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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, From the colonial era to the present day, Texas has |
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derived great benefits from its Tejano population, and the |
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innumerable contributions made by this state's residents of |
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Hispanic heritage are indeed deserving of special recognition; and |
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WHEREAS, The date of April 6 has special meaning for Latinos |
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in Texas; on that day in the year 1813, Jose Bernardo Maximiliano |
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Gutierrez de Lara proclaimed the independence of Texas from Spanish |
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rule; his declaration came after the military group he helped lead, |
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the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition, had seized San Antonio from |
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royalist forces; the revolutionary contingent was made up of many |
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volunteers of several different ethnicities, including Hispanics, |
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Native Americans, and Anglos; occurring more than two decades |
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before the better-known Texas Revolution of 1836, this action was |
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an important pioneering effort in the struggle to bring republican |
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government to Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, A few months after independence was proclaimed, |
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these early revolutionaries were forced to defend their newly |
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liberated land; on August 18, 1813, proudly flying their emerald |
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green flag, they marched out to meet Spanish forces south of San |
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Antonio in the Battle of Medina, considered to be the bloodiest |
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engagement ever fought on Texas soil, with more than 1,300 men |
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believed to have been killed; the vast majority of the casualties |
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were suffered by the republican forces, who were greatly |
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outnumbered by the royalist army, and this battlefield defeat |
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signaled the end of the independent state that had been |
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established; and |
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WHEREAS, This often-overlooked chapter of Texas history |
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illustrates the vital contributions that Tejanos have made to the |
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development of our state; by commemorating the significance of |
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April 6, 1813, we justly honor the essential role that Hispanics |
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have played in our society through the centuries; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize April 6, 2011, as Tejano Independence |
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Day and encourage all Texans to reflect on the state's rich and |
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vibrant Latino heritage. |