In Texas, to hear the words "Duval County" evokes Archie and George Parr, politics, and corruption. But this does not represent the full truth about this South Texas county and its Tejano citizens. Duval County Tejanos showcases Tejanos engaged in community life: they organized politically, cultivated land, and promoted agriculture, livestock raising, the local economy, churches, schools, patriotic celebrations, and social activities. In 1876 Duval County citizens formally petitioned Nueces County for the opportunity to organize themselves. During the late nineteenth century, the Duval County economy exhibited vitality and adaptability; sheep and cattle raising and cotton farming anchored and sustained the local economy. By the twentieth century, the political atmosphere intensified under the Parrs as Tejanos pushed forward their agenda of assuming their proper role, consistent with their numbers.
Alfredo E. Cardenas, a former mayor for eight years of San Diego, the Duval County seat, is retired as editor of the South Texas Catholic (2010-2017) and editor/publisher of the Duval County Picture (1987-1999). He is the author of Balo's War, a historical novel on the Plan of San Diego.
"This is a thorough and impressively researched study of the history of Duval County. In fact the piece is so strikingly researched that it is likely to remain the definitive study of the subject for decades to come."--Jerry Thompson, author of Tejano Tiger: Jose de los Santos Benavides and the History of the Texas-Mexico Borderlands, 1823-1891 "Cardenas's book is the first scholarly history of San Diego and Duval County, and the most complete study of Duval County to date. It offers a cogent history of the development of not only the political structure but also the land and cattle attraction to the Anglo capitalists who later dominated the county. This is a new approach primarily because the author's intensive study of county voting in the 1890s clearly illustrates his major theme that Tejanos were not merely pawns to an Anglo political boss but viable agents of election activities and results."--Andres Tijerina, author of Tejano Empire: Life on the South Texas Ranchos "In this informative and enlightening monograph, Alfredo Cardenas presents a counter narrative to that which has traditionally been written about Duval County. His subjects are Tejanos dedicated to what he argues was making and shaping the county into a center of liberty and democracy. The author traces their quest for this ideal back to their arrival in the Duval County area during the first decades of the nineteenth century, to their adjustment to the new American order under the Republic of Texas, and after 1848, to their assent to living under the United States system of governance. Wanting to establish a milieu conducive to county progress, they joined the Anglo American minority in conducting local politics, advancing commerce, ranching, and farming, while founding churches and certainly molding culture."--Arnoldo De Leon, Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Angelo State University
