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A developing population can grow out of the past or it can grow with the past in mind and in sight.
Laugh, smile, and cry seem to just be those emotions present at events like these. The interesting thing is what brings you to attending events usually has something to do with someone inviting you or an event reminding you of it an hour before on some social media platform but when some kind of event just pops out at you from the side of the road then what choice do you have but to stop?
Photo courtesy of Gateway Photography: 7 Year Old Boy Singing at The 4th Annual Mariachi Festival at Mariachi Connection Inc.
I stopped promptly, opened a window and a grito filled the air. Chances are that if you are from San Antonio or even from Texas then you know what a “grito” is but in case you aren’t a local of the region, a grito is a cathartic joyous yell according to an article by Brenda Salinas with NPR called “In Mariachi Music, A Distinctive Yell Speaks To The Soul“. It wasnt the first time I had heard a grito and it definetely wont be the last time that a grito filled the air.
That following weekend just happened to be the 16th of September and the recollection of the Grito de Dolores or the Cry of Dolores came to mind right away.
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This evening the students from the St. Mary’s University were welcomed to one of the sites of the Esperanza Center in San Antonio Texas. The Director, Ms. Graciela Sanchez, quickly grasped the attention of all 10 students present.
“The people of Esperanza dream of a world where everyone has civil rights and economic justice, where the environment is cared for, where cultures are honored and communities are safe.”
-Graciela Sanchez; Director of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
This part of their mission and vision is truly shown in the work that is done in and around the Rinconcito Center. In the past, I know that several of the students in this program (including myself) have been to museums and art exhibits. During a recent museum course there was talk about the different places that have been visited but I don’t quite think that this experience matches any of the ones that were mentioned in the past.
When entering the Rinconcito Center there is a drastic difference in what we are used to seeing in homes and apartments and visitors can quickly delve into the history from the time of the “Casa De Cuentos and Casita.” The center has owned the building and property at 816 Colorado St. since 2001 and since then, great work in preserving the housing and developments that surround the area has been done in hopes of saving that history that as Sanchez said, “is gone once they’re gone.”
As the students travel through the areas at the center, different pieces catch the eyes of future public historians and Director of Public History at St. Mary’s (Dr. Lindsey Wieck)
The students continued their walk down the street with a main focus on the structures and projects following the path towards The Guadalupe Center for cultural arts. “Fotohistorias del Westside” mark the path along the South side of the street lining the fence of J.T. Brackenridge Elementary School (a school named after Confederate veteran and bank president, JT Brackenridge, who was born in Warwick County, Indiana and passed in 1906). This school is one of San Antonio ISD’s 90 campuses.
Virgen de Guadalupe vela located next to the Guadalupe Center for Cultural Arts
The tour ended at the Plaza Guadalupe over at 1327 Guadalupe St. but the conversation did not. Conversations on the way back to the starting point of the tour led to ideas of projects with different shops, councilmen, and locals about oral history and community activism.
Sanchez is passionate about the work that she does and was excited to show us the public history aspects involved in her work. Having visited places on the westside and knowing the stigmas and negative energy that is posed towards the people and areas surrounding made it easier to want to learn and absorb as much information as possible. The connection that we have made as a course and cohort is tremendous and will continue to be a great source of energy and program development for public history at St. Mary’s and in San Antonio in general.
Graciela Sanchez, Director of the Esperanza Center introduces the student from St. Mary’s University’s Master in Public History Program to the back part of the Esperanza Center
As the students travel through the areas at the center, different pieces catch the eyes of future public historians
Graciela (Director) introduces the students to the many art works that are created by those that cooperate in the program from around the neighborhood
Pieces that line the walls of the MujerArtes studio in the rear of the center
Graciela (left) explains the use of the space as well as the use of the money that the individuals that create these pieces make.
This piece was found drying on a table outside of the MujerArtes Center behind the Riconcito de Esperanza Center. The detail is so precise.
Director Sanchez begins the walking tour off the site of the Riconcito Center. The walk lasts about 1 hr with questions and covers homes around the neighborhood and the area included in the center.
Graciela explains the need for the art and various activities that are done in this neighborhood. The murals across the street depict graduates and positive things that the Westside has contributed and will continue to show in the work that is being done
As the tour comes to an end, Graciela explains the importance of the council meetings and the access that is provided for these meetings. Much of the information that is provided to the individuals in this neighborhood could be seen as bias and has much to be worked on. This is when students start to think up ideas to work with different orgs. or parts of the Esperanza Center to bring Public History to the Westside.
My name is Norbert Geremy Landin, but I usually go by Geremy! I am way too excited about this unexpected Master in Public History program and the future that is to come because of this program. I had no plan on going to St. Mary’s for my masters degree much less in Public History but as I walked along the empty summer halls at St. Mary’s, I was invited to take a look at the program, and here I am a few weeks later.
The goal here is to attain this degree and the knowledge to succeed while working with the City of San Antonio or in organizations like the San Antonio Fiesta Commission on large scale projects and events as well as building a network and relationship with the people that are in these fields and do these things already. I am hopeful that the public history program will help me with these goals for sure!
Fiesta Papel Picado
Lately I’ve reflected on the ideas that brought me closer to believing that I could achieve something in a program like public history and I couldn’t think of a better example than the short film/documentary that I was tasked to complete for Dr. Teresa Van Hoy’s Civilizations course. That documentary was the first time I felt like I had complete freedom of creativity and decision making in a course of that magnitude. Now I’m here in the place where I belong; learning alongside people of different backgrounds and understandings of history.
