María Rebecca Latigo de
Hernández was born in 1896 in Garza
García, outside of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Her father was a professor. This leads me to believe that education was important to her family, and even though she was a girl, her parents still encouraged her to learn.
She taught
elementary school in Monterrey, Mexico. It's likely that she immigrated to Texas as part of the flood of people leaving Mexico during the chaos of the Mexican Revolution.
In 1915, she married Pedro Hernandez
Barrera in Hebbronville, Texas. The family moved
to San Antonio in 1918, where they opened a grocery store and bakery, and set about raising their family, which eventually grew to ten children.
They were quite active in their community, and eventually became politically active. In 1929, they helped found the Orden Caballeros de América (the Order
of Knights of America), an organization dedicated to civic and political activities to benefit Mexican Americans
and Mexican immigrants, especially in educational matters. While the organization primarily benefited male business owners of the Mexican American community, its educational goals likely benefited schooled aged children of both sexes.
In 1933, María Hernández helped organize the
Asociación Protectora de Madres, which provided assistance to
expectant mothers.
In 1934 the Hernándezes helped organize La Liga de Defensa Pro-Escolar, an organization dedicated to obtaining better
facilities and better education for the West Side Mexican community.
In 1938 she took up the cause of women workers' rights in
the Pecan-Shellers' Strike when they stopped working to demand better pay and better working conditions.
In 1939, she was part of a group of women to
visit Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas to express good will between
Mexico and the Mexicans in the United States.
In 1945 she published her essay "México y
Los Cuatro Poderes Que Dirigén al Pueblo," in which she asserted that the domestic sphere
was the foundation of society and mothers were the authority
figures who molded nations. Around this same time, she organized Club Liberal Pro-Cultura
de la Mujer, to build on those ideas.
Over the years, she made hundreds of speeches promoting equality for the Mexican American community. In 1968 she appeared regularly on television in San Antonio to speak about education and social progress on a program sponsored by El Círculo Social
Damas de América. In December of that year,
she and her husband were also invited to testify at the San Antonio hearing before the
United States Commission on Civil Rights, where they argued for changes in education to reform the embarrassing inaccurate portrayals of Mexican Americans and other minorities in the curriculum.
In 1969 she was elected to the positions of treasurer of the order's board of directors
and president of Círculo Social. At the order's fortieth anniversary she gave the keynote
address. In 1970, continuing to grow her political activism, she became joined the Raza Unida party
and in July of that year served as a keynote speaker at its statewide
conference in Austin. In 1972 she and her husband toured South and
Central Texas in support of the party's gubernatorial candidate Ramsey
Muñiz and State Board of Education candidate Marta Cotera. Clearly, she had become an important voice for Mexican Americans in her community, and around the entire state of Texas.
María
Hernández died of pneumonia on January 8, 1986, and was buried
in the plot of the Orden Caballeros de América outside of Elmendorf, a symbol of the respect and prestige she had earned through her life's work.
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Thank you so much for this. I couldn't find a lot about her.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Peter Galindo and I am Maria's grandson. I grew up living right next door to her on the 10 acres of land that her and my Grandfather, Pedro Hernandez bought in Lytle, Tx. If anyone needs any information on them please contact my sister, Dr. Mary Jo Galindo. She is an archaeologist and the family historian. mj.galindo21@gmail.com By the way, there is also an Elementary school in San Marcos CISD that was named in her honor about 20 yrs ago. Thank you for recognizing my Grandmother.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Peter Galindo and I am Maria's grandson. I grew up living right next door to her on the 10 acres of land that her and my Grandfather, Pedro Hernandez bought in Lytle, Tx. If anyone needs any information on them please contact my sister, Dr. Mary Jo Galindo. She is an archaeologist and the family historian. mj.galindo21@gmail.com By the way, there is also an Elementary school in San Marcos CISD that was named in her honor about 20 yrs ago. Thank you for recognizing my Grandmother.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Peter Galindo and Maria is my maternal grandmother. I grew up living right next door to her on the 10 acres that her and my grandfather, Pedro Hernandez, purchased for retirement and to leave to the family. If anyone here would like more information please contact my sister, Dr. Mary Jo Galindo. She is an archaeologist and the family historian and spent many hours interviewing our Mom and aunts and uncles. mj.galindo21@gmail.com By the way, there is also an Elementary School in the San Marcos, Tx CISD named in her honor. http://www.smcisd.net/Hernandez.cfm
ReplyDeleteThank you! I wish I had recorded my grandparents and others.
DeleteI would love to learn more. This is a great post with informative information. Praise God for creating strong women like Maria! To take a stand for equality and justice takes courage and resilience. I honor this woman of God today for all her efforts to fight for change. May her memory live on. I believe this woman lived a life of pouring out to others until she had nothing left once she laid down to rest. May God Bless our Nation with more men and woman to have such courage and boldness. Amen ������������
ReplyDeleteI wish I know how to connect how her grandson has honored her and the family to the Google cartoon. We should all teach our children their roots no matter if they high achievements or are just good citizens and loved their families. Someone let this be brought forward please
ReplyDeleteIt's an Original Native people's tradition to be respectful, knowing that the matriarch is the hub of the household. My mom only recieved a third grade education, and instilled the importance of getting an education. She and my two aunts toiled in the agricultural fields as children. My grandmother and great grandmama were parteras (midwives), and saints protect the man who beat his spouse. My grandmother and great grandmama would take justice into their own hands. The men were known to move away, along with their respective family, to avoid another confrontation. These women were from Original Native stock and therefore matriarchal. It's wonderful knowing that onem comes from a long tradition of love, respect and dignity. I'm still a member of the Partido (Raza!Unida Party) to this day, attended the National RUP Convention. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet this lovely Chican@ woman.
ReplyDelete