Tejano Origins in Mexican Texas — 4

The Goliad presidiales contributed greatly to the population, and more significantly, they provided outstanding leadership among the Tejano community in general. Indeed, a steady flow of distinguished Goliad citizens emanated from the presidio. These included Carlos de la Garza of the well-known "Carlos Rancho" and Ignacio Zaragoza, who went on to become the victorious general at the famous Mexican battle of the "Cinco de Mayo." Another very important Tejano, though seldom recognized in history, was the former commander of the presidio, Rafael Antonio Manchola. Manchola became one of the most successful Tejano statesmen in Coahuila y Texas politics. He had arrived at La Bahía in 1822, served as a state congressman, and became the Goliad ayuntamiento president in 1831. Likewise, Captain José de Jesús Aldrete had retired as the presidio commander, and established a ranch in 1821 near the presidio. The Aldrete family later went on to settle in a new village known as San Patricío. Ranches represented a significant social element in the Béxar-Goliad region. A belt of ranches extended along much of the San Antonio River between Béxar and Goliad. The ranchero move onto ranches indicates the Tejano value for the land and ranching lifestyle as opposed to living in town. This pattern of out-migration by the wealthy was later adopted by Anglo-American settlers who would learn like the Tejanos to prefer the Tejano ranch life to Anglo urban life. The northern region of Tejano settlements in this period was Nacogdoches. Removed in physical distance from the Béxar-Goliad region, Nacogdoches was also distinct in character. Unlike Béxar, Nacogdoches had no major presidio to feed its bloodlines. Instead, the Nacogdoches racial and cultural structure drew as much from its French and Anglo neighbors in Louisiana as it did from Mexico far to the south. Located on a well established trade route between Mexico and the United States, Nacogdoches lacked the comfortable inertia of Bexareño society. And Nacogdoches developed more than any other Tejano settlement the ability to remove its entire populace in time of attack and return when conditions permitted. Throughout its existence, the population of Nacogdoches ebbed and flowed, evacuated but never abandoned its frontier homeland.

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