For the 3rd Annual Hispanic Heritage Exhibition Walk, volunteers and community members held banners with flags representing different Latin American countries, highlighting San Marcos’ multiple and individual Hispanic communities.
The walk was held on Sept. 14, starting at Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos Center on 211 Lee St. People who participated in the walk headed toward the Hays County Historic Courthouse where they were met with music, food and vendors.
As Hispanic Heritage Month started mid-September, many local businesses and Texas State organizations put together events to honor heritages which includes multiple Hispanic identities. For Yansi Arevalo, event coordinator at Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos, who planned the walk with the San Marcos League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the walk highlighted the Hispanic and Latino communities in San Marcos.
Due to the preconceived notions of what it means to be Hispanic and Latino, such as assuming someone is either Mexican or Mexican American and not from another Latin American community. Arevalo believed it was important to appreciate the many different Latinos in the county through the walk.
“We live in a country that people immigrated to for better opportunities, so what we wanted to do is show that these people are not just immigrants but people who contribute to the society we live in,” Arevalo said.
Being located at the heart of one of the first Mexican American “barrios” of San Marcos, Arevalo said the walk starting at the Centro holds significance to the history of the building, the neighborhood it is located in and the city itself.
The building currently standing as Centro was originally the “Mexican School,” a segregated institution for Hispanic children in San Marcos. It was later renamed Southside School and once even Bohnam Elementary.
“Although the school has an unfortunate past, it’s important to know our history, and we try to keep ourselves accountable and not repeat what has happen before,” Arevalo said.
Today, the building is a symbol of the progress the Hispanic and Latino community has made over the past century for equality and cultural reverence.
Lucy Gonzalez, a co-founder of San Marcos’ Hispanic Heritage Exhibition Walk and Community Action worker, was surprised to find the Latino community in San Marcos so similar to the one she had in Mexico, where she lived for eight years.
“Working at Community Action, specifically with families from Honduras and Argentina, it made me realize that here in San Marcos, we have so many different Latino communities here,” Gonzalez said. “It helped me with the idea of the walk to happen because I wanted them to have a sense of community here.”
Through connections in the community, such as Centro and LULAC, Gonzalez proposed the idea to both organizations, prompting the first Hispanic Heritage Walk in Sept. 2021.
Claude Bonazzo-Romaguera, director of Latina/o studies at Texas State, believes students participating in events like the walk builds for them a better sense of community. With organizations such as the Hispanic Student Association and Latinas Unidas participating in the walk this year, he hopes more students will see others participating and join in next year.
“Many students come from different parts of Texas and other states and countries, to know that a big Hispanic/Latino community exists here is where they can find familiarity,” Bonazzo-Romaguera said.
Bonazzo-Romaguera said when people participate and celebrate cultural events in their community, especially ones close to their culture, it builds a deep appreciation for all community members.
“When you find similarities with others, you find a space where you can dance, listen to music and connect with people from your community,” Bonazzo-Romaguera said.
