First of three South Texas history lectures to begin Wednesday

Local chapters of the Rio Grande Valley Brown Berets will be hosting a series of lectures over the coming months in hopes of sharing stories about the region and inspiring the next generation.

The Summer 25 Lecture Series will kick off with the first of three planned lectures on Wednesday at Cine El Rey in McAllen. The lectures are part of a coordinated effort by the Rio Grande Valley Brown Beret chapters, the John Manuel Project, All of Us or None Texas, and the Viva El Colegio Coordinating Committee.

The first lecture, titled “Colegio Jacinto Treviño and Resistance in the Rio Grande Valley,” will tell the story of the first independent community college in the United States as well as that of its namesake and feature a live musical performance by Los Hermanos Lopes of San Benito.

The second lecture is scheduled for Sunday, June 22, and will feature information about the Karnes County sheriff who was killed and the arrest of Gregorio Cortez. The third lecture, scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 3, will focus on the 1915 Aniceto Pizana Raid in Cameron County.

“They’re all specific, just educating the public and engaging,” Mark Anthony Vasquez, an organizer with the RGV Brown Berets, said. “We feel that we can invite guests over, share with them some music, and try to share with them a little on what is a relatively unknown incident in the Valley, and also a little on the colegio.”

Jacinto Treviño’s legacy has inspired debate among those who view him as a hero and those who argue that he was a villain. He is known for an incident that occurred in 1910 in Los Indios.

There are varying accounts of what happened. According to legend, Treviño’s brother, Natividad, was pistol-whipped by a foreman on May 28, 1910. He would succumb to his injuries from the beating.

Seeking retribution, Treviño located the foreman the next day and beat him to death. The foreman’s death caused Treviño to be pursued by the Texas Rangers. According to legend, a family member attempted to betray Treviño, who had gone into hiding somewhere near Santa Rosa.

The family member, believed to have been his cousin, lured him to an ambush. Treviño, however, managed to kill one of the Texas Rangers and escape capture — or so the legend goes.

Treviño’s story is one that has grown among many who live along the border. It has inspired folklore and corridos, particularly “El Corrido de Jacinto Treviño.”

Cine El Rey’s marquee is seen in this undated photo in McAllen. (Courtesy: Cine El Rey/Facebook)

“We want to be careful with this,” Vasquez said. “There’s a little bit of a back and forth here, controversy that some folks feel. History has labeled him a villain and a bandit, but there’s also those individuals that see him as a hero, as a legend.”

“We want to just present to the public the story itself,” he continued. “We want them to decide on the role, whether they see Jacinto Treviño or this particular incident as what it is. Is he a villain to them, or is he a member of the community that shares space in the struggle for equality?”

The lecture will also shed light on the local college that adopted Treviño’s name.

“In the 1970s there was a form of resistance and change, seeking to make change that involved the use of education as a tool for change,” Vasquez said. “We wish them to share a little on (Colegio Jacinto Treviño) and what it meant to educate, to empower communities and to encourage cultural appreciation and cultural growth.”

Dr. Jose Villarreal from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Sociology Department and Lupe Casares, one of the founders of Colegio Jacinto Treviño, will be giving lectures at Wednesday’s event.

Casares said that while he wants to share the story of Colegio Jacinto Treviño, what he really hopes to accomplish with his lecture is to promote the importance of education.

“I’m hoping to inspire kids to seek knowledge, to pick up a book, to pick up a laptop and look for information and find out who you are,” Casares said. “Find out how you can support your community, what you can do for your community, what you can do for your family, what you can do for this great nation of ours.”

Wednesday’s event is scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. and will be free of charge.

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