Folklore Creek....

In my hometown “San Antonio” there are many things that will keep you interested in it. From the history of the Alamo, the #1 NBA team, to the festive mood of fiesta, and so on. San Antonio is really a great place to live. Because of the amount of history and how far the city dates back, you will find a lot of tales about the paranormal. It is no secret that San Antonio is one of the most haunted cities in the United States. Take the cities history and add folklore from Mexico brought in from the immigrants and you have the recipe for eerie stories / experiences. It was here that I decided that my paper was going to be about one of these urban legends. To choose an urban legend was not going to be easy. With so many tales and so many accounts, it was going to be difficult to find a general topic to discuss. This was the case until I noticed a certain creek with a certain name that would change everything.

Interstate 10 connects San Antonio to Seguin. Between these cities is a creek named “Woman Hollering Creek”. This creek is named after an urban legend called “La Llorona”. The legend itself is sort of a cautionary tale that parents told their kids when they were misbehaving. If you don’t act right La Llorona will get you! For all of you, who still don’t have a clue, let me explain. Well the first thing is that La Llorona is Spanish for the crying woman. In the Mexican American communities this story is told and kept alive. The origins seem to come from Mexico, but it’s hard to tell where. Each area in the United States with a strong Mexican American presence seems to have a story and eyewitness accounts. From Southern California to South Texas there always seems to accounts of people having or seeing La Llorona. This also includes Mexico where it originated from and some of the countries in South America. Everywhere you go where La Llorona exists you will hear a different story of her. This begs the question, which one is correct?
Even though there are about a million versions of the story itself, it seems to have a basic setup. A woman is in love with a man that for some reason won’t love her back. So the woman decides that drowning her kids will please the man making him desire her. The woman goes through with the deed only to have the opposite happen. The man is disgusted of what she has done and never wants to see her again. The woman now crazed with guilt and grief realizes what she has done and drowns herself in the same river. The legend says that the woman haunts the river, crying and searching for her children. The legend also says that is she sees you she will drown you in order to replace her dead children. I have heard stories from my mom and dad’s side of the family that deal with La Llorona. There was even one from my step dad where he heard a woman crying at some lake, although I think he was trying to scare me. Either way the legend has roots here in the city. I decided that the only way to dig deeper in this legend was to start interviewing and take a visit to Woman Hollering Creek.

My dad is 62 and lives in San Antonio all his life except when he was in the army.
Me: So when was the first time you heard about La Llorona?
Dad: My mom told me about her when I was a kid. I would probably say around 4 or 5. We would have family gatherings and my uncles would talk about her or that they saw her. They were just trying to scare me and your uncles and aunts.
Me: Did you yourself have an encounter or know anybody that did?
Dad: I worked off of 10 at Texas Truck and Trailer (a truck stop) and I never heard anything. Some of the mechanics that lived around the area say that on some nights they have heard a wailing cry, but that can be from anything. I mean there are wild animals all over that area of town.
Me: So I take it you don’t believe in it.
Dad: It’s just a story son, that’s all it is.

My dad eats at a Flying J at the 587 and I 10, it’s practically right across from Woman Hollering Creek. It was here that my dad introduced me to Nora Roberts; she works the counter at the Flying J and lives around the area. She would be my next interview.
Me: So when was the first time you heard about La Llorona?
Nora: I and my husband moved into the area about 20 years ago and our neighbors told us the stories. They told us another version of the creek got its name.
Me: Really what was that?
Nora: That a woman who could yell like no one’s business lived around the creek with her family. One day a group of Indians came and killed her children. They she began yelling for help, that people in Seguin say that they could hear her, but I don’t know what happened to her after that.
Me: Have you heard anything or experienced anything or know anybody who has?
Nora: People have stories, but to tell you the truth I personally don’t believe in it.

Finally I had to take a visit to the creek itself. I parked my car in front of the creek and wand walked back to it. It’s relatively clean and I walked the banks for 15 minutes and then hung out for another 5. I should remind you that I did this during the day and not during the night. Other than flowing traffic and practical streams I didn’t hear or see anything. So in conclusion San Antonio is a city of stories, folklores, and myths. They may not be true, but they give the city a personality of its own. An identity that can’t be rivaled San Antonio is its own story. La Llorona is a story that traveled from Mexico to South Texas with the help of migrating Mexicans. Real or not it’s found its way into our families and into our lives.

Music of My People!!!

In South Texas there is a music that is king. Being a Mexican American in San Antonio it seems I will never be able to escape the sounds of conjunto. From my parents, friends, and strangers conjunto is played everywhere in this city. This diverse style of music can be traced back to the early 1900’s. Mexicans on both sides of the border were listening to traditional styles like Ranchera. Soon the accordion from the German immigrants was added incorporating a polka sound. Finally the 12 string bajo sexto guitar was added creating the revolutionary sound of conjunto. The music was played for and by the migrant Mexican workers, Mexicans who lived on farms or lives revolved around farms. In the early 1900’s most Mexicans lived and worked on farms before migrating to the city for better jobs during the 40’s and 50’s. The music spoke of not only love, but the hard rugged live of living and working on a farm. The stand out sound / instrument is the accordion. The accordion is significant because it distinguishes that the listener is listening to a conjunto style. The accordion drives the beat and many times steals the attention from other instruments. Conjunto is the music of the hard working people. This is proven because bands will play gigs in different corners of Texas every night, getting paid next to nothing, so that the hard working people of this state can enjoy themselves. The nobility of this sacrifice is something I can respect.

Inspired by true events....

At my recent visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art I noticed that a lot has changed from previous visits. The main hall painting was different along with others on the second floor. There is one piece in particular that really caught my eye. It was simply called “Drumkit” by Christian Marclay. The work itself is an altered drum kit with it’s floor tom, snare, toms, and crash cymbals suspended high in the air. There is theme or message being conveyed here. In my opinion the artist was trying to say is that music is universal and ever changing. Instead of playing in the same conventional styles from years before, break free and come up with something original. There is no possible way that anyone can play this drum kit, but nobody has seen a drum kit constructed like this. Music should be the same way. Putting your own twist on something causes a lot of inspiration, especially if it has never been done before. This how I feel when I see this piece. I feel inspired to go create something that has not been created. What you see maybe an altered drum kit, what I see is a cry stating music belongs to everybody so go grab some and make your mark. This drum kit makes me wonder what else we can do to music and that’s where the inspiration comes from.

The next piece that caught my attention is a oil on canvas entitled “Passing Storm Over the Sierra Nevadas” By Albert Bierstadt. The life like landscapes with so much detail drew me into choosing this piece. The use of color and contrast helped distinguish what part of the land is surrounded under the clouds and the other part that is flourished with light from the sun that broke through the clouds. The value was so detailed that you can tell what was under water and what was not. This was done under the clouds making it darker already. The shape of the mountains down to the smallest rocks was very accurate. The most amazing detail was the reflection of the trees from the lake by the light from the clouds. This is very life like which makes me wonder if this was painted on location. This calm before the storm painting captures the serenity and peacefulness of nature. From thunderstorms to sunny days they all could be marveled with grace and wonder.

Why we go to museums and exhibits is not just to look at art, but rather look at art in its natural environment. Sure you could see any painting or sculpture on a computer and see the shape and theme being conveyed. To actually look at the piece inches away from your nose is a whole new experience. You see the color as the artist painted it or the sculpture in its size. It’s like looking at a picture of New York. You gain a better perspective from going there then seeing it on a page.

Death Portrait....

Last week I made a visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA). The museum was relatively big and offered a huge array of pieces and exhibits. There was one though that stood out in my opinion. The piece I chose was on the 4^th floor which was the European Section. It was a painting by Agustin Esteve entitled Four Children. It is oil on canvas, 97 inches by 23 inches, and was painted in the late 18 century. The painting depicts four children in an unsettling forest setting, where it is dark. The child in the middle is dressed in all black with a bird in his hand, he is being led somewhere by two younger children. Off to the far right is a young girl dressed in her Sunday best with a flower and black pendent in her left hand and a ribbon on her chest. The description of the painting says that the young man dressed in black is dead and this painting is of his memory.

The bird in his hand is a European Goldfinch which is a symbol of the departed spirit. He is being ushered away from this world into the after life by the two boys. The girl to the far right is the boy’s sister and she looks very terrified in light of the passing of her brother. She has an oval relicario which contains a lock of her dead brother’s hair. The black bow she has on indicates that she is in mourning. The background is completely dark with the combine usage of blacks and greys making the trees and sky undistinguishable at times. With regards to the dead boys wardrobe (completely black), the other children are portrayed with pale / ruby red skin. Their clothes are well lit too. Even the dead boy’s face is bright (probably the palest of everybody). Because Agustin made the background so dark it is hard to distinguish where the floor really is, it seems as though they are floating in air. Agustin Esteve was famous for his life like portraits especially those of children. I chose this painting because of the subject matter and how it dealt with children. The expression on the dead boys face is haunting. It is a serious, haunting, scared, mature look that made an impression on me. This young boy is expressing so much fear and pain for his age that looking at it makes me feel sorry for him. That is why I chose it.

Water Wars!

In my city of San Antonio there is an ongoing debate and “war” (some might call it) about the land over the aquifer. The area in question is called the recharge zone. The recharge zone’s soil is very shallow that if any contaminants were to be spilled, it would easily seep into our drinking water. So naturally you would think that whole recharge zone area would be closed off or protected by the city. WRONG!!! After reading the Losing Ground series posted in the Express News, it’s safe to say that this city has huge problems to work out. It seems this city has two major problems that stand in the way of this. It seems that the city of San Antonio has a law that dates back to the 1987 called vested rights. Our first Problem “vested rights” states that when a land project is finalized with blue prints or when the land was purchased; the developer can follow the city ordinances of the year it was brought in fruition.

This means land bought 30 years ago can only follow the city ordinances of the 70’s and not by today standards. This doesn’t sit well with me at all, but this is happening to land over the recharge zone. The second problem is the driving force that helped put the vested rights in the first place…….. “the land developers”. The lobbyists for the land developers are bleeding this city dry. Using very cunning tactics the lobbyists push for laws and ordinances that fall in their favor. With vested rights at the way it is the land developers can set up shop anywhere in the city. The city does it’s best to contain this. In 1997 there was a tree ordinance created to protect the trees of the hill country. It was then made stronger in 2003. The disadvantage the city faces is that people serving on the board at city hall can only be there for 2 terms (4 years) while the lobbyists always stay the same. This means there is a constant of ever changing faces in the city hall that are unfamiliar to vested rights and how sneaky it is.

All the while the lobbyists are getting better at protecting their vest rights. The city does try to buy back some of the land over the recharge zone, but the land developers sell back the land at twice it’s price. This way the city can only buy small portions and the developers retain the majority amount and make a buck. Of course I am against this whole or deal. The city has to make better ordinances to stop this or better negotiations so both parties can come to an agreement. The losing ground services was very helpful because it exposed me to a problem I never knew existed. It’s opened my eyes to the injustice of water rights and how the whole city should know about this. Vested rights are taking money from an all ready poor city, not to mention the possibility of contamination of the recharge zone. The article losing ground is helpful, but needs to reach a larger audience because not everybody is aware of this and they should!!!

Liquid Gold!

On this planet there are natural resources that we take for granted every day. Oil, crops, fish, metals and etc are all good examples, but there is one that is vital for our survival. Water is the life force that helps us and the planet exist. Each city, town, community, village, indigenous, or civilized has their own source of water. In our city of San Antonio we have the Edwards Aquifer or aquifer for short. The aquifer is an underground enormous cave reservoir that holds a huge amount of water for San Antonio and other surrounding counties. One Friday our class was graced with a guest speaker named Elizabeth Earnley. She is a member of “AGUA” an organization that oversees development for land over the aquifer called the recharge zone. The recharge zone is land where the soil is shallow and contamination to the aquifer is highly possible. Along with the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (helps preserve and protect the aquifer) these organizations make sure the land developers don’t overstep their boundaries by polluting or building over the recharge zone. The city’s own water service “SAWS” conducts a series of steps before finalizing any development deals. Some of the issues accounted for are is this allowed in the recharge zone, is the site properly grandfathered, and a hearing before the city. In 1995 the city enforced a water quality ordinance that would help preserve the recharge zone. We even got in groups and did exercises to decide whether certain development plans should be built. All in all I learned a lot that day and know that our water resource should be top priority!

Tales from the south.....

My neighborhood lies in the south side of San Antonio. It’s located at the intersection of Zarzamora and Hutchins’ street. A mile north along Zarzamora is I-35 and a couple of miles south are loop 410. Botch highways are vital in traveling around in the city. The neighborhood itself is in city limits, but only by a couple of miles. My neighborhood is on the south side of town, but leans to the west. The neighborhood is comprised of working middle class families. A few are upper middle class and a few are lower middle class. The majority of people take care of their homes. No one really leaves their yards not maintained and most of the homes are really nice. Albert Uresti who tried to run for congress last November lives a couple of houses down from me. His brother is Carlos Uresti represents the 19the district. The block is made up of blue collar working families. The majority of families have been here for a while. Families leave their homes to one of their kids and etc. The racial makeup is about 75% Hispanic, 20% White, and 5% other. Although there is a bunch of families with middle aged parents, there are also a good number of elderly people here. The elderly here don’t normally live by themselves, but rather with their older kids and their families. My block is a street away from Hutchins elementary and five minutes away from Palo Alto (which is very convenient for me).

Just 2 miles north of me is SW Military Dr, one of the busiest major streets in San Antonio. Along military is Southwest General Hospital, South Park Mall (which houses Macy’s, Luby’s, and J.C. Penny’s), Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, and every fast food restaurant imaginable. There is no development around here because of 2 reasons. One there is no open land to build and the other is we pretty much have everything that commercial markets can offer. This neighborhood is close to 2 major highways, so it’s easy to get around town. There are a lot of stores nearby which accounts for a lot of traffic making the streets congested during the day. This also accounts for it being a little noisy at times. Being so close to a major street, highways, schools, and stores has its disadvantages. At night especially during the weekends you can hear a lot of police sirens and ambulances. I lucked out because my school is a five minute drive from where I live, but this isn’t the case for my work and friends. I work at Air Force Village 2 which is off of highway 90 and loop 1604. This far considering it takes about 30 minutes to get there. My friends live off of West Ave and loop 410; this is also quite a drive because it is 20 minutes away. Needless to say I don’t go out unless something is happening for sure instead of chilling in their living rooms doing nothing.

For me though this neighborhood has been good to me. I have only lived here since January 2005 and I only did that because of school. I have close ties here because my grandma lives across the street so I know everyone here before I moved in with my sister. Even with that said I still feel like this neighborhood is a transition point in my life. I am not done searching, learning, and experiencing myself or life. Maybe I never will so that’s why I feel like progressing and moving forward. I hope to go to a university when I am done here and I hope to move out of my sisters too. So I will keep looking and progressing until I find a career and a place called home.

Alamo we hardly knew ye

History is a fascinating subject, because it entails so much morals and lessons about humanity. Being born and raised here in San Antonio, Texas, one of the first things we are taught is the story of the Alamo. Names like Crockett, Travis, Bowie, and Houston are all like distant family members. Distant because we heard of them, but don’t really know them. In this city you will find schools, shrines, and streets named after these men. Hollywood of course will try to recreate any historical event in history and the Alamo was no exception. I recently viewed the 1960 film The Alamo starring John Wayne. In this film the men of the Alamo were represented as men of valor, drunks, but noble and brave none the less, the film however had a large number of inaccuracies.

From my readings, viewing of films and internet sites I was able to get a clear understanding of what happened. In the film the Anglo settlers were depicted pretty accurately in the sense they fought and died bravely. Travis shown to be a snob, but there is no proof that he acted like that. Bowie was in fact quite ill from dysentery or typhoid fever and wasn’t all that active as the movie portrays him to be. In the movie Bowie has a slave named Jethro, but history says his name was Sam. In the movie Travis was shot in the torso, but Sam the slave says he was shot in the head. In the film John Bonham tells the men that Fannin and his men were murdered with no help arriving. This doesn’t happen until about a month later after the Alamo has fallen. The Mexican forces were portrayed accurately and not out of character. The Tejanos in the film were non existent. The only Tejanos were the women in the bar and they were seen a whores. In history there was Tejano fighters in the Alamo and in the town of San Antonio. All in all we don’t know 100 percent of what happened or who died first, but we know that close to 200 men lost their life defending the Alamo.

The Alamo. Dir. John Wayne. Perf. John Wayne, Richard Wildmark, Laurence Harvey. DVD. MGM, 1960.

"The Alamo (1960 Film)." Wikipedia. 4 Oct. 2007 .

Tijernia, Andres. "Under the Mexican Flag." Tejano Journey os (1996): 33-47.

Remember the Alamo. DVD. Dir. Joseph Tovares. PBS Home Video, 2004, 54 min.

The Battle for San Antonio....

Last Saturday on September 22^nd, I and my classmates met up at the Alamo to learn the history and the significance of this building. We were given an in-depth tour with one of the curators Dr. Winders. He studied the Alamo inside and out and heard every rumor, story, lie, and factual statement about it. He gave a great presentation full of information about the accounts that led to the battle and what happened to the Alamo after the battle. One of the most important information that he discussed was what the men of the Alamo were truly fighting for.

Santa Anna was on his way with a couple of thousand soldiers ready to take back Texas using any means possible. The people who defended the Alamo had a little less than 200 men. Of these men were Americans, Europeans, Texans, and Tejanos. This meant that Mexicans would be fighting Mexicans. With this in mind Tejanos still felt that breaking away from Mexico’s rule would bring better and new opportunities to them. These men were not fighting for the Alamo itself, but for the town of San Antonio. They were fighting for the growing community because they saw the potential for a self governing state where Anglos and Tejanos could coincide. I never saw the Alamo as the catalyst for the State of Texas until that moment. This battle is an important piece of history not only in the world, but also for the people who live in this great state. Every Texan regardless of their ethnicity should understand the Alamo is our heritage.

Trailing Through History

It was a typical hot Texas afternoon with a swinging breeze. The air was not warm, so it was comfortable. It was around 1:30 in the afternoon when I drove into the parking lot of Mission San Juan Capistrano. To the left of the mission itself is a forest; that's when I knew I was close to the Yanaguana Trail. Sure enough when I walked a little further three trails popped out from the forest. The trail area is not very big and all the trails eventually lead to the same place. Because of this I knew I wasn't going to be there for a while. I took the trail on the right and proceeded to walking. The trail passes through dense vegetation, which towers over head and covers the sun's unbearable rays. This made the experience much more pleasant and comfortable.

As I trailed for 3 minutes, I began to hear the sound of water, so I knew I was close to the San Antonio River. From here the trail moves right beside the banks of the river. The area is so peaceful and tranquil that you don't hear the sound of cars or the city for that matter. It's a nice way to escape and clear your mind of whatever problems you have. The trail ranges from regular dirt to wooden planks used as a bridge so people could walk over low level areas. There was benches on the planks, but I wouldn't sit on them. There was fire ants everywhere and Argiope webs on the planks, so I didn't want to get bit or have something crawl up my leg if I sat down. The middle trail convened with mine so I knew I was halfway done. According to one of the signs posted the river eels and alligators roamed the river. The area is filled with trees in every direction. At one point where the trail meets the water, the trees tower about 75 feet in the air, with long blanket of leaves hanging down creating a tent of vegetation. Pretty soon the trail was over and it didn't even take that long. All in all, the experience was very relaxing, and I would consider going back when I want some clarity in my head. -Art

Mission Espada

Ok this is my first blog entry ever and what a better way to start it off than talking about one of the missions from our great city. I along with several other classmates visited Mission San Francisco de la Espada, Mission Espada for short. The mission is located a couple of miles south of San Antonio. It is surrounded by a forest and spurts of flat land in between. It is a very rural, very quiet place to live with exception of the gunshots “dove hunting season”. The mission it self is surrounded by old quarry stones and bricks that forms the outer walls that range from knee length to about 8 feet in height. The mission was moved across Texas and Louisiana 3 times before finally settling at its current position. A friary was built in 1745 and church was completed in 1756. The purpose of the mission was to convert the local Native Indians to Christianity. The mission served as a viceroyalty of New Spain. From the southern tip of South America, to the Canadian border was all under Spain’s control. The mission was a small town where the Indians were given “forced really” religion, clothes, and a job to do. The mission was constructed by the Spanish who then ordered the Indians to build it. The mission was frequently attacked by nearby Apache’s for food. The Spanish taught the Indians techniques vital for surviving. The most important was the acequias which are the irrigation ditches. This helped them grow food and raise livestock. The mission was built relatively close to the San Antonio River for this reason. The church and the mission still stand like the day it was built. In fact the church’s doorway arches were built incorrectly and till this day remains that way. The story goes that the mason building the arches fled in the middle of the night leaving the Indians to finish the job. There is a theory that states the mason killed somebody and was on the run. Being a person of Mexican origin I find this mission like all missions a story in the lives of mypeople. As a Texan I find these missions precious like a best friend. We are fortunate to have the mission stand undamaged like it was when it was first built, so we should take extra responsibility in helping preserve the mission and the irrigation ditch systems that run through it. -Art