Friday, November 14, 2014

TONY Z GIVES PRIMER ON VAQUEROS-TEJANO HERITAGE

By Dr. Antonio Zavaleta
(This article originally appeared in the Brownsville Herald)
The selection of a name or image to represent an institution or a sport’s team is not a simple matter. This is primarily because satisfying everyone is close to impossible. When a selection is made, even one that is unanimously supported, those involved can only hope that most will not find the selection offensive as with reference to a protected group or class of people.
Last week University of Texas Rio Grande Valley President Guy Bailey announced the university’s new mascot to the community. After careful consideration and input from student groups and others, President Bailey made an executive decision to present the Vaquero as the new mascot to the UT System Board of Regents, who unanimously approved it. I believe that President Bailey did a tremendous job in selecting a concept that represents not only our geographical area, but the history, culture and traditions of south Texas. The selection of the vaquero truly shows his sensitivity and respect for our home and region.
In fact, the area north of the Rio Grande to the Nueces River is the oldest and longest settled area of Spanish Texas, notwithstanding the long history of Native Americans here. By the 1600s, tiny settlements of Spanish immigrants began popping up along the Rio Grande. The Camino Real, King’s Highway, ran northward from Saltillo through the middle of the Tejano heartland, vaquero country, up to San Antonio de Bexar connecting the pioneers from the north and south.
These unique and resilient people came to be known as Tejanos and they lived and thrived in this vast grassland of the Wild Horse Desert for a hundred years before the Count of Escandon established his series of lower river settlements in 1750.
Long before the creation of the cowboy, Tejano vaqueros lived as small cattle ranchers developing traditions and culture as well as becoming the origin of the cattle industry in Texas. Vaquero families of men and women lived in the harsh region in jacales, houses made of mesquite and brush, fending off Comanche and Apache raids. The revered American icon, the cowboy, was shaped after the image of the vaquero.
I am proud to have a vaquero tradition, culture and history represent our university. There are so many opportunities for UTRGV to develop new university traditions around this iconic concept. For example, imagine the pride of a class ring with the vaquero emblazoned on its side.
Dozens of Spanish words derived from vaquero culture have been adopted into American English, demonstrating the importance of the vaquero in American and Texas history.
The list of adopted words begins with the quintessential “buckaroo,” a variation of the word “vaquero” often reserved for a young cowboy. The vaquero cultural lexicon is essential in modern English. For example, the vaquero worked on the “range,” a word that morphed into “ranch” and the “ranchero” morphed into “rancher.”
The vaquero mounted his “silla,” saddle, to his horse with a “cinche,” chinch. He used a “riata,” lariat also called a lasso. The cattle were herded into a corral. Seasonally, he would display his vaquero expertise at a competitive gathering called a rodeo.
What would our great Texas culture be without its rich vaquero heritage?
Vaqueros introduced many words for the preparation of food like “barbacoa,” barbecue, in which the animal is cooked slowly in a ground pit from the “barba” to the “cola,” from head to tail. Pan de campo, camp bread and pan semita, Semite bread, are part of vaquero food traditions. South Texas populations had a strong admixture of the Jewish Sephardim in their Judeo-Catholic background.
The rich mixture of cultures includes a strong influence of Basque farmers and sheep herders who settled in northeastern Mexico along the Rio Grande in the 17th century. The vaquero mascot brings these and many more aspects of our historic culture into the educational equation that should be understood, embraced and shared.
The vaqueros were experts at herding cattle through the thorny scrub brush of south Texas called monte or chaparral. They protected their legs with thick leather chaparreras the cowboys call chaps. Vaqueros often encountered herds of wild horses in the brush they called broncos. They protected their faces from violent dust storms with bandanas. These sudden and violent storms were whipped up by northerners in the winter they called nortes.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, the vaquero serves as an archetypal image of the south Texas super hero as described by Dr. Americo Paredes in his book about Gregorio Cortez, titled “With a Pistol in his Hand.” The humble vaquero Gregorio Cortez was wrongly accused of horse theft, perused by law enforcement, but escaped by performing a series of super-human feats.
Brownsville’s own Juan Nepomuceno Cortina is another larger-than-life vaquero superhero from the area of Rancho Viejo on the Military Highway. He was also wrongly accused of being a bandido, or bandit.
Cortina was from a wealthy river family. Family lore recounts that he was asked by his mother to take his vaqueros to recover their stolen cattle that had been driven northward to the vast King Ranch. Even though Cortina was a patriot, the United States waged war against him but he was never caught. Eventually he became governor of Tamaulipas, and has the distinction of fighting with his vaqueros at the Battle of Palo Alto and at the Battle of Puebla on the Cinco de Mayo. He lived the life of a superhero in exile, not allowed to return to his south Texas home.
The list of vaquero traditions and words adopted into the vernacular is extensive. Imagine the university clubs and organizations that will emerge by incorporating vaquero vocabulary and culture on campus. Think of the youth groups that could be called the buckaroos, developing cultural-historical curricula that will help schoolchildren understand their rich south Texas heritage throughout the region.
Rather than finding fault in a name, let’s find value in the heritage of the vaquero. UTRGV is off to a great start by branding our mascot the Vaquero. Honoring the vaquero honors a blend of traditions that make us unique and outstanding in the State of Texas. It provides us with a real opportunity to see the value of bilingualism and multiculturalism. Therefore, join in the yell, Go Vaqueros!
(Dr. Antonio Zavaleta is professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Brownsville.)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very well stated.

Anonymous said...

With the gratuitous insertion of Cortina worship into his Vaquero piece, it is clear that Antonio is not yet done with local politics. Cortina may have owned and stolen some cows, but he was far from being the quintessential Vaquero.

Antonio was given the heave-ho from the new UT-RGV and will now have time on his hands. He is polishing up his La Raza ties and image. All in all, it was a very self serving piece.

Anonymous said...

While I am not a Tony Zavaleta fan, his article on the Vaquero was really good and clear. I am not sure why so many, like the asshole whose letter was in the Herald today, deny any connection between the Vaquero and South Texas history. The guy in the Herald letter today cries "sexism" in the name, while Pres. Bailey has made it clear "Vaquera" would be appropriate for the ladies sports. Many of the critics of "Vaquero" have come out from under their rocks to oppose the mascot, but the same critics say nothing about quality of education or "real" issues. Our citizens are becoming more stupid every day and we need to stress education.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for reenforcing the insignificance of the Vaquero to the history of Rio Grande Valley. The entire state of Texas population in 1825 was 3,500 and the famous great trail drives lasted a gran total of 20 years, from after the Civil War until the railroads in the late 1880s. Scatter is the right word for people living in what is today's Valley up until the Mexican War. The "Vaquero Period" in the Valley was short and without a legacy of any importance. No one would deny this brief, romanticized interlude in Valley history. However, the Vaquero is not a mascot that represents a primary and lasting influence on local life.

With all due respect, your overall approach is that of an 8th grade Texas History book. The real heroes and builders of the Valley were and are the men and woman of commerce and farming, with special gratitude to the farm workers who, to this day, toil in those fields. We do no favor to education by propagating myths. I must say that I find it highly ironic that Mr. Montoya is hellbent on his Vaquero kick. If anyone should know what farm workers and farming mean to the Valley, it should be he. Yes, as one student asked, "Where are all the Vaqueros?"

We would be remiss if we left another factor that also far out ways the Vaquero influence in the Valley, the Catholic Church.

By the way, according to the linguistic authorities the word "barbacoa" has its origins from the Taíno language in the Caribbean.

Anonymous said...

Mucho pinche pedo por el nombre, we live in an area where most Mexican americans (pochos) use Spanish mixed with English to talk, if one don't like the baqueros name, can easily say it in English, just like The Dallas Cowboys, can be in Spanish, Los Baqueros de Dallas.

Anonymous said...

"Much of the economy of the county in its earliest years was based on trade. Merchants on both sides of the border quickly recognized the advantage of shipping goods to Brownsville and then smuggling them across the Rio Grande to avoid paying high Mexican duties. During the Mexican War Richard King, Mifflin Kenedy,qqv and Stillman had set up a transport company to haul American troops and supplies up the river. After the war the three men managed to establish a virtual monopoly on river transportation, thus ensuring Anglo dominance of trade in the area and helping to encourage growth. In 1849 and 1850 California-bound gold-seekers came through the area, landing at Port Isabel and taking the military road to the west; some stayed and became settlers. Cholera and yellow fever epidemics struck the area on several occasions, but the population grew rapidly, and by 1850 Cameron County had 8,451 inhabitants."

This is from the link provided by the "Editor" of the BH to "prove" cattle ranching was the dominate economic force in the 19th century. It was only a force, as the article states, during the later part of the 19th century. And, then gave to farming and commerce. Again, the "Vaquero Period" was brief and without a legacy, period.

Anonymous said...

Translation:

Dear Guy,


Please hire my maid... err I mean wife and I.


Love,
Antonio

Anonymous said...

Montoya,

Where the hell is my comment posted yesterday in response to Zavalet(t)a's tripe? Are you censoring the comments? Please display the comments in a timely fashion. I think you owe that to your readers.

Anonymous said...

Since I am 89 years young and growing up in the Brush country of South Texas the Vaquero has been part of the lexicon ranching culture. My father was born in Northern Mexico, raised in cattle country of South Texas I learned to ride and herd the cattle into the Corrals wearing chaparreras , boots, spurs and a lariat by my side. He sent me off to college (A.&M.) where I graduated. class of 1950 . I retired to Norther Mexico. (Brownsville, Texas)

Anonymous said...

I read a book a while back, dont recall the name off-hand, that the Vaquero name actually started and comes from the Gaucho ancestors. These are the South American cowboys of Argentina and Chile, not original name to South Texas.

Any historians or researchers may be able to provide more info.

If this is correct, the mascot name would be based on a lie. Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

While I agree that the article was well written and I agree the vaquero is an excellent icon to reflect our pride in the history of South Texas, I believe using it as a mascot will diminish, when all is said and done, its cultural value. I had to remind myself halfway through the piece, that yes, we're talking about a mascot. I'm not looking forward to seeing a mascot version of a vaquero complete with over-sized boots and hat! Unfortunately, Dr. Bailey's pick is regressive, which is maybe why the young students are balking and has become quite divisive which I'm sure was not his intent. Personally, I was rooting for Rockets to pay tribute to our next big frontier. Just FYI, here's the definition:
noun
1. an animal, person, or thing adopted by a group as its representative symbol and supposed to bring good luck:
The U.S. Navy mascot is a goat.

Anonymous said...

In keeping with important events in Brownsville's glorious history, why not name the mascot the Hijackers in honor the youngest person ever to hijack an airplane?

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/history/features/2013/skyjacker_of_the_day/thomas_robinson_age_16_hijacked_a_plane_to_protest_cuba_s_emigration_policy.html

Anonymous said...

The Vaquero era was Brief. It lasted four centuries.

Anonymous said...

Makes as much sense as saying the Pilgrim era lasted four centuries. We sitll celebrate Thanksgiving, right? There are a hell of a lot more shrimpers in the Valley today than "Vaqueros" and that counts the ones during Charro Days.

Anonymous said...

Hire me.

Anonymous said...

What was the point in bringing this to our attention?

Anonymous said...

It was brought to your " atención" to enlighten you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you. ( Los Gauchos- Argentina). (Los Llaneros- Venezuela and Chile)

Anonymous said...

Boy you people need to get a hobby!

Anonymous said...

Our Hobby is the NACO Intelligence Service. It is part under the Homeland Dirt Division. Da Mayor has been seen around the Under passes disguised as Jaime Bon, head of security for TU school.

Anonymous said...

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Oñáte Expedition in 1598, in Santa Fé. El Día de Dar Gracias.

rita