Mexican American or Tejano

As most of you know, I am working on my latest book, Soy de Duval, the Nineteenth Century History of Duval County. As an update, I am working on my final chapter, and it’s almost done. So as you can see, we are nearing publication; unfortunately, I cannot give you a definite date yet, so continue to sit tight, and we will get to the end soon.

One issue that I am still trying to resolve is what to call the different groups of players. I am working with Mexicanos for Mexican nationals, Mexican Americans for Americans of Mexican descent, and Americanos for all the newcomers. Mexicanos is a given. The other two not so much. Let’s first look at Americanos.

The newcomers to Duval County came from many different places. Some came from Texas, others from the United States, and many from Europe. While they all spoke English, many—like Mexicanos—did so with an accent. They came from places such as Germany, France, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Italy, and other countries. So, technically, these immigrants were not Americanos. But neither did they fall into any of the other names commonly used. They were not all Anglos. Other names that may have been in use at the time were not always used in a kind way, such as gringos, hueros, or gabachos. So, Americanos seems to be the best fit. But maybe not.

As for Mexican Americans, I have never been partial to Hispanic or Latino. First, they do not associate with any group; no countries, nationalities, or ethnic groups fit in either category. They seem to be catch-all phrases to include all Spanish-speaking people, whether from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Honduras, etc. Mexican American (or Mexican-American) is what was in use when many of us were growing up but may not have been in use in the nineteenth century. The most popular current reference is Tejano, which is what most scholars use in their works. But this term did not have the same meaning in the nineteenth century as it does today.

After searching on The Portal to Texas History for the word Tejano from 1836 to 1900; in case you are wondering why those dates, well, because Mexican Americans that have their roots in Duval County were technically not“Tejanos.” They were first Nuevo Santanderinos and then Tamaulipecos. They did not become “Texans” until after the Mexican American War of 1845, when Mexico ceded the area to the United States. To be sure I got all references to Tejano, I went back to the Republic of Texas’s founding. I found the following.

The earliest uses of the word were about the English-speaking Texans, although they could have been used for all Texans, regardless of language or ethnicity. In 1836, Santa Anna wrote to President Andrew Jackson, referring to Gen. Sam Houston as “Gefe del ejército Tejano.” So clearly, he was referring to the Texan Army, which included both Americans and Mexicans.¹ Other early references in Mexican correspondence regarding the war make use of the word Tejano in the same fashion.

The first and only reference to a Mexican as a Tejano was in the Texas National Register of February 15, 1845, referring to Jose Antonio Navarro “como Tejano por nacimiento.”  In its context, it was a general reference to a Texan, not a Mexican Texan.

Perhaps in one of the earliest references in South Texas to Tejano, the Republic of Rio Grande of June 6, 1846, a Brownsville newspaper, referred to the 1842-43 Mier Expedition’s English-speaking Texans as Tejanos.

In the Duval County area, the earliest reference to Tejano was in the Corpus Christi Star of October 3, 1848, where it referred to an interpreter named Sutherland as a Tejano. On July 7, 1849, the Star referenced “el pueblo Tejano” as the general Texas community.

On February 7, 1855, the San Antonio El Bejareño newspaper used the hyphenated term “Mejico-Tejano” for the first time. Three months later, on May 12, 1855, El Bejareño used Tejano about an Anglo. In future issues, it consistently used this term to refer to Anglo Texans. In an 1845 letter, Juan Seguin refers to Anson Jones as a “verdadero Tejano.”²

A variation of Mejico-Tejano appeared in the Galveston Daily News of September 26, 1878, where it referred to a “Mexican Tejano” club in Brownsville. May 6, 1888, the Galveston Daily News referred to a Mexican-Texan Democratic club in Corpus Christi. As late as October 5, 1892, Brownsville’s Daily Herald referred to the political Blue Club as the “Club Popular Mexico Tejano.” In 1892, 1896, and 1898 EL Regidor was still using the term Mejico Tejano.

In an extensive article considering the variations of the names applied to Texans, such as Texano or Tejano, the name Anglo Texans preferred was not Texans but “Texians.” They insisted that was what they called themselves ever since they had come to the area. Indeed, the search for Tejanos yielded only seventy hits and half of those referenced advertising for Tejano cigars. A search for Texian, on the other hand, returned 3,133 finds. Still, Texan appeared 39,290 times during the same time period.

So, in the nineteenth century, it appears that the non-Mexican population was known as either Texans or Texians. The Mexican population was referred to as Mejico Tejanos by the Spanish language media and Mexican-Texans by the English language newspapers.

Indeed, the Merriam-Webster dictionary points out that the “first known” use of the word Tejano in reference to “a Texan of Hispanic descent” was in 1958. This brings me to the most interesting tidbit of my research. A look for the word Tejano in The Portal to Texas History reveals its first appearance in 1958. And now the search really gets interesting. The November 23, 1958 issue of the Levelland Daily Sun News ran an Associated Press story headlined:

“Assistant Marshall

ex-consul to Spain”

The dateline for the story was San Diego, Tex.

The subject of the story was 59-year-old deputy Manuel Amaya. It appears that in 1936 Amaya had returned to his hometown of Monterey, Mexico, and had launched a campaign for mayor of that city where his opponents quickly branded him as a “Tejano” even though he was a native of Bustamante, Mexico.

So it appears that the first use of the word Tejano in reference to someone of Mexican descent was in 1958 when it was applied to San Diego resident and Duval County deputy sheriff Manuel Amaya. Now, Merriam-Webster does not say who or where the word was first used,  only that it was in 1958. It just so happens that the only story that I found that fits this set of facts is this one.

Now I’m left with a decision to make. Do I go with the name used in the nineteenth century, “Mejico Tejano” or “Mexican Texan?” Or do I pay tribute to Duval County and Mr. Amaya, and at the same time stay in keeping with the present scholarly trend and use the word Tejano?

I also welcome feedback from any Tejano experts out there. Perhaps I missed some relevant research on the topic.

I welcome your input! Let me hear what you think.

   

        

---

¹Antonio López de Santa Anna, “[Transcript of letters from Antonio López de Santa Anna to President Andrew Jackson and General José de Urrea, July 4, 1836],” Letter, The Portal to Texas History, July 4, 1836, United States – Texas – Brazoria County – Columbia, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth217006/.

²Anson Jones, “Memoranda and Official Correspondence Relating to the Republic of Texas, Its History and Annexation. Including a Brief Autobiography of the Author,” Book, The Portal to Texas History (D. Appleton and Co., January 1, 1859), Annexation, 1844-1846, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2391/, 482.