Historia en Vivo | Living History: The Mission to Market Walking Tour

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Recently, The Western History Association had a conference in San Antonio, Texas. It was of no surprise to me that the participants of the conference were very interested in the history of San Antonio and the past of a city reborn.

As part of a course at St. Mary’s University, Dr. Teresa Van Hoy gathered a group of her brightest minds as well as a grad student (that would be me). Dr. Van Hoy engaged these students in research at the level of a graduate

Photo of Casa Navarro courtesy of Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, Texas

student’s course. These students learned about everything from the battle of The Alamo, the historic Market Square, Casa Navarro, as well as La Villita and The Arneson Theatre. History of these past lives for the places that we were treading upon for the sake of history is important. The major history of the west was highly influenced by the past of Texas and the past of the Spanish settlers of the time.

Pierre, the undergraduate history major, explains The Alamo and the history captured in the historic shrine. Photo courtesy of Gateway Photography

The Alamo is probably one of the most mentioned historical sights of the city in terms of tourism and engagement but the truth of the matter is that there are so many places that are filled with love, hate, energy, and resentment. These places are the true places that affect lifestyles and changes in culture and security and these were those places that the students were talking about.

La Villita, for instance, was a very familiar sight for a local leader, Anthony Delgado, this sight was was more than an artists’ grounds or NIOSA fiesta sight. This compound is holy ground for Anthony. “La Villita” was the land previously owned by his ancestors and Anthony ensured that his history and his family’s past have stayed alive. As the previous president of the organization, “Los Bexarenos,” Anthony knows what it means to be a direct descendant of a people of strength and resilience. Throughout Anthony’s talk, the somber feelings of disbelief and wartime angst began to fill the audience with feelings that some could say only a San Antonian could know.

Photo of Anthony Delgado (former leader of Los Bexarenos organization) presenting the La Villita Historic sights to conferences goers of the WHA conference.

The tour continued and different important topics were discussed and thrown in along the way. There was color-commentary from the beginning until the end and some of those fun-facts just grabbed the attention of the audience. The interesting part of this living history was that history was being created just in the activity itself. Each participant was some sort of scholar of history or fan of the city and learned something new that they had not yet heard before. Up until that day I had not heard of Los Bexarenos. The knowledge was highly appreciated and the “tour in the rain” seemed to be the best part of any scholar’s visits to The Alamo City.

By no surprise, the students, including myself, were introduced to many scholars and writers. These people have continued to keep interest in the students and the leaders of the tour. Recently while sorting through emails, I found correspondence about visits to museums, programs, and schools nationwide as a result of this great tour opportunity.

The Mission to Market Walking Tour was a great opportunity, to say the least. The connections built, the memories made, and the history learned was worth the trot through the pouring rain.

Students from the Texas history course at St. Mary’s University, taught by Dr. Van Hoy huddle together to talk about Henry B. Gonzalez, an influential San Antonio leader. Photo courtesy of Gateway Photography.

Public history is a program at St. Mary’s University, but it is more than that. Public history students are able to take part in these types of programs due to the efforts of the program and the leadership guiding it. The students that are growing due to this program are more than the average graduate and undergraduate student. This cohort is learning to work with and engage the community. In my time as a student (5 years now), I have not felt so empowered until now. I can see the work that is being done, as well as the influence it has on local perception.

The walking tour sure was an opportunity of a lifetime. The walking tour was more than just an opportunity, but a necessary component for the careers of many students and conference-goers. The memory is now an internal archive of a project that became part of a class and a group of students’ journey.

 

Civic Engagement and Public History Collide

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It could be argued that much of the local history that occurs today is brought forth by our “leaders”, those who are elected or placed into a public office or position. Well, I was able to spend some time with many of those leaders on a day called “Civic Engagement Day” that was hosted and arranged by the LSA 300 team.

LSA stands for Leadership San Antonio and as you would expect, those individuals that took place in this class were just that, leaders of San Antonio. Just a quick fact, of the people that were present for this event and team included individuals from every district in San Antonio except for one. Now back to LSA and where it came from.

LSA is a leadership development course that incorporates members of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. These leaders come together and learn about topics concerning the city and the development of San Antonio as a whole. These include but aren’t limited to infrastructure, educatio

Photo courtesy of Gateway Photography: Michael Quintanilla talking to the LSA300 group on civic engagement day

n, civic engagement, etc. The groups tackle a variety of questions regarding their selected topics and work within the groups and as a whole to come up with possible solutions. The program also incorporates visitors that come through and talk to the participants about their roles as leaders and how the leaders sitting before them can grow as leaders and join councils, boards, and positions in the public as well as in their selected private sectors.

LSA Civic Engagement Day was the last day of the program and involved a jam-packed day of activities and learning

Photo courtesy of Gateway Photography: During an innovative session with students of CAST Tech High School, audiences were captivated by the ideas that the students came up with

opportunities for San Antonio’s future leaders. I was able to participate as the group’s photographer of the program and did so with pride being that I am also a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as well.

We started the day at San Antonio’s very own Doseum, which as you may know is a great museum that is relatively new to the city and is located on Broadway St. Here we heard from the CEO of the Doseum, Leticia Van de Putte, former member of the Texas House of Representatives as well as several other leaders. Van de Putte and the rest of the panel talked about the injustices and hardships that have had affects on their lives and their careers. All of these women were inspirational and left an impact on my dat for sure!

Following our initial visit to the Doseum was a visit down to none other than San Antonio’s very own City Hall located on the site of one of San Antonio’s first plazas in front of the Spanish Governor’s Palace. Currently, the City of San Antonio residents are in argument over the propositions that have been proposed on this mid-term election. The husband of Senator Leticia Van De Putte paid us a visit at City Hall and explained the importance of civic engagement and the importance of leadership programs like the one that the participants of the group were taking part in.

There were several other stops on the trip that day to places like the AT&T Center, CAST Tech High School as well as another trip back to the Doseum but what I realized was

Photo courtesy of Gateway Photography: innovation session during the LSA 300 civic engagement day at CAST Tech High School

that the leaders that leave this group were all going to leave some impact on the world around them. This is history. These students of this program, a cohort comprised of rising leaders, CEO’s, VP’s, managers and directors, will decide the history of their respected companies and their respected communities. This is part of those community’s history and the chance to share in that was great.

Ole San Antonio: When San Antonio Meets Spain

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Ole San Antonio

“Acknowledging the shared past and looking toward the future, all events will have as a common thread an intercambio (exchange) and collaboration between the cultures of Spain and San Antonio, creating experiences and memories completely unique to Olé.”

The Historic Pearl is hosting the Ole San Antonio as part of the city’s tricentennial celebrations. The goal is to enrich the community with the connections that Spain and The Alamo City have in common.

“Billed as a “monumental initiative” built around gastronomy, music and dance, and art and architecture, Pearl’s summer-long Tricentennial program Olé imports a talented array of Spanish chefs, performers and artists…” –Bryan Rindfuss

Photo by: Gateway Photography (Geremy Landin) Photos from The Historic Pearl of the Southerleigh Bar and Restaurant Signage

The events taking place at this locality are both entertaining and a great marketing tool. Offerings of free shirts and bags for the first 100 attendees in many cases as well as extended hours for many of the businesses present.

Not only is this in support of their business but The Pearl has been known for contributions to local artists and groups as well.

Joe Reyes, local guitarists and producer was one of these great performers from last night. Joined by several other artists. The group wooed the audience with some great tunes and cultural melodies.

Photo by: Gateway Photography (Geremy Landin) Photos from The Historic Pearl of Joe Reyes Guitarist and Producer playing for the public at the August 31 event.

What is forgotten is the history behind it all though. The Historic Pearl even has it in it’s name but where is the history aspect of it all. A little blurb in the beginning and some talk at the end just didn’t seem sufficient for me and assumably for several others present.

Reading further into the Pearl’s history as a brewery and small complex brought out some interesting thoughts from locals and guests of the event from last night.

Rosa Guzman, a local of the area, says, “The pearl was not something I remember much from childhood in San Antonio,” she added, ” There were many breweries around in my mom’s time but the current look and feel of the brewery is nothing like she [Guzman’s mother] could remember.

Personally though, the history of the site is not known by many of the locals attending these events. From what I can tell, I don’t seem to see any sort of ambassadors or collaborators providing this history either.

Places like The Historic Pearl are great and have a wide array of opportunity for community engagement. It would be nice to see a history timeline or a sort of historical site collaborator to really emphasize the history presented at “The Historic Pearl”. None-the-less, the events are fun and interesting for sure!

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