans as a Class Apart for generations, it’s hard to separate our large group from social and political forces. As such, I’ve tried to respond to outrageous statements and pronouncements by anti-diversity politicos who regularly dismiss, distort, and disparage our Spanish Mexican culture in Texas. In short, since the pen is mightier than the sword. I pray that I have wielded my pen prudently.

Readers will notice that several articles are dedicated to the Tejano Monument. That is no accident. My approach is meant to reinforce, rather than repeat information. Each article delves into the multitude of features the memorial represents.

Finally, very special thanks go to my wife Cordy for suggesting that I write this book. She also chose its title, basing her recommendation on one of the articles, called Preserving Tejano History is not an Option, it’s a Must! That is my overall theme in compiling this material.

It is time for mainstream Texas and U.S. historians to stop portraying pre-1836 Texas history as foreign or Mexican history. For all intent and purpose, my use of the words Mexico and Mexicans are meant to describe our centuries-old Mexican culture on this side of the border. By no means does it suggest allegiance to the Republic of Mexico. In familial terms, Texas is a child of Mexico. Texas’ parentage DNA is undeniably Spanish Mexican. It is time to acknowledge the Spanish Mexican genealogy of Texas as part of its seamless history.

Thus, we must continue to unearth these pre-1836 stories, dust them off, and finally bring them out into the light of day. The reason is simply that ignorance feeds intolerance, while knowledge feeds understanding.

Said another way, learning is like a special key that opens our eyes, opens our mind, and opens our hearts. It is with those thoughts that I offer you this collection of essays. After all is said and done, "Texas history without Tejanas and Tejanos is like a story with no beginning".

José Antonio López

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Native Americans in Texas

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Old Spain in New Spain (Northern Mexico and U.S. Southwest)

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Spain in the U.S.

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My Uribe and Gutiérrez de Lara Family Tree

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The String of Pearls on the Lower Rio Grande

TrevinoUribeFort.tif

Treviño Uribe Fort

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Building Blocks of Texas History Chart

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Seven Phases of Texas Independence

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Who are the Tejanos and where do they come from?

CHAPTER 1

(2008/2009)

A. Celebrating El Diezyseis (September 1⁶th) in Texas.

(Note: My interest in pre-1836 Texas people, places, and events began when I was still in elementary school in Laredo, Texas (1950s). However, it was not until after retirement that I began noticing that most newspaper articles appearing in the San Antonio Express News treated early (pre-1836) Texas as foreign or Mexican history. So began my writing campaign. Below is an essay I wrote in 2008 on the subject.)

oOo

L ETTER TO THE Editor (San Antonio Express-News).

Ref your As Diezyseis nears, let’s party like it’s 1810 article, Sep 4, 08.

While it is a good news story, the article makes no mention as to why the date is equally important here in Texas. I have never understood why you, your reporters, and the rest of the media have to tip-toe around the truth.

We in Texas and the U.S. Southwest are not helping Mexico celebrate their independence day. Rather, we should be unabashedly celebrating it here in Texas as in Mexico. The reason is that when the Grito went out on September 16, 1810, the Southwest (including Texas) were part of Old Mexico.

It was then that Don Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara answered the call for Texas independence. He was not only commissioned a Lt. Colonel in Father Hidalgo’s revolutionary army, but he was named as Chief General (Commander-in-Chief) of the Texas Army of the North. On April 1, 1813, he and his army took over the Spanish Regional Capital of San Fernando (San Antonio) and the Alamo. On April 6th, he signed and issued the first Texas Declaration of Independence and on April 17th, he signed the first Texas Constitution. He became the first President of the First Texas Republic.

In other words, September 16th was the spark that set the momentum for Texas independence. (Sam Houston did not get the bright idea to declare Texas independence when he moved here from Tennessee. Don Bernardo and our other Tejano heroes had already done the heavy lifting.) Sadly, many of your subscribers (about half of them Spanish Mexican) are not familiar with their rich Tejano heritage. Printing these stories mostly during Hispanic Heritage Month doesn’t help either. Since doing so continues to perpetuate pre-1836 Texas history as foreign or Mexican history. That attitude has to stop. Texas history without Tejanas and Tejanos is like a story with no beginning.

oOo

B. Goliad, Texas is named after Texas hero, Father Miguel Hidalgo.

(Note: Below is one of my first formal letters aimed at restoring pre-1836 people, places, and events in mainstream Texas history.)

oOo

December 10, 2008

Mayor Jay Harvey

P.O. Box 813

Goliad, Texas 77963

Dear Mayor

My wife Cordy and I really enjoyed being a part of Miss Ruby’s Authors Corral during this year’s Christmas in Goliad events. The ambiance of the festival was truly family-friendly, and thus we quickly became part of the Goliad family. We intend to return next year.

In gratitude for your gracious hospitality, I am sending you a copy of my book The Last Knight (Don Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero). It is a short biography I wrote on my ancestor, Don Bernardo. On balance, Texas history books rarely include details of pre-1836 Texas Tejano history. Their patriotism and sacrifice were key fundamental and critical steps in the building of our great state. As such, I wrote the story to introduce this distinguished hero to the general public. In short, it is he who lit the spark of Texas independence when he answered Father Hidalgo’s call for revolution. The padre’s call for independence so impressed La Bahia residents, that they later named their city Goliad in his honor. For their selfless bravery, these heroes bring a sense of pride to Tejano descendants, some of whom are residents of your great city and many can trace their lineage to Tejano patriots of that era.

Sir, it was clear to me during our quick chat that you are well aware of this early Texas history, but it may be of interest to your community to know that Goliad played a significant role in Don Bernardo’s and the Army of the North’s march toward Texas independence in 1813. After a four-month siege, standoff, and battle of wits, the Tejanos defeated the Spanish forces at the La Bahia Presidio. Their ultimate goal was accomplished on April 1, 1813, when they took over the Spanish Regional Capital of Bexar and the Alamo Presidio. Don Bernardo then signed the first Texas Declaration of Independence, April 6th, and read it to the citizens outside the Spanish Governors Palace. In so doing, the First Republic of Texas was born. Shortly, on April 17th, he signed the first Texas Constitution. His is a truly fascinating story. As such, I am also including a short summary that identifies the high points in this Texas hero’s gallant, illustrious life and career. Finally, with a ‘tip of the hat’ to our intrepid ancestors, Texas history without Tejanos is like a story with no beginning. Thank you.

José Antonio López

C. Tejanos Unidos

oOo

Whenever the subject of Spanish Mexicans and Tejanos in the Southwest comes up, the tendency of many Anglo Americans is to immediately think of illegal immigration, low-skill workers, drug trafficking, and similar negative impressions. That is unfortunate and very unfair. Like many Spanish-surnamed U.S. citizens, they have been taught U.S. history based on two false premises for over 150 years; (l) that all Spanish Mexican Texas history is foreign history and (2) that what happened in Texas before 1836 was not worth recording as the integral part of the state’s story that it is.

Teaching history in such a one-sided manner projects an erroneous notion of the real architecture of what is now Texas. It is that perception problem that TejanosUnidos.org is trying to solve. To do that, we believe a seamless telling of the Texas story from its discovery in 1519 to the present is necessary to finally tell it in a balanced manner. The story of our Spanish Mexican ancestors in Texas and in the Southwest is a beautiful and powerful chronicle of faith, grit, and determination. It is no less impressive than the story of the first English colonists in the East Coast that all school children in the U.S. are taught to admire from a very young age. Yet, for generations, the key Spanish Mexican foundation of our state has been either left out of the history books or is considered inconsequential. It is now time to fill in the many missing pieces. That is the only way to get the big picture of Texas history, since it is reasonable to assume that no one likes a story with no beginning.

The deliberate omission of Spanish and Spanish Mexican contributions in U.S. history is apparent and has a long history of its own (no pun intended). To begin with, Bob Thonhoff in his book, The Texas Connection with the American Revolution writes: Viewed from a Texas perspective, the American Revolution takes on a new dimension. A product of recent historical research, the Texas connection figures into the larger role that Spain played in the winning of American independence, which had world-wide repercussions. But only the surface of the roles of Spain, New Spain, and Texas has been scratched, and much more needs to be researched and written about this interesting aspect of the Revolution.

In a very real sense then, much of the long-standing Anglo American anxiety, suspicion, and distrust of Spanish Mexican U.S. citizens today can be traced to their lack of knowledge of the important and positive Spanish influence in forming U.S. history. In truth, Spain and New Spain have a strong record of extending hands of friendship to Anglo Americans from the very beginning. Spain and New Spain were both key reliable and dependable sources of active support during New England’s most pressing hour of need. To illustrate the level of involvement we need only to look at the Herculean efforts of one superb New Spain patriot, Don (General) Bernardo de Galvez, Governor of Spanish Louisiana. General Galvez is a most interesting, but largely forgotten, U.S. patriot. While most people can instantly tell you that Houston, Texas, was named in 1836 in honor of General Sam Houston, few people know that nearby Galveston was named in 1785 for an equally brave general. Galvez’ exploits in support of the thirteen colonies have been descriptively portrayed by some historians as heroic, masterful, and brilliant. He not only helped militarily, but he donated great amounts of his personal wealth in support of his fellow Americans. (Note: Yes, there was a time in our history