Note: Decidedly short on time and material, I thought it would be prudent to share something a little more personal in this week’s post. Although nothing presented below is making any headlines in the media, it did teach me a thing or to about how we, as people, can make the mistake of skewing history with myth. I believe it’s important to differentiate between the two. Perhaps there would be less fighting and pain in the world if people could recognize the differences between the facts and fictions that, at times, drive their political and religious tirades. Consequently, a tirade and a parade have nothing in common; they just sound alike. Away we go:So I recently returned from a wedding in San Antonio, Texas and I have to admit I had a great time. I flew in early the day prior to the wedding and was picked up by my friend’s fiancé. We arrived at the resort, where the wedding was to take place, after a relatively short and scenic car ride. That evening there was a small party, consisting of about 60 people, that was nothing short of a blast. My friends got married the following afternoon in front of the Guadalupe River under a perfect blue sky. Another party, this time consisting of more than 100 people, fired up that evening to celebrate the occasion.
The following day, a group of us decided to go out and investigate the local attractions in San Antonio. One thing instantly came to mind as we were making the commute into town: I had to see the Alamo. Sure, I wanted to sample the cuisine and I was definitely looking forward to a cold beer after running around under the hot sun all afternoon. However, visiting the Alamo was something that I was honestly looking forward to prior to landing in Texas. I had wanted to visit the location ever since I had seen the movie by the same name.
How could any red-blooded American not be excited at the prospect of seeing the Alamo? After all, this was the place where a group of men, in the face of cetin death, spat in the face of their enemy and sacrificed themselves in a battle against tyranny! The very place where such legends as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis defended their way of life until the final breath! If you’re not jumping out of your seat, you have to check out the official website! Just be sure not to fire off any live ammunition inside your house while watching the animated introduction.
You see, I managed to fall in love with the story of the Alamo after seeing the movie as a young boy. John Wayne directed, produced and starred in the 1960 theatrical release simply titled The Alamo. My father and I sat down and watched this film together whenever I managed to come down with a fever or the flu or if the weather was too bad for school. I grew up pretty far north and the snow sometimes got bad in the winter. It wasn’t so bad that we had to eat our neighbors to ensure our survival; just bad enough to have a few guaranteed days off of school each year.
So, all things considered, I suppose I managed to romanticize the entire Alamo story. Of course like any young American kid, all of my information was derived from strictly one resource: television. All I needed to know about the Alamo was taught to me by the late great Duke. Or, so I thought. You know, growing up really sucks sometimes doesn’t it? I suppose I should get back to San Antonio now shouldn’t I?
Trotting by an old warehouse I asked my friend, “So where is it? Is it around the corner? Do you have the map?”
“You just passed it,” he replied with one of those half-snort-half-laughs.
I suppose that was the initial bursting of my bubble. I think I missed the old mission because we approached it from the wrong side (the side facing what appeared to be a burnt-out crack house if you’re curious). I was also thrown a bit off because what I expected to be there just wasn’t there. There were no grand walls guarding every side of the landmark. There was no vast expanse of land cleared to accommodate droves of tourists, nor were there ticket gates or parking lots. It was just simply there, located amongst bars and a small shopping district.
Once inside, I found the people who worked at the Alamo to be very knowledgeable… too knowledgeable for me, unfortunately. I managed to discover all sorts of “interesting” facts about many of my childhood heroes. For instance, Davy Crockett was never referred to as “Davy” (he detested it). Apparently, this was just a misinterpretation of a document he had signed where his name “David” appeared as “Davy”. I also discovered that William Travis ran out on his wife, son and unborn child when he was in his early twenties. Finally, and what I consider to be the biggest downer, Jim Bowie was an avid slave owner and trader prior to arriving at the Alamo (not such a “folk heroic” trait in my opinion).
We went on with a guided tour of the museum which concluded with a speech given by a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (a group charged with entertaining visitors and maintaining the Alamo). The speech she gave was very moving but it also introduced me to a few other disheartening facts. Chief among them was that Santa Anna (the Mexican general that led the siege of the Alamo) was not exactly the evil villain that I thought he had been. I was shocked to learn that Santa Anna was an abolitionist and detested slavery while many of the men in the Alamo were very pro-slavery. It was kind of like not being able to hate Darth Vader anymore because I found out he was really Luke’s father; huge downer.
So, I guess I’ll wrap it up here by saying I’m very happy that I finally got to see the Alamo. I also don’t want to take anything away from the people that fought there or the people that currently work there. It just strikes me as funny that the very experiences that make us educated adults also have that nasty habit of ruining fond childhood memories. Oh well, I suppose that’s what life is about; a constant learning experience.
See you next week (hopefully with something a little more on the lighter side of things).
References:
Borroughs, D.B. (2004 September 13). The Alamo. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from The Internet Movie Database Web site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053580/
Winders, Richard. (2007). The Alamo. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from The Alamo.org Web site: http://www.thealamo.org/
5 comments:
Withstanding the fact that I was born in San Antonio at a downtown hospital within sight of the Alamo (my mother still claims it has had its effect on me), this was an enlightening read. I hate it when the heroes become the antihero. Bastards! This history lesson was helpful (but a short q: wasn't it Santa Ana?--Anna was his sister).
Glad you had fun at the wedding.
Another thing occured to me: was the Alamo movie exactly like the stereotypes you heard as a child (I would expect it was). Did you romanticize the story, or did Hollywood studios?
This post was great. I'm actually flying to San Antonio for my brother's wedding this weekend and I consider it to be home.
The media does have a way of mixing fact and fiction for glamour purposes. Part of the curriculum there was Texas history and the movies I've seen don't really add up to what I know or was taught.
The Alamo and San Antonio is rich in history but not necissarly what we see in the movies.
After reading your post, it sounds like you had a great time at the wedding and down in Texas. I noticed this post was more serious than your previous posts, I wonder if that was tough for you not to crack as many jokes?
This post was extremely detailed and full in thought on the Alamo, but where is the information on the wedding? I'm sure you could have talked about that but this post was informative for those interested in history of our country, like Myself.
Just as I begin with most of my other responses I'll start by saying interesting reading. It was interesting for two reasons. First, you discovered first hand how history can be twisted for the sake of nostalgic romance, although it is misstated and rewritten for other reasons as well. Second, I touched on a similar form of editing history in my blog this week only it has to do with religion. I hope this wasn't your first literary disappointment because if you do some more digging you might be surprised at how extensive written history has been warped by those with an agenda other than being accurate.
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