Before Bobby Pulido, There Was El Primo, Roberto Pulido
Before Bobby Pulido became a star, his father Roberto was El Primo to Tejano audiences across South Texas. He called people primo—cousin—and they called him that in return. For many
They were told they couldn’t do it; they were threatened with losing accreditation. Molina and West Oso proved them wrong.
For years, Black and Mexican-American children attended West Oso schools under a system controlled largely by Anglo trustees. The district segregated Black students, Mexican-American families had little political power, and
Starr County 1860 Census
With the help of ChatGPT and hours of work, we created the 1860 census for Starr County, Texas. If you want to use it, it is here for you to
The Barreras Were There While Mier Was Becoming Mier
When I began tracing the Barrera side of my family, I expected to find baptisms, marriages, births, and deaths. What I did not expect was to find my ancestors already
West Oso Was Ahead of Its Time — Molina Helped Make It Happen
West Oso has never been one of Texas’ wealthy school districts. It served working-class families on the edge of Corpus Christi, many of them Mexican American and Black, and much
Three Generations of the García Family: Starr County, Texas
Listen to the story Going backward has been the best way to trace my ancestors: census records, birth records, baptisms, and marriages. Along the way, I found that my father
José María Barrera: My Ancestor Who Rode With Santos Benavides
Listen to the Story When my third-great-grandfather José María Barrera rode with Colonel Santos Benavides during the Civil War, he was serving under a man from my own extended border
Manuel Leal: The Texas Hero Texas Hunted as a Bandit
American history remembers Francis Marion as the “Swamp Fox,” a Revolutionary War hero who used surprise attacks, informants, hidden routes, and the protection of difficult country to frustrate a stronger
Rumble in Molina Park in front of the Church.
A Boy Growing Up in Molina Growing up in Molina in the early 1960s meant knowing where you belonged. We did not have organized gangs with officers, membership cards, or
Molina’s early history: it was called a slum, so the City annexed us
Listen to this story Molina: Annexed to Stop the “Slums,” Then Told to Pay for Plumbing The image on the left is from a photograph in the Corpus Christi Times,
Before the Alamo: The Texas War Most of Us Were Never Taught
The bloodiest battle probably ever fought on Texas soil, and it is not in our Texas history books. Massacres on both sides; an entire army wiped out. Makes the Alamo
Texas likes to brag about its Texas Rangers, but they forget that they ran like cowards.
Don’t have to take the words of this old Tejano; take it from an Army Major who had to work with them. When Major Samuel P. Heintzelman was sent to
My top ten Tejano hits from the 1960’s you can disagree
I may have the years wrong, but hey, my list.
Davy Crockett and the Alamo: Honor the Man, Question the Legend
Pick what you want to believe, because both cannot be true. We come to honor Davy Crockett, but also to seek the truth as best we can. The two are
September 16, 1942, four years after Texas Independence, a Mexican Army celebrated Mexican Independence in San Antonio.
Texas has always loved to brag about itself; they call them tall tales, maybe sometimes they are just big whoppers of a lie. I read something and decided to look
Barrera-Garcia: My Mother’s Story, Otalia Garcia Barrera.
In the story, I mention that my mother was told that education was enough. My mother made sure that all of her children finished high school. When she told her
Texas Wanted Mexican Workers. Mexico Said: Stop Treating Mexicans Like Dirt First.
During World War II, Texas farmers needed Mexican labor. Mexico had something Texas wanted badly enough to give Mexico leverage: workers. In 1943, the Mexican government ordered its consuls in
100 years ago, they were separating families and deporting citizens; not much has changed.
One thing I still do is read. I read a lot, mostly on the internet now, but I still read books; over the past few years, nearly 200 books. Recently,
When America Wanted Mexicans More Than Some Europeans
There was a time when the United States slammed the door on Italians, Poles, Greeks, Russians, Jews from Eastern Europe, and millions of other southern and eastern Europeans — while
1921 San Antonio Flood killed mostly Mexican Americans.
Some of you may have read about the San Antonio flood and how it helped create the River Walk. What you probably did not read was that most of the