San Antonio River Walk, Batman and the Alamo

San Antonio, TX

The River Walk

A slow start to the day, finally found decent coffee. I wasn’t paying attention upon check-in at the Riverwalk Hotel; at the other entrance was Sugarloaf Café.

After a good soy cappuccino fix, I stepped out onto Dwyer, and just a stone’s throw from the hotel is the Riverwalk.

It’s a refreshing shift from the hectic last five days in New York. The pace slowed a hundred times. No zombies in subways. Real, live people were strolling by the river, some taking the fresh air in underneath the green canopies of trees lining up the walk, and every now and then a boat passes, snaking through the river filled with tourists. I am sure they are as charmed as I am with San Antonio.

I passed by bridges, ducks quacking, a couple of them followed by a group of chicks, man-made waterfalls cascading into the river, and cafes with people just soaking the atmosphere in. I appreciated the slower rhythm of life.

Finally, I reached La Villita, crossed an ivy covered bridge, entered this wooden door that lead to a spiral tiled staircase covered with an archway of lush greens.

It opened up to a quarter with stalls upon empty stalls. People were prepping them up. There were banners that said South of Border, Viva Espana, French Quarter, Mexican Fiesta and so on… I didn’t know what to expect really, save for what I thought would be an artists’ quarter with galleries. Most were closed. I was curious what was going on.

I saw one gallery open. A senior lady at the counter welcomed me. She was lovely. Her neck was adorned with huge red faux pas jewelry, matching her red splashed top. She was sitting erect on her chair and leaned forward as I chatted her up.

I asked what was going on, what the stalls were for and why the stores were closed.

“Oh, there’s a huge party, fiesta going on tonight. We have fiestas and events throughout the year, but tonight’s the biggest one. NIOSA. People will come, dressed silly. There’ll be at least three performance stages. Lots of food, music, people…” I got excited, my adventure luck struck again! “The event is from 5:30 till 10:30PM. You should go!”

She went to tell me how she loves San Antonio. She came from Minnesota. Worked in Bank of America, started as teller then became an investment banker as she rose the ranks. Shared with here I am learning investing as well, while writing my books. “What are your books about?” She loved what I told her. I’m not published yet. She handed me a pen and paper to write down the titles. “Just in case”, she said, “I love to read!”

The Alamo and Batman

I passed by Rio Café that lines the river with al-fresco tables covered with colourful umbrellas. Iconic of the Riverwalk, I have seen it on postcards and paintings in the galleries and shops.

Just a couple of blocks from there, past this tall red sculpture in the center of a roundabout, is the Alamo. I’ve heard of it and the story never quite stuck with me until I went inside and had a chat with the curator. Again, I got lucky. Typically you’d have to pay for a guided tour. The entrance was free, but I dropped a donation. Staff is friendly and helpful.

I did not know that Texas was an independent republic for around 10 years. What do you know, we (Philippines) shared a similar history of Spanish colonization. The Spaniards settled in San Antonio, took in the native Americans with the promise of feeding them during the harsh winter time, in exchange for building the Alamo. The roof never got finished at that time. The place was turned into army barracks or fort.

“So was the population primarily Spanish, American or Mexican, before the battle?”

“Well, there were a number of them from the US. Impressarios attracted Americans, as well as foreigners, to populate Texas with cheap land. In the US, per acre was $1.50, and here they offered 12 cents to an acre. You had to purchase minimum $100. And if you can’t afford the whole lot, the state also provided support or loan. The condition is that you have to become a Mexican citizen and be a Catholic. Well, of course, you didn’t have to be a practicing Catholic. “

She went to explain that Texas was then part of Mexico, and everything went smoothly under a Federalist system until Santa Ana came to power and shifted everything to a Centralist system, with Mexico City as the seat of power. Texas, being too far from the center did not feel much of the benefit and yet had to pay taxes. That started the dissent.

It culminated in the Battle of Alamo in 1836. There were 187 inside the Alamo, against Santa Ana’s advancing troop of 1600. The Texians and Tejanos inside Alamo, held out for 12 days, and only on the 13^th day did Santa Ana break through the Northern wall and take over a cannon inside the compound blasting the remaining line of defense inside. Joe, Travis’ slave, was the only male survivor. 14 women and children were let go. The women were given $2 each to go home (wherever that is!). The Mexican troop then advanced to Gonzales and beat them as well. But by the time they reached Houston, they were exhausted.

“If you step outside the Alamo, you’ll see Emily Morgan Hotel” The curator continued. “Legend has it that Houston sent Emily to ‘distract’ Santa Ana. Apparently he was amongst the troops that invaded Houston. Houston’s army attacked in the middle of the night. The Mexicans lost that final battle and that was the liberation of Texas finally independent of Mexico. Eventually, Texas decided to join the United States after 10 years. It was too much work to start establishing their own government, currency, economic system and so on.”

Now that someone told me the story, I finally got to appreciate it. It still made me wonder though, where were the Spaniards? Where were the mestizos? If they had been around since the 16^th century, how come they didn’t have the same kind of enculturation that Latino countries and Philippines had?

Before leaving, Batman came for a visit. Fantasy hero comes to pay homage to real heroes. Remember the Alamo? I would now.