Tejano

Tejanos and Texas under the Mexican Flag, 1821-1836 (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University)
$15.95
Popular histories of Texas abound with self-legitimizing grand narratives and myths and written by arm-chair historians whose sole qualification sometimes is that they are multiple-generation Texans. Some extoll the inexorability of the westward expansion of the Anglo-Celt pioneer, or the defense of self-described legends, or even minimize the impact that the Tejano had on Texas and Texan culture. All is not bleak, though. Reviewing my daughter's junior high Texas history text, I see that there have been quantum improvements in the way Texas history is presented, compared to the way it was presented when I was in junior high, a generation ago. More recent scholarly works have been synthesized into these texts to present a more balanced and more historically accurate representation of the past. It is scholarly studies, such as Tijerina's Tejanos & Texas Under the Mexican Flag, that are ever so slowly working their way up into the historiographical consciousness and providing the information for better school texts and hopefully more accurate popular history.Professor Tijerina begins his book by challenging Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis and Walter Prescott Webb's variation on the Turnerian theme that the Anglo-American character and the historical development of Anglo-American culture was indelibly shaped by the frontier and westward expansion. Tijerina argues that there were other forces also at play that Turner's and Webb's theses did not take into account . As Francis Bannon reminded us a generation ago, "nowhere in the [Spanish] Borderlands was the Anglo-American a pioneer." Using assorted primary sources as well as secondary works, Tijerina traces the history of Tejanos during this short but chaotic period in Mexican Texas history. The author describes the basic institutions of Tejano life and culture and how a two-way cultural exchange resulted when the Tejano and Anglo-American frontiers intersected. "Because Texas was the first Mexican state settled by the Anglo-American tide, Texas probably had a greater influence initially on the westward-moving frontier," Tijerina tells us, and therefore provided one of the shaping factors of the historical development of the West.Affirming Bannon's admonition, Tijerina finds that "Tejanos had a significant and lasting influence in the history of Texas. They gave unique reality to the larger historical forces centering on Texas in the early nineteenth century. When international events brought changes to the political status of Texas, Tejanos provided a vital continuum. Their local laws gave meaning and movement to national legislation. Their culture, their lives, their problems, and their solutions contributed much to the historical character of Texas." Therefore, the author concludes that "...the history of Texas can never be complete without the story of her original founders-the Tejanos."Tijerina's book not only fills an historical lacunae that's been far too long ignored, but provides a compelling and surprising, to many, interpretation of cultural exchange between the Tejano pioneers and the newly arrived Anglo-American. A Vietnam verteran who flew combat missions, Andr���s Tijerina holds degrees from Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Texas.

Tejano Classics, Vol. 4
$11.98

Tejano Super Hits
$13.98
THIS IS AN AWESOME BOX SET OF TEJANO MUSIC! IF YOU LIKE OLDIES (TEJANO MUSIC)YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOX SET!

Tejano Classic Vol. VI
$6.99