Mexican Culture's Influence On Texas

In 1823, Mexico passed the General Colonization Law opening Texas to colonization and presenting impresario grants to individuals hoping to help encourage settlement and economic growth in the remote Mexican land of Texas. The Mexican government, later on, adopted the Constitution of 1824 making Texas joined with Mexico as part of the larger state of Coahuila y Tejas. Texas joining as a larger state-led to disadvantages such as the political power being placed in a more populous neighboring province of Coahuila. When becoming a larger state Texans enjoyed their own representative government at the local and provincial levels, so when Texans found out that politicians in the Coahuila city of Saltillo formed a new government in August that took

Unlike the viewpoint of Americans, Mexicans did not view the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War justifiable. Americans did not have the right to invade in Mexico. Many politicians in the United States proclaimed that they should expand their territory by the annexation of Texas and Mexico. Americans justified the annexation with the idea of “Manifest Destiny”, an expression of idealized justification on the part of Americans that they have the God-given right to civilize all the nations.

Texas has always been very diverse in regards to our political cultures. These cultures have transformed over the years which makes Texas a hard place to govern. According to Daniel Elazar, each state is associated with a political culture classification scheme of moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic cultures. By definition, political culture is the shared values and beliefs about the nature of the political world that give us a common language that we can use to discuss and debate ideas. (21)

Ever since the conquistadors had conquered Mexico, the life and culture of many modern Mexicans has been altered by Spain. From the design and organization of towns and cities to religion to class system, Spain has definitely made an impression on Mexico. One of the first imprint the Spanish made was leveling the native temples and then putting their Catholic churches and administrative buildings on top. To me, it’s as they - the Spanish are stating their religion - Catholicism - is superior to theirs. Secondly, the Spaniards used the local people as slaves to build their churches and their government buildings. The fact that they took advantage of these people in their own land is just upsetting. Another thing the Spanish did was they “built” a church in the center of every town while all the important

I’m the first generation of my family to be Mexican -American, but I have been introduced to the Mexican culture since I was born. I appreciate the difficulties my parents have faced to make me the person that I am today even though I wasn’t born in Mexico my parents have taught me the language and the culture which I’m so proud of being part of. For others being Hispanic is actually being born in any Latin American countries which is not true at all. Being Hispanic is much more than my cultural background it actually describes how much I appreciate my culture and how I get to experience things other people don’t. I fit into the Hispanic community through the experiencing the culture first hand ,participating in traditions and planning to include my culture in my future.

It is true that Mexicans and Spaniards share similarities concerning language and culture, but there are far too many regional variations that make linguists say that Mexican Spanish qualifies to be a separate language, nonetheless, what does differ is that Spain’s political system is a Democratic government with an ‘international’ currency. Additionally, one can find a lot of Spanish influence in Mexican culture such as bull fights, foods like Spanish rice, and yes, Catholic Religion. Yet, it is easy to see the ancestral differences between Mexican and Spanish people due to their many different historical characteristics.

The Texas Revolution has played a massive role in Texas history. In fact, without it, Texas wouldn’t be Texas! But, why was there a Texas Revolution to start with? In this essay, we will be discussing why there was a Texas Revolution and who was there to start it.

Mexican culture has been characterized in literature by an accepted framework of values: familism, respeto and simpatia (respect and congeniality), curanderismo (folk healing), religiosity/spirituality, and the importance of language are among the most important. In a typical Mexican family, the father is the breadwinner/decision maker also known as a machismo. There are positive and negative ways people see this; the man in the family holds great responsibility, whilst still seen as rough around the edges. The mother falls under the caregiver role, whom force holds the family together and shares cultural wisdom. Family is an important value in the Mexican culture.

Laws and rules that date back to times when it made it difficult for people to stand out and have a voice. Texas based their laws on family values, school prayer, against abortion, and against gay marriage. Another negative aspect of Texas its location next to Mexico. Since Texas is bordering Mexico, there has been a lot of illegal Mexican immigrants crossing the border unto Texas seeking jobs that belong to legal Texas citizens. Though has been stricter laws put in place to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing over into Texas, there is still dispute over the issue

The Mexican American society is rich with culture, traditions, folklore, and religion. These major influences are especially seen in the Los Angeles area. This area is rich in music, food, and customs of the Mexican culture. Here is where the majority of the Spanish language is spoken. The Mexican American culture is not just a blend of Mexico and the United States, it goes back further than

Las Vegas is where I was born and raised. That doesn’t mean that I just gave up on my Mexican culture. Like many others, I have a culture that is both American and Mexican. My culture has shaped my values, perceptions, and behaviors. The culture of my family, community, and society has made who I am as a person in numerous ways. Culture impacted my personality and how I act and feel. To me, culture is a very important part of every person’s life.

Up until the 1960s Anglo social scientists wrote most of the literature about the people of Mexican- descent in the United States. Their analysis of Mexican American culture and history reflected the hegemonic beliefs, values, and perceptions of their society. As outsiders, Anglo scholars were led by their own biases and viewed Mexicans as inferior, savage, unworthy and different. Because Mexican scholars had not yet begun to write about their own experiences, these stereotypes were legitimized and reproduced in the literature. However, during the mid- 1960s scholars such as Octavio Ignacio Romano, Nick Vaca, Francisco Armando Rios, and Ralph Ricatelli began to reevaluate the literature written by their predecessors. In their work they analyze

Texas is unique in the fact that not only has it been its own country but it has been ruled over by six different flags. The first country to rule over Texas was the Kingdom of Spain. In 1519 Cortez decided that Spain should establish their colonies in the new world it was a 100 years until there was a settlement in Texas. Spain gradually expands from Mexico building forts and settlements until Spain lost its hold on Texas in 1685. France had already had claimed land in Louisiana so they planted their flag in the eastern part of Texas. Even though Spain had already claimed that part of Texas there were no settlers in that area. France sent Rene Robert Cavelier and Sieur de la Salle to establish a colony called Fort St. Louis. It did not take

Jean Stuntz adds to the growing literature of southern women in colonial American by examining the lives of Hispanic women in Texas in her article, “Spanish Law and Texas Women in Colonial Texas: 1719-1821.” Stuntz relied on sources such as government documents, archival materials such as disputes, testimony, wills, pleadings, land deeds, and legal records to demonstrate that under colonial laws, Spanish women had rights unlike in other places, the laws were designed to exclude women of color, regardless of their status. In colonial Texas, Hispanic women, including poor women, had rights. Working within the law, they were able to file suits. When filing suits, a woman’s marital status was not mentioned, it was not important according to Stuntz.

European colonization in Texas started in 1689. It was ordered by St. Francis in order for Spain to spread Christianity, Spanish culture and also to establish control. This era began with missions and presidios. They were protected using presidios. A presidio was originally built for protecting travel on railways but later used for protecting Spanish missions and settlements. There are many Spanish priests who helped Spain attempt to reach their goal. Four significant Spanish priests are Fray Damian Massanet, Jose de Escandon, Antonio Margil de Jesus, and Francisco Hidalgo.