Sabor Hispano
Remembering Los San Patricios Pete's Barrio Memoir T
The Irishmen Who Died For Mexico
he history of the Saint Patrick’s the Irish as a revered race in Mexico; Battalion, “The San Patricios,” even to this day, an Irish person in in the US-Mexican War, has placed Mexico will be told a countless number of times about the famous ‘Irish Martyrs’ who defected from the US Army and gave their lives trying to save Mexico from U.S. aggression during the Mexican-American War of 18461848. A main reason for their hero status in Mexico is derived from their exemplary performance in the 2011LUBBOCKARTSFESTIVAL battlefield. April 8-10 n Civic Center The San Patricios ultimately April 8 - 10 n Civic Center suffered se806.744.ARTS (2787) mail@lubbockarts.org vere casualties www.lubbockarts.org at the famous battle at Churubusco, which A Project of the Lubbock Arts Alliance is considered This program made possible in part through a grant from the City of Lubbock, as the Waterloo recommended by Civic Lubbock, Inc. This event is sponsored by Civic Lubbock, Inc. for the Mexi-
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can Army in this war. Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who also commanded the armed forces, stated afterwards that if he had commanded a few hundred more men like the San Patricios, Mexico would have won that illfamed battle. While the brave soldiers of Saint Patrick’s Battalion are not particularly well-known outside Mexico, it is clear that their god-like status in Mexico is enough to compensate for the attention they failed to receive in other countries. “Los Colorados” the redheaded Irishmen who gave their lives in the struggle for Mexican sovereignty, have their Irish names on signs and are named after prominent places. Fore example, there’s “O’Brien City,” better known as Ciudad Obregon in the northern state of Sonora, named after Alvaro Obregon (18801928) who was a famous and admired Mexican soldier and statesman, and many more. Moreover, both groups share communal and family values, a common spirituality and love for poetry, art, music and dance and a history that forever ties these two cultures. ¡Que vivan los San Patricios! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
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The Bootleggers
rowing up in the area of the Barrio that I did was a unique experience. I learned a lot from my uncles and their friends. I guess one of the things that I quickly picked up from them was the "little brown bags" or "bolsas" and what was inside them. We lived in an area that was surrounded by bootleggers. We had a big bootlegger that lived directly across the street from us. We learned that they would hide their quartos(quarts) in a big patch of nopales in front of their green fence, and also across the street in some old warehouses that had been abandoned. At night we would try and sneak into the warehouses and get a few quartos. Then down the street
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we had a couple of houses on Ave K, that also sold and catered to the drinkers. I remember that the quartos would cost a dollar, and after you got one you would try and hide it and get to where you were going to drink it. I was introduced to all this by some of my uncles. Thinking back, the bootleggers did play an important part in our community. They took the chance to get the alcohol, so that people would could have a product that was not ready available. The things that we learned and did, that is part of our memories of el barrio. Editor's Note: Pete Pina grew up in barrio Guadalupe and enjoys sharing his memories and the stories of barrio Guadalupe.