Adam Barraza
KSAT.com
SAN ANTONIO – A reign of racial terror known as La Matanza, or massacre, is believed to have killed thousands of Latinos in Texas between 1910 and 1920. Yet, historians said it’s not widely known.
“There are adults now that don’t know the story, let alone children,” said Norma Longoria Rodriguez, a retired teacher whose grandfather and great-grandfather were among those killed in 1915, when La Matanza was at its worst.
Rodriguez said as a little girl, she was told they were mistaken for bandits, who, at the time, would cross into Texas from Mexico to steal horses and cattle.
She would learn the truth as a young woman when she asked her father why the gravestones for her grandfather, Antonio Longoria, and great-grandfather Jesus Bazan, had different dates if they’d died the same day.
“He got real mad and said ‘They did. They were killed by Texas Rangers,’” Rodriguez said.
But she said it wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. They were murdered.
Longoria, a former sheriff’s deputy, school board member and teacher, and his father-in-law had just told the Texas Rangers that bandits had raided their Hidalgo County ranch.
Yet as they rode away on their horses, Rodriguez said the Texas Rangers “shot them dead, in the back from the Model-T that they were in.”
Rodriguez said the Rangers then ordered that their bodies not be buried but left to rot as a warning to others.
Eventually, they were buried by the side of the road where they fell, and where a Texas Historical Marker now stands.
Rodriguez said she hoped her grandfather and great-grandfather died quickly, given others were lynched, burned alive and tortured.
In addition to a documentary, the history of La Matanza is depicted in a travelign exhibit at Our Lady of the Lake University through the end of March. The exhibit is part of "Refusing to Forget," an award-winning effort to document the lives of the men, women and children who were killed.
It’s believed a 12-year-old boy, who in 1929 was apparently lynched in Helotes, may have been one of the innocent victims, even after La Matanza.
“Being an American citizen, gender and age, did not protect people from violence,” said Dr. Monica Munoz Martinez, associate professor of history at UT Austin. “People could be killed with impunity.”
Christopher Carmona, Ph.D., associate professor of Mexican-American Studies at OLLU, said it’s important to understand, horrific as it was, “The history of civil rights begins here.”
In response to the killings and injustices, Carmona said the League of United Latin American Citizens was formed. LULAC went on to become the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization.
Carmona said the question then was, “How do we start to protect ourselves against state-sponsored violence.”
As of now, the Texas Rangers have not responded to a request for a statement.
SAN ANTONIO – A reign of racial terror known as La Matanza, or massacre, is believed to have killed thousands of Latinos in Texas between 1910 and 1920. Yet, historians said it’s not widely known.
“There are adults now that don’t know the story, let alone children,” said Norma Longoria Rodriguez, a retired teacher whose grandfather and great-grandfather were among those killed in 1915, when La Matanza was at its worst.
Rodriguez said as a little girl, she was told they were mistaken for bandits, who, at the time, would cross into Texas from Mexico to steal horses and cattle.
She would learn the truth as a young woman when she asked her father why the gravestones for her grandfather, Antonio Longoria, and great-grandfather Jesus Bazan, had different dates if they’d died the same day.
“He got real mad and said ‘They did. They were killed by Texas Rangers,’” Rodriguez said.
But she said it wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. They were murdered.
Longoria, a former sheriff’s deputy, school board member and teacher, and his father-in-law had just told the Texas Rangers that bandits had raided their Hidalgo County ranch.
Yet as they rode away on their horses, Rodriguez said the Texas Rangers “shot them dead, in the back from the Model-T that they were in.”
Rodriguez said the Rangers then ordered that their bodies not be buried but left to rot as a warning to others.
Eventually, they were buried by the side of the road where they fell, and where a Texas Historical Marker now stands.
Rodriguez said she hoped her grandfather and great-grandfather died quickly, given others were lynched, burned alive and tortured.
It’s believed a 12-year-old boy, who in 1929 was apparently lynched in Helotes, may have been one of the innocent victims, even after La Matanza.
“Being an American citizen, gender and age, did not protect people from violence,” said Dr. Monica Munoz Martinez, associate professor of history at UT Austin. “People could be killed with impunity.”
Christopher Carmona, Ph.D., associate professor of Mexican-American Studies at OLLU, said it’s important to understand, horrific as it was, “The history of civil rights begins here.”
In response to the killings and injustices, Carmona said the League of United Latin American Citizens was formed. LULAC went on to become the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization.
Carmona said the question then was, “How do we start to protect ourselves against state-sponsored violence.”
As of now, the Texas Rangers have not responded to a request for a statement.
8 comments:
This is true and inside the state capital there is a picture that as whites ride in horses into the RGV they see meskins hanging and one says to the other "Oh the rangers were here they left their mark". They even make fun of all the murders they committed against the hispanics at that time. IF THEY COULD THEY WOULD DO IT AGAIN gringos are not your friends and they use the cocos to their advange.
FACT learn it...
Another excellent expose of what was never taught to us in our history lessons throughout our schooling. The story of La Matanza is much deeper than this article and the historical marker content that is the rest stop coming into Brownsville, right outside of San Benito. stop and read it some time to see the interpretation of the events that happened and then continue your research on Google or even better, go to the library Texian section and search for the local history books and read the other side or additional facts of what really happened. I am currently reading Empire and Revolution by John Mason Hart and you will be stunned by the facts presented in this book. Thanks, Juan, for once recommending it in one of your writings. I went and bought the book to read at my leisure and now I cannot put it down. Keep these kinds of articles in your blog and leave out all the corrupted stuff that our illustrious leaders are conducting in the elected positions. Vote or not vote, they still do their own thing - personal agendas - in every entity that governs in one way or the other. It is getting to the point that the stamp I used to mail in my ballot is worth more than the ballot I am sending. What a shame that we have stooped down to this level, but then again, as I read more and more, I find out that this has exisited all the time.
Teachers off again, this time spring break one week, it was easter break another week off, MLK another week off, turkey day another week off, xmas one week off, new years another week off. plus summer 3 MONTHS OFF PAID!!! they only work 180 DAYS a year la tienen hecha las mamonas. plus their bithday off a week, plus vacation time 2 weeks, toilet training 2 weeks. learn to teacher training 1 week, gossip one week off, another week AND THEY WORK ONLY 3 TO 5 HOURS A DAY, A DAY, just because they can do so. they work ONLY 180 DAYS A YEAR!!!!! WOW
WHEN IS ALL THIS MAMASON GONNA STOP WHEN WE STOP PAYING PROPERTY TAXES?
WHEN WHEN BOLA DE MAMONAS/ES...
papi ya te vas a trabajar? si mijito yo trabajo todo el ano(year). 8 hours por dia 6 dias a la semana, mijito.
mami are you going to work? No not today I have a week off for toilet training, I only work 180 days a year. tomorrow we will go to las vegas and spent some of thos tax monies I got from the poor sonsos that pay property taxes hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
TRUE STORY
Anyone born and raised in South Texas is familiar with the various massacres of our people at the hands of the white man, the Rinches. Not only were our people murdered but their lands stolen. Back in the day our people were defenseless. Only the very wealthy could afford a firearm. A machete and a rake don’t go far against a pistol and a rifle. Yet democrats for decades have been working to disarm the population. Why?
A lot of taxpayers’ money is being spent on the school district. Yet few of our graduating students can read or write much less figure out a simple math equation. Charter schools are the answer to all the waste.
Too bad Mrs Gonzalez at the library is no longer here, she had the biggest collection of Hispanic history in all of south texas, I heard the library took all her books and stored them in the same storage where the museum hides their history books and other materials that tells the truth about south texas .
WHAT ARE THEY HIDING???? ALL OF YOU RUNNING THESE PLACES ARE PUBLIC SERVANTS YOU WORK FOR THE PUBLIC WHO OR WHAT GIVES YOU THE AUTHORITY TO HIDE BOOKS THAT TELL OUR HISTORY? WHO?
The reason that you don't hear much about that is because Congress has codified that only negroes were lynched in the south. Truth is that more tejanos were lynched than negroes.
Nobody cares what happened to you MEXICAN CRYBABIES a hundred years ago...any questions... you wanna know when your Lone Star Card gets re-loaded...of course! Bawhahahaha
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