| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, San Antonio lost an admired activist, artist, and |
|
|
cultural historian with the passing of Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez on |
|
|
May 8, 2023, at the age of 83; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The son of Olivia Sanchez and Ramon Vasquez, Ramon |
|
|
Vasquez y Sanchez was born on the city's Westside on May 6, 1940; he |
|
|
attended San Antonio College and joined the staff of the Bexar |
|
|
County Archives to focus on the preservation of Mexican American |
|
|
history; in addition, he was a member of the Bexar County Historical |
|
|
Commission; he also gained increasing recognition as an artist, |
|
|
illustrating the Bexar County coat of arms and publishing work in |
|
|
newspapers and other media; his acclaimed paintings of the early |
|
|
Indian Missions centered on the ordinary people and Mexican heroes |
|
|
generally left out of historical narratives, and his subjects |
|
|
included daily life in the barrio; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Vasquez y Sanchez became a leader in the Chicano |
|
|
rights movement; he wrote the preamble for the establishment of the |
|
|
Raza Unida Party, provided graphic designs, and served as vice |
|
|
chair and gubernatorial campaign manager; as chair of the Bilingual |
|
|
Bicultural Coalition on Mass Media, he oversaw suits against the |
|
|
Federal Communications Commission that led to greater Mexican |
|
|
American representation among journalists; he was a fierce advocate |
|
|
for equity in city arts funding, and he was instrumental in |
|
|
establishing Centro Cultural Aztlan and ran its visual arts program |
|
|
for decades; in that role, he encouraged other artists, created a |
|
|
sense of community, and popularized public Día de los Muertos |
|
|
commemorations; he also fought for the inclusion of Mexican |
|
|
American and Tejano stories in the Alamo narrative and organized |
|
|
the first "Olvidate del Alamo" and "Las Mujeres del Alamo" art |
|
|
exhibits; tenacious and outspoken, he nevertheless expressed his |
|
|
strong viewpoints with grace, courtesy, and logic; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 1988, Mr. Vasquez y Sanchez helped reorganize the |
|
|
Mission Descendant Families of Northeastern Mexico and South Texas |
|
|
under the umbrella of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation; he served |
|
|
as a tribal council member for over three decades; moreover, he |
|
|
formed the nonprofit group American Indians in Texas at the Spanish |
|
|
Colonial Missions and united with other activists to secure the |
|
|
return of over 150 ancestral remains to Mission San Juan |
|
|
Capistrano; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Vasquez y Sanchez married Gloria Camarillo in |
|
|
1962, and they became the parents of three children, Ramon Juan |
|
|
Vasquez, Edna Marie Vasquez, and Marisol Vasquez; he and his second |
|
|
wife, Maria Magdalena Gonzales, had one son, Javier Ramon Vasquez; |
|
|
following her passing, he was fortunate enough to find love again, |
|
|
and in 2013, he wed Maria Chavez, who survives him, along with his |
|
|
children and his 11 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Throughout his lifetime, Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez |
|
|
sought to root out injustice and illuminate the richness of Mexican |
|
|
American heritage, and although he will be deeply missed by all who |
|
|
were privileged to know him, they will treasure their memories of |
|
|
his wisdom, compassion, and wry sense of humor; now, therefore, be |
|
|
it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature, 1st |
|
|
Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of Ramon Vasquez y |
|
|
Sanchez and extend sincere condolences to his family, to his many |
|
|
friends, and to all who mourn his passing; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this |
|
|
day, it do so in memory of Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez. |