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Tejanos Essay

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Last semester I attended a historical marker ceremony at my university followed by a lecture by Dr. Andres Tijerina. In his lecture, Dr. Tijerina explained the history of the region and the people who once occupied the land. With a research focus in Texas and Mexican American history, Dr. Tijerina asked the crowd to embrace their Mexican heritage and complained of the lack of research concerning Tejanos in Texas. Immediately intrigued by Dr. Tijerina, I purchased his book Tejanos and Texas Under the Mexican Flag, 1821-1836.
Tijerina’s book encompassed research often ignored in Texas historiography. He not only explained the relationship between Anglo Americans and Tejanos, but of constant change and the transfer of power on the Mexican frontera. Tijerina introduced new concepts of Tejanos and their culture in isolated Texas. Tejanos played an important role in the development of Texas despite their constantly overshadowed contributions. Anglos in Texas and the Texas revolution remain popular topics in Texas research, but the development of Texas also includes Tejano influence.
Furthermore, understanding …show more content…

Tijerina explains how Texas consisted of people of various races and ethnicities including Spanish, Indian, Mestizo, and Afro-Mexican, but he does not develop an analysis of race in the borderlands, although it remains essential in the development of Texas. Race was a peculiar theme in Mexico at the time due to the abolition of slavery and various racial mixing. Although Mexico implemented liberal racial policies, Afro-Mexicans and mestizos moved to the Texas frontier to escape racial discrimination. Continued exploration of race relations during the period of Tijerina’s concentration is imperative to the history of Texas, especially since he specifies Tejano politics and culture but did not define limitations based on

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