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El Grito Belongs to Texas Also Dr.

Lino Garca,Jr
Ever wonder why Tejanos and other residents celebrate El Grito of September 16, 1810 on Texas soil ? Simply because El Grito falls within the historical context of what was then called La Nueva Espaa -1521-1821 and thus the El Grito of 1810 also liberated Tejanos living in this state, as well as other Hispanics living in what was then the Spanish Southwest, later on in 1845 becoming part of the United States of America . When Captain Hernn Corts landed in Veracruz in 1519, he immediately claimed the land a Spanish possession starting the colonization in the year 1521 . During this period of colonization and of the implementation of the Spanish culture with all is grandeur, there were, however, throughout the following decades certain abuses by the Spaniards that concerned citizens of Mxico and the Tejanos . The time was ready for some type of action that developed into the Independence Movement of September 16, 1810 and headed by Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla of the Parish of Dolores Hidalgo. By that year, unrest had swept over all of New Spain . Tejanos also felt ignored by the Spanish Crown, their rights sometimes abused, such as the prohibition of certain trade practices, and property such as cattle decreed as owned by the Spanish Crown . Other events were occurring in the then world, and certain ideas of freedom expressed during the American Revolution of 1776, traveled first to France helping to ignited the French Revolution of 1789 promoted by Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Voltaire; these sentiments of freedom from tyranny, arrived also in New Spain , and these ideas impacted Padre Hidalgo and his associates. Individuals spoke of being free from Spain and eventually all of this led to El Grito of September 1810 that resonated throughout the Spanish Southwest that included Texas also. At dawn on September 16, 1810, the residents of the Dolores Hidalgo answered Hidalgos call for independence from the forces of Spain, and the struggle for freedom started. From then on the Mestizo ( of mixed Indian and Spanish) , the Indian and Criollos ( of Spanish heritage , but born in America) started the Independence Movement and after winning a few skirmishes against powerful Spanish forces,

Hidalgo and his group were defeated near Guadalajara and were forced to retreat, and the Independence Movement that he advocated was defeated momentarily. Mxico would have to wait until 1821 when its citizens , and the Tejanos would be free from Spanish rule. Therefore, not only Mxico and its people were freed from the mother country, but so were the Tejanos, many of whom had fought in two rebellions on Texas soil: a.) the de las Casas Revolt of 1811 in San Antonio and b.) the Battle of Medina of 1813 close to this city and where close to one thousand Tejanos perished in support of Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his El Grito .These two rebellions culminated in sentiment and framework leading to the Battle of the Alamo of 1836, where Tejanos played a major role against the military forces of General Jos Antonio de Santa Ana. One must remember that the Tejanos were the original non-Native-American settlers of Texas, and, thus, at that time, along with the Native-Americans, comprised the only residents of Texas, as Esteban F. Austin and his colonists of nonHispanics were allowed to settle on Texas soil by the then controlled Mexican Texas in 1824, exactly fourteen years AFTER the El Grito resonated throughout La Nueva Espaa. Let us now connect the historical dotes: a.) The American Revolution of 1776 helped to ignite b.) the French Revolution of 1789 and the ideas of freedom expressed by the French philosophers Rousseau, Voltaire , Diderot and Montesquieu arrived in New Spain setting the stage for the c.) El Grito on September 16, 1810 ( Mexican Independence from Spain) leading to two d.) Tejano skirmishes on Texas soil in support of El Grito : 1.) the de las Casas Revolt 1811 in San Antonio and 2.) the Battle of Medina in 1813 , all leading to e.) the Battle of the Alamo of 1836. That is why in Texas the El Grito is celebrated as part of the seamless Pre-1836 Colonial Spanish Texas History that had its beginning in 1528 and that ended when Texas joined the USA in 1845. All historical events that occurred on Texas soil before 1845 fall within the realm of Mexican History, and not Texas or USA History. This buries the John Wayne a la Hollywood version of freedom loving Americans fighting an invading Mexican Army, a distorted view that for decades has damaged the Tejano psyche ; since Tejanos look like the enemy, speak like the enemy, therefore they are the enemy , and one does not give aid nor comfort to the enemy , a view that for a long time prevailed in certain quarters of this state. No longer ! Proceed !

Dr. Lino Garca,Jr., holds the Chair of Professor Emeritus at UTPA and can be reached at: LGarcia@UTPA.Edu

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