It is commonly warranted that this sort of story is behind every large land appropriation (and even many of the smaller ones too) in the history of the region. The King Ranch is another example of this sort of obscure place and time in history. The story that is told about the place in history books is one that is generally glossed over, and if not than the audience is typically regaled with the kind details that makes the “white man” a pacifier in the land, a hero and a settler who is taming the land and the people. This kind of destruction is typically accepted as progress, as is a common trait of not only Texas history, but United States history as well.

In this specific example of a story of violence, land appropriation, and vehement racism, there can be themes that are seen to arise out of a history that is often blurred and unspoken on official terms. It makes the history that is told, by mouth and passed on through generations, valid among those who it is shared with. It is a sort of shared subversive history, where people acknowledge their roots and the transgressions of the colonizing factor in their area. Whether or not any or all of these stories are provable or even factual seem besides the point in their most significant social function, and that is resistance; it is resistance of a common, anglicized, racist history that typically defined Mexicans as dirty and lazy and therefore undeserving of land.

Although I have matured since my young years sitting at grandma’s feet, listening to stories about the past, I now understand the roots of social tension in the area. I do not condone racism, but rather here have tried to paint an image of the mentality of a generation of people, with a common history and a common world experience. I myself do not hold all of the same ideologies that make “white man” evil, instead I have chosen to recreate an oral tradition distinct to the area as a form of recording and preserving it.

Bibliography

Estefana Guerra, Grandmother. Personal Interview. March 12, 2007.