Tejano Origins in Mexican Texas — 15
The story of the Tejano culture is definitely not one of decline. The Tejano population dwindled in relation to the flood of Anglo-Americans who poured into Texas, but the Tejanos and their families remained in the Texas Republic. In fact, the strongest surge that Tejano population experienced was between San Antonio and the Río Grande after 1836. More significantly, the Tejano culture has been adopted and spread by the Anglo-Americans themselves. Because Texas was the first Mexican state settled by the Anglo-American tide, Texas probably had a greater influence initially on that westward-moving frontier. The use of words like lasso, corral, and mustang in distant western states like Wyoming and Montana indicate the extent to which the tools, techniques, and animals of the Tejanos have spread across the United States. With those tools and animals, of course, spread the laws for water, land, and resource management. Aspects of Tejano life have colored and benefited American life. The tremendous herds of Tejano cattle provided beef for a steak-and-hamburger-eating nation in its dynamic industrialization phase. And Tejano laws laid much of the foundation for a prosperous Texan society. Indeed, the history of Texas can never be complete without the story of her original founders-the Tejanos.
Andrés Tijerina
May 4, 1998
