Tejano is Where the Heart is!

Little Joe and Eva Ybarra are just some of the musicians that I grew up hearing when we would have family gatherings. Tejano or Conjunto music hits home with me. One of my favorite memories as a child was dancing with my father to tejano.

It is interesting to understand the roots of the music of my Hispanic heritage: Conjunto and tejano music. The history is widespread and mainly stems from various types of Mexican music. Conjunto music is a mixture of Mexico and Texas. It combines mainland Mexican music, country polka music from South Texas, and German and Czech grounded tunes.

Conjunto music is different from other music because it is mostly heard by Hispanics and people related to the Latin culture. Many other types of music such as country, rap, and pop are heard by a variety of listeners. Though Conjunto and Tejano music has a variety of listeners as well, it is mainly in the hearts of Mexicans and Hispanics in South Texas. Hispanics grew with this music and at the same time made this music grow. It started with using tunes from brass bands and with Latinos who had an idea of the type of music that would express the type of work they were doing and the life they were living.

Conjunto and the accordion have risen in status because the modern day Hispanic has more freedom and confidence in their culture. It is no longer taboo to speak Spanish or to be Hispanic in South Texas.

Some particular insights in the dvd that interested me most was the famous musicians Lydia Mendoza, Valerio Longoria, Isidro Lopez, and Tony D Ela Rosa. Lydia Mendoza was known and the “Queen of Tejano” and Longoria is an accordion legend! These Latinos are role models to every person of Hispanic or Mexican background.

SAMA Expose!

The first composition I will discuss is Admiration by William Bouguereau (1825-1905). It is oil on canvas and fairly large. It was done in 1897 and is a classic nineteenth century academic painting. The subject matter of the composition is five women, surrounding cupid in what looks like a meadow, or the beginning of a forest. It has trees, grass, a few concrete buildings and a blurred vision of what looks like carriage pulled by a horse. There is sunlight streaming down from the brush and trees. From left to right the viewer first sees the center focal point of cup encircled by five women in this small area of nature. In the far upper left corner of the composition, there are a couple of concrete structures and they look like coliseum buildings of an older time. In the background, the viewer sees green trees, bushes, grasses and some trees. As the eye moves right there is something bright in the forest and, looking closely, the viewer sees a blurry carriage with a horse. After looking at the entire composition, the eye moves back to the center focal point. This piece has a glow around all the forms. There is radial balance in this piece. The reason I picked this piece is because it gives me a sense of peace and tranquility. This piece really looked as if it was articulated and precise when being made. It is so detailed, but still glowing or blurry. The difference between seeing a piece in real life as oppose to on the Internet is vast. In person, you see the work’s textures and different views from a different standpoint.

The next piece I would like to discuss is The Fried Egg by Antonio Rodriguez Luna (1910-1985). It is also oil on canvas. It is a very dark composition that is framed with a golden line around the work. The subject matter is a black table, a flat iron skillet, an egg, a whole garlic clove, two garlic pieces and a wall in the background. From left to right the viewer sees a black table with one whole grayish white garlic clove. Next to the whole clove is the flat iron skillet. The skillet is circular, black, and has two handles. On the skillet is one sunny side up fried egg with a yellow yolk in the middle and white surrounding it, and two white garlic pieces. The egg is a little to the left and one of the garlic pieces is directly right of the egg and the other is a little lower to the right. In the background is a brownish gray wall and in the left corner looks to be a hallway. This piece is much smaller than the first and had less subject matter. In terms of style, I think this piece is a simple black and white painting. There are some other colors but there is definitely contrast. The texture is rough and it looks like the paint was applied thickly. The egg is sitting on the canvas. It gives me a comfortable sense because it reminds me of my culture. In the Hispanic culture there is definitely a connection with eggs. There is not a lot of subject matter in this piece but it is still an excellent piece. As I said before, if I would have just virtually seen this piece I could have never experienced the magnificent texture.

Fame in Floresville!

There is a house on the 7^th Street in Floresville that has a story beyond belief to a small quiet town. A couple of years back, several years actually, this particular house was involved in a theatrical production. It was a small film, but the whole town knows about this house because of that insignificant film and we, “Floresville natives,” are flattered. It gives us great pride to be chosen by any production company to have even the minutest scene in the place that most of us were born. However, the point is not how the town feels, but just how extraordinary this house is.

The house sits on a bed of thick green grass. It is right off the side of the road and a couple of blocks down from the courthouse. It stands three stories high but not as wide as you would imagine. It is an average house in that respect and does not take the space of six lots. Only one lot surrounded with tall trees on both sides. You could imagine a old plantation house in the middle of a neighborhood just without the size and strength. The color of the home is white or it should be white, but time as left dirt and damage to make the home appear less grand. No matter. The magnificent beauty still shines threw. The entrance of the house is a strong black door. A cement path leads from the road to the door and there is a front porch with a classic scene of a rocking chair and door mat that yells “Welcome!” to all who visit. It is an ancient house with a lovely yard and a lovely scene. It is a private home so the interior has not been publically displayed but there is no doubt of the attractive possibilities.

If you ever take a drive south of San Antonio, go thirty miles down Highway 181to Floresville. Drive down 7^th Street until the street intersects with F Street and the next corner is the home. It is a charming experience.

Progress to Regress!

Human life requires food, oxygen, and water. The San Antonio City Council seems to think these variables of life are never going to run out. The city seems to think that polluting the major source of drinking water and cutting down a majority of trees which in turn takes away our supply of oxygen is not only acceptable but not a big deal. The series “Losing Ground” by the San Antonio Express News was an informative article on how the aquifer and the environment are being treated in San Antonio.

The problem is the “vested rights” law; the law stops cities from imposing new restrictions on a real estate project once a developer files virtually any kind of plan for it. This usually means that any sketch of a plan a developer introduces to city hall can be exempted from San Antonio Water System rules and regulations. Not to mention several ordinances can be ignored as well. So, why ruin the city due to these laws? Political aspects between the developers and the city are more than responsible for these intolerable transgressions. Developers put up the argument that if the city does not progress it will regress. The city seems to get caught in between the loop holes of what is right for the city and what is right for the cities economy. It is all about the money developers promise to bring in and the time the city does not want to spend standing over the shoulder of the construction of “progress.” So, the city might as well exempt them from any mandatory care for the environment and then no ones to blame. Unfortunately, our aquifer is being damaged and overridden with pollutants that will contaminate and ultimately destroy.

Another huge issue in this subject is the lack of knowledge that is put out to the citizens of San Antonio. I for one am enormously grateful for this particular series in the S.A. Express News. It gives people or even classes a chance to learn something new and dreadfully disturbing about what is going on with our city. What is great about the articles is that they are not being vague about the details. Each article involves specific cases with both sides of the story: the city and the developer. For example, in 1995, the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to control and “limit development over the aquifers recharge zone.” However, “Since then, four out of five requests for exemptions over the recharge zone have been granted, according to records at the San Antonio Water System.” That is a ridiculous ratio to have if SAWS is really trying to save our water. It’s hard to blame the developers only, when they could be controlled if our government was stronger.

So what is the problem? Still a question unanswered in my mind. There is just too much greed and corruption in our city. There has to be something fishy going on in City Hall if council members are still allowing the deliberate destruction of our natural resources. They are fully aware of the consequences but are not paying full attention to the reality of this situation. This article is telling us the future of San Antonio’s water supply and we all refuse to see it.

What’s going on right under your nose?!


Elizabeth Earnly from Trinity University is an AGUA Association representative. She graced our humanities class with her presence on Friday, October 27, 2007. She spoke about how our representatives in SAWS are letting developers build over the Edwards Aquifer and the recharge zone. This is an outrage because developing over these particular locations can lead to contamination of our drinking water. We has a community should be extremely more active in what is going on with our major source of fresh drinking water. We only have a certain amount of fresh water in our lands and to pollute it would be to pollute our bodies. Contamination would result in no water and therefore no human life. Cities would have to take costly action to provide clean drinking water for civilians. We as tax-payers would find a great bill in our finances. Water costs are going up as it is, but can anyone imagine how high it would be if the city had to filter and alter different sources of water? Elizabeth showed us what goes on during council meetings and how we can be involved. She introduced us to actual reviews of developments by the developer and SAWS. It was an interesting horror to finally be awakened to the ugliness of how our city deals with development over something so vital. How can we still be standing on the sidelines waiting to die of thirst or worse of water contamination? When will we all come together and put a stop to this outrageous notion that development is more important to our city then the health of its constituents?

The Drive Around My Hood

My neighborhood is called Towerlakes. It is located on CR 350 off of 181 and ends at Loop 1604. Basically, it is halfway between Floresville and San Antonio, Texas. I live fairly deep in the neighborhood in a white brick house with a brown roof. I have a “U” shaped driveway and stand on about three acres of land.
In my neighborhood, we do not really stop by each others houses and there are no neighborhood parties. We enjoy our privacy and we also enjoy a clean and safe neighborhood. Many of the neighbors I have go to the same church as my family and me. We have many nice families in our area that have grown with my family. There are not too many young children anymore because everyone has grown up and gone off to college. There are primarily working class citizens in my neighborhood and hardly any mobile homes. All the houses are custom built and each home has at least three acres.
For this assignment I took a walk through my neighborhood and visited with two neighbors. First I saw my Aunt Susie. She spoke of the early neighborhood and of a time when there was not many houses. It started with the first five lots which were the Wiatreks, Ramsenkis, Lyssy’s and the Flores’. She could not remember the fifth. A couple of years later, my aunt built on a lot here. She recalled of the land being so bare and open. Now, there are thirty-seven houses in my neighborhood. Even though it does not feel crowded to me, I am sure my aunt feels differently.
The second neighbor I spoke was a friend of my father’s. His name is William Lyssy but he preferred to be called Bill. He happened to remember moving in the neighborhood all those years ago and felt the same as my aunt about how the space has gradually been taken away by the development of more homes. The interesting story behind this home-owner was he was a Vietnam veteran. He had several stories to tell of his career in the military. However, he seemed to have difficultly recalling some of his life during that time. It was the most interesting thing to have met an actual veteran and right in my neighborhood.
The neighborhood has been around since about the mid 1980’s and from that time has made some excellent families. Not to mention, all the excellent memories. For example, every Halloween the whole neighborhood takes their children and grandchildren trick or treating on the back of pick-ups or on hay rides. It is a bright night in the neighborhood. A family down the street, the Bodifords, always has a haunted house. I remember when I was young enough to go trick or treating it was the scariest ordeal to go into their haunted house. Many memories such as this have been clearly embedded in I am sure not only my mind, but the rest of the neighborhood as well. So if you are ever in the neighborhood, please stop by!

“The Alamo”

After watching both films, The Alamo with John Wayne and The Alamo with Billy Bob Thorton, I came to the conclusion that the newer version of the Alamo was more historically accurate. Various examples from both films led to my ultimate confirmation that though directors can dramatize events, they do not always portray a truthful history.
In the John Wayne film, Davy Crockett and his men arrive to San Antonio and drink and dance at some cantina or bar. First of all, this episode of partying is not needed as historical information. Second of all, I am pretty sure Davy Crockett’s partying would not have been recorded in history. Also, Davy’s love plot with the Mexican woman was not part of valid history. No one knows if Davy Crockett had a woman friend in the Alamo. Juan Seguin was also wrongfully portrayed in the movie. Captain Seguin was light skin and had dark hair. He was a respected Spanish man of the time and in the movie, he looked like a Mexican civilian. The movie also represented him as an older man when in reality he would have only been in his early thirties. Jim Bowie was rendered as a drunk. Though he may have very well been drunk at the time of the Alamo, it is unlikely that it was how the movie displayed him. He was one of the prominent men of the Battle of the Alamo and formalities were definitely in order during the time period of 1836. All in all, the whole movie was obviously solely for entertainment purposes. It had too many fictional scenarios in the plot which made it hard to take the information in the film seriously. In general, it depicted the overall events of the Battle of the Alamo but had no real historical value in its details. However, some strong points in this film were the catchy script and humorous characters.
The newer version of the movie based on the Battle of the Alamo was made in reflection of a Mexican’s diary at the battle. In my opinion, the newer film with Billy Bob Thorton was much more believable and historically accurate. The picture went into more detail in the personal lives of the prominent men such as William Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie. It also showed a clearer visual of Santa Anna and what he might have been like during the battle. In contrast to the John Wayne version, Davy Crockett and his men were not expecting to fight in a battle. They were surprised to have to make a vital decision of whether to fight and die or not. The story line seemed more believable of what would have happened in that time period. Davy Crockett was portrayed as a legend but not in a drastic dramatic way. There was also an accurate portrayal of Juan Seguin. He was about the age he would have been in the newer film. There were a lot less fictional scenarios and more believable detail in this version as well.
In both films, the time span was similar. However, in the newer version, Sam Houston and his camp were shown. The newer film extended to the Battle of San Jacinto and the aftermath which was very educating. In closing, the Alamo is a symbol of heroes and strength no matter what the numbers are. I recommend both films to be viewed and taken into consideration in the historical value of the context.

The Alamo. DVD. Dir. John Wayne. MGM Home Entertainment, 1960, 162 min.

The Alamo. DVD. Dir. John Lee Hancock. Touchstone Home Entertainment, 2004, 137 min.