By: Imelda Mendoza 

Department of English, University of Texas at San Antonio 

RGV RAZA: Mapping Memories  

The Rio Grande Valley is still very much the RGV that my great-grandmother grew up. However, over the recent years, American expansion has reached the southern border in myriad of ways. Food chains, clothing stores, and current events have resulted in many changes to the border towns of South Texas. Much of the region’s historical architecture is being torn down to make way for new and modern shopping centers and historical landmarks are at risk of having its rich history in Mexican-American roots be stripped away and murals depicting Raza pride and current events are being painted over. The art of RGV is the heart of the region, where both Mexican and American roots represent the voice of the people. This website aims to track many of the political, historical and social parts of the Rio Grande Valley before they are torn down and lost to American expansion. Areas are marked and classified on google maps; once an area is torn down/replaced, it will be colored black and will have what has replaced it. The areas documented begin with the La Marcha in 1966 that ignited the Civil Rights Movement in Texas and will continue to current day.  

Murals were selected based on: female depictions of women that represent the culture, female artist that depict border culture, and political art that impacts the raza of the RGV. If a mural becomes erased, torn down, or painted over, the marker color will be coded to black. The following is the color coding for the map:

Yellow: protests

Red: Art/murals

Green: historical landmarks

Black: Murals that have been painted over/destroyed.

This map will continue to grow with time. View interactive map here.

Nosotros la Gente/We the People  

The research involves cases across the country where Americans of the Latinx community were wrongfully charged and convicted of crimes they did not commit. The cases I have chosen are prior to our modern-day society. I wanted to look for cases that have influenced or carried over into our present day to showcase the origins of what we see in our court system today. After researching how our courts have a shortage of translators, I was angered that not a single elected official or government agency has broadcasted this to the country, as there are many bilingual people who could fulfill these roles. Most of the research posited are from newspapers and court documents. 

My framework and theory revolves around language and it’s power, and how it stems from the founding principles of our country. We continue this idea that because we are in America, we must speak English. While I do not deny that speaking English is crucial to survival, I do not agree that our native language should hold us in contempt in the United States Judicial System. 

View archives and additional work here.