Cinco de Mayo

Steve flew in on Thursday and we headed up to Marble Falls to pick up the kids on Friday.  They had Cinco de Mayo festivities at school on Friday so they were wondering about Cinco de Mayo in San Antonio.  Of course we have Cinco de Mayo celebrations in San Antonio.  It promised to be another warm day on Saturday so we headed out fairly early with El Mercado or the Mexican Marketplace as our destination.  Morgan had her "Cinco de Mayo" hairdo on.  Now that Fiesta is over, it was a little easier to find a place to park.  We toured the old Farmers Market area which is festive at any time.  Then we crossed the street to the area in front of El Mercado.  There were lots of booths set up and music playing.

They had all kinds of food booths and souvenirs for sale along with bouncy games and music playing.  We also saw this group all dressed up for the occasion.  Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) is not Mexican Independence Day as some think.  It commemorates the Mexican Army's 1862 victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla  during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867).  Although it is not much celebrated in Mexico, it has become a symbol of Mexican culture and heritage in areas of the United States with large Mexican-American populations.  It is usually celebrated with parades, mariachi music, and street festivals.  These performers were happy to pose with visitors.   

It really got warm by the time the kids were ready for a late lunch of chicken gorditas--something new to them.  Then Steve decided that it would be great to have a caricature of the kids drawn.  Cameron wasn't having any part of it unless "Dad" was in the picture too.

Hmmm?  Is that supposed to be Steve?

After the drawing was done and carefully rolled up to carry home, we headed out.  Of course, the kids were asleep before we left the downtown area.  Heat will do that to you and lots of walking will do that to you.

Presidio la Bahia, Goliad, TX

When we finished checking out Goliad State Park, we headed a little further down the road to Presidio la Bahia.  This was site of some serious battles in the fight for Texas.

I know you have all heard of Six Flags Over Texas but do you know about the 9 flags over Texas?  It all started with the Spanish flag in 1519.  Then the French took over from 1685 to 1690 until the Spanish took over once again.  They were pretty much in control except for a year starting in 1812 when the first Republic of Texas flag flew.  Back to the Spanish after a year and then in 1821, the Second Republic of Texas flag was raised.  The same year, the Mexican flag was raised over Texas and flew until 1836.  There was a second flag called the Bloody Arm First Independence Flag which also flew in 1835.

The Republic of Texas flag which looked just like our current state flag flew over Texas from 1836 to 1845 when it was replaced by the United States flag.  Texas went to the Confederacy in 1861.  Four years later, the United States flag was once again flying over the state.

There is a lot of history associated with this Presidio.

Take a look at this huge century plant in front of the Presidio.  It has been around for a long time.

There are also some famous names associated with the Presidio including Miguel Becerra who played a significant role in the colonization of Texas.

General Ignacio Zaragoza was also born right outside the Presidio.  He was a military leader in the 1850s and led a significantly undermanned Mexican army against the French in 1862.  That day is still celebrated internationally as "Cinco de Mayo".

This is the house where General Zaragoza was born.

We followed the path around the Presidio to the site of the memorial to Col J.W. Fannin and his men who were murdered by order of General Santa Anna in 1836 after Fannin's defeat by the Mexican Army.

Right next to the memorial is another cemetary with some very old graves which is still in use.

On the walk over to the Fannin memorial is a statue to another famous person, the Angel of Goliad, Francisca Alavez.  Although she traveled with the Mexican Army, she intervened numerous times to save Texan lives.  She was able to save some from the Massacre of Goliad by pleading for their lives and sneaking some of them out of the Presidio.

We were getting a bit tired by now but we made a quick driving tour through downtown Goliad.

I think we'll have to come back to do it more justice because there are some interesting old buildings.

We stopped at the "Texas Stop Sign", the local Dairy Queen for a little refreshment before heading back to San Antonio.  It was a long day and the kids took a refreshing nap on the way home so they were all rested when we arrived.  We, however, were not and were ready for some down time.