https://www.facebook.com/p/El-Alamo-Cafe-100063496423412/ the roads are usually so busy that not a lot of folks take the time to explore downtown Hearne But for folks from across the Brazos Valley downtown is their destination because they remember El Alamo a restaurant with a half-century of history have been working at El Alamo since the 70s While these ladies have poured their hearts and souls into the salsa here Mary no longer slaves over the stove at El Alamo but since 1972 it’s been the place to go for some good Tex-Mex in Hearne Mary’s whole family has worked at El Alamo “El Alamo has always been the rock of the family.” But it’s not just the family that’s kept this place afloat but Mary has kept her enchilada sauce close to her chest Considering the enchiladas have been the go-to since Nixon visited China Rosie got a plate of beef fajitas whipped up for me with one cheese enchilada for good measure knew that this was going to require a big plate Then she covered them with Mary’s homemade enchilada sauce but I was told that it’s now going to be called The Texas Bucket List Special It didn’t take long to understand why Mary’s restaurant has stood the test of time and complimented the beef fajita perfectly If you happen to be heading through Hearne and are looking for some tasty Tex-Mex This is a tasty stop on The Texas Bucket List “It’s like coming home for a meal,” Rosie said Thousands of people from around the world flock to San Antonio to see the historic Alamo — the famed site in the state’s effort to win its independence from Mexico the Alamo launched Spanish-language tours — the first time a guided tour of the Alamo’s history is being offered on a regular basis entirely in Spanish “Some of these things [in the tour] they're not only morally a part of the story but now that they're being heard in the traditional language "I think they resonate more with certain members of the audience that have come to hear this story.” Nuna said the Alamo was their first stop in San Antonio while they visited from Los Angeles is more significant because I'm hearing it in my native language,” she said in Spanish “It's like when we go to church — it means more to listen to it in Spanish than in English.” The tour covers the story of the mission-turned-fortress which has been at the crossroads of Texas and U.S The Alamo was originally established in 1718 as Mission San Antonio de Valero founded as a Spanish foothold to convert indigenous people to Catholicism It’s best known as the site of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution — the culmination of a 13 day siege between the Texas defenders and the Mexican army in the fight to gain independence from Mexico The Spanish tours is the latest move in the Alamo’s half-a-billion dollar effort to try to tell a more nuanced history a senior curator and historian at The Alamo said it’s crucial to acknowledge where the narrative of the Battle comes from Our story is one of those special stories that the people without a voice are the ones that give us the narrative that are the loudest in this story." The Alamo’s history has often been mythologized to focus on the story of the white defenders It can often leaves out its complex history of the groups who had ties to the land and Indigenous people have long advocated to include the story of all those involved before during and after the battle — NOT just the story of the famous defenders and Native American groups cite the Alamo as a sacred burial ground that includes the remains of their ancestors Rodriguez said the Alamo’s recent efforts aim to diversify the narrative “You cannot tell about a place without including everyone because it's sort of like when you weave a tapestry — if you're missing a thread Tourist Nuna Aguilera said that thread — whether told in English or in Spanish — still highlights a history of colonialism and it's sad to see that they were left with nothing,” she said in Spanish Officials at the Alamo said the Spanish tours are just one step. A new Visitor Center and Museum is slated for 2027 Castaños said the Alamo also plans to continue evaluating the Alamo’s history and develop more specialized Spanish-language programming The tours run five days a week — Wednesdays through Sundays starting at 10:15 a.m Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Five Alamo Drafthouse locations closed abruptly June 6 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that operated all the North Texas theaters filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy The Dallas Morning News reported that the franchise partner had cited poor “industry-wide economic performance” in a news release about the closures the franchise partner closed the locations in Cedars "This means that for the time being all of the DFW area Alamo Drafthouses will be closed," the Austin-based company wrote on its website "Rest assured that we are hard at work coming up with a solution to get Alamo Drafthouse back in DFW "Thanks for being the best damn guests a little cinema company could ever ask for ― we’ll see you at the movies again as soon as we can," the website added No other Alamo Drafthouse locations in Texas are affected The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema locations in El Paso are thriving Lubbock and Houston metropolitan areas are owned and operated by Triple Tap Ventures LLC at 12351 Pellicano Drive and 250 Montecillo Blvd. a summer of family favorites for $5 a ticket The movies include "Minions," "Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse" Proceeds will benefit different charities each month including the St Shoes that Fit and Big Brothers Big Sisters For more information: drafthouse.com More franchise closings: Red Lobster closings: More Texas locations shutting down as company files for bankruptcy María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com @EPTMaria on Twitter; eptmariacg on TikTok The Austin American-Statesman contributed to this article The least interesting dates on Oregon State’s schedule are the most important at least for keeping the bowl math closer to long division than trigonometry The Beavers are halfway through the two-game stretch with one victory in the books and a second challenge ahead This unprecedented season began with loads of attention on the program and notable matchups against San Diego State the back half of the schedule features a string of teams with winning records Crammed between the first month and the second half lies a brief transition period that’s easy to overlook but vital to the Beavers’ bottom line although two overtime periods were needed to secure OSU’s fourth victory of the season Now comes a date Saturday afternoon at Nevada their magic number for bowl eligibility would be reduced to one That matters because five upcoming opponents have winning records: UNLV (4-1) Washington State (4-1) and Boise State (4-1) The Beavers could secure a bowl berth simply by handling Air Force But if Oregon State loses this weekend at Nevada The Beavers would need two wins against that collection of six opponents — handling Air Force alone would not be enough and the math would get substantially more difficult College Football PlayoffTeam: Utah (Big 12 champion)Comment: Admittedly but we’re sticking with the Utes to win the Big 12 until they are mathematically eliminated (Fine print: We reserve the right to change our mind if they lose at Arizona State on Friday night.) College Football PlayoffTeam: Oregon (Big Ten at-large)Comment: Depending on the outcome of the super-mega collision against Ohio State this weekend the Ducks could get moved into our pool of automatic qualifiers as the projected Big Ten champion Alamo BowlTeam: Washington StateComment: Based on their remaining schedule the Cougars should win at least nine games and could win as many as 11 which would vault them onto the top of the sub-playoff bowls (Their slim CFP chances vanished with the loss at Boise State last month.) Holiday BowlTeam: ColoradoComment: The Buffaloes would benefit from mediocrity up and down the lineup because they have immense appeal to bowl officials (thanks to Deion Sanders) and because the Pac-12 selection process would allow the Buffs to jump teams that are within one victory of their total Las Vegas BowlTeam: USCComment: Difficult to imagine the Las Vegas Bowl passing on USC given its brand appeal (unless But the Trojans are 4-2 and have a difficult remaining schedule So there is no guarantee that they will accumulate the eight or nine wins likely needed to reach Las Vegas Sun BowlTeam: WashingtonComment: The Huskies possess a wide range of destinations they would land in the Alamo or Holiday bowls but the LA and Independence bowls are distinct possibilities Such is life on the edge with a flawed team and rugged schedule LA BowlTeam: CalComment: The Bears make sense for Los Angeles since they aren’t playing at USC or UCLA during the regular season But there could be three or four teams with identical records competing for the same handful of bowl slots Independence BowlTeam: Arizona StateComment: The politics could get interesting because whichever teams are remaining after the Independence Bowl’s selection will likely land in a Texas-based game that has recruiting benefits And both Arizona schools are emphasizing the Lone Star State ESPN bowlTeam: ArizonaComment: This likely would be the Gasparilla Bowl or one of two games in Texas (Armed Forces and First Responders) ESPN would set the matchups based on the teams available in other leagues At-large bowlTeam: Oregon StateComment: If there are more eligible teams than available spots in the Pac-12 bowl lineup the Beavers might end up filling a vacancy far Their prospects would be far better at 7-5 than at 6-6 NonqualifierTeam: StanfordComment: Whatever microscopic chance the Cardinal had to reach the postseason vanished with the loss to Virginia Tech for Stanford to win four of its final seven games NonqualifierTeam: UCLAComment: We foresee the Bruins absorbing their seventh loss before earning their third win The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser Several Alamo Draft House locations in Texas have closed but don't worry, you can still enjoy good food, adult beverages, and quiet at El Paso locations Alamo Draft House has 2 locations in El Paso, (east and west), and thankfully, neither one is on the hit list as far as the closures go. The ones that closed are all in North Texas I pointed that out in a recent article but some people misunderstood so our Alamo's aren't going anywhere You can still enjoy the benefits of watching movies, both new releases and classic films, as well as events like Kids Camp at both of El Chuco's Alamo Draft House locations The upscale food available to munch on during your favorite movie and the full bar make it more like watching at home. While their strictly enforced, no BS rules about loud talking I love the place and, as I wrote in the other article, credit them with getting me back into going to the movies. I had given up on theaters completely but Alamo brought me back. The fact that you can get more than just candy and popcorn there was a major plus In addition to enjoying the food and drinks, you can also behave like the characters do. Get in on the action yourself and knock back a shot with Karen Allen in Raiders Of The Lost Ark Remember the "Royale with cheese" John Travolta talks about in Pulp Fiction? You can actually order one at Alamo Draft House (Bonus: the Alamo Draft House version is way more gourmet than the burger in the movie.) Of course, Alamo does offer staples like popcorn and candy too. This totally allows you to make a game of it and pop a chocolate every time Forest Gump mentions the stuff Bottom line, Alamo Draft House makes movies better and, thankfully, El Paso is in no danger of losing either of ours Several Alamo Draft House locations in Texas have closed but you can still enjoy good food, adult beverages and quiet during movies at El Paso Alamo's.\nRead More Several Alamo Draft House locations in Texas have closed but don't worry, you can still enjoy good food, adult beverages, and quiet at El Paso locations Alamo Draft House has 2 locations in El Paso, (east and west), and thankfully, neither one is on the hit list as far as the closures go. The ones that closed are all in North Texas I pointed that out in a recent article but some people misunderstood so You can still enjoy the benefits of watching movies, both new releases and classic films, as well as events like Kids Camp at both of El Chuco's Alamo Draft House locations The upscale food available to munch on during your favorite movie and the full bar make it more like watching at home. While their strictly enforced, no BS rules about loud talking I love the place and, as I wrote in the other article, credit them with getting me back into going to the movies. I had given up on theaters completely but Alamo brought me back. The fact that you can get more than just candy and popcorn there was a major plus In addition to enjoying the food and drinks, you can also behave like the characters do. Get in on the action yourself and knock back a shot with Karen Allen in Raiders Of The Lost Ark Remember the "Royale with cheese" John Travolta talks about in Pulp Fiction? You can actually order one at Alamo Draft House Of course, Alamo does offer staples like popcorn and candy too. This totally allows you to make a game of it and pop a chocolate every time Forest Gump mentions the stuff Bottom line, Alamo Draft House makes movies better and, thankfully, El Paso is in no danger of losing either of ours. The Culver City-based studio said Wednesday that the quirky Texas-based exhibition company would be housed under its newly established Sony Pictures Experiences division helmed by Alamo Drafthouse’s Michael Kustermann Kustermann will continue his role as chief executive of the cinema chain. Sony did not disclose the price of the deal but promised to “preserve Alamo Drafthouse’s distinctive movie-dining experience.” The exhibitor — which boasts 35 locations in major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Austin and New York — is known for serving food and craft beer at its theaters. It’s also famed for its strict no-texting policy and its special screenings, which have made it a haven for film buffs. The chain regularly hosts themed “movie parties” inspired by certain titles. (Upcoming movie-party screenings at the Los Angeles venue include 2007’s “Hot Fuzz,” 1984’s “Purple Rain” and 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.”) “Alamo Drafthouse’s differentiated movie-going experience, admired brand and devoted community fit well with this vision,” Ravi Ahuja, president and chief operating officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said in a statement. “We look forward to building upon the innovations that have made Alamo Drafthouse successful and will, of course, continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors.” Movies Texas-based chain opens its first venue in Los Angeles and looks to find its own place in the local community of movie fans Alamo Drafthouse says it is the seventh-largest theater chain in North America Sony’s acquisition of Alamo is a flashback to Hollywood’s Golden Age when the major studios also owned and operated their own theater chains This vertical integration system triggered a major antitrust case that resulted in a 1948 U.S Supreme Court decision that effectively broke up the studio oligopolies In a series of settlements known as the Paramount decrees the studios agreed to divest their theater assets During the Trump administration, however, the Justice Department sunset the decrees Sony’s acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse has with some suggesting that the movie business is on a slippery slope that is looking increasingly vertical “Perhaps that comparison could be brought into play,” said Shelleen Greene professor of cinema and media studies at UCLA This is another sign of acclimating to a shift in theater-going practice in the ongoing adjustment to streaming services.” Greene views this moment not so much as a signal of a return to vertical integration but another effort by studios to increase cinema attendance “reimaigine the theater-going experience” and stay relevant “Alamo is a different kind of exhibition space,” Greene said That’s what Sony is looking for in the future.” Hollywood Inc. the maverick cinema chain known for its beer and food service is set to finally open its long-awaited downtown Los Angeles location next month entertainment companies control production distribution and exhibition in a different sense: Most of the major studios’ parent companies own streaming services Sony is the only top studio without a mass-market streamer to compete with Netflix though it offers some niche direct-to-consumer services Restrictions on studios owning theaters thawed in the decades after the decrees as studios started to dip their toes in the exhibition space Sony for a time owned the Loews theater chain, which is now part of AMC. Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. owned the Mann theater chain for many years. Disney has long operated Hollywood Boulevard’s El Capitan, where it screens its movies and hosts special events. Netflix acquired the famed Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard from American Cinematheque, as well as the Bay Theater in Pacific Palisades, where it also screens its own movies. In recent years, the line between exhibition and distribution has become increasingly blurred, with major exhibitors such as AMC Theatres releasing titles directly into their own cinemas. After “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” ranked among the highest-grossing films of 2023, AMC has indicated that it intends to dip its toes further into the distribution pool going forward. “What were before more bounded categories ... are now becoming much more fluid,” Greene said. “It’s a period of experimentation.” Hollywood Inc. The so-called Paramount decrees have governed film distribution and exhibition for decades The Justice Department views them as out of date 2024A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that the Los Angeles Alamo Drafthouse location was the exhibitor’s only California theater Alamo Drafthouse will keep all of its existing locations including its only theater in Southern California which opened in downtown Los Angeles in 2019 The studio acquired the exhibitor from private equity firms Altamont Capital Partners Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League who launched Alamo Drafthouse with a single-screen Austin repertory theater with his wife Alamo Drafthouse struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 It emerged from bankruptcy under the ownership of a group of senior creditors Movie theater chains continue to face challenges as the box office struggles to mount a comeback from the pandemic and Canada are down 26% from the same period in 2023 “We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home and partner for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema,” Kustermann said in a statement “We were created by film lovers for film lovers and it serves as further evidence of their commitment to the theatrical experience.” A handful Alamo Drafthouse franchise locations recently closed in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, citing poor box office. She previously covered entertainment news for The Times after graduating from UCLA and working at Variety Business Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Texas (KVIA) -- Drivers in West El Paso near the intersection of Mesa St and Monticello Boulevard will see brand new condos restaurants and entertainment sites on one side The City of El Paso told ABC-7 that the details of the project are mixed-use complex that includes parking garages all permits are expired and that the last inspection was in December 2021 ABC-7 was able to connect with a spokesperson for property manage EPT Land Communities along with Montecillo who said that within 120 days street and wall construction will start the apartment portion of the project is in litigation because the spokesperson said the contractor "quit" The contractor for the site is EMJ Construction who's website stated their office is in downtown El Paso and was given a contact for EMJ's Business Development Manager The manager from EMJ told ABC-7 they could not speak on the project due to litigation and connected ABC-7 to the company's legal team ABC-7 reached out to the legal team for EMJ Construction and are still awaiting a response as of the publishing of this article KVIA ABC 7 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community Guidelines | KVIA-TV FCC Public File | FCC Applications | Do Not Sell My Personal Information in the municipality of Fuente Álamo The company also stated that it intends to create “an innovative residential project that is distinguished by its full integration into the natural environment and its commitment to sustainable development” The purchase was enabled through the Hozono Group’s developer company Abala Desarrollo Inmobiliario who plan to start work on undeveloped parts of the urbanisation and expect to build 1,100 homes in an operation with several phases they stress that it will not be a typical urbanisation but that the homes “will be surrounded by an extensive network of green spaces and designed to integrate harmoniously with the natural environment” The construction of the first phase of homes has already begun and are being advertised with starting prices from €174,900 Marketed under the slogan ‘La Hacienda the project represents a clear commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment both in the architectural design and in the urban planning has been meticulously planned to minimise the environmental impact respecting the natural landscape and promoting sustainable practices at all levels,” says Grupo Hozono Committed to achieving the A energy label in all their homes the developers aim to ensure that “the highest standards of energy efficiency” are met and the reduction of the carbon footprint is maximised The proposed development comes after an agreement in July 2022 by Fuente Álamo Council to write off a total 1.3-million-euro debt owed to the council by the then joint owners as part of the agreement signed over to the council some three million square metres of land for its inclusion in the El Valle and Carrascoy Regional Park This agreement gave the green light to further development on the Hacienda del Álamo residential The Hacienda del Álamo resort was originally developed at the time of the property boom by Procam the real estate subsidiary of the CataluñaCaixa corporate network Between 3,500 and 4,500 homes were planned by Procam for completion by 2012 with a projected investment of 900 million euros But the financial crisis resulted in the unfinished urbanisation and incumbent debts being taken over by Sareb the so-called 'bad bank' which was set up by the Bank of Spain to manage toxic debts and assets left behind by bankrupt developers The Hozono Global Group have in turn purchased the Hacienda asset from Sareb The Hacienda del Álamo resort currently has around 1,500 homes For more local news, events and other information go to the home page of Murcia Today and thank you for choosing CamposolToday.com to publicise your organisation’s info or event Camposol Today is a website set up by Murcia Today specifically for residents of the urbanisation in Southwest Murcia providing news and information on what’s happening in the local area which is the largest English-speaking expat area in the Region of Murcia When submitting text to be included on Camposol Today please abide by the following guidelines so we can upload your article as swiftly as possible: Send an email to editor@camposoltoday.com or contact@murciatoday.com Attach the information in a Word Document or Google Doc Also attach a photo to illustrate your article Note: This story was updated to correct number of Alamo locations and to include number of franchised locations has been acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment a major Hollywood movie studio owned by Sony Group the Tokyo consumer electronics and entertainment conglomerate The sale, announced Wednesday, June 12, comes three years after Alamo, a dine-in cinema pioneer based in Austin, emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It also comes on the heels of five Dallas-area Alamo locations recently being closed by the franchise holder who filed for bankruptcy liquidation Alamo is 7th-largest movie chainAlamo has 50 locations across the United States making it the seventh-largest movie-theater chain in North America according to information from Sony Pictures The 35 Alamo-corporate owned locations are part of the sale And Sony will maintain the same relationship with franchisees as Alamo had prior to the sale El Paso’s Alamo locations in West and East El Paso are operated by Triple Tap Ventures a Houston company that also operates the Alamo franchise in Houston where Texas Tech University’s main campus is located Triple Tap officials had no comments about the Sony deal No financial details of the sale were released The deal puts a major Hollywood studio back in the business of owning a movie theater chain for the first time in 75 years, with certain exceptions, according to The Hollywood Reporter Department of Justice prohibited film distributors from owning movie theaters Sony bought Alamo as part of its commitment to distributing movies via theaters and its “continued initiatives in experiential entertainment,” according to its news release Alamo will become part of a new Sony Pictures division But Alamo will continue to be based in Austin and Michael Kustermann will remain Alamo chief executive officer “We believe strongly in engaging entertainment fans outside the home in fun and distinctive ways as seen most recently with our Wheel of Fortune LIVE and the opening of Wonderverse,” an entertainment venue in a Chicago-area mall  “Alamo Drafthouse’s differentiated movie-going experience admired brand and devoted community fit well with this vision,” Ahuja said More: Preferred route picked for $79M New Mexico highway from Santa Teresa to Sunland Park said the deal will allow Alamo to expand its vision of being “the best damn cinema that has ever “They (Sony) have a deep respect and understanding of cinema’s ability to both drive growth and create lasting cultural impact which aligns perfectly with everything Alamo Drafthouse stands for,” League said the other Alamo owners were Altamont Capital Partners Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter Your Ads Privacy ChoicesIMDb  El Alamo at its previous location on Loftis Road in Hanahan El Alamo's current location at the edge of Charleston County in Summerville an entertainment establishment at the edge of Charleston County in Summerville now has a reasonable location for loud and lively late-night festivities And the number of private residents it awakens through the wee hours every weekend has dwindled to about five That’s not much comfort to those remaining It’s been years since Cheryl Magoc has had a good night's sleep on a Friday or Saturday night and she and her family are struggling to maintain their quality of life living across the street from an ongoing bass-booming fiesta that includes the sound of food truck generators Though they are just across Highway 78 from the Charleston County business and in the same town and zip code Magoc and family are Berkeley County residents Their grouping of three small family homes has existed in that location for 50 years and is one of the only remaining residential properties on that long stretch Other businesses along that part of the highway include a storage facility a trucking company and another neighborhood bar According to staff at the Charleston County Planning and Zoning Office El Alamo is in a community commercial zone What kind of business license El Alamo has is unclear and co-owner Benjamin Reyna — who described El Alamo’s zone as “industrial” — said over the phone Saturday that he’d prefer to discuss the type of license in person Magoc said that Charleston County officials have assured her twice that El Alamo is licensed as a restaurant the Journal Scene was still awaiting the results of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documentation from Charleston County about the type of license El Alamo holds Area residents who’ve patronized the business and El Alamo’s outdated Facebook page from its Hanahan days indicate that it is a “bring your own beverage” establishment with a $20 entrance fee and DJ’s kicking off club music at 10 p.m (A November 2016 Post and Courier article noted that El Alamo was asked to close its Hanahan location for being a nuisance) “They have food trucks with very loud generators running all night long They have the music and the bass turned up loud enough to be heard over the generators They are there from about midnight until 5 in the morning whose other family members living on the property include her father her seven-year-old granddaughter who she is raising “People park their cars all up and down Highway 78 yell and scream as they are coming and going from the bar walk down the middle of the road in large groups so that drivers have to slow down in order to not hit them and they leave beer bottles and other trash everywhere but there were eight or nine police cars on the highway ‘Just another night at the Alamo.’ But (the patrons) don’t complain so the cops can’t do anything.” who owns the restaurant/nightclub with two partners was willing to speak to the issue his neighbor has with El Alamo’s noise levels It’s in an industrial zone; there’s a lot you can do with that the committee said it’s the perfect place for this type of business and that it complied with the zoning,” said Reyna “We checked into something to try to accommodate (the neighbors) What is noisy for you isn’t noisy for me.” El Alamo is situated with a large empty lot both behind and next to it and flanked by businesses My dad called the non-emergency number and put them on speaker phone,” said Magoc “The lady on the other end said she couldn’t hear him over the background noise and he said Though Magoc said she was told by county officials that there is a court case pending against the business Reyna said the only legal issue he is aware of are two remaining noise ordinance citations He said he paid two or three noise ordinance fines last year but that that several others were dismissed The Journal Scene is also awaiting a FOIA-filtered answer from Charleston County about whether there are citations pending The process of getting an answer from government is a meandering one For questions about these types of conflicts between business and resident media must submit formal FOIA applications public information officers (PIOs) refer callers to the Charleston County Clerk of Court Staff at the clerk of court’s office redirect the quest to the “livability court,” which handles noise ordinance issues explaining that they are in the City of Charleston while the business in question is in Charleston County then send a FOIA request link via email and refer callers on to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Department PIO The sheriff’s office PIO say they can and will check into pending citations but in order to obtain a list of times officers have been called out to a scene a caller is referred back to the original county PIO there is still some indication that the business is out of zoning compliance and may not have had its food preparation facilities inspected while in its current location “We received your email regarding El Alamo We have been in contact with the attorney representing El Alamo regarding the issues you outlined in your email and gave him a deadline to have the zoning issues corrected by the end of the year,” reads a November 22 2022 email response Magoc got from Andrea Melocik Deputy Director of the Charleston County Zoning & Planning Department Official confirmation of the zoning issue has to funnel through the PIO “He is also aware that failure to come into compliance by the deadline will result in further enforcement action The County Sheriff’s Office may be contacted regarding noise complaints.” With regard to El Alamo’s restaurant facilities Susan Bowen with the state Bureau of Environmental Affairs said that if a food preparation area is inside a brick-and-mortar building but inspecting them can be a little tricky If there’s no sink for washing dishes (in the truck) they have to go back and forth to the commissary kitchen every day,” said Bowen who plans to begin the food truck inspection at El Alamo next week She said she had something in the system regarding the restaurant/nightclub but it dates back to 2018 and the Hanahan location I have to have the address of the commissary kitchen the trucks use.” which the Charleston County Council amended on September 20 “It shall be unlawful for any person to play any radio or other music or sound amplification or reproduction equipment upon real property in such a manner as to be plainly audible within any residential dwelling of another The detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music or sound is sufficient to constitute a plainly audible sound.” or unreasonable sound that is plainly audible between 10:00 p.m Noise ordinance exemptions that might apply to El Alamo include “noise created by … privately organized … recreation events,” and state that “a business may use an outside sound system to notify patrons waiting…to be able to participate in the activities of the business provided that such sound does not create an excessive unnecessary or unreasonable noise.” The last exemption refers to “permitted public gatherings and performances.” For the entire Charleston County Noise Ordinance document https://www.charlestoncounty.org/ordinances/2200-2299/2231.pdf With the affected residents in another county it’s unclear whether this noise ordinance applies to this situation What is clear is that the area is zoned for business and most of the surrounding properties are exactly that while regretful of the discomfort of the few residents left If there was a whole neighborhood with seven or eight families But this is one of a few Hispanic gathering places My partners and I run a tight ship; I know a lot of my clients personally “We got the place during the (COVID-19) pandemic This is America; people here find ways to do positive things when the situation is difficult We did what we could do and made an investment When you have a once-in-a-lifetime thing like the pandemic and you get a place where people can go back to normal to me that has a lot more value to the public than one person complaining.” Email: online@journalscene.com Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Metrics details The debate about surgical resection of primary tumor (PT) in de novo metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients persists We explored this approach’s outcomes in patients included in a retrospective registry of breast cancer patients diagnosed in Spain (1990–2001) In this analysis we only included de novo MBC patients Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were carried out 49.2% of patients had single-organ metastasis (skin/soft tissue [16.3%] PT surgery (S) was performed in 44.5% of the cases higher prevalence of bone and oligometastatic disease and lower prevalence of visceral involvement overall survival (OS) was 39.6 versus 22.4 months (HR = 0.59 The S-group OS benefit remained statistically and clinically significant regardless of metastatic location PT surgery (versus no surgery) was associated with an OS benefit suggesting that loco-regional PT control may be considered in selected MBC patients Data from randomized controlled trials are of utmost importance to confirm these results The main aim of this work was to study the prognostic value of PT surgical excision in the presence of other well-known prognostic factors in MBC patients with OS as the outcome of interest The objective of the analysis was to clarify the role of a locoregional approach to the PT in de novo MBC patients in a real-world retrospective series Our ultimate purpose is to evaluate this treatment as a valid option to be included in the national clinical protocol for this patient population All patients were diagnosed and treated in various Spanish health care institutions included under the umbrella of GEICAM Spanish Breast Cancer Group El Álamo study is a cooperative epidemiologic initiative conducted by GEICAM in order to characterize breast cancer (BC) cases diagnosed in Spain El Álamo is a retrospective registry of patients diagnosed with BC between 1990 and 2001 across 56 Spanish hospitals The patterns of BC presentation (tumor and host characteristics) and the clinical evolution of the disease were described and structured in 3 cohorts collected in consecutive 4-year intervals as follows: El Álamo I (1990–1993 closed by 2003) and El Álamo III (1998–2001 This database is estimated to comprise approximately 15% of the newly diagnosed BC cases in Spain within this period and to reflect clinical practice in the country at each time point which included all the medical oncology department staff members of the participating hospitals were required to include all BC patients seen in those institutions over the entire annual study period Only women with invasive de novo MBC were included in the current analysis Patients with stage I–III at initial diagnosis and later recurrence with fewer than 2 months’ follow-up at the same institution and with missing data regarding their PT surgery were excluded The criteria to perform PT surgery were defined by institutional guidelines as per investigator discretion A total of 39 variables including demographic (age and menopausal status) primary tumor staging (TNM classification) and local plus systemic treatment data were selected for this analysis Data were collected following the requirements of the Spanish legislation for privacy data protection at the time: the Spanish Organic Law of December 13th Observational retrospective studies based on patient charts required neither patient informed consent nor ethical committee approval We submitted our study to a present-day ethical committee Hospital Universitario Parc Tauli at Barcelona which reviewed and confirmed the procedures followed guaranteed patient’s data confidentiality and were in compliance with the rules established at that time Categorical variables were expressed as the absolute and relative frequencies Continuous data were expressed as central tendency and dispersion measures (mean Baseline differences in categorical variables were assessed by the Chi Square test (Χ2) or the Fisher exact test when appropriate OS was defined as the time from the year of diagnosis to death from any cause or to last follow-up visit OS curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and survival functions among the different subgroups were compared with the log-rank exact test The impact of our main variable of interest (PT surgery) and clinically relevant variables (metastatic location and tumor’s characteristics including histological type and tumor size) on OS was estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models The proportional Hazards assumption was checked using the test based on the correlation coefficient between survival time and the scaled Schoenfeld residuals All tests were performed using an alpha of 0.05 Analyses were performed using the program R and the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) package (Enterprise Guide 5.1 software Initial local treatment was the choice for 380 (28.5%) patients (358 surgery and 22 radiotherapy), 722 (54.2%) patients received initial systemic therapy (480 chemotherapy [CT], 214 endocrine treatment [ET] and 28 both CT and ET), 29 (2.2%) received best supportive care and for the rest of patients the treatment sequence could not be established (Fig. 2). Local and systemic treatments administered to de novo MBC patients and corresponding survival outcomes from El Álamo registry was performed in 44.5% (N = 592) patients (512 radical procedures [86.5%] 427 (72.1%) patients underwent axillary lymph node dissection Compared to women in the non-surgery group (non-S) women in the surgery group (S) were younger (19.4% of the S group versus 11.8% of the non-S group were ≤44 years-old a higher percentage presented with oligometastatic disease (defined as metastases limited to a single organ) than not (57.4% versus 42.6% and were less likely to present visceral disease (40.3% versus 54.4%) but more likely to present bone metastases (39% versus 29.8% With a median follow-up of 23.3 months, median OS was 28.6 months (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 26.0–31.2). At 1 year, 75.3% of patients (95%CI, 72.9–77.6) were alive, 42.6% remained alive at 3 years (95%CI, 39.8–45.4), and only 25.4% (95%CI, 22.8–28) were alive at 5 years (Fig. 3a). Overall survival for El Álamo registry patients (a) Overall Survival for all de novo metastatic breast cancer patients; (b) Overall survival by surgery and no-surgery groups of the primary tumor Subgroup OS analysis also showed a consistent benefit among the S group across all selected categories of tumor characteristics (Fig. 4). Subgroup analysis of overall survival from El Álamo registry Given that HRs for metastatic location and histological type did not meet the proportional hazard assumption we carried out a sensitivity analysis stratifying the cohort according to these two factors The HR for PT surgery was virtually unchanged (0.685 in the final model versus 0.684 in the stratified model) Due to the observational nature of the El Álamo study and in order to avoid a possible confusion due to indication bias we performed an exploratory sensitivity analysis for patients with extreme favorable prognostic features The definition of this “low risk” population comprised patients with small tumor size (≤T2) and oligometastatic disease We repeated the multivariate Cox regression analysis in this particular subgroup of “low risk” de novo MBC patients (N = 252) The median OS for the low-risk subgroup was 40.4 months (95%CI 46.7–59.7%) of patients being alive at 3 years The fully adjusted HR for PT surgery was 0.742 (95%CI it failed to be a prognostic factor for this low-risk subgroup and histological grade remained statistically significant predictors of survival El Álamo cohort) was also a significant prognostic factor in this patient subgroup Table 4 shows a subgroup analysis including metastatic location Median OS was greater in patients with PT surgical excision regardless of metastatic location (visceral and whether they had single or multiple metastases this benefit failed to reach statistical significance when evaluating it by BC subtypes (due to small sample sizes) or for patients with histological grade III tumors findings in this field remain inconclusive El Álamo data yielded a median OS of 39.6 versus 22.4 months (HR = 0.59 These figures are comparable to the most favorable data reported by previous studies In El Álamo registry 54.2% of patients received primary systemic therapy and underwent surgery later on cannot be recommended as a standard procedure because of the observational nature of our series we performed a multivariate sensitivity analysis in the “low risk” de novo MBC patient subgroup By reducing the heterogeneity of both known and unknown prognostic factors potential biases are reduced Results showed that the prognostic value of PT excision surgery was preserved overall strongly suggesting that the response of this “low-risk” subgroup of patients to PT surgery is not different from that of the de novo MBC patient population under study certain limitations of our data could confound the association between PT surgery and survival thus affecting how our results inform decision-making algorithms in clinical practice two sources of potential bias should be recognized as selection biases the stage migration phenomenon defining stage IV MBC (TNM-staging classifications changed between 1990 and 2001 in the definition of N3 supraclavicular nodes versus M1); and second the non-standardized indication of the local procedure which was conducted on a case by case basis the lack of on-site monitoring of data compilation and data quality at the different institutions introduces an additional source of variability we consider the amount of missing data for the following variables another study limitation: hormone receptor and HER2 status for the molecular sub-classification of patients and chronological order of administration of loco-regional and systemic therapies to our knowledge this is the largest series performed in Spain (N = 1331) assessing the role of PT surgery in de novo MBC patients’ survival the wide geographical distribution of cases throughout Spain in the late nineties captures the clinical practices in place at that time to manage the controversial aspect of PT surgery as part of the management of a very small but remarkable group of patients Clinical practices have changed over the last 10–15 years as new treatments have been added to the therapeutic armamentarium This progress may limit the translational value of the El Álamo results to current clinical practice but there are still valuable lessons to be learned from them To address these limitations El Álamo IV (NCT03210974) registry is currently ongoing covering the 2002–2005 period a multicenter prospective registry in the metastatic disease setting (RegistEM NCT02819882) which will allow the study of how primary tumors are locally managed in a real clinical setting the prognostic value of PT surgical resection may vary by intrinsic subtype and/or characteristics of the de novo MBC patients The definition of the best timing to perform the local approach remains open in the era of molecularly targeted therapy This is also the case for the need for radiation therapy the type of surgery required (with or without axillary resection) or even the possibility of foregoing surgery altogether in favor of full radiation treatment In the El Álamo registry local PT surgery was associated with better OS independently of metastatic location These analyses suggest that LRT of PT should be considered as part of the therapeutic strategy for selected patients with advanced disease this strategy must be further investigated in randomized controlled trials for de novo MBC patients to control for potential bias intrinsically associated with retrospective studies Pre-clinical models and translational correlative studies are needed to understand the biology behind the effect of LRT to the PT in this setting Data were collected following the requirements of the Spanish legislation for privacy data protection in the considered period The specific legislation is the Spanish Organic Law of December the 13th The specific regulation for observational retrospective studies was developed in Spain in 2009 with the December 16th ORDER SAS/3470/2009 which publishes guidelines on post-authorization observational studies for drugs for human use The ALAMO study was performed before this legislation was in place so the ethical committees in Spain did not review any observational retrospective study before this legislation was developed According to the current regulations for observational retrospective studies in force the informed consent of the subjects is not required since: (1) in the process of data collection retrospectively a secure dissociation procedure is adopted ensuring that the information handled in the study does not contain personal data and (2) personal interviews are not required nor are biological samples collected from patients Each patient receives a number identification for their participation in the study Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request Goals of treatment for patients with metastatic breast cancer Second and subsequent lines of chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer: what did we learn in the last two decades Extending survival with chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer Survival of de novo stage IV breast cancer patients over three decades Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology 143 Survival of metastatic breast carcinoma patients over a 20-year period: a retrospective analysis based on individual patient data from six consecutive studies Improved survival in metastatic breast cancer 1985–2016 Impact of FDG PET on the preoperative staging of newly diagnosed breast cancer 18F-FDG PET/CT in staging patients with locally advanced or inflammatory breast cancer: comparison to conventional staging Time trends in incidence rates and survival of newly diagnosed stage IV breast cancer by tumor histology: a population-based analysis Trends in the prognosis of patients with primary metastatic breast cancer diagnosed between 1975 and 2002 Survival in patients with metastatic recurrent breast cancer after adjuvant chemotherapy: little evidence of improvement over the past 30 years Initial Surgery and Survival in Stage IV Breast Cancer in the United States International Guidelines for Management of Metastatic Breast Cancer: Can Metastatic Breast Cancer Be Cured JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 102 Prognostic factors in metastatic breast cancer: successes and challenges toward individualized therapy Can we cure limited metastatic breast cancer The oligometastatic state in breast cancer: hypothesis or reality Oligometastatic breast cancer: a shift from palliative to potentially curative treatment Surgery or ablative radiotherapy for breast cancer oligometastases Stereotactic body radiotherapy for oligometastases Surgery of primary tumors in stage IV breast cancer: an updated meta-analysis of published studies with meta-regression Surgical treatment of the primary tumour improves the overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis Treatment of primary breast tumors in de novo metastatic breast cancer Breast radiotherapy as part of loco-regional treatments in stage IV breast cancer patients with oligometastatic disease Radiotherapy and Oncology: Journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology 96 Breast cancer with synchronous metastases: survival impact of exclusive locoregional radiotherapy Surgery for the intact primary and stage IV breast cancer…lacking “robust evidence” Primary Tumor Resection in Stage IV Breast Cancer: Consistent Benefit A prospective analysis of surgery and survival in stage IV breast cancer (TBCRC 013) Randomized Trial Comparing Resection of Primary Tumor with No Surgery in Stage IV Breast Cancer at Presentation: Protocol MF07-01 Locoregional treatment versus no treatment of the primary tumour in metastatic breast cancer: an open-label randomised controlled trial 3rd ESO-ESMO International Consensus Guidelines for Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC 3) Surgery for Cancer: A Trigger for Metastases The effects of surgery on tumor growth: a century of investigations Surgical removal of primary tumor reverses tumor-induced immunosuppression despite the presence of metastatic disease Does aggressive local therapy improve survival in metastatic breast cancer Complete excision of primary breast tumor improves survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer at diagnosis Surgical removal of the primary tumor increases overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer: analysis of the 1988–2003 SEER data Surgical resection of the primary tumour is associated with improved survival in patients with distant metastatic breast cancer at diagnosis Association of surgery with improved survival in stage IV breast cancer patients Identifying long-term survivors among metastatic breast cancer patients undergoing primary tumor surgery and survival in women with metastatic breast cancer Effects of surgical excision on survival of patients with stage IV breast cancer Surgery of the primary tumor does not improve survival in stage IV breast cancer Primary operation in synchroneous metastasized invasive breast cancer patients: First oncologic outcomes of the prospective randomized phase III ABCSG 28 POSYTIVE trial Readdressing the Role of Surgery of the Primary Tumor in de Novo Stage IV Breast Cancer Timing of surgical intervention for the intact primary in stage IV breast cancer patients Download references This paper was written on behalf of the GEICAM Spanish Breast Cancer Group for their collaboration and Hosanna Soler for the English editing This analysis has not received any external funding The original ALAMO registry was funded by Bristol Myers Partial results of this study were presented at the 37th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Oncología Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Clínico San Carlos (IdISSC) Complejo Hospitalario Virgen de la Victoria Hospital Universitario de Lleida Arnau de Vilanova Hospital General Universitario Miguel Servet Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla Study concepts and study design were performed by S.L.T. Data Quality control and algorithms and statistical analysis were done by M.E and a manuscript review was performed by all authors: S.L.T. López-Tarruella has consultancy/advisory role for AstraZeneca García-Sáenz has received consultancy/speaker fees from Novartis Roche as well as Pfizer and his institution’s research funding from AstraZeneca Novartis and Kyowa as well as travel support from Roche and Pfizer Martínez has received consultancy/speaker fees from Leo Pharma and Tesaro as well as travel support from Roche Martín has a consultant or advisory role with AstraZeneca Taiho Oncology and Lilly; he has received honoraria from Pfizer and Lilly; he has received research funding from Novartis and Roche Guerrero has received travel support from Pfizer Antón has consultant/advisory role for Roche and Bayern Carrasco has received travel support from Roche and her institution has received funding from Roche Llombart has received honoraria from Roche Pfizer and Novartis; he has a consultant/advisory role for Roche; he has received funding from Roche Lilly and Pfizer and has stock ownership from MedSIR The rest of the authors declare no conflicts of interest Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55765-9 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research Davy Crockett: I was never in but one real scrape in my life Issac Millsaps: Yeah Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s newest location located in east El Paso will be open and operational for staff training days beginning Friday with the official grand opening to be celebrated on Wednesday March 31 with the highly-anticipated release of Godzilla Vs The new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - East El Paso will join the Alamo Drafthouse Montecillo as a premier movie theater destination for film fans in El Paso Alamo Drafthouse - East El Paso will feature cutting-edge laser projection Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - East El Paso will feature RECOMMENDED:Alamo Drafthouse files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; El Paso theaters not impacted Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - East El Paso’s soft opening training days will take place Friday March 30 and will feature screenings of films such as NOBODY an action-comedy from the makers of JOHN WICK and starring BETTER CALL SAUL’s Bob Odenkirk; as well as classic films such as SELENA the location will host a twentieth-anniversary screening of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS featuring a pre-recorded Q&A with Sean Astin food and non-alcoholic beverages will be discounted the Alamo Drafthouse East El Paso will officially kick off a weekend of grand opening activities including screenings of GODZILLA VS KONG with bonus letterpress postcards featuring vintage artwork from the giant monster movies available while supplies last The first 5,000 guests to watch a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - East El Paso beginning Wednesday March 31 will receive a scratch-off card in which guests can win a variety of prizes including free popcorn and queso or even free movie tickets or free queso for a year Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - East El Paso is located at 12351 Pellicano Dr. at the intersection of Pellicano Drive and Joe Battle Blvd The exterior of the building features the largest mural painted by a single artist in El Paso The artwork – featuring a collage of pop culture icons – was painted by Abe Aguilar (Exist1981) The theater will have an adjacent bar/lounge with outdoor patio seating serving up a large selection of craft beers on tap and handcrafted cocktails Sign up to receive the topmost interesting stories from in and around our community once a day to your inbox Sign up now! El Paso's first Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's official opening is scheduled for May 6 — weeks sooner than previously announced But El Pasoans especially anxious to see the city's newest movie theater can go earlier — April 25 through May 4 That's when the theater will be in its training days and will sell food and nonalcoholic drinks for half price and movie tickets for $2 each for eight classic and recent-hit movies according to information from the Alamo franchise owner Regular movie tickets will cost $9.50 each “We are so excited to be finally opening Alamo Montecillo right in time for the summer blockbuster movie season,” Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen Triple Tap is owner and operator of the Alamo Drafthouse franchises in El Paso Alamo is an Austin-based chain of hip movie theaters that serve food and drinks to moviegoers The 35,000 square-foot El Paso theater building in the Montecillo Smart Growth Community includes a large kitchen and an adjacent bar and beer garden It has about 840 seats and eight movie screens Montecillo Drive and Mesa Street in West El Paso Triple Tap Ventures has hired about 200 people for the new theater The El Paso theater is now selling tickets through its website (drafthouse.com/el-paso) for Marvel Comics’ "Captain America: Civil War" for two showings near midnight on May 5 and several showings on May 6 Additional movies will be added as the May 6 opening gets closer A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 11 a.m It's now selling tickets online for the training days from April 25-28 Additional training days will be added to the website later Alamo Drafthouse shows first-run and independent films and also has special events For more information, visit facebook.com/AlamoEP Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen's Houston company has not only opened El Paso's newest movie complex It's also opened "a huge kitchen that can serve 850 people made to order (food) in a course of an hour Twenty-four cooks will work in the kitchen on busy nights It's also opened a large bar with 46 beers on tap and a large patio with sweeping vistas of Mount Cristo Rey and the Montecillo Smart Growth Community It has eight movie theaters with "incredibly sophisticated Sony (movie) projection equipment," he said The eight theaters range in size from 30 seats to 140 seats for not only regular movie showings The theaters together seat about 845 people It's all housed in a 35,000 square-foot building on four acres on a hill above Mesa in West El Paso It's El Paso's first Alamo Drafthouse Cinema not just a bar with a big patio -- it's all three rolled into one," said Billingsley-Michaelsen chief executive officer and partner for Triple Tap Ventures the Houston company that owns the Alamo franchise for West Texas and Houston and Triple Tap's fourth franchised location Triple Tap has two Alamo theaters operating in Houston It opened an Alamo in Lubbock about a year ago said he's gone to Alamo in Austin and other places It brings jobs and is on the leading edge of the movie theater business he said as he took part in a tour of the new theater Thursday for the news media and others Triple Tap brings Alamo into a market that for years has been dominated by Cinemark a large Dallas-based chain with mostly large multiplexes Cinemark also operates a six-screen Movie Bistro at Sunland Park Mall in West El Paso Billingsley-Michaelsen said he's not worried about the competition Alamo is a much different experience from the big Cinemarks because of Alamo's extensive menu of food and drinks and special movie and entertainment programming "There's a lot of movie screens in El Paso and a very high attendance rate," he said "We were always impressed from day one with the El Paso market," and impressed with the visionary Monticello development Cinemark officials did not immediately respond to requests for comments about Alamo's entry into the El Paso movie market Alamo is the first tenant in Monticello's Town Center said a spokeswoman for EPT Land Communities the El Paso company developing the community $770 million development that eventually will have 4,500 residences of various types Several upscale apartment complexes have been open for several years A five-year process" from idea to theater opening ​The theater was originally scheduled to open in spring 2015 But  construction was delayed for months because a portion of the site where the theater is located had to be re-engineered "Some projects are quick and some are harder You just have to stick with them," Billingsley-Michalesen said "We've tried to make this one extra special to fit in" with the high-quality Monticello development Triple Tap is not divulging the cost of the project but it's a "significant investment," Billingsley-Michalesen said Alamo also serves a wide range of food brought inside theaters by servers who are trained to do duck-like walks to be as unobtrusive as possible Talking and texting during movies are not allowed Any moviegoer who breaks that policy gets one warning; if that warning is ignored Customers order food and drinks in a very low-tech way -- with paper and pen -- in keeping with the electronic messaging ban during movies Servers keep their eyes open for papers put on clips at moviegoers' tables Watiers at the El Paso Alamo use hand-held electronic pads and computer bays located near theaters to send orders to the kitchen Oler said he has 37 years of restaurant-related experience Billingsley-Michalesen has more than 20 years of corporate finance and management experience in several industries according to information on Triple Tap's Web site oversees movie and special events planning for all its theaters He works with local programmers at each of its franchised locations a self-proclaimed movie geek with a degree in journalism and film from the University of Texas at El Paso He said he's looking forward to bringing El Paso foreign movies and special events not found at other El Paso theaters The El Paso Alamo employs 185 mostly part-time workers culled from about 1,600 applications Billingsley-Michaelsen said El Paso's large enough to support another Alamo But he wouldn't divulge Triple Tap's future plans Another competitor with a concept similar to Alamo's is looking at this market an Austin area-based company with a fledgling chain of microbrewery movie theaters is looking at East El Paso as a possible location to be opened as early as 2018 a Flix executive told the El Paso Times recently El Paso's reception to Alamo was strong during its 10-day training period That's when moviegoers could come in to watch older movies and buy food at discounted prices "We hope to start making money right away," Billingsley-Michaelsen said this whole year is going to be a great movie season," he said we'll be doing well right out of the box." More information: drafthouse.com/el-paso; tripletapventures.com Vic Kolenc may be reached at vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; 546-6421; @vickolenc on Twitter Raul Servin (b “Olvidate del Alamo #2” (Forget the Alamo #2) from the exhibition “The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth.” In vertiginously shifting positive and negative space the façade of Servin’s Alamo church seems to be completed by a black United Farm Workers eagle The red background also reads as a screen of blood alluding to the loss of life during the Texian Revolt Lundy warned in a pamphlet called The War in Texas that slavery was a paramount issue in the conflict and that a successful revolt would lead to annexation by the U.S. followed by the secession of a slave republic causing blood to “flow in torrents,” and the land to be “drenched with their [your children’s] crimson gore!” from “The Adventures of Davy Crockett,” published by Charles Scribner’s Sons Mexico regarded the Texian insurrectionists as “pirates ” so captured prisoners (including Davy Crockett) as well as the substantial number of Texian combatants that had fled the Alamo during the short battle After an even shorter battle at San Jacinto Texian forces massacred Mexican soldiers and raped some of the Mexican women who had accompanied them The Texians struggled and fought to perpetuate slavery against continuous Mexican opposition to that institution An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas 1821-1865 (Louisiana State University Press The Laws of Slavery in Texas: Historical Documents and Essays (University of Texas Press and the Transformation of the Texas Borderlands 1800-1850 (University of North Carolina Press including the ones who had been instrumental in preserving slavery in Texas Slavery was a centerpiece of the Texas constitution and the Texians continued and even intensified their genocidal policies against Native Americans after independence would serve as a Trojan horse for the conquest of Mexico Samuel E “Rackensackers on the Rampage” (massacre at cave near Agua Nueva) Photo: San Jacinto Museum.In the words of eyewitness Samuel Chamberlain an Illinois volunteer: “The cave was full of [Arkansas] volunteers while on the rocky floor lay over twenty Mexicans while women and children were clinging to the knees of the murderers and shrieking for mercy… nearly thirty Mexicans lay butchered on the floor Pools of blood filled the crevices and congealed in clots” (Amy S who served as a lieutenant during the Mexican-American War wrote of the abuses by “about all the Texans.” According to Greenberg many of these soldiers had “thrilled to tales of Texas heroism and Alamo martyrs.” They consequently viewed Mexicans with “deep enmity” and “conflated [them] with Indians and African American slaves.” As Jeff Long puts it: “No one enjoyed the war more than Texans and Southern ‘volunteers,’ who plundered and raped their way through Mexico” (Duel of Eagles: the Mexican and U.S “An Available Candidate: The One Qualification for a Whig president,” 1848 political cartoon when generals Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor were vying for the presidential nomination of the Whig party the Alamo “became a hammer for bashing Mexican Americans in Texas.” As noted by historian David Montejano “Remember the Alamo” became “the essence of Texas celebrations,” wherein Mexicans were viewed as “subjugated enemies,” making the prospect of “equity with Mexicans a rather absurd prospect” (Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas The Alamo and San Jacinto battles engendered extremely bitter feelings Neither battle serves as a fitting source of inspiration for a celebration of San Antonio’s diverse communities and heritage especially now that we are a quarter of the way into the 21st century I recommended in Part 1 that San Antonio should keep the party Yet core Fiesta commemorations remain Alamo-centric secret ceremonies held inside the Alamo church and public rituals outside of it (see Part 1) The church also serves as a primary focal point during Fiesta parades where photographers and film crews are stationed Parade participants perform and vogue for the cameras knowing this is essentially Fiesta’s center stage Wreaths from Pilgrimage to the Alamo ceremony Direct commemorations of the battles remain part of Fiesta. On April 22, 2024, the Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas is sponsoring the 106th Pilgrimage to the Alamo (note the religious terminology) “in honor of the Alamo Heroes and the heritage of Texas.” It starts at the Tobin Center Vietnam War Memorial and concludes with a wreath-laying ceremony “Period dress” or “Fiesta attire” is recommended but do they really mean to encourage the wearing of crazy hats “Chancla Fiesta Hat.” Photo: Joan Frederick The Alamo Heroes Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas sponsors an Annual San Jacinto Victory Celebration Listed activities include an award given to a seventh-grade student (they certainly favor a “heroic” version of Texas history one that Texas lawmakers mandate in the curriculum) Thus a war-centric vision remains at the heart of Fiesta A book by Trinity sociologist Amy Stone that focuses on the LGBTQ community has important insights about festivals and inclusion and exclusion Stone says large public festivals are “intended to include everyone in the city because these festivals are about cultural citizenship Festivals are supposed to be a time when the city comes together as one to appreciate the diverse contributions of people within it.” Stone emphasizes that during these festivals and how different communities are represented become socially significant and fraught questions.” Representation is paramount Stone’s book explores “what it means to have a sense of belonging in a city [and to] navigate city tradition….” (quoted from the abstract for Queer Carnival: Festivals and Mardi Gras in the South with illustration of a Battle of the Flowers parade float bearing the motto “Save the Alamo.” Photo: Wikipedia began as a Battle of Flowers parade in 1891 The successors of the power elite that created Fiesta use it to ceremonially re-enact — and thus reaffirm — their foundational power through rituals inside and outside of the Alamo church (see Part 1) Investiture ceremony of King Antonio Clyde Johnson IV Photo: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service King Antonio walks through a phalanx of Texas Cavaliers with drawn swords that leads to the Alamo church He will be crowned with a military-style hat with a red plume in front of the church Note the podium in front of the church where the ceremony took place accompanied by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg emerges from a phalanx of Texas Cavaliers with drawn swords members of the two most exclusive groups — prominent businessmen and heiresses and relatives of wealthy men from established Texas families which might be regarded as an aristocracy of commerce and wealth — cosplay by parading as soldiers and European-style royals The Texas Cavaliers Investiture ceremony (pictured above) “honors the memory of the matchless heroes who fell at the Alamo.” King Antonio is welcomed by the mayor of San Antonio and is given the key to the city Royalty belonging to the Order of the Alamo (and her court) have for years sported trains that are fifteen feet in length and take a year (and a lot of money) to make I address ways that events like Mardi Gras and Fiesta are a space for status intensification for cultural elites in a city.” Stone adds: “These festivals are the source of much merriment but they also create opportunities for the wealthiest people in the city to enrich their social and economic ties in an exclusive way.” In a discussion of his processional statue called Spinning San Antonio de Valero (2009) artist Rolando Briseño notes that in place of genuine history the Alamo narrative that is taught in Texas is a story “whose purpose is to legitimate the privileged status of Anglo Americans in a hegemonic manner.” He is hopeful that the Alamo can instead “become a place where all people can go to leave behind discord and contemplate the convergence of cultures” (Ruben C The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth San Antonio: Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center the Order of the Alamo and the Texas Cavaliers have played a central role in Fiesta and have continued to perpetuate an Alamo mythology See Part 1 for a discussion of these two groups their tradition of crowning their own royals and the role the Alamo church plays in their ceremonies A Fiesta Hat in the form of an Orange Tree with a Plush Monkey The words “San Jacinto” were dropped from the festival’s name in 1959 In the hope of starting a conversation about Fiesta I have listed several additional suggestions below based on discussions with many San Antonians who want a more democratic told me: “I very much favor re-birthing Fiesta or rebranding Fiesta and stripping it of control by any group other than a community-wide appointed board that should be composed of a diverse group mirroring the city’s population.” Move the date of the festival away from April 21 Enforce greater diversity or deny public accommodations While Fiesta San Antonio is not technically part of the city of San Antonio this large carnival celebration could not take place without public accommodations on public land and facilities the festival receives vigorous support and promotion from the city the city of San Antonio should either compel the two exclusive groups named above to have greater ethnic diversity or should deny them access to the city-owned land they use during Fiesta such as the area in front of the Alamo church and the streets and the section of the river that are used for parades The same goes for any direct or indirect funding or subsidies these groups may receive from the city Remove class-based requirements for Fiesta royalty their King Antonio is only the King of Cavaliers then why not call that sovereign King Cavalier why should the El Rey Feo title go to the person who raises the most money (See Part 1 for a history of these kings.) Can no other kinds of value be found to make one fit to be a symbolic sovereign Is money the only measure of worth in San Antonio Let us bring an end to checkbook despotism Give non-wealthy people the opportunity to parade as fake royals San Antonio should have an overall King and Queen of Fiesta as unifying symbols (instead of the largely segregated sovereigns we have now) They should be able to come from any background This crown should not be the sole possession of an exclusive group the symbolic sovereigns should be chosen democratically A community-wide board (with rotating members) should reflect the city’s diverse population Diversity — including diversity of occupations held by symbolic sovereigns — should be a stated goal of Fiesta so the non-affluent have greater opportunities to participate in it Fiesta raises millions for local charities and has a very substantial economic impact on San Antonio and fees for seating at parades have squeezed out too many locals especially families who are not economically well-off It would accomplish little to democratize Fiesta’s structure and organization if the growing economic barriers to participation are not addressed Organizations seek to raise ever more money and to set records Some kind of balance needs to be struck between money-raising and equitable access “The Confederate States of La Muerte (Death),” 2018 From the exhibition “The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth.” I reproduced a number of flaming racist statements made by leading Texians in Part 1 so I include only a couple here as a sample when he was not yet aware of the Texian victory at San Jacinto Austin declared: “A war of extermination is raging in Texas — a war of barbarism and of despotic principles waged by the mongrel Spanish-Indian and Negro race against civilization and the Anglo-American race….” He emphasizes that the former are “all the natural enemies of white men and civilization” (Eugene C the second president of the Republic of Texas outlined his policy to eliminate all Native Americans in his inaugural address in 1839: “The white man and the red man cannot dwell in harmony together Nature forbids it.” He advocated “a rigorous war… pursuing them to their hiding places without mitigation or compassion.” He would not allow reservations or attempts at coexistence “the Indians were to be expelled from Texas Or killed” (Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers The first cotton plant that sprouted in Austin’s colony led inexorably to the Civil War McPherson put it: “The Missouri Compromise had contained the genie of slavery expansion for a generation Texas unstopped the bottle….” (quoted in Joel H Storm Over Texas: Annexation Controversy and the Road to Civil War Texas became a slave state by dint of decades of arduous planning and effort: “The acquisition of Texas as a slave society occurred after forty years of preparation and rehearsal and thirty of strenuous and successful colonization by planters” (Roger G Cotton and Conquest: how the Plantation System acquired Texas Yet, in mainstream histories, the Alamo church is a preeminent symbol of freedom. In Texas, the Alamo is presented as the “cradle of Texas freedom.” In a 2020 op-ed in the San Antonio Report I refer to the Alamo as “the cradle of Texas slavery Lynching Postcard Also featured in the documentary short film “Lynching Postcards ‘Token of a Great Day,’” directed by Christine Turner Will Stanley was lynched and burned by a crowd of about 10,000 whites in Temple It was commemorated in a postcard image that included members of the mob The sender of this postcard wrote on the back: “This is the barbeque we had last night My picture is to the left with the cross over it your son Joe[.]” Burning the bodies of lynched Blacks was a Texas specialty that came to be known as “lynching Texas style.” Also see James Allen “Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America” (Twin Palms the Alamo church is in the center of the Confederate flag that has skulls instead of stars because Austin’s plantation colonies replicated Southern slave states vice-president of the Confederate States of America predicated racial inequality as the foundation of the Confederacy When Texas seceded from the United States in February of 1861 one of its grievances was “the debasing doctrine of the equality of all men It should come as no surprise that slaves were actually auctioned on the Alamo grounds a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle (a kind of KKK predecessor group) in a unit called the Company of Alamo Guards told the San Antonio Express in 1917 how the Alamo differed at the time of the Civil War He noted a platform with external stairs on a second floor that “was one of the old slave markets where Negroes were put up at auction” (cited in George S This would have been the second floor of the Long Barrack (which was demolished in 1913) rather than the church itself (I incorrectly linked Smith’s quote to the church in my catalog The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth As an important step towards a more forthright and accurate history of the Alamo I suggest that a historical plaque be placed on the Long Barrack noting that it served as “an old slave market.” in a review of Holly Beachley Brear’s Inherit the Alamo: Myth and Ritual at an American Shrine (University of Texas Press refers to the Alamo as “America’s premier white identity shrine” (American Ethnologist He calls her book “a wonderfully concise account of the ways that Anglo heritage organizations — the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Order of the Alamo — use the shrine to celebrate themselves in ways that inevitably denigrate a Hispanic Other.” Fiesta originated as a festival by and for Anglo-American elites to celebrate whiteness By continuing to link Fiesta to the Alamo and the San Jacinto battles the festival maintains a direct connection to white supremacy Alamo symbolism has resulted in disastrous — and sometimes fatal — consequences for people of color gave me this statement about Fiesta’s connection to white supremacy: “The original celebration of the defeat of Mexico (Fiesta) is a disgrace as it was more of a victory party for white supremacy The Battle of the Alamo and San Jacinto was a victory for the slave owners of Texas and white supremacy It was all about a white supremacist celebration that has been exposed to the truth.” co-author of Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth (Penguin Books 2021) provided me with the following analysis of Fiesta and why it should be changed: At a time when people across the country are reassessing the harmful origin myths that perpetuate discrimination in this country it’s high time San Antonians disassociate Fiesta from the white supremacist legends underlying the Texas Revolt Fiesta and the Battle of Flowers Parade have a long troubled history but remain an important city tradition Texans don’t need to throw out our history and San Jacinto were fought mostly by racists who traveled from the United States to steal sovereign territory from the government of Mexico The insurrectionists wanted to guarantee slavery and expand the American South The same men who fought Santa Anna went on to fight Abraham Lincoln to perpetuate white supremacy Why Symbols Matter: Miss Fiesta and Texas Cavalier School Visits with two of her Alpha Sigma Tau sorority sisters at St Photo: newspaper clipping courtesy of Sylvia Croley was the first Latina finalist at her university in the 1967 Miss Fiesta contest she notes that if a San Antonio public school teacher caught a student speaking Spanish the principal would give that student “three licks with a big paddle.”  The criteria for entering the Miss Fiesta competition had almost entirely excluded women of Mexican descent only students at Trinity — the most elite private university in San Antonio — had been allowed to compete in the pageant and Our Lady of Lake (the latter two are Catholic schools) were eligible for the competition Young Latinas — who had only recently begun to attend college in substantial numbers — faced another barrier Only women who belonged to sororities were eligible Mexicans were not admitted into mainstream She had been instrumental in forming Alpha Sigma Tau Croley applied to the Miss Fiesta competition and a dean approved her academic credentials Finalists for the Miss Fiesta pageant at St Photo: San Antonio Light newspaper clipping Croley was one of the eight finalist competitors for the title from St She declined a home visit from the San Antonio Conservation Society because her father worked three jobs and they lived far from the affluent part of town where the Conservation Society members lived Croley was invited to the formal tea at which the two finalists were selected to represent St But because she had declined the home visit she was not allowed onstage to perform the model walk and to answer the question posed to each contestant Mary’s finalists for Miss Fiesta “were from prominent families — I think they were all from Alamo Heights.”  the athletic department presented Croley with a bouquet of yellow roses “I didn’t care about winning — I just wanted to represent my heritage,” says Croley “that was the important thing — to be there publicly “You just never forget this experience,” adds Croley “It’s like a big mark in my heart.” After the competition Croley reflected on the phenomenon of Fiesta: “I wondered why the celebration was called ‘Fiesta’ — why was a Spanish word used — because the top-of-the-line people involved in it did not allow Blacks or Hispanics The King Antonios and the Order of the Alamo royalty were all white.” Croley replied: “I wonder if it will ever fundamentally change with respect to the Cavaliers and the Order of the Alamo?” A group of Texas Cavalier King Antonio coins A San Antonian I know well gave me the following account of King Antonio’s visit to his middle school This is how he perceived King Antonio’s grand entrance: “An entourage of big autos came to my school King Antonio was riding in the biggest car of all — a Cadillac convertible He notes how happy the children were to have this opportunity:  The kids were screaming and thronging around the King.”  He doesn’t remember much about what the king said other than “a few words about Fiesta,” and that he “encouraged us to go to the parade with our families.” Then King Antonio and his entourage started handing out gold-colored coins: “All the children struggled to get a coin,” recalls my source One side of the coin showed the King as a knight on horseback (I think it is meant to be a lance rather than a sword.) When the Cavaliers were founded in 1926 with their membership composed of two leading business organizations they had a jousting tournament with knights on horseback who discusses Laura Hernandez-Ehrisman’s book Inventing the Fiesta City My source recalls: “He was so special that he had his own coins.”  Reverse of Texas Cavaliers King Antonio coin An image of the Alamo was on the back of the 1968 coin (and other coins I have seen from that era) as if he were a Roman emperor or a regent of yore My source noted that most of the children suffered disappointment in their quest for a coin: “Before most of us could get our own coin and University of Texas at San Antonio professor John Phillip Santos recalls the visits of King Antonio to Mount Sacred Heart impressionable mind sometimes made strange connections: “When the JFK assassination was announced — I heard it at school —I thought he had been killed at Sacred Heart by the nuns!” “King Antonio would do a promenade at Sacred Heart’s church,” says Santos who now likens these appearances to a visit from the Spanish Viceroy during Mexico’s early colonial period Santos has particularly vivid memories of the last King Antonio visit he witnessed at Sacred Heart He recalls King Antonio driving up in a big Lincoln Continental convertible from which “he would toss coins for the children.” Yet young Santos sensed that “something seemed off.” With the exception of four or five of his friends He and his close friends would throw spear grass at one another during recess During the final royal visit Santos witnessed at Sacred Heart which took place when he was in third grade he and his friends decided to engage in a “spontaneous insurrection.” They had “laid up quite a bit of spear grass,” which they launched at King Antonio Since they were far from their costumed regent their act of symbolic resistance went unnoticed by the king and his court Santos was expelled from Sacred Heart that year and told to try his fortunes in the public school system A former San Antonio school teacher in the Edgewood Independent School District recalled that King Antonio was barred from visiting her school: José Cárdenas refused to let King Antonio visit the schools I don’t remember all the details or the consequences but it was wildly talked about as scandalous behavior for a superintendent to defy the social routines.” José Ángel Cárdenas, who had a very distinguished career, was the first school superintendent in Bexar County who was of Mexican descent (see Handbook of Texas Online) As noted in the Walker article cited above received another title with a Roman numeral when he was sarcastically dubbed “Antonio Non Grata I.” Walker also provides Cardenas’ rationale (procured in 1983) for blocking King Antonio’s visit to his school district:  “Even a play king has a relationship to his subjects this Anglo king in his fancy uniform and fancy carriage presents a negative role model They will always perceive him as belonging to a different ethnic group from theirs But let them go off in a corner and discriminate by themselves rather than sending their king to schools full of children from the ethnic groups they discriminate against I have nothing against the Cavaliers as individuals.” Cárdenas smiles and adds “Some of my best friends are Cavaliers.” who was an important activist and legislator Bernal had this to say about the Texas Cavaliers and their school visits: Children are very susceptible to such things You could dress a king up as a clown and take him into the schools and the kids would love him just as much… I equated the Cavaliers with a militaristic quasi-KKK because we had not been able to budge them from being anti-black Bernal was a State Senator when he played a pivotal role in ending de jure segregation in Texas The fact that it lasted that long is one of the enduring legacies of Alamo symbolism Bernal had blocked the appointments of two powerful Cavaliers (former King Antonio John Steen and construction magnate H he had characterized the Cavaliers as a “discriminatory social club.” I turn my attention now to a peculiar custom involving the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) I was astonished to learn from Kristal Orta-Puente and now a doctoral candidate in history at Southern Methodist University that degree recipients are encouraged to have their rings “spend a night in the Alamo” before they receive them According to the UTSA Alumni Association over 10,000 UTSA rings have reposed in darkness at the Alamo since 2012 an orange and blue van spirited the UTSA rings (including her own) from its northern campus to the Alamo shrine some magical power (or perhaps retrograde ideology) was instilled in them That van ride transgressed the realm of the university (logic and reason) to the realm of myth The “traditional” style UTSA class ring has the head of Rowdy the Roadrunner (the school mascot) on one side and the Alamo church on the other “Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis,” is a summary Latin translation of a quote from Mirabeau B Lamar: “A cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.” Lamar is mentioned above as the genocidal second president of the Republic of Texas and racist men that ever made a name for himself in Texas — and that’s saying something Can’t UTSA find a less offensive Texan from which to crib a motto This is an issue that should concern UTSA students I am not surprised to see the Alamo image (the ultimate Texian symbol) united with one of the most dastardly Texian leaders pictured with UTSA President Taylor Eighmy Indoctrination in public education takes many forms in Texas to “heroic” history lessons in seventh grade (with highly censored textbooks) to a public university that casts a spell on its rings by sending them on a formal pilgrimage where they are ceremonially immersed in the Alamo during a nocturnal sojourn UTSA doesn’t explicitly say exactly what this one-night stand is supposed to accomplish but the graven Alamo image on the ring presumably partakes of and absorbs the numinous qualities that inhere within the shrine the rings can then be bestowed on the new graduates Cornyation: Satire as a Form of Resistance to Exclusion A Fiesta Medal-laden Master of Ceremonies is making such an obsequious low bow that he lies on the ground Perhaps the most piercing and trenchant criticisms of Fiesta’s royal pretensions are to be found at Cornyation which was born in 1951 when King Anchovy crowned the Empress of the Cracked Salad Bowl author of Cornyation: San Antonio’s Outrageous Fiesta Tradition (Trinity Press characterized its origins for this article: “it began as a playful satire on the debutante traditions of the Coronation of the Queen of the Order of the Alamo and the first script was written by a gay man who also participated in the Coronation.” (Also see Part 1.)  As Stone notes: “Cornyation scripts in the 1950s and 1960s often criticized elitism and exclusivity in the city and the event was eventually kicked out of the Night in Old San Antonio for being too bawdy and critical.”  Harlandale High School Fiesta Medal with the motto “Southside Pride,” 2016 For the past 30 years, Fiesta medals (military-style medals hanging from ribbons) have been an important part of the festival. In 2015, Jack Morgan charted “The Weird History Behind Fiesta Medals” for TPR He traced the medal’s origins to an officer stationed in San Antonio Morgan interviewed cultural anthropologist Michaele Haynes who connected publicly distributed Fiesta medals to the coins (like the ones pictured above) first minted by the Texas Cavaliers in 1946 they did not distribute them to the general public “you did not get one of the special medals from the Queen of the Order of the Alamo unless you knew her.” Joske’s department store created a cardboard framework (with a removable center) to hold the Texas Cavalier coin along with a hole through which a ribbon could be strung The Cavalier coin was thus transformed into a virtual medal a few Fiesta groups began making their own Fiesta medals was responsible for the first military-style Fiesta medal that had a large distribution did not become a widespread phenomenon until the 1990s Now anyone can make a medal (for nonprofit purposes) who dubbed his dog “the Fiesta Canine Queen,” and who had been creating medals in the image of his dog queen for a decade Anywhere Anytime Plumbing’s Fiesta Medal Corporations such as Walmart and Whataburger routinely issue Fiesta medals but my favorite corporate medal is the plumbing medal pictured above with a shimmering commode fit for Donald Trump A satiric faux corporate medal appeared in 2019 when Los Pollos Marijuanos (a satirical take on Los Pollos Hermanos from the Breaking Bad television series) issued a medal with the motto “legalize it.” Esperanza Peace and Justice Center Fiesta Medal Perhaps the most controversial Fiesta medal was the one issued by the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in 2015 which declared “Fiesta is Racist,” for reasons of exclusion and the falsifications of history that are treated in this op-ed This cannon is a replica of a famous cannon used at the Alamo which was a Swedish-made 9-pounder that was bored out to shoot an 18 pound ball I’d like to conclude by examining Orta-Puente’s complex and changing views of the Alamo and of Fiesta She made what she calls a “journey from Alamo lover to Alamo critic,” inspired in large part by her experience of majoring in Mexican American Studies at UTSA Orta-Puente’s mother worked in the book section of the Alamo gift shop for over 20 years Orta-Puente spent a great deal of time at the Alamo where she imbibed and deeply cherished “the myths about the ‘defenders of the Alamo.’” In time she became very interested in the story of the preservationist Adina de Zavala (who wanted to save the complete Long Barrack) Orta-Puente identified with “her passion to save something so special to Texas.”  When Orta-Puente began her photographic career she met with the leadership of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) and Orta-Puente was contracted as a vendor to sell her photographs on consignment Her best seller (illustrated above) was of a large cannon Orta-Puente’s “eyes were opened” in 2017 when she was at UTSA and after she quit selling photos at the Alamo Her educational epiphany was not limited to her classroom experiences:  I had been exposed to folks in the community They and others told me that the Alamo was a white supremacist symbol And as I dove deeper into the activist community when I started to read the books and learn the history behind the myth I even asked my mom if she knew this stuff but that she would not speak badly about a place that provided her with a secure job to provide for our family It was hard for her to be disloyal to the job It is part of why I felt I needed to accept all those dualities Two things can be true and they can contradict Orta-Puente’s disenchantment with the Alamo was paralleled by her disenchantment with Fiesta though her reservations about the latter had been generated over a longer time span Fiesta had been so important to her family that her father took a week off of work in order to celebrate it I grew up with my parents going every year to the night parade and NIOSA [Night in Old San Antonio] But the more you see a lot of white faces on one side you start to wonder what it is all about as you grow up You begin to question: why were they throwing flowers in the Battle of the Flowers parade I didn’t understand what that was all about — that it was a replacement for war — war against the “evil” Mexicans Orta-Puente increasingly became aware of the sharp racial and class fault lines that defined Fiesta where disparities are not only boldly highlighted the less she enjoyed participating in Fiesta Orta-Puente’s appreciation of contradiction was a factor in deciding to have her UTSA class ring do a one-night stand at the Alamo: That is why I chose for my ring to spend the night in the shine and the drive that greed and pride can have And to never forget to push to talk about the ugly parts as loud as we talk about the beautiful parts of our story I am concerned with facing all the parts of Texas I love and hate Texas exceptionalism — the belief that Texas is the best and that we’re always the good guys — is a hell of a drug and I don’t think rehab for the state of Texas is on the table Orta-Puente bought a men’s ring with a diamond because it was the largest and the most expensive ring She wanted it to be dramatic so that people would ask about it and encourage others to pursue higher education She also thought it was an appropriate gesture Orta-Puente did not think the night at the Alamo would imbue her ring with any special power “other than the power I decided to give it.” In her case she wanted it to be “a constant reminder of what I want to change about history and I will do that by working in the community.” in order to make a more complete history:  Folks fighting for a revision of Alamo history are not asking for an erasure of the myth as we know it but rather an acknowledgment that there IS a myth and that myth has served a privileged group We now need to find a more intelligent way to tell a complete history and Black communities want equitable representation of all the folks that make up the story of San Antonio But aren’t we emotionally intelligent enough to deal with it yet Orta-Puente would like Fiesta to be separated from the battles for which it was created to commemorate: “Yes I would love for Fiesta to detach itself from San Jacinto she would not want this detachment to come at the cost of forgetting history: But what I would not want to happen is for us to get so far away from the events that we stop remembering where they came from at all We have to remember and we have to talk about the real reasons Texas wanted independence in the first place and that is unequivocally because they wanted Mexican land and the complexity of having difficult conversations about how we tell our history I am committed to trying to make a difference a public art installation by Vaago Weiland and Laura Varela at the Alamo for Luminaria Arts Night in San Antonio From the exhibition “The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth.”Varela projected a film with indigenous and mestizo faces on the Alamo façade as an act of resistance These faces were multiple reminders of indigenous perseverance Varela was told that projections would never again be allowed on the Alamo façade Then he declared: “Everything you think you know about the Alamo is a lie!”  Rising to the challenge posed by this assertion, the three friends researched and wrote the book Forget the Alamo, published in 2021. When Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick canceled a discussion with two of the authors that was scheduled at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in 2021 It has caused many a scale to fall from the eyes of readers There is heightened recognition that the heroic narratives about freedom-loving Texians casting off the yoke of Mexican despotism are false histories based on Texian propaganda whose rich soil was ideal for growing cotton The slavocracy also wanted to prevent Mexico (bordering on Louisiana) from serving as a sanctuary for escaped slaves The Texians had little use for Mexicans or Native Americans whom they deemed unworthy to possess the lands they inhabited The freedoms they coveted were not to be extended to other peoples Although Fiesta has been democratized in multiple respects in the last half-century It is time to free Fiesta from San Jacinto and the Alamo to let it stand on its own as a festival that brings all of San Antonio’s people together instead of celebrating false narratives and battles whose function is to set people apart The Other Side of the Alamo: Art Against the Myth (Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center which was funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts I’m glad the article was of value to you real histories are now taking the place of mythical accounts and fictional films that have long dominated the narratives of these battles and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" HAA Cultural Events Calendar The coronavirus pandemic has affected the construction timeline of the Alamo Drafthouse on the East Side In August, the theater's construction which will have a lucha libre themed foyer, seemed to be on schedule despite the city being struck by the pandemic It is being constructed on Pellicano Drive near Joe Battle Boulevard More: West El Paso Alamo Drafthouse to reopen with new films; East Side construction on schedule the theater posted on its social media that the Eastside location would be delayed until spring 2021 "We look forward to opening our new East El Paso location soon The project was delayed in part because of the difficult environment created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to line up with the expected release of many exciting new films from Hollywood studios early next year," according to an Alamo statement "Our sympathies have been with the El Paso community as it has struggled with the rising COVID numbers in recent months We are all looking forward to introducing our amazing new location and its groundbreaking Big Show prestige format screen to our East El Paso's movie fans in early 2021," it concluded The theater will be part of a bigger development a nearly 30-acre Monteverde development Alamo fans can continue to enjoy movies and dinner on the West Side The theater has several safety measures in place including requiring face masks and social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus More effects of pandemic: A look at El Paso restaurants that closed, opened María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content CULIACAN/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's public enemy No was nabbed last week after a gunfight and high speed getaway bid But his more discreet partner is flourishing moving tonnes of drugs to the United States and laundering the profits at home Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada jointly heads the powerful Sinaloa cartel and with Guzman behind bars again and facing possible extradition to the United States it falls to Zambada to maintain the gang's ranking as the world's largest Mexican security forces have captured or killed almost all the leading kingpins who had dominated drug trafficking over the last two decades six months after his second escape from maximum security prison "He is the patriarch," said Antonio Mazzitelli representative on drugs and crime in Mexico Zambada was listed as a defendant in a U.S when Colombia's Pablo Escobar was just starting his trafficking career Zambada has never been arrested and is still selling cocaine Treasury Department has designated a business network owned by his ex-wife and children as a money-laundering front He keeps a low profile and spends heavily on alliances with politicians and police "Zambada is very careful," said Javier Valdez a founder of Sinaloan weekly newspaper Riodoce describing him as a man who rarely travels and avoids big cities "He controls the Sinaloan police; he has businesses in many sectors." the beating heart of Mexican drug trafficking and the center of his power Children grew up drinking Santa Monica milk from a dairy the United States said was a front organization aquatic park and shopping center owned by relatives and associates At the kindergarten and dairy nobody would speak on record One kindergarten employee denied the business had a connection to Zambada a manager said: "That's a delicate subject." locals warned Reuters reporters not to pry into Zambada's life "Don't even mention his name," an old woman selling tortillas hissed Zambada was born in a village nestled among low mountains called El Alamo Until recently he was known to arrive there to hand out money and children's' gifts at Christmas In a rare interview to Mexican news magazine Proceso in 2010 Zambada said he had come close to arrest on four occasions crawling through river beds to flee soldiers he was more careful than his friend Guzman was flirting with celebrity life in the months before his capture granting an interview to Hollywood star Sean Penn exploring options to make a biopic of his life and even trying to register his name as a trademark police chief in the city where Guzman was captured said a desire to be flashy and famous led to the demise of many drug lords in the sense that their lifestyle carries risks," Amarillas told Reuters Zambada's faction of the Sinaloa cartel is a family business with sons occupying top trafficking positions and his daughters owning businesses Mexico's authorities froze two of the dairy's bank accounts Two people currently working for Santa Monica said it now belonged to a Culiacan-based company called Nuthree Neither Nuthree nor the dairy could be reached for official comment Several of Zambada's relatives are in prison gave dramatic testimony in a plea deal with the U.S government in 2013 that showed how central his father was to bringing drug money back from the United States Vicente Zambada earlier said he was a DEA informant and critics allege that by snitching on rivals he helped cement the Sinaloa cartel's dominance Ismael Zambada once said it was "stupidity" to suggest he might have enough wealth to feature in the Forbes billionaires list part of Vicente's plea deal was an agreement to hand over $1.3 billion in assets government is seeking to confiscate another $2 billion of assets shared by Zambada according to an indictment unsealed in 2015 government has created a picture of the elder Zambada as an astute businessmen managing many of the cartel's financial operations While Guzman led the cartel into battle with rivals to expand its control of trafficking routes Zambada is more closely associated with maintaining its core strength in Sinaloa state It is too early to say what impact Guzman's arrest will have on the Sinaloa cartel and there are rumors that his eldest son Ivan could take over But it was Zambada who kept things running when Guzman did his two previous stints in prison In an indictment unsealed in Illinois in September Zambada and Guzman are named as the leaders of the cartel and accused of importing massive shipments of cocaine as well as heroin and methamphetamine into the United States Their alliance has been extraordinarily successful and their cartel has been the main winner of a drugs war that killed more than 100,000 people since 2007 One faction of the cartel broke off until its leader was killed but the Sinaloa cartel remains a relatively stable group "(It) is the only real cartel; it was established and keeps on operating as an association of businessmen," said Mazzitelli A map published last year by the Drug Enforcement Administration (http://www.dea.gov/docs/dir06515.pdf) is testimony to Sinaloa's success is shown as being under the influence of the Sinaloa gang Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all the Alamo Drafthouse on the West Side is set to reopen with a new release Aug construction on the Alamo Drafthouse East continues on schedule despite the coronavirus "We're opening in advance of some big movies that are opening," said Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen, CEO and president of Triple Tap Ventures LLC, the Houston company that owns the Alamo franchise for West Texas and Houston Tickets for "Unhinged" will go on sale Thursday, Aug. 13, online at drafthouse.com or via the Alamo app Other movies coming up include: "The New Mutants," scheduled for Aug. 28; "Bill & Ted Face the Music," Aug. 26; and "Tenet," slotted for Sept "We're excited about our reopening after a long break The last movie I saw was at the Alamo at Montecillo before the shutdown," he said "I'm excited about 'Tenet' because (Christopher Nolan) is a great director movie fans can look forward to the new Marvel film "Black Widow," slated for November; Steven Spielberg's remake of "West Side Story"; the James Bond movie "No Time to Die"; and "Wonder Woman 1984." the good news is that there are a ton of great movies that will come out in the next 12 to 24 months," Billingsley-Michaelsen said Billingsley-Michaelsen said the Alamo theaters are known for being clean and spacious because of the dining experience they are stepping it up with some new safety precautions in light of the coronavirus food must be preordered from a scaled-back menu with the ticket purchase Additional food can be ordered during the screening Moviegoers must wear face masks and hand sanitizing stations are readily available. Seats also will be buffered so that each set of two or each group will have empty seats between them Construction of the East Side location at Pellicano Drive near Joe Battle Boulevard was about a couple months in when the stay-at-home order first hit in mid-March "We had to make a decision about whether or not to continue or take a pause," Billingsley-Michaelsen said but it was a pretty easy decision to continue the investment because we are very confident in the El Paso market." More: El Paso's 2nd Alamo Drafthouse to be in $80 million mixed-use East Side development Billingsley-Michaelsen said El Paso is a great moviegoing community and has supported the first Alamo well The Alamo Drafthouse East is expected to open in November since construction has gone smoothly We will continue our same famous draft beer program over 40 draft beers and handcrafted cocktails," he said programming director for Triple Tap Ventures, also are excited about the theme for the new theater We will have a very big (20 feet tall by 60 feet wide) mural and the other elements of the bar and lobby will be luchador themed We will have a big collection of authentic luchador movie posters some artwork in the entry way that will be very dramatic and then in the bar a bunch of masks from famous luchadores," Billingsley-Michaelsen said Saucedo said he already is in discussion with both national and local guests who are involved in the luchador scene for events at the theater More: Mexican actor Gael García Bernal to portray El Paso luchador Cassandro El Exotico in film "Everything from bringing back some great documentaries that have been made in recent years about the lucha scene in Mexico and Texas and talking with some film makers who have made fictional portrayals of luchadores come in and show their films in the first few months of our opening," he said The theater also will feature one premium visual experience with a more than 60-foot-high screen with Dolby Atmos sound Billingsley-Michaelsen said the theater will be part of a bigger development More: Drive-in movie series coming to El Paso County Coliseum More: Cinemark closes Sunland Park Mall Movie Bistro, puts plan for new El Paso theater on hold Stay up-to-date on everything related to entertainment, restaurants and trending stories. Subscribe here. The Alamo Drafthouse East will have its ribbon cutting ceremony at 2 p.m This will be the second Alamo Drafthouse in El Paso. The other theater is at 250 Montecillo Blvd Earlier in March, the movie theater chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy hobbled by the pandemic but hoping to stay in business are independent and owned by Triple Tap along with locations in Houston and Lubbock and are unaffected by the bankruptcy Here is what to know about the new movie venue: Grand opening: The grand opening will kick off a weekend of activities along with the highly anticipated release of "Godzilla vs Letterpress postcards with vintage artwork from the giant monster movie will be given out at the theater while supplies last The theater also will host nightly activities through April 3 Theme: The 10-screen theater has a luchador theme from the ceiling to a metal chain curtain lining the bar and framed vintage movie posters from the Golden Age of Mexican films on the bar walls and hallways The tables in the bar also feature original magazines and posters about Mexican cinema and the patio also has seating for another 60 people Prizes: The first 5,000 guests to watch a movie starting March 31 will receive a scratch-off card in which guests can win a variety of prizes including free popcorn, movie posters or even free movie tickets or free queso dip for a year Special details: The theater will feature cutting-edge laser projection Four out of the 10 theaters are micro-theaters for smaller events such as company outings and independent film showings The Big Show: The theater will have a large format auditorium featuring a 70-foot screen and Dolby Atmos surround-sound technology for the boldest blockbuster movie-watching experience The Big Show theater has 255 recliner chairs; each has an individual table Moviegoers will be able to push a call button that alerts waitstaff when they need service The entrance of the showroom also features a luchador's face And the first row has been pushed back (typically where the second row starts) so that every seat is great Exterior: The building features a mural featuring a collage of pop culture icons and was painted by artist Abe Aguilar He's done several murals around El Paso including one at the other Alamo at Montecillo and includes movie characters and Mexican cinema characters. It took two weeks to complete and it's the largest mural he's done to date More: Sunset Film Society returns with 'Moonstruck' drive-in show at Ardovino's Desert Crossing Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — The Alamo Drafthouses Cinema East and the Mexican Consulate will celebrate Dia del Niño Saturday with family-friendly short films The celebration begins Saturday at 11:30 a.m Guests can reserve their seats for the Día del Niño event by buying a $5 food and beverage voucher at drafthouse.com/el-paso/show/mexican-consulate-presents-dia-del-nino. These vouchers can be redeemed for anything on the Alamo Drafthouse’s menu during the screening Free tickets can also be picked up at the box office at any time in advance of the show The event will begin with arts and crafts and activities for the kids Mexican Consulate representatives will then welcome guests discuss upcoming events and community projects and raffle prizes before the screening All films are in Spanish with English subtitles: Send us your Dia del Niño photos and videos to our Chime In! RECOMMENDED:Socorro ISD to host job fair on Monday RECOMMENDED:Socorro ISD hosts groundbreaking ceremony for Student Activity Complex II Sign up to receive the topmost interesting stories from in and around our community once a day to your inbox Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — The El Paso Opera and Alamo Drafthouse will be hosting "Frida Fest" this weekend "Frida Fest" purpose is to celebrate the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo "Frida Fest" will feature performances by resident artists from El Paso Opera a lookalike contest and a screening of FRIDA starring Salma Hayek as the world-renowned artist and feminist icon in the lobby of Alamo Drafthouse East El Paso The El Paso Opera will perform “Frida,” an opera by Robert Xavier Rodríguez on August 27 at the Abraham Chavez Theatre you can browse and purchase Frida-inspired art and crafts from local artists throughout the lobby and bar enjoy a screening of FRIDA with a special Q&A by performers from El Paso Opera Tickets are available at drafthouse.com. head back to the lobby to join in the Frida lookalike contest at 5:45 p.m Adults can enter the contest to win two tickets to El Paso Opera’s performance of “Frida.” Alamo Drafthouse will also have prizes for kids who enter the contest RECOMMENDED:El Paso Opera presents 2 operas for its 2022-2023 season This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page We thought this would be obvious by now, but apparently some folks still aren’t getting it: If you have to pee in public for whatever reason the absolute last place to do that in Texas is the Alamo There are a bunch of other places that are poor choices—the State Capitol the Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas that one might be okay)—but the Alamo is special That’s a lesson that 23-year-old El Paso resident Daniel Athens learned the hard way this week when he pled guilty to the felony charge of “Criminal Mischief of a Public Monument or Place of Human Burial,” which could carry a sentence of up to 18 months in jail ‘don’t whiz on the Alamo,'” Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed said in a statement that added she would oppose any request for probation […] Lawyers for Athens are working on a plea bargain with prosecutors who are seeking 18 months in prison and drawing a line in the sand for a sentence that includes jail time Athens was arrested in April 2012 after an Alamo Ranger one of the police officers who guard the state’s No saw him relieve himself on the 260-year-old limestone facade of the building Athens will have to pay $4,000 to repair any damage he caused peeing on the Alamo isn’t an action without historical precedent a best-selling author of political thrillers or the pitmaster at a fiercely popular BBQ trailer in East Austin he’ll still be the second-most famous person to have his name associated with taking a whiz on the monument “Remember when Ozzy pissed on the Alamo and was banned from San Antonio for a decade the whole “peeing on the Alamo” thing is actually a misunderstanding Ozzy Osbourne never actually peed on the Alamo; he peed on the cenotaph the 60-foot structure across the street from the building The “did Ozzy pee on the Alamo” myth-busting was perhaps most effectively conducted in 2003 by Chris Rodell of the Boston Herald which reported on the event during the height of The Osbournes the MTV reality show about the singer and his family: “What happened was he was with a bunch of band members after the show,” says the guide “They were dawdling and he had to go When he couldn’t get them to leave he just unzipped his trousers and went right where he was standing.” Where he was standing happened to be across the street from The Alamo at the stately Erected in 1939 by the Texas Centennial Commission the name Cenotaph means a monument erected in honor of a dead person whose remains lie elsewhere He was arrested and charged with public intoxication The next morning he felt something besides hung over.He felt regret “Everyone believes he urinated on the walls of the Alamo and just went on his merry way Just how terrible was reported in the Sept editions of The San Antonio Express-News under a headline that reads “Ozzy thanks city for having him back.” The article reads “It’s official: British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne is donating $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas—caretakers of the Alamo the Texas shrine that Osbourne is accused of defiling 10 years ago.” The article notes the arrest and the incident on the sidewalk near the Cenotaph and includes this statement from Ozzy: “We all have done things in our lives that we regret I am deeply honored that the people of San Antonio have found it in their hearts to have me back I hope that this donation will show that I have grown up.” that the young El Paso man who faces a fairly lengthy jail sentence for his crime is the Alamo’s truest urinator but the apocryphal legend of Ozzy Osbourne’s bladder-emptying excursion will probably always take the top spot in the hearts and minds of Texans everywhere “Don’t Whiz on the Alamo” isn’t quite as catchy as “Don’t Mess With Texas,” but it’s pretty good advice Lt. Col. Travis: He just said if we don't walk out of here right now with our hands in the air Billings: What are you going to tell him Lt. Col. Travis: Is this cannon loaded? THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN LATINO & MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE While critical voices accuse the government of wanting to decorate Texas history new human remains have appeared on a mission to El Álamo Although founded by Fray Antonio de Olivares and the Papayas Indians in 1718 is known for the bloody battle that took place during the Texas Revolution of 1836 and pitted the Mexican army against the Texas independents Nearly two centuries after death struck the region - 200 people died in 13 days of fighting - a group of archaeologists has discovered the bodies of an adult and a baby in the historic mission that has become a tourist attraction today.  The remains appeared in the Burial Hall of the Monks and the Church of the Nave de El Álamo while workers were examining the building's 300-year-old structures with a view to renovating and installing moisture monitoring equipment the authorities said in a statement.  the announcement comes after members of the Tap Pilam Coalhuiltecan Nation filed a lawsuit last September to stop the $450 million renovation of the sanctuary This is not the first case of remains found in the El Álamo mission; in 1989 others were found that were identified in 1995.  they should have a say in the future of El Álamo square and the religious complex whose urban remodeling works are part of the "Reimaginar El Álamo" plan to provide this area with new businesses and facilities and which was promoted by the Republican George P of Latino origin and grandson of former President George W "This is a cemetery that deserves protection under the laws of the state of Texas," said Ramon Vasquez The Tap Pilam also explained in a statement that the state only disclosed information about bodies discovered after submitting a request for open records "We had already suspected there were remains two weeks ago," Vasquez said adding that the tribe received an anonymous tip about the findings.  They also demand that the construction of El Álamo Plaza be stopped until the protocols for the human remains are properly executed and the dead buried in the Álamo are honored In a recent article published in Texas Scorecard it was pointed out that El Álamo's "re-imagination" project has nothing to do with repairing the complex but with developing a "movie set" for tourist entertainment that would cover up the true story honoring "criminals" like Mexican general Santa Anna who participated in the Battle of El Álamo The complaint is part of another controversy over the past and future of the Alamo: rumors that George P Bush was planning to erect a statue of the Mexican general which he himself described a couple of days ago as a "pure lie" and "totally racist," claiming that such an accusation was due to his mother's Mexican origin.  "One must ask, why am I being accused of honoring the murderer dictator Santa Anna," he wrote on Twitter.  "Is it because my mother (now a naturalized citizen) is from Mexico and my children were born here in Texas."  the only thing absolutely certain is that in order to make history you have to dig it up and not build on it.  THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE The Texian Revolt — and the Battle of the Alamo in particular — are bitterly contested subjects Many accounts are based on sheer fantasy and wholesale misrepresentations My objective is to disentangle the Alamo and its historical context from its enfablement in Texas myth and folklore followed by a discussion of scholarly works that refute these claims (This content is excerpted from the introduction and first chapter of my exhibition catalogue Daguerreotype with the façade of the Alamo church Photo: Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin This is the only known photograph of the Alamo church before the Army Corps of Engineers added a roof and a Taco Bell-like hump to its façade in 1850 the most important empresario (land agent) began bringing Anglo-American settlers into the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas in 1821 Austin replicated the structures of Southern slave states in his settlements Mexico exerted little control over Anglo-American colonies in what is now Texas The colonists’ commitment to slavery was a source of continuous conflict with Mexico Mexico made a belated effort to end Anglo-American immigration in 1830 doubling their number by 1834 from 10,000 to 21,000 (Torget Photo: The Texas State Library and Archives Commission An armed insurrection against Mexico broke out in 1835 San Antonio and the Alamo (the former Mission San Antonio de Valero) were captured by an army composed primarily of rebels a convention (made up largely of relatively recent arrivals from the U.S.) declared independence from Mexico inaugurating the slavery-based Republic of Texas which has been called a “dress-rehearsal” for the Confederate States of America (Torget Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna began his siege of the Alamo on February 23 and he recaptured it during a short battle on March 6 Santa Anna’s capture at San Jacinto in April of 1836 brought an end to the war Campaign Routes of the Texas Revolt (1928) The Anglo-American rebels referred to themselves as Texians (this term helps to differentiate them from the ethnically Mexican inhabitants of Texas I refer to the 1835-36 war of independence as the Texian Revolt rather than the Texas Revolution because it does not fulfill the criteria of a revolution (Reichstein The Republic of Texas came to an end on December 29 when it was annexed (without defined borders) to the United States as Texas had been the goal of the independence movement because annexation served to secure the land taken from Mexico and to facilitate continued Anglo-American immigration The state of Texas lacked defined borders by design: this deficiency made it easier for the U.S to provoke the Mexican-American War in 1846 This war of conquest resulted in the seizure of Mexican territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean Texas was the crucible for the rise of a racialized Anglo-Saxonism one that regarded dominance as its special destiny The term Manifest Destiny was coined in a discussion of the U.S the very act that precipitated the Mexican-American War (Horsman “the inaugural moment of Manifest Destiny.” As one of the most enduring and potent symbols of Anglo-American power and triumph the Alamo has often functioned as the quintessential anti-Mexican emblem one that marks Mexicans and their descendants as the villains of Texas history and one that perpetually seems to cry out for vengeance for a long-lost battle which features a white goddess with a book in one hand and a telegraph wire in the other is the quintessential image of Manifest Destiny and a bear are being driven out of the picture frame on the left The Texians were quick to characterize their Alamo heroes in both religious and mythic terms the Telegraph and Texas Register declared: “Honors and rest are with ye: the spark of immortality which animated your forms a resolution by the city of Nacogdoches called them “martyrs to liberty” and equated them with the most revered martyr-warriors in Western history the 300 Spartans who fought for Greece against a Persian invasion in 380 B.C.: “Thermopylae is no longer without parallel… Travis and his companions will be named in rivalry with Leonidas and his Spartan band” (Hutton Thermopylaen invocations became “so pervasive” in treatments of the Alamo that one observer said “it almost seems a law that each novel and diarist William Fairfax Gray evidently foresaw this phenomenon who was appalled that the Alamo garrison had not been reinforced had this to say about historical hypocrisy and mythification: “Texas will take honor to herself for the defense of the Alamo and will call it a second Thermopylae but it will be an everlasting monument of national disgrace” (Tucker also for General Reading and for Teachers Preparing Themselves for Examination.” Photo: Library of Congress the Alamo occupiers were likened to demi-gods they were further elevated in an 1888 textbook that was used in Texas for forty years: “The Texans stood like gods waiting to let others feel their mighty strength” (Pennybacker which refers to Mexican soldiers as “fiends” and “servants of the ‘Prince of Butchers,’” calls each Texian soldier “a bleeding sacrifice upon his country’s altar” (Pennybacker after denouncing the cremation of the Texian dead Pennybacker celebrates its effects: “From that sacred fire sprang the flames that lighted all Texas” (1888: 78-79) Such hagiographic martyrologies served a heady mix of racism a heritage that endowed Texas history with its special character was the pedagogical successor to Pennybacker providing “for many students the first and only taste of Texas history” (New Texas History Movies It began in the Dallas Morning News in 1926 it was distributed free of charge to Texas schoolchildren by the Magnolia Petroleum/Mobile Oil Company from 1932 to 1959 and African-Americans caused Mobil to cease distribution (Brear A skeptical examination of myths associated with the Alamo follows THE TEXIAN OCCUPIERS OF THE ALAMO WERE DETERMINED TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH Travis acceded to the will of the garrison after days of pleading: if no reinforcements came on March 5 they would attempt to surrender or escape the next night His sources were a San Antonian woman and a “Negro [Joe] who was the only male who escaped.” De la Peña says these accounts were later confirmed by women who remained inside the Alamo during the battle (Long Mexican General Vincente Filisola says Travis “through the intermediary of a woman,” attempted to surrender around nightfall on March 5 with the sole condition of guaranteeing their lives but Santa Anna would only accept unconditional surrender (Long Lindley (2003: 146-47) believes Juana Alsbury was the messenger/intermediary De la Peña speculates that Mexican President and General Antonio López de Santa Anna thought a bloodless victory would lack “sensation” and “glory” (Hardin Santa Anna expected that Travis would soon receive reinforcements Santa Anna attacked before dawn on March 6 to catch the occupiers by surprise and to prevent their escape that night This attack also negated the Texian’s strategic advantages: long-range rifles and perhaps the most formidable array of cannon between Mexico City and New Orleans Travis and the garrison as a whole expected substantial Texian reinforcements Travis mistakenly thought that local Tejanos would overwhelmingly rally to his cause Travis angrily recognized his error on March 3: “The citizens of this municipality are all our enemies except those who have joined us heretofore” (Hutton simply did not want to take sides in this conflict Lack (1992: 183) points out: “Almost any behavior even that designed to protect themselves from the ravages of war made the Tejanos seem like traitors from the perspective of one army the artist’s great-great-grandfather was provided with a broom instead of a rifle She imagines that his military service consisted of sweeping the environs of the Alamo church This work was in “The Other Side of the Alamo” exhibition at the Guadalupe in 2018 Travis vindictively called for the punishment of the Tejanos in San Antonio who had not united with him which of course was virtually the entire population: “… those who have not joined with us in this extremity and their property should aid in paying the expenses of the war” (Hutton Juan Seguín attempted — with little success — to evacuate San Antonio telling the populace to move to the interior with their livestock or face being “treated as real enemies… without fail” (Ramos essentially ratifying Travis’s equation of neutrality with Toryism (Lack once the Texians were surrounded in the Alamo A few couriers could and did leave the fort on horseback and the Tejanos were formally offered amnesty “the Alamo was as much prison as fort” (Davis THE ALAMO HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A FORMIDABLE FORTRESS politically or militarily,” which he says was the “unanimous opinion of all the military” (Tucker called it “a mere corral and nothing more” (Tucker Hardin (1994: 131) and others have emphasized that the Alamo’s perimeter — nearly a quarter mile in length — rendered it “indefensible” without a significantly more numerous force Tucker says it was a mistake for the Texians to defend it and “a greater folly” for Santa Anna to attack it (2010: 133) since neither the Alamo nor San Antonio had strategic importance Hardin (1994: 185) calls the attack on the Alamo “pointless” and “wasteful.” William C Davis says Santa Anna had no reason to fear 200 Texian soldiers in “a mud fort,” and he should have left them behind (1998: 555) Several authors say the Alamo was deficient or lacking in critical features possessed by purpose-built forts Tucker says garrison members didn’t want to work on fortifications because they were aspiring Southern gentlemen and considered hard labor to be slave work (2010: 131-32) In a letter to Sam Houston dated January 18 complained: “the men I have will not labor… The officers of every department do more work than the men.” Jameson lacked the time and willing manpower to realize more significant improvements “most” of the Alamo’s defenses at the time of the 1836 battle had been put in place under Mexican General Cos in the fall of 1835 (Nelson Another problem was that many — including Travis — seem to have been more interested in fandangos than fortifications argues that the extent of the Alamo’s defensive features during Santa Anna’s siege has been seriously underestimated due to an over-reliance on post-battle illustrations that reflect the destruction of its fortifications in May of 1836 when General Juan José Andrade fulfilled his order to “render them useless for all times and under any circumstances.” Zaboly’s use of early sources leads him to conclude that the Alamo formerly “brimmed with… batteries and so on,” and thus was not the “broken-down armed hacienda” that is commonly depicted (2011: S4 regardless of the improvements made to the former mission it had too many vulnerabilities and too small a garrison to withstand Santa Anna’s attack for any appreciable amount of time Travis was naïve to claim that he could hold the Alamo with 200 men as he did in a letter on February 12 to Governor Smith (Tucker Jameson was likewise naïve to think that the Texians could “whip [the Mexican army] 10 to 1” (Nelson But — as we shall see at San Jacinto — the Texians did not possess a monopoly on hubris Note how the Texians are fighting under an American flag on a non-existent roof The battle seems to have been collapsed into or re-imagined as a struggle for the church structure This battle is presented as a defense of the U.S “perhaps the most glorified battle in American history,” was “transformed into something that it was not: a climactic He calls the siege “something of a farce” because the Mexicans who were awaiting the arrival of their large cannon (two 12-pounders that would have devastating effects) The Mexicans generally stayed out of rifle range and the Texians even quit returning cannon fire due to a critical shortage of usable powder Filisola said bombardment by twenty properly placed artillery pieces would have reduced the walls to “rubble” in less than an hour (Hardin the Mexican forces dug protective trenches for their artillery and inched closer day by day The bombardment of the north wall possibly facilitated the ability of the Mexican soldiers to scale it without ladders though the failure to cover General Cos’ log reinforcements with an earth facing was probably a bigger factor (Long Captain John Sowers Brooks at Goliad wrote of a battery whose “every [cannon] shot goes through it as the walls are weak” (Zaboly Lindley (2003: 147) assumes his source was James A who departed for Goliad on the evening of March 5 day-by-day documentary chronology of the siege as chronicled by participants THE STORIED BATTLE OF THE ALAMO IS ONE OF THE GREATEST “LAST STANDS” IN AMERICAN HISTORY Briseño’s title is a pun on masa: corn dough which he calls “the basis of Mexican civilization.” Masa is utilized to reclaim the Alamo’s Mexican origins “MasAlamo” also literally means “more Alamo.” This work will be featured in “Dining with Rolando Briseño: A Fifty Year Retrospective” at Centro de Artes in San Antonio in 2024-2025 the Mexican army had reached the walls before most of the Alamo occupiers were awake much less aware that the assault had begun before the Texas cabinet: “when the attack was made There were three picket guards without the fort Joe was sleeping in the room with his master when the alarm was given” (Gray said the battle lasted an hour “before the curtain of death covered and ended it” just after 6 a.m says the units took their battle stations at 5:00 a.m. He adds: “When the enemy attempted in vain to fly they were overtaken and put to the sword….” (Lindley This depiction of heroic Texian resistance and Mexican perfidy is displayed in the Texas State Capitol’s Senate Chamber It is more grandiose than the first version from 1875 along with McArdle’s “Lee at the Wilderness,” was destroyed in an 1881 fire Tucker concludes that the majority of the Alamo garrison offered “little or no resistance” (2010: 237) and that the battle inside of the Alamo lasted only twenty minutes (2010: 318) or one-half hour (2010: 299) Davis (1998: 570) estimates that the battle took “less than an hour,” as does Crisp (2005: 64) Tucker says the “stiffest resistance,” the “principal ‘battle’—the real last stand” took place not on the walls where perhaps 50-75 men who were recuperating were trapped and had little chance to escape (2010: 248-50) those Texians who had the chance to escape made the most of their opportunities in three groups: (1) 62 men escaped near the palisade just South of the church in what might have been an organized flight (2010: 261); (2) the second group consisted of about 50 men who exited the main gate on the South end (2010: 287-95); (3) a small number of men exited the Alamo near the center of the West wall (2010: 295-98) These escapees totaled as many as 120 men in Tucker’s estimation (2010: 302) They were met by 400 elite mounted lancers and cavalrymen Thus it was more a slaughter than a fiercely contested battle Santa Anna consequently had the Texian bodies burned in proximity to where they fell (Tucker so Casas depicted a semi-abstract cottonwood tree with self-seeding miniature Alamos He viewed the Alamo as “fake patriotism based on fake history.” This work was in “The Other Side of the Alamo” exhibition at the Guadalupe in 2018 and Roger Borroel have posited substantial flights from the Alamo Borroel (1989: 83-85) believes over 100 Texian soldiers exited the Alamo during the battle and notes “perhaps a score” of known but largely ignored sources that attest to Texian soldiers escaping from the Alamo during the battle Davis discovered a confirming report by General Ramírez y Sesma in the Mexican military archives in Mexico City and he also mentions a confirming forthcoming publication (by other authors) of an anonymous journal of a Mexican soldier constituted about a third of the Texian force Tucker concludes that the majority of the Texian garrison died outside of the Alamo and “even farther from the romance and glory of the mythical last stand” (2010: 308) THE TEXIAN OCCUPIERS OF THE ALAMO WERE ANGRY THAT SANTA ANNA HAD USURPED THEIR RIGHTS AS COLONISTS Walter Lord (1968: 20) estimates two-thirds of the garrison were “new arrivals” from the U.S. only six were residents of Texas for six years or more He concludes that the Anglo-Americans at the Alamo “weren’t fighting for any kind of Mexican constitution” (1968: 20) Hutton (1995: 20) says: “Almost all of them were recent emigrants to Texas and it was unlikely that many of them knew anything about the Mexican Constitution.” Tucker avers that the Alamo occupiers were “almost wholly recent volunteers from the United States” who entered Mexico illegally seeking free land that belonged to Mexico (2010: 15) Hardin (1994: 137) notes: “the majority had only recently come from the United States for few of the old settlers had originally sought independence or war.” De la Peña (1975: 51) wrote in his diary: “there were thirty or more colonists the rest were pirates.” Lack (1992: 110-36) provides a comprehensive study of the Texian army complete with charts that provide a basis for Kelley’s summary below (115 Kelley summarizes the three phases of the Texian army: (1) in the earliest phase 63 percent of the men who fought at Gonzalez and San Antonio in late 1835 had spent at least a year in Texas and fourteen percent were in Texas for eleven years or more After the December 1835 capture of San Antonio most Texas colonists who had participated in the revolt returned home to tend to their crops (2) 78 percent of the soldiers during the Alamo and Goliad campaigns in 1836 and only four percent had been in Texas for at least 11 years 24 percent of the men in the army had been residents of Texas for at least six years while only 21 percent had lived in Texas for less than five months (Kelley that means at least 38 percent had been in Texas for a year or less not including those combatants who left no documentary trace Long (1990: 109) notes “two waves of mercenaries,” the first of which arrived about the time San Antonio was captured The first group was largely killed before San Jacinto Thus the happenstance that a quarter of the soldiers at San Jacinto had relatively deep Texas roots was an anomalous statistical blip The newly arrived New Orleans Greys were instrumental in the capture of San Antonio and the Alamo in the first place: without them the revolt would likely have collapsed in late 1835 (Brown Gary Brown (1999:88) says the attack “was launched almost entirely by United States volunteers led by American officers and wielding American-manufactured weapons and equipment.” Whether or not this characterization is an overstatement Given the relatively few colonists in San Antonio in December of 1835 Brown concludes: “there is reason to doubt that the army remaining there was fighting for the constitutional freedoms of the Anglo settlers” (1999: 88) “Texas Forever” leaflet (reproduction) Likely printed between March 17 and March 28 this leaflet declares: “The usurper of the South [Santa Anna] has failed in his efforts to enslave the freemen of Texas The wives and daughters of Texas will be saved from the brutality of Mexican soldiers.” In an 1836 speech in the House of Representatives John Quincy Adams mocked the grounds adduced for the revolt in Texas by saying the state of Michigan “has greater grievances and heavier wrongs to allege against you for a declaration of her independence than the people of Texas have for breaking off their union with the Republic of Mexico” (Lundy Lack (1992: 3-4) observes: “The people of Texas had received much from the government of Mexico and had not been badly treated… Seldom has the ruling hand been felt so lightly as in Texas in the period 1821-35.” Josefina Zoraida Vázquez (1997: 75) declares: “No group in Mexico received as many privileges as the Texans because the government was determined to make the colonization work.”  While the complaint made by the colonists of the future U.S was “no taxation without representation,” the Texian colonists long had representation without taxation (since tariffs were waived Frederick Merk concludes: “The explanation of the Texas revolution that it was an uprising against Mexican tyranny spread by the Texans in the course of the war … But even Texas historians now agreed that Mexican rule had not been cruel or oppressive The revolution was basically the outcome of admitting into the rich prairies of Texas a race of aggressive and unruly American frontiersmen who were contemptuous of Mexico and Mexican authority” (Merk THE TEXIAN OCCUPIERS OF THE ALAMO WERE A FORMIDABLE FIGHTING FORCE This handbill offered “a fortune in land” for “emigrants… desirous of assisting Texas at this important crisis of her affairs.” it is commonly asserted that Travis’ men made up one of the finest fighting forces of its age Walter Lord (1968: 20) debunks the notion that the garrison was mostly made up of “frontier types” like those found in Western films He characterizes them as a “cross section of the America of that period,” without a single professional soldier In contrast to the misconception that a high percentage of the Texian occupiers were frontiersmen skilled in warfare with the legendary long rifle and Walraven (1993: 59) note their many professions: lawyer They had so little military experience that Tucker refers to them as “amateurs under arms” (Tucker De la Peña describes them as “inexperienced and untried in the science of war” (Tucker Texas offered 1,200 acres for military service an additional 640 for completing six months service and an additional 4,444 for settling with a family (Tucker “The Origin and True Cause of the Texas Insurrection Commenced in the Year 1835,” first edition Lundy condemned these mercenary “bribes” for military service: “The artful deceivers have not relied upon the generosity and noble sympathy of our fellow-citizens for they insidiously presented a bribe to excite their cupidity also They have not only falsely represented the Texian cause as one of pure as opposed to perfidious tyranny and cruel oppression but they have themselves assumed something more than the liberty which they basely and hypocritically advocate by impudently promising a fertile paradisiacal piece of Texian land to every American citizen and foreign emigrant who will sally forth to capture it from the Mexican republic!” (Lundy Widely posted handbills lured enlistees to Texas with the promise of “a fortune in Land” (Tucker [See illustration above.] When prime cotton-growing land was auctioned for as much as $50 an acre in the U.S. It should be no surprise that many of the men who had braved long and perilous journeys in order to receive free land were poor farmers or ranchers Since an individual worker could cultivate only eight to ten acres the remainder of the property could serve as an investment thus all settlers could be regarded as potential land speculators (Torget THE TEXIAN OCCUPIERS OF THE ALAMO MADE THE MEXICAN ARMY PAY DEARLY FOR ITS VICTORY Alamo Battle Miniature, Texas Military Forces Museum. Photo: Texas Military Forces Museum. On its X (formerly Twitter) account the Texas Military Forces Museum notes the many inaccuracies of this tableau Recent estimations of Mexican casualties are much lower than those that have long prevailed the New York Herald estimated that the Mexican army had suffered between 2,000 and 3,000 killed and wounded at the Alamo (Tucker the Memphis Enquirer declared that 1,600 Mexicans had been killed citing Travis’s slave Joe as its source (Tucker Pennybacker’s Texas textbook (1888: 78) also enumerated 1,600 Mexican fatalities in his immensely popular Lone Star: A History of Texas and Texans accepted the figure of “nearly 1,600 Mexican dead.”  In pointing out the absurdity of these figures Tucker (2010) and Jeff Long (1990: 243-45) emphasize that the Texians were caught by surprise; their guns could not have fired properly if they had been loaded the previous evening; and they suffered severe shortages of usable gunpowder Tucker believes a majority of the garrison sought to escape He says the most accurate count was that of Santa Anna’s chief of staff listed 65 killed and 223 wounded in his Order Book (Tucker Tucker notes the similar figures given by other Mexican officers (2010: 317-18) Davis says the number of Mexican soldiers killed in the battle is “unclear.” He thinks 400 were wounded (based on hospital figures that would include those wounded in the siege adjusted for a number that remained hospitalized from 1835 campaign) Davis estimates about 200 Mexican soldiers were killed or mortally wounded based on Mexican accounts (1998: 569-70; 739-40 Lindley (2003: 275) gives a total of 516 killed and wounded 2012: xiii) says historians currently accept a figure of less than 400 killed and wounded Mexican soldiers the Mexican death toll was needlessly compounded by Santa Anna’s callousness and lack of medical preparedness which resulted in over 100 deaths from wounds that should not have been fatal (Hardin Tucker believes that half or more of Mexican casualties came from “friendly fire” (2010: 312-315) Many were shot from behind as they scaled or descended the walls Mexican soldiers were generally not trained marksmen — they marched in columns and shot from the hip in volleys and many must have shot their fellow soldiers in the darkness General Filisola attributed “most of our dead and wounded” — more than three-quarters — to friendly fire (Long Hardin (2001: 41) says Filisola’s percentages might be “exaggerated.”  The Texas capital has a penchant for grandiose De la Peña (1975: 54) said 253 Texian bodies were counted and an anonymous source in the newspaper El Mosquito Mexicano also listed the body count in the 250s (Edmondson The most commonly used figure is only about 182 bodies a figure used by Ruiz (who probably wasn’t even in San Antonio at the time of the battle) de la Peña lists the conventional numbers of those thought to be in the Alamo: 150 volunteers and “and about 20 or so townspeople or merchants” from San Antonio (de la Peña Tucker speculates that when Travis cited 150 men (a figure subsequently increased by the approximately 32 men from Gonzalez) he might only have been counting able-bodied men (2010: 319) Davis thinks Travis did not count either the sick or the Tejanos (1998: 548) and the total number of garrison members could have been “240 to 260 or more” (737 Jameson tallied 80 “effective” men out of a total of 114 which means about 35 were sick or wounded at that time (Nelson Crisp (2005: 144) notes “200-odd defenders.”  Other researchers speculate that the Alamo garrison received additional But where could such a substantial number of ghost riders have come from or being spotted by the encircling Mexican forces I see one way to explain how two groups of people could come up with two distinct but relatively similar body counts: one group of counters missed one group of bodies or one group of counters double-counted one group of bodies and then counted again after they were taken outside to be burned scholars are increasingly favoring the higher number THE TEXIAN OCCUPIERS OF THE ALAMO REPRESENTED AND FOUGHT FOR THE ANGLO-AMERICAN COLONISTS (THE “OLD TEXIANS”) WHO DECLARED INDEPENDENCE FROM MEXICO Captain Philip Dimmitt described the flag he designed in October 1835 (which does not survive) as one of Mexican colors with “Constitution of 1824” written in the center a tri-color flag with the date 1824 served as the Texian flag (along with other flags) Independence was not declared until March 2 and neither the Texians nor the Mexicans at the Alamo had confirmation of this event The convention that declared independence at Washington (subsequently called Washington-on-the-Brazos) consisted of 59 delegates almost half of whom had been in Texas less than two years was written by the nephew of a land speculator had spent only a few months in Texas: he likely wrote the declaration in Tennessee where he met with President Jackson (who had his tentacles everywhere) shortly before leaving for the convention (Shuffler Almost a third of the delegates had lived in Texas less than six months and only one delegate was from Austin’s original colony Only ten had been Texas residents for more than six years (Long signed largely by interlopers who had no authorized right to be in Mexico It complained of the loss of rights “habituated in the land of their birth the United States of America” as well as the fact that legislation was conducted “in an unknown tongue” (i.e It was quickly and unanimously adopted in an unfinished house that no longer survives though a “battered chest” (14 x 22 x 10 inches) constructed of planks from this hallowed hall rests in the State Archives It is known as The Ark of the Covenant of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Shuffler The Ark of the Covenant of the Texas Declaration of Independence Photo: Texas State Library and Archives Commission The Alamo garrison expected that independence would increase the value of slaves as well as land 1836: “upon the faith in this great event [independence] great speculation is going on in Lands….” (Tucker Cummings noted: “The price of land has risen greatly since the commencement of the war….” (Tucker By the time the Battle of the Alamo approached most legitimate colonists had returned to their homesteads Tucker says the occupiers of the Alamo did not sufficiently appreciate that they were “the natural opponents of the older [Anglo-American colonist] settlers” for Texas land (Tucker The newcomers at the Alamo supported complete independence from Mexico which would potentially threaten the land grants of the “Old Texians,” the certified colonists who supported the 1824 Mexican Constitution The latter did so because the 1824 Constitution Erasmo Seguín represented Texas in Mexico City when the Constitution was being written and he “helped insure” that it did not forbid slavery” (Torget Torget (2015: 71) calls Erasmo Seguín a “fierce advocate” for slavery in Texas federalism in Texas and slave-based agriculture “could not be separated.” The defense of federalism in Texas meant the defense of slavery for they were intertwined from the inception of the 1824 Constitution Andreas Reichstein (1989b: 72) argues that claiming fealty to the 1824 Constitution was also a stratagem designed to “enlist more aid from the U.S … [and] the support of the liberal Mexicans and thus divide Mexican opinion.” Reichstein (1989b: 72) adds that all the delegates to the Consultation knew “they were actually fighting for independence,” and they had no intention of keeping the pledge they had sworn to the Mexican federation The Alamo garrison did not recognize the authority of Texian General Sam Houston (Lack and they received no support from him (Tucker who had advised against occupying the Alamo claimed not to believe Travis’ desperately worded appeals for aid and reinforcements (Davis and David Crockett were among Houston’s greatest potential political rivals for leadership in a new state or republic: their deaths served to eliminate his chief competitors Crockett was a champion of the “common man,” rather than the wealthy planters and land speculators as well as an ardent foe of President Andrew Jackson (Tucker Houston was too canny to allow himself to be trapped in the Alamo and that reticence might have a bearing on his dilatory rescue effort once he decided to head in the Alamo’s direction SLAVERY WAS NOT A PARAMOUNT FACTOR IN THE TEXIAN REVOLT “Spinning San Antonio,”) as performed in front of the Alamo church Briseño has fashioned a kinetic sculpture in which either the saint (San Antonio) or the Alamo is upside-down — and is thus being punished including slavery and the role of Tejanos at the Alamo and it will be on view in “Dining with Rolando Briseño: A Fifty Year Retrospective,” at Centro de Artes in 2024-2025 Though slavery is the most repressed factor in Texas history — an issue that will be addressed in detail in a later essay — a number of works in recent decades have underscored slavery’s importance in the Texian Revolt Lack (1985: 190) points out that federalism “tacitly protected slavery,” despite repeated condemnations by the national government the challenge to slavery contributed to the Texas decision to resist the new order [centralism] in Mexico” by force of arms in 1835 who adds that separation from Mexico “also promised to end the period of disputation on the status of slavery.” Lack (1985: 187) also notes: “Even malleable local Mexican officials clearly regarded slavery as a temporary and shameful evil,” and by the spring of 1835 there were ample “warnings that traditional Mexican restraint with regard to slavery had come to an end.” Moreover “many Anglo Texans concluded that Mexico had acquired the will and power to implement an antislavery strategy” (Lack Vázquez (1997: 76) points to the extensive protections for slavery that were built into the Republic of Texas constitution (such as: “Congress shall not pass laws to prohibit bringing their slaves into the Republic… nor shall Congress have power to emancipate slaves….”) as tangible evidence of “the significant role that Mexico’s antislavery stance” played in Texan independence Slavery was the king of the Texas constitution The British Plenipotentiary Minister in Mexico reported on June 1 1836 that Irish colonists who left San Patricio for asylum in Matamoros told him “the establishment of slavery as a permanent institution was one of the principal causes of the rebellion” (Vázquez Quintard Taylor (1998:39) argues: “The Texas Revolution of 1835-36 is often represented as a contest between liberty-loving Anglos and Tejanos confronting a despotic Mexican government That image belies a central motive in the campaign for independence: an Anglo desire to preserve slavery.”  Will Fowler (2007: 163) writes: “as long as the federal 1824 Constitution was in place slavery was allowed to continue under Texan law.” He points out that “the imposition of a centralist state would result in the abolition of slavery,” which he calls “one of the main reasons why the Texans rose up in arms” (2007:163) Fowler (2007: 175) adds: “after the demise of the 1824 charter there were no longer any legal loopholes whereby slaves could be legitimately kept in Texas.”  Kristel A Heroes of Texas Slavery Series-El Empresario [Stephen F Orta-Puente has depicted Texas “heroes” explicitly in their function as “heroes of slavery,” imagined as trading cards with bullet-riddled backgrounds Tucker deems slavery “the true—but most forgotten and overlooked—catalyst of the Texas Revolution” (2017a: 3) Tucker sees this struggle as a component of a “national war for slavery” rather than the “localized grass roots revolt” found in Texas histories due to the “massive” neutrality law-violating multi-level involvement of the United States He also points out that the exclusive focus on the Alamo occupiers ignores the desire for freedom on the part of 5,000 black slaves a reality “silenced to preserve… the Texas creation story” (Tucker A number of Alamo garrison members owned slaves other slaves were inside during the battle (Jackson Tucker argues that President Andrew Jackson and Southern planters formed a “pro-slavery cabal” to expand slavery (2017a: 22-25) whom he calls Jackson’s “political-military representative,” was sent by Jackson in 1832 to prepare the groundwork for a pro-slavery revolt in Texas (2017a: 209; 191; 197-204) In a report Houston sent to Jackson on February 13 he noted that nineteen out of twenty Texians wanted annexation by the U.S. and that Mexico was “powerless and penniless,” embroiled in civil war Houston and Jackson subsequently conferred in Washington D.C according to Houston’s cousin Narcissa Hamilton to make “plans for the liberation of Texas” (Tucker “How the West Was Won” (detail) Alvarez’s painting is a vast crazy-quilt of historic with an equally diverse sampling of commentaries predicting that Texas would be a sovereign state “within one year” and “forever” severed from Mexico in three years (Stenberg Houston informed Prentiss that a cessation treaty with Mexico “would not be ratified by the present Senate” (Stenberg likely an expression of Jackson’s assessment The Texians wanted virtually free land and slavery Land was not a problem — Mexico was happy to provide it Mexico and the Texians were on a collision course that — unless one side gave in — could only lead to war constituted the “first war over slavery” (2017a: 19) the preeminent and highest ranking Tejano hero of the Texian Revolt came from a family that owned at least one slave (one of only three Tejano families with this distinction in 1820) Juan Seguín’s father Erasmo served as a close ally and cultural broker for Stephen F The elder Seguín worked for years to oppose abolition laws and the enforcement of them in Texas both on the national level and on the state level and he was arguably the single most accommodating Tejano ally of slavery and Anglo colonization (Ramos Juan Seguín led a unit charged with hunting down and capturing the slaves that had been liberated by the Mexican army (Tucker Despite his light skin and his exemplary service to the Texian Revolt Seguín was falsely implicated and hounded from Texas by death threats from new Anglo American arrivals to Texas He fled to Mexico with his family and later fought against the U.S Black people were frequently forced into exploitative sharecropping relationships that kept them impoverished Tucker supports the conclusions of Benjamin Lundy the Quaker abolitionist who determined that slaveholders ANTI-MEXICAN RACISM WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN THE TEXIAN REVOLT “Available for Purchase in the Gift Shop,” 2018 Luna notes how toy weapons are marketed at the Alamo “to kids,” which serve to promote violence against Mexican Americans and their descendants In the cartoon history textbook “Texas History Movies” (illustrated and discussed above) Texians shouted racist epithets when they shot Mexican soldiers which encouraged Anglo schoolchildren to emulate them Reginald Horsman observes: “The Texas Revolution was from its beginnings interpreted in the United States and in Texas as a racial clash not simply a revolt against unjust government or tyranny” (1981: 213) Texas became the crucible of racialized Anglo-Saxonism: the “belief that American Anglo-Saxons were destined to dominate….” (1981: 208) Horsman views the Texian Revolt and the Mexican-American War as catalysts “in the adaptation of a racial Anglo-Saxonism” (1981: 209) when it became obvious that American and Mexican interests were incompatible and that the Mexicans would suffer innate weaknesses were found in the Mexicans” (Horsman Anglo-Americans argued that they were driven by Providence or Destiny — rather than greed or opportunism — to conquer people they considered racial inferiors which in their minds absolved them of guilt “Una Limpia de Colón: Eres un Conquistador (A Columbus/colon Cleansing: You are a Conquistador),” 2018 acrylic with gold and silver leaf on canvas Gonzalez regards the Alamo and Columbus as primary colonial/racial symbols which are here “cleansed” by the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl Austin is generally described as extremely tactful and diplomatic in his dealings with his host nation and its people Many of his letters were written for public consumption But in letters to his brother James Brown Austin he expressed scorching impressions of Mexicans from his first trip to Mexico He called them “bigoted and superstitious to an extreem [sic],” and he noted that “indolence appears to be the general order of the day.” He further claimed that “the majority of the people of the whole nation as far as I have seen want nothing but tails to be more brute than apes” (Weber However one might want to try to rationalize Austin’s last observation there is no taking the tail off of that trope in recollections dictated at the end of the 19th century that he “looked on the Mexicans as scarce more than apes” (Weber Weber notes: “many Anglo-American writers held a contemptuous view of Mexican males wherever they encountered them,” but negative stereotypes were based less “on direct observation or experience” than the anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish views inherited from their Protestant forebears (1988: 159) will be further explored in a future essay “the sole object of the foreigners… is to make money; and they indulge in all the unholy prejudices against people of colour or have contracted from their associates here” (1847: 146) Many scholars see considerable racial prejudice on the part of the predominantly Southern U.S Arnoldo De León emphasizes this aspect: he argues that the initial Anglo-American colonists in Texas regarded Mexicans as “primitive beings who during a century of residence in Texas had failed to improve their status and environment “the haunting prospect of being ruled by such people indefinitely explains in part the Texian movement for independence in 1836” (De León He calls racism “very prominent as a promoting and underlying cause” of the revolt (De León views the Texian Revolt as “less a consequence of racial friction than a precipitating cause of it” (1995: 48) he is assuredly correct in concluding that “the greatest measure of oppression in Texas came not before 1836 In generalizing about Anglo-American attitudes they chose not to follow Mexican laws and civic practices; second those Tejanos in their midst were treated poorly; and finally many Anglo-Americans created a generalized negative attitude toward people of Mexican origin after the Law of April 6 1830” (this law nullified unfulfilled empresario contracts — though the Austin and De Witt colonies got exemptions) Ramos (2008: 89) says that Anglos who looked at Mexicans negatively tended to focus on the indigenous component of Mexican ethnicity in a class-based manner which served to exempt elite Mexicans from negative stereotypes Reichstein (1989b: 73) deploys a surgical accusation of racism: he argues that a few men in the war party “detested the Mexicans as a whole” and had always wanted independence from Mexico regardless of what form of government it possessed He also listed Travis as one of the Texians who “basically hated and were contemptuous of Mexicans” in another publication (1989: 187) Reichstein (1989b: 73) adds that the war party and with them “all other leading Texans who followed that group in autumn 1835… did not fight with an ideological impetus but for ethnic reasons.”  Lack (1992: 13) observes that Anglo settlers possessed “intense racial consciousness,” which led them to regard Tejanos with suspicion though the two groups had limited contact since most of the Tejanos lived in or near to San Antonio where the 600-strong Tejano community had constituted a majority until 1834 when their transformation to minority status “accelerated ethnic tensions” (Lack the revolt became “more openly anti-Mexican” in December of 1835 and January of 1836 He believes expressions of prejudice had previously “been restrained by political prudence” (1992: 78) likely had considerably less racial animus towards Mexicans than the newcomers who clamored for war The Texian Revolt and the Mexican-American War fanned the flames of racism “King of the Hill,” acrylic on masonite Martinez depicts the continuous struggle over land by a composite Alamo preservationist figure rendered as degraded Warholian commodities imply the absence of originality/authenticity General Filisola notes that when Texians encountered dark-skinned Mexican soldiers “they treated them with grossly insulting scorn as if they were dealing with their own slaves” (Tucker Texians pressed some surviving dark Mexican soldiers into servitude/slavery as they had after General Cos’ surrender at San Antonio in 1835 (Tucker Torget (2015: 182-83) notes that captured Mexican soldiers were leased out as “servants” to any Anglos willing to take them For an overview of the treatment of Mexican prisoners after San Jacinto free Mexican citizens had been kidnapped and sold into slavery in Louisiana; some Mexican soldiers who survived San Jacinto would have suffered the same fate had it not been for the timely intervention of the Mexican consul (Tucker Given the racialized discourse surrounding the Texian Revolt John Quincy Adams rhetorically asked the most pertinent racial question in a speech in the House of Representatives on May 25 hate the Mexican-Spaniard-Indian emancipator of slaves and abolisher of slavery?” (Lundy As Hutton (1995: 18) observes: “the myth of the Alamo is often stunningly racist.” This is because “a creation myth draws lines of good and evil that are always razor sharp” (1995:18) the myth “reflects the racial sensibilities of that time” (1995:18) de al Cruz drew the name William Barrett Travis but he was forced to play a Mexican soldier instead because his ethnicity was regarded as villainous “Alamo Crackers,” a near homophone for “Animal Crackers,” is in part a response to dominant racially exclusionary groups in San Antonio such as Order of the Alamo and the Texas Cavaliers Tucker sees a continuation of the racial clash against Mexicans to the present day He says a “vainglorious and heavily xenophobic” tone characterizes Texas history books which suggests that their true purpose is to “demonstrate cultural and racial superiority over the Mexicans” (2017a: 2) Mexicans,” Lonestar Restaurant Association sign Inherit the Alamo: Myth and Ritual at an American Shrine Bullock Texas State History Museum. n.d. “James Bowie’s Mexican Land Grant Application, 1830. Slave Trader turned Texas Revolution Hero requests land.” [Features scan of original document.]  Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State The Alamo and Beyond: a collector’s journey and the Texas Republic: Towards a Reinterpretation,” The Texas military experience: from the Texas Revolution through World War II Sleuthing the Alamo: Davy Crockett’s Last Stand and Other Mysteries of the Texas Revolution (New Narratives in American History) Davis, William C. 1999. Interview with Stephen F. Hardin With Santa Anna in Texas: a personal narrative of the revolution de la Teja, Jesús F. 2017. “Seguín, Juan Nepomuceno,” Handbook of Texas Online They called them Greasers: Anglo attitudes toward Mexicans in Texas Durham, Robert L. 2005. “African Americans and the Fight for the Alamo,” Black History The Second Flying Company of Alamo de Parras The Alamo Story: from early history to current conflicts Lone Star; A History of Texas and the Texans The Diary of William Fairfax Gray: From Virginia to Texas Texian Iliad: a military history of the Texas Revolution “Politics and the Treatment of the Mexican Prisoners after the Battle of San Jacinto,” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 1981 Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism “The Alamo as Icon,” The Texas military experience: from the Texas Revolution through World War II The Blood of Noble Men: an Illustrated Chronology of the Alamo Siege and Battle Jackson, Ron. 1998. “In the Alamo’s Shadow,” Black History Kelley, Michael G. 2011. “Most Desperate People: The Genesis of Texas Exceptionalism.” Dissertation “Slavery and the Texas Revolution,” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly The Texas Revolutionary Experience: A Political and Social History College Station: Texas A&M University Press Alamo Traces: new evidence and new conclusions “Myths and Realities of the Alamo,” The Republic of Texas Lundy, Benjamin. 1836. The War in Texas: A Review of Facts and Circumstances, Showing That This Contest Is the Result of a Long Premeditated Crusade against Government, Set on Foot by Slaveholders, Land Speculators, &c. with the View of Re-Establishing, Extending, and Perpetuating the System of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Republic of Mexico The War in Texas: a review of facts and circumstances showing that this contest is a crusade against Mexico and perpetuate the system of slavery and the slave trade Philadelphia: Printed for the Publishers by Merrihew and Gunn Markstein, Donald D. 2010. “Texas History Movies,” Don Markstein’s Toonopedia “New Texas History Movies.” n.d A new history of Texas for schools: also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination Beyond the Alamo forging Mexican ethnicity in San Antonio Chapel Hill: Published in association with the William P Southern Methodist University by the University of North Carolina Press College Station: Texas A & M University Press “Was there a Revolution in Texas in 1835-36?,” American Studies International “The Signing of Texas’ Declaration of Independence: Myth and Record,” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 1829-1836,” The Southwestern Social Science Quarterly In search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press Exodus from the Alamo: the anatomy of the last stand myth America’s Forgotten First War for Slavery and Genesis of the Alamo 1836-1845,” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly “The Colonization and Loss of Texas: A Mexican Perspective,” in Jaime E and Misunderstandings: the Roots of Conflict in U.S.-Mexican Relations Magnificent Barbarians: little-told tales of the Texas Revolution “Scarce More than Apes: Historical Roots of Anglo-American Stereotypes of Mexicans,” Myth and History of the Hispanic Southwest: Essays Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press An Altar for their Sons: the Alamo and the Texas Revolution in contemporary newspaper accounts I was brought up on the Alamo story of sacrifice and heroism and would love to believe it but like the rest of the world l have become cynical when it comes to talk of hero’s… sadly updating the meaning of “thorough.” Thank you Ruben And love seeing Enrique Martinez King of the Hill But they are rarely the ones that are manufactured to serve a dubious cause Of the Americans who participated in this struggle (one way or another) the abolitionist Quaker who traveled to Mexico to attempt to establish a colony for freed Blacks (One of the barriers to abolition in the North is that most Northerners didn’t want to live among free Blacks.) Additionally Lundy knew exactly what would happen if the Texians prevailed: slavery would be expanded in Texas His foresight proved to be more accurate than the “history” written by generations of Southerners On the notion of “sacrifice” at the Alamo the death of the occupiers had little effect on the war contrary to the myth that sacrifice at the Alamo brought victory at San Jacinto Perhaps that is a myth I can take up in a future article It seems your hero was a custom to lying and hypocrisy seeing how both he and Quincy Adam’s seem to support the idea of stealing Texas from Mexico as long as it benefited themselves It’s a shame that we don’t instead remember someone like Amos Pollard He wrote for abolitionist newspapers and yet also fought bravely on behalf of Texas against Santa Anna He was also a surgeon who cared even for the wounded soldiers of the enemy Perhaps you may learn more from him than Lundy I was originally only going to write a short intro to my Alamo catalogue but found a much bigger literature than I thought existed which in many respects was worse than elsewhere in the U.S Your condemnation of Spain (at the time of the conquest of Mexico) as an imperialistic nation that oppressed indigenous peoples is accurate But you should recognize that the entire present-day U.S that territory represents a double conquest has long been the most imperialistic nation on earth has been on the wrong side of nearly every liberation movement and it still has colonies (“territories”) where the inhabitants lack the vote and many other rights normally afforded to citizens You maintain that “Mexico’s claim to those lands weren’t maintained for very long & weren’t very strong.” It was a longer-standing claim than the fledgling U.S had when it overthrew the colonial yoke of Britain You seem to blame Mexico for the offenses committed by the Spanish But why don’t you acknowledge that the U.S had no credible claim to this territory whatsoever & banditry for decades” prevented slavery from taking “root in Mexico to the extent that it did in America & South America.” Compare the racial mixing that took place in Mexico (particularly after liberation from Spain) with the practices of slavery If Mexico found slavery to be such a revolting institution then why did it not stop slavery in its own society Why did the hacienda and peonage system survive Why were all the indigenous from the Navajo to the Yaci subjected to slavery and were able to enslave others Why did Mexico allow the Confederacy to ship cotton out of its ports and allow the Confederacy to purchase and trade firearms Why did Mexico not make any attempt to simply ignore the alamo and help liberate slaves Why don’t we find any mass extermination of slave holders They even seem to have recently found a sunken slave ship off the coast of Mexico with a manifest full of slaves For a society that seemed to hate slavery so much it certainly fell into a lot of its trappings Jaime Ulloa and Luis Villacura work for the Compa��a Agricola y Forestal El Alamo Ltda Successful integration of the production and processing of poplar wood with agriculture and livestock raising community development and care for the environment The Compa��a Agricola y Forestal El Alamo Ltda (the El Alamo Agricultural and Forest Company Ltd hereafter referred to as CAF El Alamo) is an example of a large-scale private forest industry contributing to the social and economic development of the community where it is situated In its poplar plantations covering about 3�000�ha – the largest area planted with poplar in Chile – CAF El Alamo has adopted an integrated system for maximizing the use and rate of return of land through forest agricultural and livestock production in harmony with the natural and social environment The company has cultivated poplars intensively since 1939 and has been developing this sustainable agrosilvopastoral production system since its start CAF El Alamo obtained certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as a result of independent evaluations that demonstrated not only the company’s efforts to support forest conservation but also the important role that the company plays in the community and its overall commitment to sustainable rural development CAF El Alamo is Chile’s largest producer of poplar wood focusing particularly on roundwood production (3.2�m logs with diameters of 16 to 60 or 70�cm) Together with the Compa��a Chilena de F�sforos S.A (the Chilean Match Company) and subsidiaries CAF El Alamo makes up part of a consolidated industrial timber group involved in the processing and manufacture of wood products such as high-quality safety matches ice-cream sticks and paint stirrers made from poplar wood for both the domestic and international markets The company’s forest estates are located in Chile’s central valley The area has naturally fertile volcanic soil access to irrigation and a Mediterranean climate The climate is particularly suited to farming and the area has therefore experienced the highest level of human intervention in the country The land is used mainly for agriculture and only occasionally for forestry The high incidence of frosts during the coldest months and the dryness of the summer season are the main environmental constraints to agricultural activities The irrigation system that supplies water for the poplar plantations is fed by the Longav� River and the Bullileo dam The irrigation system is divided into 20�920 water shares or rights equivalent to 8.8�percent of the total permanent water rights into which the Longav� river is divided All of the company’s water rights are legally recognized which has been important for good community relations The total forest holdings of CAF El Alamo are about 3�235�ha including about 2�915�ha of forest plantations spread over 26 holdings located in the VII Maule Region of Linares Province; 86�percent of the forest plantations are made up mainly of Populus hybrids Poplar was chosen mainly because of its growth characteristics and the qualities of its timber The plantation aims at an even age class distribution; the whole range of ages from 1 to 14 years is found on the company’s land with areas varying from 146 to 259�ha and an average area of roughly 215�ha per age class Two-thirds of the age classes cover areas greater than 200�ha The plantations are established using genetically improved planting material produced directly in the company’s 40�ha of nurseries (see Figure) Plantation management consists mainly of pruning weed control and irrigation carried out between ages 0 and 13 years (Table 2) Pruning allows the production of knot-free timber Essentially only previously harvested areas are now planted This has led to a policy of very small land purchases with future projections of between 40 and 50�ha per year The company also grows eucalyptus and indigenous tree species raises cattle and carries out production and primary processing of asparagus Management plan for the production of high-quality roundwood Gravitational furrow irrigation: once a month during the growth period Annual harvesting levels are determined mainly by demand and by the availability of the forest resources The annual availability of timber for harvesting is determined based on factors such as variety plantation age and average diameter at breast height (DBH) The annual harvest rate for the company’s poplar holdings is roughly 38�000�m3 of timber trail networks and type of soil are all taken into account in the planning of harvesting operations enables the sustainability of the company’s forest capital while the difference between the real (140�ha) and theoretical (222�ha) annual felling rates makes it possible accumulate an annual balance of mature plantations CAF El Alamo is a major social and economic player in the community of the Retiro municipality where it is situated and is thus highly involved in the area’s development In a survey of the area’s inhabitants more than 80�percent identified strongly with the company seeing it as an indispensable cooperative element in the district’s development (Silvoterra The municipality has an area of 827 km2 and a population of 19�700 The past two national censuses have shown that the population of the municipality is growing at a rate below the national Some 37 percent of the population lives in poverty and the primarily agricultural economy offers few prospects to the area’s youth as reflected in the negative net migratory balance (–1.9�percent) CAF El Alamo is a source of stable employment Most of the company’s holdings are in rural areas of the municipality where the people are engaged mainly in farming and animal husbandry and in general live on isolated farms or in small hamlets or clusters of houses The urban population accounts for only 16.5�percent of the municipality’s total concentrated mostly in the villages of Retiro and Copihue; the company’s largest holding so that there are close relations between the company and the urban residents Evaluations by the Smartwood company carried out in connection with the certification of the plantations indicated that CAF El Alamo exercises a strong gravitational force for the area in which it is located The identification of the community with the company extends to the point that the Retiro municipality has adopted the slogan “Retiro The company launched a programme of company-community relations in 2003 and 2004 with the aim of establishing harmonious relations with the community and seeking mutual benefits The company adopted a strategy to participate in five spheres of action – quality of life and development of production – through participation and partnerships involving the whole company other companies producing similar products and the Retiro community in particular The landscape in which the company’s forest holdings are located has been profoundly modified by human activities industrial and urban activities have affected the conservation status of the indigenous plants and wildlife which originally formed a succession of sclerophyllous forests Approximately 4.7�percent of the company’s total holdings lie in protected areas and in relict indigenous forests water and soil protection and other functions of forest ecosystems are conserved CAF El Alamo organized a series of studies by a multidisciplinary group of experts which provided detailed information on the plants and wildlife present in its holdings These studies formed the basis for a management programme aimed at constantly enhancing the company’s commitment to conserving the environment These studies indicated that relatively large areas of plantation forests on the company’s land provide a refuge for wildlife This benefit is enhanced by a management system that produces a mosaic of poplar plantations of different ages and varieties and thus provides a greater diversity of habitat The company has carried out thematic mapping of forests with high conservation value and developed specific management plans for them A number of areas – including the banks of the Longav� river and the Molino and Copihue estuaries as well as small remnants of relict vegetation indigenous forest regrowth areas and alluvial meadows – are now being used as conservation zones The artificial water channels – of which there are 55�km on the company’s holdings – perform a major function as habitat for fish and other indigenous aquatic species The company has mapped the watercourses in its holdings and formulated and distributed a watercourse protection plan CAF El Alamo’s poplar plantations contain a high diversity of wild plants 35�percent of them indigenous and 65�percent introduced The company has identified exemplars of two species with conservation problems in the Maule region: Crinodendron patagua a typical tree species of the Valdivia Forest are also found in the company’s holdings CAF El Alamo’s conservation activities include promoting a general attitude supporting the conservation of endangered wildlife; identifying and mapping the distribution zones of endangered species; training employees in conservation; signposting places where endangered species are found; and monitoring biodiversity with the support of GIS The company provides the neighbouring community with information through pamphlets on wildlife habitats and special requirements for the protection of the various species It also forbids any hunting or trapping of the wild animals found on its holdings The company has also developed guides for implementation of the management plan and irrigation water management and control The company has developed a system for monitoring changes that may occur in each sphere covered by the company’s integrated management plan – forest The monitoring system addresses the variables to be measured the intensity and frequency of measurement systems for reporting results and feedback mechanisms The most important variables to be monitored include the following: Poplar has been cultivated in central Chile and specifically in the municipality of Retiro for at least 150 years During this time plantation practices and management have continuously improved from both the technical and environmental points of view Since 1913 CAF El Alamo has fully integrated the production of poplar raw material and its processing into high value-added end products This activity owes its sustainability (confirmed by FSC certification) to a mix of factors most notably technical knowledge of the production processes (both raw material and industrial) environmental awareness and integration with the community fauna e ictiofauna existente en el patrimonio de CAF El Alamo Ltda Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Alamo goes east: Eastsiders will get to go to Alamo Drafthouse on their side of town The announcement was made Wednesday indicating it will add a second location in El Paso El Paso County Commissioner Carlos Leon said he welcomes Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to the Eastside Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opened its first location at Montecillo in west El Paso in 2016 It is expected to open in 2020 at the corner of Pellicano Drive and Joe Battle Boulevard The new cinema is a 10 screen theater with about 1,000 luxury recliners and an attached full-service bar and restaurant The eastside location will employ about 200 people moviegoers can enjoy $3 movies at Alamo Drafthouse The movie theater is celebrating Cinema Day The Cinema Foundation on Sunday announced that Sept Alamo Drafthouse announced it has a full slate of 3D movies moviegoers can choose from Certain events and specialty screenings at Alamo Drafthouse are not included Tax & convenience fees are also not included Moviegoers can reserve seats at drafthouse.com/el-paso RECOMMENDED:Coming to a theater near you: $3 movie tickets for one day Sign up to receive the top most interesting stories from in and around our community once a day to your inbox. 2021 1:51 PM EDT | Originally published: June 9 were to open interior Alaska for colonization and insists they follow American laws and pay American taxes When the government tries to collect taxes When law enforcement goes after the killers backed by Canadian financing and mercenaries As an American, how would you feel? Now you can imagine how Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna would have felt in 1835, because that’s pretty much the story of the revolution that paved the way for Texas to become its own nation and then an American state little of this has permeated the conversation in Texas Start with the Alamo. So much of what we “know” about the battle is provably wrong. William Travis never drew any line in the sand; this was a tale concocted by an amateur historian in the late 1800s There is no evidence Davy Crockett went down fighting as John Wayne famously did in his 1960 movie The Alamo a font of misinformation; there is ample testimony from Mexican soldiers that Crockett surrendered and was executed Travis ignored multiple warnings of Santa Anna’s approach and was simply trapped in the Alamo when the Mexican army arrived He wrote some dramatic letters during the ensuing siege but how anyone could attest to the defenders’ “bravery” is beyond us The men at the Alamo fought and died because they had no choice Even the notion they “fought to the last man” turns out to be untrue as many as half the “Texian” defenders fled the mission and were run down and killed by Mexican lancers Nor is it at all clear that the Alamo’s defenders “bought time” for Sam Houston to raise the army that eventually defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto the following month Santa Anna had told Mexico City he expected to take San Antonio by March 2; he ended up doing so on March 6 the siege at the Alamo ended up costing him all of four days far from being the valiant defenders who delayed Santa Anna What’s the harm in Texans simply embracing a myth Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Census data indicates that Latinos are poised to become a majority of the Texas population any year now the Alamo has long been viewed as a symbol of Anglo oppression The fact that many Tejanos — Texas Latinos— allied with the Americans and fought and died alongside them at the Alamo has generally been lost to popular history The Tejanos’ key contributions to early Texas were written out of almost all early Anglo-authored histories much as Anglo Texans ran Tejanos out of San Antonio and much of South Texas after the revolt the revolt has been viewed by many as a war fought by all Anglos against all of Mexican descent “If you’re looking at the Alamo as a kind of state religion, this is the original sin,” says San Antonio art historian Ruben Cordova. “We killed Davy Crockett.” It’s a lesson many Latinos in the state don’t learn until mandatory Texas history classes taught in seventh grade “The way I explain it,” says Andres Tijerina “is Mexican-Americans [in Texas] are brought up singing the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance and all that and it’s not until the seventh grade that they single us out as Mexicans loyal little American kids and it converts them into Mexicans.” And Mexican-American history isn’t the only piece of the past that’s distorted by the Alamo myth Academic researchers long tiptoed around the issue of slavery in Texas; active research didn’t really begin until the 1980s scholars such as Randolph Campbell and Andrew Torget have demonstrated that slavery was the single issue that regularly drove a wedge between early Mexican governments—dedicated abolitionists all—and their American colonists in Texas many of whom had immigrated to farm cotton the province’s only cash crop at the time His correspondence shows conclusively that Stephen F the so-called “Father of Texas,” spent years jousting with the Mexico City bureaucracy over the necessity of enslaved labor to the Texas economy “Nothing is wanted but money,” he wrote in a pair of 1832 letters “and Negros are necessary to make it.” Each time a Mexican government threatened to outlaw slavery many in Austin’s colony began packing to go home they put away their suitcases and brought out their guns is not the Texas history many of us learned in school; instead we learned a tale written by Anglo historians beginning in the 19th century What happened in the past can’t change now is the time to teach the next generation our history PenguinBryan Burrough and Jason Stanford are, with Chris Tomlinson, the authors of Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth More from TIME History The History You Didn’t Learn: Black Wall Streets The original version of this story misstated the name of the President of Mexico in 1835 Contact us at letters@time.com Print For a great number of Texans a shrine that physically embodies the values — courage That veneration is based on a lot of made-up stuff Generations of school kids have been taught a comic-book version of events: how the heroic Davy Crockett William Barret Travis and their vastly outnumbered comrades holed up in an old Spanish church and fought valiantly to the death ultimately helping Texas win its independence from Mexico’s tyrannical rule It’s the kind of whitewashed — emphasis on white — curriculum Texas lawmakers seek to enforce with new legislation that would, among other things, end the required teaching of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Young minds would also no longer be instructed that the eugenics movement and Ku Klux Klan are “morally wrong.” the Texas revolt of 1836 wasn’t just about breaking away from foreign rule but also about sustaining the cotton-based economy and system of chattel slavery it required and Mexico wished to abolish Reports of the state’s decline and fall are a cyclical staple It’s not the first work to debunk what the authors — all Texans of good standing — call the Heroic Anglo Narrative and Texas Creation Myth “I don’t have militiamen protesting in front of my house which is kind of what I expected would happen,” said coauthor Chris Tomlinson a Houston Chronicle columnist who traces his Texas roots to 1849 “What I did not anticipate was the lieutenant governor using his office to shut down one of our events.” That would be Dan Patrick, one of the most powerful demagogues, er, politicians in Texas who has described the siege on the Alamo as “the most important 13 days in the history of Texas and Western civilization.” (Things like the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution apparently being vastly overblown.) Patrick boasted on Twitter of pressuring the state’s history museum to abruptly cancel a discussion of the book he deemed a “fact-free rewriting” of Texas history “that has no place @BullockMuseum.” Had he glimpsed between the covers, the lieutenant governor might have happened upon its 334 footnotes and four-page bibliography. Notably, just about an hour before the scheduled start of the talk, Patrick sent an email supporting a state law that would have required tech companies to explain their policies for removing content and allowed individuals to appeal those decisions. “In Texas,” the subject line read, “we treasure our right to free speech.” If irony weren’t dead, it would have keeled over right then and there. In recent years, the Alamo has become yet another front in the country’s never-ending culture wars, caught between those who like their history soothing and sanitized and others who prefer a truer, if less comfortable, rendering. A visit to the historic site is disappointing. The Alamo is small and unceremoniously crammed in a chockablock area of downtown San Antonio, with a bunch of kitschy souvenir shops and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! among its symbiotic neighbors. Plans for a dramatic $450-million upgrade have been delayed for years amid scuffling between those wishing to glorify the storybook legend — Patrick and George P. Bush, the political scion running for attorney general, among them — and those favoring a more accurate telling that includes the role Mexican Americans played at the Alamo and respect for the Native American burial ground beneath it. The core of the redesign is supposed to be a collection of artifacts donated by English rock star Phil Collins; the authors of the new Alamo book make a convincing case that much of it is fake, or at best of questionable origin. George P. hugs the former president, even as he throws his famous political clan under the bus. Tomlinson said the cancellation of the book talk has been terrific from a marketing standpoint. After sales began slowing some, the publicity surrounding Patrick’s actions resulted in a huge influx of orders, he said, pushing “Forget the Alamo” up the best-seller lists and resulting in the printing of many more copies. Still, Tomlinson said it was unnerving to have Patrick use his power to squelch a public forum, much less boast about it. “No government official in the United States of America should be able to decide who may speak in what location,” he said, calling the action part of a dangerous movement “to establish memory loss about what we can remember and what we can’t.” His coauthor, veteran journalist Bryan Burrough, tweeted, “I’ve worked all over the world for 35-plus years and I had to return to Texas to get my first government censorship and actual death threats.” The book’s third author is Jason Stanford, a Democratic strategist whose family ties to Texas date from the Civil War. Patrick has since asked the University of Texas to host an expert panel to “debate” the new Alamo book, though any attempt to refute the facts by promoting a folk tale, however revered, hardly constitutes a serious discussion. (And now, presenting the alternative view that the moon is, in fact, made of green cheese ...) Tomlinson said he has no interest in participating in “a Soviet-style show trial” and feels no obligation to appear alongside a bunch of fabulists or “neo-Confederate extremists” trying to bend history to their liking. But, he said, if some bona fide Alamo scholars were to take part, that would be different. “I’d love to see these guys again,” Tomlinson said dryly, noting that many were interviewed for the book. Mark Z. Barabak is a political columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on California and the West. He has covered campaigns and elections in 49 of the 50 states, including a dozen presidential contests and scores of mayoral, legislative, gubernatorial and congressional races. He also reported from the White House and Capitol Hill during the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations. Follow him on Bluesky @markzbarabak.bsky.social. California World & Nation Politics Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox (List price   3  months 12 Bulletins)  You could say Texan author Diana Lopez's first book "Confetti Girl" led to the opportunity to write the book adaptation of the popular Disney movie An editor in charge of assigning the story thought of Lopez years after she had read the author's 2009 middle-school book in a college class "Adrian Molina had written the screenplay for the movie that we all love and enjoyed They wanted me to take the screenplay and expand the story and add scenes," she said Lopez, who had honed her skills writing several teen books, was excited about the project. She will promote reading and talk about her writing during several stops in Ysleta and Clint schools Jan. 8-11. She also will participate in a Q&A before a screening of the film Jan. 11 at the Alamo Drafthouse A former middle school teacher for 10 years Lopez said her experience with tweens gave her a good sense of their voice and interests "I started writing for children because it came more naturally to me (than writing adult novels)," she said "I love writing for young people because they are very interesting in the sense that they are waking up to things in the world cognitively but emotionally they are still children Lopez said she never had to look elsewhere for inspiration for her characters the opportunity for the "Coco" book came about Lopez had already published six middle school novels She recently published another book titled "Lucky Luna" that takes place in her hometown of Corpus Christi Lopez said she was impressed with the film production and its efforts to remain authentic to the Hispanic culture "What appealed to me most about the story is that it's about a family and you see these characters are connected across generations," she said Lopez said she was given creative freedom but she also had to run things by Disney as she went along She chose to tell more about Mama Coco so readers could meet her as a younger woman and see what her life might have been like "I also wrote more scenes with the ancestors and the Land of the Dead I had so much fun with the twin uncles and giving them dialogue in the book They don't get to say too much in the movie," she said Lopez said the twin uncles come to life as two close brothers who finish each other sentences and like to argue — often with the same point of view Lopez said she wrote the book while the movie was in still in conceptual form.  "Disney would send me pictures of the concept art with a nondisclosure (agreement) and water marks with my name," she said I didn't actually get to hear the songs until I got to see the movie." The book was published about a month before the film was released Lopez got to see the premiere at the Capitan Theatre in Hollywood It was a highlight of her writing career The whole block was closed down and there was a marigold carpet instead of a red carpet," she said And then later I got to meet the screenwriter." Writing a story for the Disney film does not mean Lopez can quit her day job anytime soon She is a creative writing professor at the University of Houston-Victoria But she says the book did change her life a bit "What "Coco" did for me was that it actually gave me more presence in the public mind," she said "It's like people that had never heard of me all of sudden wanted to know what else I had done and who I am." More: "Coco" actor and El Pasoan Lombardo Boyar More: Disney Pixar's 'Coco' captures love and closeness of Mexican families María Cortés González may be reached at 546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter. Want more feature profiles like this Click here to subscribe to elpasotimes.com Details: The Lucid Love organization will have entertainment such as mariachis and folklorico, and face painting for families starting at 6 p.m.  Alamo Drafthouse Cinema plans to put its second El Paso location in the far East Side The new location will be at Joe Battle Boulevard and Pellicano Drive not far from the Socorro Student Activities Complex Alamo is an Austin-based chain of hip movie theaters serving an extensive menu of food and drinks inside its movie auditoriums and adjoining restaurants/bars.  declined to reveal details of the proposed second location until they hold a Thursday afternoon news conference MORE: Meet 'Blaze' film director Ethan Hawke, star Ben Dickey at Alamo Drafthouse  Triple Tap's first El Paso location in the Montecillo Smart Growth community on the West Side has received good customer response since opening in May 2016.  The West Side location is a 35,000-square-foot complex that includes eight movie auditoriums ranging in size from 30 seats to 140 seats, a large kitchen and a restaurant/bar with more than 40 beers on tap Alamo serves a wide range of food brought inside each movie theater by servers trained to do duck-like walks to be as unobtrusive as possible MORE:  Alamo's long El Paso road finally complete Alamo isn't the only cinema eatery in El Paso Dallas-based Cinemark's six-screen Movie Bistro is inside Sunland Park Mall in West El Paso an Austin-area company with cinema eateries that include microbreweries plans to open its first El Paso location next year in the West Towne Marketplace at Interstate 10 and Paseo del Norte (Artcraft Road) Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter He had no idea he was standing at the city’s sacred 60-foot-high Cenotaph located directly across from the Alamo building he was barely in any condition to remember what city he was in Ozzy didn’t technically pee on the Alamo building itself The Cenotaph was built in 1939 by the Texas Centennial Commission to honor the dead whose remains lay somewhere else and local officials didn’t take kindly to the public desecration by urination is the site of a famous battle that took place in 1836 during the state’s War of Independence and the historical landmark symbolizes Texan pride who spent part of the afternoon in a local jail on charges of public intoxication He was freed later that evening on $40 bond and performed at the city’s Hemisfair Arena Convention Center Though the fine didn’t even amount to a slap on the wrist Osbourne was banned from playing San Antonio again until 1992 when he made a public apology to the city and donated $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas the organization that maintains the Alamo grounds The city forgave him and Osbourne played two nights at the Freeman Coliseum READ MORE: Black Sabbath Songs Ranked (Ozzy Osbourne Era) “We all have done things in our lives that we regret,” Ozzy said at the time “I am deeply honored that the people of San Antonio have found it in their hearts to have me back I hope that this donation will show that I have grown up.” Osbourne’s San Antonio wee-wee infraction became the stuff of rock legend Artists Jim Mendiola and Ruben Ortiz-Torres created the art installation “Fountain/Ozzy Visits The Alamo,” which consisted of a life-sized wax Ozzy fashioned with a motion detector that causes it to pee on a wall when gallery-goers walked up to it And Osbourne’s move may have inspired 23-year-old El Paso resident Daniel Athens to imitate the act in February 2014; he was arrested for “Criminal Mischief of a Public Monument or Place of Human Burial.” Osbourne returned to San Antonio with his son Jack to film an episode for a series on The History Channel It was supposed to be an unpublicized event but someone leaked the news that the Prince of Darkness was coming to their town and more than 100 people gathered at the grounds for Osbourne’s arrival Osbourne visited local councilman Roberto Treviño very good about his efforts to come to our great city and apologize for the actions of a not-so-sober person” Treviño said And that’s (hopefully) the end of the story of Ozzy’s crazy drain Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita In 1982, he was banned for the next decade.\nRead More READ MORE: Black Sabbath Songs Ranked (Ozzy Osbourne Era) Students aren't the only ones needing a break El Paso area teachers can enjoy a free movie every Wednesday through the end of August As part of Summer Teacher Appreciation teachers can get free admission to any show before 5 p.m excluding special events and Disney titles The summer program is available in other Texas cities including Houston And it applies to preschool teachers as well as university professors Just bring documentation that shows you're a teacher More A+ news: El Paso teacher competes for big prize money on Ellen DeGeneres show More: Thank you, El Paso teachers: state Rep. César J. Blanco María Cortés González covers entertainment and trending news in the El Paso area. Support more coverage like this with a subscription.