Soy de Duval

  Alfredo Cárdenas, the author of Balo's War , visits with descendants of Basilio Ramos at the book's debut in 2015 at the Duval County Courthouse. Cárdenas will do a book signing on Sunday, July 16 at El Encuentro in Rios. Eight years since Alfredo Cárdenas debuted  Balo's War  in 2015, the author has been invited to make a presentation and do another book signing in Duval County. The author will be at La Brasadas El Encuentro in Rios, located at the old Catholic Church (click the link to get directions on Google Maps .)   Balo's War is a historical novel based on the Plan of San Diego which was given light in Duval County's capitol in 1915. The Duval County Historical Commission dedicated a Texas Historical marker for the Plan of San Diego at Padre Bard Park in San Diego earlier this year. Cárdenas, who was unable to attend because he took ill at the time, prepared the historical marker application, including writing its history. "I first ran across the te

In February 1937, premiere Tejano Civil Rights leader Alonso S. Perales said: “ As Mexican Americans from San Antonio and other places, we rejoice and feel pride upon seeing our fellow Mexican-American citizens from Duval , Webb, Zapata and Starr guide their communities towards the future.” (Alonso S. Perales and Emilio Zamora, In Defense of My People (Houston: Arte Público Press, 2022), 225). He said that Mexican Americans over “the entire world, feel at home” in those counties because “the honorable descendants of Hidalgo and Cuauhtémoc, as well as the no less worthy descendants of Washington and Lincoln, advance in all fields of activity.” Alonso S. Perales “These places,” Perales said, “are totally devoid of racial prejudice and symbolize the ideal circumstance that no doubt existed in the minds, souls and hearts of Antonio Navarro and Francisco Ruiz, signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence.” Antonio Menchaca, Juan N. Seguín and other Tejano patriots who supported “libert

  Ten bronze statues set on marble and five descriptive plaques depict the story of the founding of Texas by Tejanos. The five tablets in front tell the story of Tejanos’ contribution to the founding of Texas. The monument is in front of the Texas Capitol in Austin. (photo by Rene Renteria Photography) Two Duval County natives, Homero Vera and Juanita Garcia Tijerina, played an instrumental role in the Tejano Monument on the State Capitol grounds becoming a reality. The monument, consisting of ten bronze statues on a marble foundation, was dedicated by Gov. Rick Perry in 2012 after an effort that took 12 years to complete. Andres Tijerina addresses the Tejano Genealogical Spanish Society symposium on June 10 in Austin. (photo by Rene Renteria Photography) The idea for the monument came about at a gathering of four individuals, including Andres Tijerina, a native of Ozona in West Texas, and South Texans Dr. Cayetano Barrera, a native of Encinal in Brooks County, Richard Santos from Miss