Soy de Duval

Tommy Molina (#28) with the 1964 South Texas All-Star team that won the Texas High School All-Star game. (Photo courtesy of Tommy Molina)  Tommy Molina led the 1964 San Diego Vaqueros state basketball finalist team, but he and his team members will no doubt give credit to the entire team, including the reserves and coaches. Still, at 6’4 ¾”, Molina was the big man on the court and provided much energy to the squad. During the pre-district games, Molina was the top scorer with 297 points, averaging 17.5 points per game, although the starters played only the first half in seven of those games. Tommy Molina practices for the Texas All-Star game in 1964. (Photo by Alice Echio-News) In the bi-district game against Donna, Molina was the leading scorer with 18 points. At the regional opener, he scored 32 points. In the regional championship game against Sweeney, Walter Reyna and Manuel Esparza each scored 20 points and Molina 18. Molina and Esparza controlled the backboards throughout th...

Hall of Fame Vaqueros were honored at the game in San Diego on Friday, February 9. Pictured, from left, are Lupe Ibarra, Walter Reyna, Roel Perez, Carlos Treviño, Ruben Escobar, Manuel Esparza, and Tommy Molina. Luis Barrera, Raul de Leon, and Homero Rosas were not able to attend. (Photos by Angelica E. Maldonado.) Rubén Escobar played where the coaches needed him with the 1964 San Diego Vaqueros basketball state finalists. “Bench players–called BWA-Bench Warmers Association–practiced defense,” Escobar said. “Coach Mo (Modesto García) would use us as needed. I would go in for Tommy (Molina) or Meme (Esparza). I even played one game as a point guard; my instructions were to feed the ball to Tommy, who scored a bunch of points that game.” The BWA played that position because Walter Reyna and Carlos Treviño participated in a cross-country race the next day, and Coach Mo did not want them tired.  “We were used mainly if one had foul trouble,” Escobar said. “But we took the games seriou...

  Walter Reyna, left, works out with Manuel Esparza. Growing up in the small town of San Diego had its positives, says Walter Reyna, a member of the 1963-64 Vaqueros basketball state finalists. “Closeness among our friends, a feeling of family, and being around our teammates and friends gave us a feeling of safety and security and the notion that ‘less is more,’” Reyna said. “On paper, we had less, but we created our world with fewer distractions and more creativity.” Reyna was the son of James S. Reyna and Inez Viola Tobin-Garcia. His dad managed the Regis Theater & later sold cars for the Oil Belt Chevrolet Co. Walter grew up in his great-grandparents’ home and always had other relatives who might have needed a “helping” hand at some point in their lives living with the Reyna family. “So, it’s like I had brothers and sisters,” Walter, an only child, said.   At the center of this family-oriented world were faith and education. In 1952-53, his parents enrolled Wal...

  Luis Angel Barrera (This is the first in a series of blogs on individual team members of the 1963-64 San Diego Vaqueros basketball team.) After graduating from San Diego High School, Luis Angel Barrera enrolled at Southwest Texas State (Texas State University), earning a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. He then volunteered for the draft and served in the Army for two years. He was wounded during his tour in Vietnam and was evacuated via medivac to the U. S. for further medical treatment. Barrera was awarded a Purple Heart and a meritorious medal for service in a combat zone. In 1971, Barrera settled in Houston, where he taught accounting, worked at a prominent bank, and then worked for the Mexican government as a representative in the United States. In 1984, he worked for the Mexican government's tourism department, which was under the auspices of the former president of Mexico, Lic. Miguel Aleman Valdes. Before President Aleman's death in September 1983, h...

1963-64 Vaqueros state finalists, left to right,  Lupe Ibarra , Carlos Treviño, Homero Rosas,  Walter  Reyna, Luis A. Barrera, Roel Pérez , and  Manuel Esparza . Not pictured,  Raúl de León ,  Rubén Escobar, Tomás F. Molina, Jesús O. Oliveira  (deceased), and coaches Modesto García and Anthony Cubriel, both deceased. (Photo by Lupita Barrera) By Lupita Barrera, Guest Blogger The Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame/ Salón de la Fama Latinoamericano del Deporte inducted the 1963-64 San Diego, Texas, Vaqueros basketball team in Laredo on Saturday, January 20. Team members attending the ceremony were Luis A. Barrera, Manuel Esparza, Guadalupe Ibarra, Roel Pérez, Walter J. Reyna, Homero Rosas, and Carlos S. Treviño. Players who were unable to attend but also honored were  Raúl de León,  Rubén Escobar, Tomás F. Molina, Jesús O. Oliveira (deceased), and coaches Modesto García and Anthony Cubriel, both deceased. The ceremony was ...

The 1964 San Diego Vaqueros basketball team placed third in the state. They are (kneeling, left to right) Walter Reyna, Orlando Oliveira, Roel Perez, Homero Rosas, and Raul de Leon .  Standing, from left to right, are Coach Anthony Cubriel, Carlos Trevino, Ruben Escobar, Luis Barrera, Tomas Molina, Manuel Esparza, Lupe Ibarra, and Coach  Modesto Garcia .   Alfredo E. Cardenas, Soy de Duval Blog On Saturday, January 20, the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame will induct the 1964 San Diego Vaqueros basketball state finalist team. Open to the public, the ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. at the Laredo Country Club. Members of the team included Seniors Tomas  Molina , 6'4.5"; Manuel Esparza , 6'; Walter Reyna , 5'8"; Lupe Ibarra , 5'10"; Luis A. Barrera , 6'; Raul de Leon , 5'9"; and Ruben Escobar , 6'. Junior class members included Orlando Oliveira , 5'8"; Roel Perez , 5'9"; Carlos Trevino , 5' 9";...

 Good news! The University of North Texas Press has agreed to publish my forthcoming book,  DUVAL COUNTY TEJANOS,  An Epic Narrative of Liberty and Democracy, The book's release is scheduled for Fall 2024. Listings for the book will begin to appear on the UNT Press website and Amazon in late spring 2024.  on Freepik While the focus of the book is on the Tejanos who comprised 90 percent of the the county's population, it will be a comprehensive history of the county and its people from its founding by Spaniards in the early 19th century through the mid-20th century. Most of it covers the founding and development during the 1800s and concludes with an encapsulation look at the 1900s up to the end of the Parr era. It has been a project of great pride and joy that has taken a number of years to research and write. I am extremely grateful to UNT Press for their willingness to bring this book to the reading public.  On Friday, October 13, at 10 a.m. I will be at...