Some chose their independent lifestyle. However, after Texas joined the union, the U.S. introduced the Reservation system. Hence, the U.S. Army hunted down the last remaining independent tribes, conducting constant raids in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, throughout the west, and Northwest Territories. The intentional, brutal dislodgment by the U.S. of innocent Native American families from their homes to virtual prison life in Reservations gives the world one of the worst examples of man’s inhumanity to man.
As regards Native American-Spanish relationships in the Southwest, what was first an intense culture clash soon turned into a crucible where a new Mestizo race was formed, claiming both brown (American) and white (Spanish) genealogies.
True to the spontaneity of DNA in each individual, some descendants look white European in every respect, while at the same time, their blood-related relatives have brown Native American features, whose natural beach tan-like skin ties them unequivocally to America. In truth, the blending continues; pointing directly to José Vasconcelos’ theory of the birth of a new race of “gente de bronce,” more specifically, “La Raza Cósmica,” or simply “La Raza.”
Finally, if you are a citizen of Mexican-descent, the next time someone asks you what happened to the original Texas and Southwest people, tell them we are still here (over 30 million strong in the U.S. alone and growing!) We are the end-product of the solid fusion of Spanish and First American bloodlines beginning in the early 1500s. Likewise, when extremists whine that they “want their country back,” tell them that America was never theirs in the first place.
Appendix 9
The Mestizo Paradox
(The best of all possible worlds)
The Spanish Mexican pioneer settlers of this great place we call Texas are half white (European Spanish) and half brown (Native American). We are often called Mestizos. That is, “gente de bronce” (people of bronze) due to our blended bloodlines. Thus, our heritage has two tracks:
Track 1 (America):
Origins: Asia; Lake Baikal, Russia (60,000 years ago).
Our ancestors crossed to America from Asia over a land bridge called Beringia about 20-40,000 years ago. From those simple beginnings (small family clans), our Native (First) Americans multiplied into hundreds of groups by the time Europeans arrived in 1492.
In Texas: There were dozens of separate tribes (clans) throughout the open country. These include, but not limited to Comanche Apache, Caddo, Karankawa, Coahuilteca, etc. Plus, our Spanish ancestors relocating from central Mexico to Texas and the Southwest brought with them Tlaxcala natives from Southern and Central Mexico.
Track 2 (Europe [Spain]):
Origins: Europe. Our European roots go back for thousands of years in what is now the Iberian Peninsula. For example, the Altamira Cave paintings near Santander, Spain have been dated as being over 25,000+ years old.
Likewise, the Tartessos Ruins (Atlantis) are said to be over 11,000 years old. Incidentally, archeological records indicate that our Sephardic Jewish ancestors in Tarshish lived there since about 950BC.
Our varied lineage continues. From the North: Celts; Vikings; Goths; Visigoths. From the South: Greeks; Phoenicians; Carthaginians. From the North African region come our Vandal connections.
We are Italians and Gauls (France) due the Roman Rule period in Spain.
Because Spain was occupied for nearly 800 years (711-1492) our European heritage also includes Moor Muslims whose name for Spain during their occupation was Al Andalus.
In 1492, the Spanish arrived in America. Subsequently, they moved to Texas in the early 1700s from population centers of Monterrey, Saltillo, Queretaro, Zacatecas, etc.
Recommended Reading
Early Texas History Books
Alonzo, Armando C., “Tejano Legacy: Rancheros and Settlers of South Texas”, 1998
Arellano, Dan, “Tejano Roots”, U.S. Austin Printing, 2005
Arreola, Dan, “Tejano South Texas”, University of Texas Press, 2002
Bannon, John Francis, “The Spanish Borderlands Frontier (1513-1821), 1974
Bolton, Herbert E., “The Spanish Borderlands”, 1921
Casas, Juan Manuel “Federico Villalba’s Texas (A Mexican Pioneer’s Life in the Big Bend)”, Iron Mountain Press, 2008
Chance, Joseph E. “José Maria de Jesús Carvajal (The Life & Times of a Mexican Revolutionary)”, Trinity University Press, 2006
Chipman, Donald E., “Spanish Texas (1519-1821)”, 1992
Chipman, Donald E., and Joseph, Harriett Denise, “Explorers and Settlers of Spanish Texas”, 2001
Cool, Paul, “Salt Warriors (Insurgency on the Rio Grande)”, 2008
Crimm, Ana Carolina Castillo, “De León (A Tejano Family History)”, University of Texas Press, 2003
De la Garza, Beatriz, “A Law for the Lion (A Tale of Crime and Injustice in the Borderlands)”, University of Texas Press, 2003
Fernández-Shaw, Carlos M., “The Hispanic Presence in North America (From 1492 to Today)”, 1999
Garcia, Lino Jr., “Colonial Spanish & Other Essays”, Lago Ediciones, 2014
Garza, Humberto, “The Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 (a Deceitful Smoke Screen)”, Sun House Publishing, 2006
Krause, Enrique, “Mexico (Biography of Power, A History of Modern Mexico, 1810-1996)”, 1997
López, José Antonio, “The First Texas Independence, 1813” (Bilingual Brief Biography of José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara Uribe, 1st President of Texas), 2013. (1st printing title: “The Last Knight (Don Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero)”, Xlibris Corp. 2009
López, José Antonio, “Preserving Early Texas History (Essays of an Eighth-Generation South Texan)”, Xlibris Corp. 2015.
Martinez, Mercurio; Lott, Virgil, “The Kingdom of Zapata”, Naylor Company, 1953
Palacios, Ricardo D., “Tio Cowboy (Juan Salinas, Rodeo, Roper & Horseman)”, Texas A&M, 2007
Paredes, Américo, “With his pistol in his hand”, University of Texas Press, 1958
Pena, Jose M., “Inherit the Dust from the Four Winds of Revilla”, 2006
Saenz, Andres, “Early Tejano Ranching”, Texas A&M University Press, 1999
Thompson, Jerry, “Juan Cortina and the Texas-Mexico Frontier”, 1994
Thompson, Jerry, “A Wild and Vivid Land, an Illustrated History of the South Texas Border”, Texas State Historical Society, 1997
Tijerina, Andres, “Tejanos and Texas under the Mexican Flag, 1821-1836”, Texas A&M University Press, 1995
Tijerina, Andrés, “Tejano Empire”, Texas A&M Univ. Press, 1998
Thonhoff, Robert H., “The Texas Connection with the American Revolution”, 2000
Tucker, Phillip Thomas, “Exodus from the Alamo (The Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth)”, 2009
Uribe, Joel C., “The Sword and the Chalice” (A biographical recount of two brothers: Colonel José Bernardo and the Reverend José Antonio Gutiérrez de Lara Uribe), 2009
Young, Elliott “Catarino Garza’s Revolution on the Texas-Mexico Border”, 2004
Zamora, Emilio “The World War I Diary of José de la Luz Sáenz”, Texas A&M Univ. 2014
Recommended Reading
Native American History Books
Bahti, Tom, and Bahti, Mark, “Southwestern Indian Ceremonials”, KC Publications, 1997
Barrett, S.M., “Geronimo (My Life)”, Dover Publications, Inc., 2005
Brown, Dee, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”, Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1970
Cozzens, Peter “The Earth is Weeping (The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West)”, Alfred A. Knopf, 2016
Cuevas, Lou, “Apache Legends (Song of the Wind Dancer)”, Mosaic Press, 2009
Innes, Hammond, “The Conquistadors”, Alfred A. Knopf, 1969
Jacobs, Margaret D. “A Generation Removed”, Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2014
Jacobs, Margaret D. “White Mother to a Dark Race”, Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2009
Josephy, Alvin M., Jr., “500 Nations (An illustrated history of North American Indians)”, Gramercy Books, 1994
Mann, Charles C., “1491”, Random House, 2006
Morrison, Samuel Eliot, “The European Discovery of America”, Oxford University Press, 1971
Newcomb, W.W., Jr., “The Indians of Texas”, University of Texas Press, 1961
Owings, Alison, “Indian Voices (Listening to Native Americans)”, Rutgers University Press, 2011
Scarborough, Mike, “Trespassers on our own Land”, Dog Ear Publishing, 2011
Turner, Ellen Sue and Hester, Thomas R., “Stone Artifacts of Texas Indians”, Gulf Publishing, 1999
Zimmerman, Larry J., “Native North America”, Duncan Blair Publishers, 1996
Glossary of Spanish Words and Phrases
a pié – Standing.
Abrazos de Lágrimas – Embraces of tears.
Abrazos de Alegría – Embraces of happiness.
Agua bendita - Holy Water.
Aguila – Eagle.
Alcalde - Mayor.
Alguacil – bailiff; constable.
Audencia – Court tribunal.
Barbaros (indios) – Hostile Native Americans.
Batalla del Puente de Calderón – Battle of Calderón Bridge, January 17, 1811. Decisive battle where the Spanish Army defeated the rebel Mexican army under Father Miguel Hidalgo.
Bota – Wineskin.
Cabildo – Council
Cadena sin fin de ideales - Unending chain of ideals. (Phrase coined in 1974 by Tamaulipas Governor Manuel A. Ravize, honoring the 200th birthday of Don Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara, the first President of Texas and the First Tamaulipas Governor.)
Casa – House; home.
Caminos del Rio – River road system built by pioneer founders connecting the Villas del Norte.
Carlos III – Charles III (King of Spain)
Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo – Oldest university in America, located in Morelia, Mexico.
Comiendo a pié – Eating while standing; eating a quick bite.
Compañia Volante – Flying Squadron. A civilian law enforcement and military unit organized by Spanish settlers long before the era of the Texas Rangers.
Cortes generales - Chamber of Deputies; Spanish legislature.
Criollos – Persons born in America of Spanish parents.
Cuchilla(s) Knife (knives).
Ejército del norte (Mexico’s Revolutionary Army of the North – First Texas Army)
El Camino Real – The system of roads organized by the Spanish from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Although the term implies one road, it consisted of a semi-autonomous, systematic network of roads in Florida and the Southeast; in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, California, and throughout what is today Mexico. The Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fé, for example, was called El Camino de Arriba.
El Grito – The Shout. A famous plea that Father Miguel Hidalgo issued on September 16, 1810 to begin Mexico’s War of Independence from Spain. Although current presidents of Mexico repeat a “Grito” every September 16th, initiating independence celebrations, should be noted that the exact words are no longer available. Its core premise: “¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! ¡Viva la Independencia! ¡Viva México!”
El otro lado – The other side. Phrase used on both sides by border residents of the U.S. Mexico border.
El Rio Sabinas – original name of the Sabine River.
Ejercito del norte -- Army of the North. Name given by Father Miguel Hidalgo to the first Texas Army; initially organized by Lt. Colonel José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara in Revilla, Nuevo Santander, and finalized in Nacogdoches, Louisiana, 1811-12.
Encino – Oak.
Español – Spaniard.
Flor – Flower.
Gachupines – Epithet given by Mexican Native Americans during the 1810 Mexican revolution to aristocratic, rich white citizens.
Ganado para ganancia – Raising cattle for profit
Goliad – (Pronounced by accenting the “a”, not the “o”.) La Bahia citizens developed the word by rearranging the letters of the name “Hidalgo” without the “H”. In so doing, they gave their highest honor, dignity, and respect to Father Miguel Hidalgo, regarded as a national hero in Texas and throughout Mexico. (Remember, Texas was part of Mexico until 1848.)
Hacienda – Country estate.
Indios – Indians.
Jacales - Shacks.
Juez – Judge.
La Corregidora – Magistrate. Dignified title of Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Mexican independence patriot and leader of the movement.
Las Villas del Norte – Communities along the banks of the lower Rio Grande. Built during 1747-1755 by Count José de Escandón, they number over twenty. Several of them straddled the Rio, such as Laredo, and its founding families, separated in 1848 when the U.S. took the land from Mexico, are split to this day (establishing a permanent Mason-Dixon Line).
Los Adaes – Its ruins are located near Robeline, Louisiana. Los Adaes served as the first Texas Capital, from 1721 to 1772. It was abandoned when Spanish authorities reorganized their frontier line of defense and moved the capital to Béxar (San Antonio).
Lo que usted mande – At your service. A subordinate-to-superior phrase implying submission used by servants when addressing their masters.
Mestizos – Persons in America with both European (Spanish) and Native American parents.
Milagros – Miracles.
Minas – Mines.
Minas de la Trinidad – Early name of Coahuila.
Mineros – Miners.
Mulatos – Persons in America of European and African parents.
Nombre de Dios- Name of God.
Nuestra Señora de los Milagros – Our Lady of Miracles (Spanish ship’s name)
Obispo – Bishop.
Padre – Father.
Padrino – Godfather.
Palo – Stick.
Paso de Anián – A mythical pathway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Peninsulares – Persons in America born in Spain.
Permiso – Permit.
Porción- Portion (of river water) allotted to Villas del Norte settlers based on land grants.
Presidio – Military fort.
Primera República de México – First Republic of Mexico.
Pronunciamiento - Manifesto.
Quinto – Fifth (a tax on property equal to one-fifth its value levied by Spanish monarchs).
Rayo – Lightning bolt.
Real Consejo Supremo de Indias – Royal Council of the Indies. Based in Seville, it was organized as an administrative body composed of up to ten members. They represented the Spanish crown in Spanish Colonial America, by managing and administering expenditures, civil law, and similar aspects.
Revillenses – Citizens of Revilla, Nuevo Santander, New Spain.
Risueño – Smiley.
Rodeo – Rodeo. In its original Spanish pronunciation, the word is phonetically sounded and the “e” is slightly emphasized. In modern usage, the word has been Anglicized to “Rode – ee – oh”.
Santiago Matamoros – St. James Slayer of Moors. A chant based on a legend that St. James the Apostle appeared during a ninth-century battle between outnumbered Christians against a larger Muslim army. The appearance of St. James is credited with assuring a Christian victory. The popular slogan was brought to America by Spanish soldiers, who often sought St. James’ help when fighting warlike indigenous tribes.
Señora – Madam; wife; lady.
Señorita – Young lady; miss.
Sereno – Night Watchman.
Sierra Gorda – Fertile land.
Sinsonte – Mockingbird.
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br /> Sotana – Robe; cloak (religious garment).
Tertulia – Afternoon teatime, often offering recitals, poetry reading, etc.
Vaquero (vaqueros/vaqueras) – Cowboy (cowboys/cowgirls).
Vino – Wine.
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