The Mexican American Experience, a radio program produced by the Longhorn Radio Network, includes interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns. Program summary: Host Linda Fregoso interviews Hernán Jaso, mayor of Goliad, TX, who talks about Goliad's history and the statue the Mexican government is donating in honor of General Ignacio Zaragoza, the hero of Cinco de Mayo, who was born in Goliad. Five years earlier, Jaso traveled to Puebla for the anniversary of Zaragoza's death and spoke with the state's governor about Goliad's desire to honor Zaragoza. 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. Jaso then discusses the history of Goliad and offers a brief summary of Zaragoza's life. He says that Mexican Americans in Goliad have waited almost 70 years to formally honor Zaragoza, 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 amphitheater, plaza and several trails that will go from the statue to the mission where Zaragoza was born. Jaso 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 Zaragoza and their former prosperity. Keywords: Archbishop Patrick Flores, Baile 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. Broadcast date: 1980-07-11.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Fregoso, Rosa Linda. (host), and Jaso, Hernán (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
7/9/1980
Owning Repository:
Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin