The Alamo is certainly San Antonio’s most famous landmark, perhaps even the most famous building in Texas, because of its pivotal role in the 1836 Texas Revolution. But the Alamo was built over a century prior as Mission San Antonio de Valero, by Spanish settlers on the banks of the San Antonio River. Beginning in 1690, Spanish friars established missions in what is now East Texas as a buffer against the threat of French incursion into Spanish territory from Louisiana. The Alamo is a Texas state historic site, but nearby, four sister missions, all still working Catholic churches, are protected by the National Park Service as the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
This episode follows four people connected to the Missions: a stonemason, a historian, a descendant, and a former church administrator. Their stories comprise Michael Nye's "Four Voices" exhibit on display at Mission Concepción.
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Wow, I loved hearing the voices of people associated with the San Antonio Missions. It’s amazing to learn the church administrator donated her time for a decade to care for Mission Concepcion. It was poignant hearing a descendant of the Native Americans trying to imagine how hard it was for her ancestors to adapt to life in the missions, where they had to give up their freedom, abandon their spiritual beliefs, and take part in tasks that were counter to their world view, like farming instead of hunting and gathering in reverence to Mother Earth. This podcast illuminates the history of San Antonio from a personal perspective. Thank you! I couldn’t fine the display described in the podcast at the Concepcion Mission in early December 2022 and would love to see it come back.
Monday Dec 05, 2022
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