Historical Commission to dedicate Plan de San Diego marker

On Saturday, January 28, the Duval County Historical Commission will unveil a Texas Undertold Marker commemorating the Plan de San Diego. Commission Chair Savannah Smith announced the marker’s unveiling would occur at 1 p.m. at Padre Pedro Plaza, on the northwest corner of E. Saint Peter Ave. and S. Mier St. in San Diego.

The Plan de San Diego was a pronunciamento attested to by nine men in San Diego on January 6, 1915. Before the end of the year, hundreds of people, primarily Mexican-Americans, were killed in the Rio Grande Valley under the seditious call to action laid out in this document. It brought about a turbulent time in South Texas, where many law enforcement officers abandoned their oaths to preserve and protect.

The Plan caused upheaval to the entire economic and social fabric of the Rio Grande Valley and spread panic and fear across Texas and the United States. The ensuing rebellion had international implications.

Smith said local and area dignitaries would participate in the unveiling. Following the ceremony at the Plaza, the Historical Commission will host a reception at the Levi Building across the street from the Plaza. San Diego, native and cronista of the Duval County experience Alfredo E. Cárdenas, will be the featured speaker.

Alfredo Cárdenas 

“The Plan de San Diego played an essential role in Tejano history,” Cárdenas said. “Texas historian Ben Johnson, in his book Revolution in Texas, poignantly points out that the Plan de San Diego “marked the end of the American conquest of the Southwest,” resulting in Tejanos turning “to a different kind of struggle.” The Plan, Johnson adds is “a story of becoming American, a journey of…triumph in the midst of great tragedy.”

The state’s undertold marker program is intended to “address historical gaps, promote diversity of topics, and proactively document significant underrepresented subjects or untold stories” in Texas history. The Plan de San Diego is one such undertold story.

Regrettably, while several books about the Plan de San Diego have appeared in print, they are primarily focused on a broader international picture and often overlook the local impact of the Plan, Cárdenas points out. Cárdenas’s book, Balo’s War, A Novel About the Plan of San Diego, takes a perspective from the people and Tejano culture of South Texas. 

Cárdenas said he is looking forward to returning home to the community that raised him and fashioned his identity as a Tejano. “It will be great to be among friends and family,” Cardenas said. A limited number of his book Balo's War will be available for sale at the reception following the marker's unveiling for anyone interested in adding it to their library collection.