Texas Times Weekly - Hispanic Heritage Month: Exploring Hispanic Roots In Texas

Statement

By: Sen. John Cornyn

In 1528, Spanish explorers first laid eyes on the present-day Texas coast. They were exhausted from their voyage, hungry, lost and fearful of unknown perils. Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was one of these first Europeans to land on Texas soil. The journal de Vaca kept of his experience encompassed many years and thousands of miles, and contributed to the beginning of an enduring Hispanic culture that shaped the future of Texas.

The Spanish pioneers who eventually followed de Vaca and his fellow explorers brought their language and religion. They introduced new agricultural practices and crops, and brought horses and cattle. Their traditions in architecture, art, music, and their contributions in law and medicine are essential parts of the foundation of Texas.

One of the earliest and most notable Hispanic Texans was Jose Francisco Ruiz. Born in 1783, Ruiz served both as a public official and military officer. He was first elected to public office in 1805, as a regidor on the San Antonio cabildo, or city council. Ruiz then served as a lieutenant with the Bexar Provincial Militia and later sided with the Independent movement. Ruiz attended the historic Washington-on-the-Brazos Convention of 1836, where he was one of only two native Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836.

Jose Antonio Navarro from San Antonio de Bexar was the only other native Texan to sign the declaration. Navarro served as a member of the State Legislative of Coahuila y Texas, Commissioner of the DeWitt Colony, and Deputy to the National Mexican Congress representing Coahuila y Texas.

Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Sáenz, born in Tecoh, Yucatán in 1788, started his career in Mexican journalism and politics. Originally a close ally of Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna, Zavala eventually denounced Santa Anna and became one of the strongest supporters of Texas independence and served as the first Vice President of the Republic of Texas in 1836.

To celebrate the rich contributions of these and other Hispanic Texans, we take pride in observing National Hispanic Heritage Month each year from September 15th through October 15th. Hispanic Heritage Month honors the culture and legacy of Americans who have family roots in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

In Seguin, Texas, the Seguin Heritage Museum is paying tribute to Hispanic Heritage Month with a new exhibit displaying traditional Hispanic dance costumes. In San Marcos, the students of the San Marcos Mariachi Academy, ages 10 to 17, kicked off this year's Hispanic Heritage Month celebration with a musical tribute at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum of San Marcos.

A new tradition this year-the University of Houston-Victoria, Victoria College and the Victoria Chamber of Commerce Minority Business Council have sponsored a Hispanic Heritage Month Art Competition among local middle school art students. This year's first-prize winner, Alexis Lopez, submitted a colored-pencil drawing of his cousin in a Mexican folk dress by a fountain at the University of Texas at Brownsville. For first prize, Lopez was awarded a free college education, in the form of full-tuition waivers from Victoria College and UHV.

So much of what we love about Texas originates with our Hispanic heritage. Many of Texas' foods, music, art, celebrations and traditions are rooted in Hispanic traditions. Museums and cultural centers offer beneficial opportunities to learn more about our Hispanic traditions. Museo Alameda in San Antonio is said to be the nation's largest Latino Museum and the first formal Smithsonian affiliate. Among the many historic sites are the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, El Paso Mission Trail, Goliad State Park and Historic Site and Nacogdoches' Stone Fort Museum.

We can trace much of our nation's Hispanic roots back more than 480 years to the arrival of Cabeza de Vaca and the 80 men who landed with him in the vicinity of Galveston Island. Since their arrival, generations of strong and resilient Hispanic Texans have emerged, and the culture and heritage they shaped are a vital part of the past - and the future - of Texas.

Sources: Texas Tejano; Texas State Historical Association

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