A Tribute to Mexican General Zaragosa
Hernan Jasso, talks about Goliad’s history and the statue the Mexican government is donating in honor of General Ignacio Zaragosa, the hero of Cinco de Mayo, who was born in Goliad. Five years earlier, Jasso traveled to Puebla for the anniversary of Zaragosa death and he spoke with the state’s governor about Goliad’s desire to honor Zaragosa. In response, the Mexican Government, pleased that Texans wanted to honor one of Mexico’s national heroes, offered the town a statute of the general. Jasso then discusses the history of Goliad and offers a brief summary of Zaragosa’s life. He says that Mexican-Americans in Goliad have waited almost 70 years to formally honor Zaragosa, and every year the community organizes a huge Cinco de Mayo celebration that attracts visitors from throughout Texas.
To accommodate the statue, which will be dedicated later that year, Goliad built an amphitheatre, plaza and several trails that will go from the statue to the mission where Zaragosa was born. Jasso believes the statue signifies a new era of cooperation between Mexico and the United States, and will recognize Mexican-American history. He talks briefly about the history of the region and his family’s experiences after the Mexican American War, when Anglo settlers seized their vast land holdings because they were Mexicans. Fregoso concludes with her own experiences speaking with people in Goliad who have struggled to keep alive the memory of Zaragosa and their former prosperity.
KEYWORDS
Archbishop Patrick FloresBaile Folklorico
Becas para Aztlan
Bill Clements
Bob Kreuger
Charreadas
Chicano History
Cinco de Mayo
Col. James Fannin
Conflict between Anglos and Chicanos
Cultural Exchange
Don Martin De Leon
Fiestas
French Intervention
General Ignacio Zaragosa Seguin
General Jose Urrea
Goliad Massacre
Goliad, Texas
Hernan Jasso
History
James Hewit
James Power
La Bahia
Land Seizures
Local History
Mariachi
Matagorda
Matagorda Bay
Mexican American Culture
Mexican American History
Mexican American War
Mexican History
Mexican Nationalism
Military
Monuments
Napoleon
Opelousas, Louisiana
Presidio Nuestra Senora de Loreto de La Bahia
Pride
Puebla
Refugio
Relations between Mexico and Mexican-Americans
Siege of Bexar
South Texas
Spanish Land Grant
Texas Declaration of Independence
Texas History
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
Tourism
Victoria