Commemorations in Mexican History in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month

Treaty of Córdoba & Cessation of the Mexican War of Independence
Bicentennial Observance – 1821
~and~
Orden Hijos de America (Order of the Sons of America) & Latino Civil Rights Movement Centennial Observance – 1921


Introduction – Treaty of Córdoba & Cessation of the Mexican War of Independence

This year marks the two-hundredth anniversary marks the conclusion of the Mexican War for Independence (1810-1821) made official by the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba. This particular conflict involved the occupational forces of España and the native citizenry of Mexico which included members of the Mestizos, Zambos, and Amerindian tribes along with sympathetic Mexican-raised Spaniards who rebelled against their colonial overseers. Organized by the first rebel leader Hidalgo y Costilla, a band of revolutionaries invaded the town of Guanajuato which hosted a Spanish-operated central mining center on September 15, 1810. The invasion proved successful, and this date has since become known as Mexican Independence Day. This insurgency led to further skirmishes and battles over the next decade plus which illustrated the inequity found in royal rule.

There were a number of rebel setbacks as they encountered resistance from the better armed Spanish-armed colonial forces, but the Mexicans had strength in numbers featuring 80,000 troops to 14,000 for the Spaniards. By 1813 positive strides were made in terms of geographical and strategic movement when the key cities of Oaxaca and Acapulco were captured by the rebel forces. Inspired by these successes, a “Solemn Act of Declaration of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America” was drafted that served as an important foundation document in the historical evolution of Mexico and her independence that same year.

Armed fortunes turned during the Siege of Cuautla in 1815 when the tide of conflict successes changed as governmental issues both within Mexico and abroad helped to weaken the ruling regime. Thereafter, a series of local and sporadic attacks ultimately led to victory by the native population of Mexico and the conclusion of Spanish rule altogether on August 24, 1821.

Information Resources Seton Hall University Libraries (SHU Search)

Internet & Related Sources (Selected List)

Mexican War of Independence (Texas Historical Society)
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mexican-war-of-independence

Mexican War of Independence (Timeline)
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/mexican-war-of-independence–2

Mexican War of Independence (Library of Congress)
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/independence-from-spain.html

Mexican War of Independence (Wayback Machine / Texas A&M University Site)
https://web.archive.org/web/20070816133412/http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/chieftains.htm

Mexican War of Independence (Map, 1810-1821)
http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/mexico_1810.htm

Mexican War of Independence (Hathi Trust)
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?field1=ocr;q1=mexican%20independence;a=srchls;lmt=ft

Treaty of Córdoba (World History Project)
https://worldhistoryproject.org/1821/8/24/treaty-of-cordoba-is-signed-establishing-mexicos-independence-from-spain

Treaty of Córdoba and Other Relevant Documents (Wayback Machine / Texas A&M University Site)
https://web.archive.org/web/20090826173709/http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/iguala.htm#cordova

Treaty of Córdoba (Copy of the Original Document – 1821)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tratados_de_C%C3%B3rdoba.JPG


Introduction – Orden Hijos de America (Order of the Sons of America) & Latino Civil Rights Movement

The Orden Hijos de América (Order of the Sons of America) was founded in San Antonio, Texas on October 13, 1921. In the process the 37 individuals who formed this group were part of the first formal Mexican American civil rights organization active within that state. Their primary mission was to achieve fair access to education, housing opportunities, fair labor wages, and having all the rights outlined within the American Constitution. Additional members would join this movement that expanded into the hundreds as the organization was restricted solely to United States citizens of Mexican or Spanish extraction and over the age of sixteen. The Order obtained a state charter in 1922 and subsequently opened additional chapters throughout Texas.


Internet & Related Sources (Selected List)

Orden Hijos de América (Order of the Sons of America) (Texas Historical Society)
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/order-of-sons-of-america

Orden Hijos de América (Order of the Sons of America) (Timeline)
https://time.graphics/event/2313938

Orden Hijos de América (Order of the Sons of America) (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Sons_of_America


Contact Us

Our reference librarians are glad to assist with specific works and additional information (along with refreshing links) along with Spanish or English translations as needed. Additional resources on all aspects of the Latino experience are also available for consultation and information sharing. Please feel free to reach out and setup a research appointment via the following link – https://library.shu.edu/library/research-appointments found on the University Libraries Homepage or for unique primary source materials via the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center.

Thank you in advance for your interest!

Credits

This bibliographical guide was produced in conjunction Seton Hall University Hispanic Heritage Committee under the direction of Dr. Omayra Arocho, Head of the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute – https://www.shu.edu/latino-institute/
by Alan Delozier, D.Litt. with support from Professor Lisa DeLuca, Professor Brooke Duffy, Dr. Sarah Ponichtera, and Dr. Lisa Rose-Wiles.

 

 

The Hispanic Identity of Filipinos: A Short History

This is a student guest blog post in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and Filipino American Heritage month.

Author: Mark Francis Mabalatan ’21, Management and Political Science Major, 3+2 Master of Public Administration Program

333 years is quite a long time. For Filipinos, the 333 years the Philippines were subjugated to Spanish colonization were rife with conflict, both militarily and in identity. Like several other civilizations that first met Spanish conquistadors at their shores in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Philippines had unique, highly structured societies prior to European contact. These conflicts were exemplified by the story of The Battle of Mactan, where Ferdinand Magellan (Guillermo 261) was famously defeated by native datu (ruler) Lapu-Lapu (Guillermo 240), in my own ancestral province of Cebu (Guillermo 100). While the Battle of Mactan is a legend every Filipino is familiar with, the subsequent centuries gave way to a tidal wave of Spanish settlement, economic practices, and cultural rifts.

The first Spaniards in Cebu were 2,100 settler-soldiers from New Spain (Mexico), and the Philippines was administered as a Viceroyalty of New Spain until the end of Spanish rule in 1898. In that time, Spanish settlers changed almost every aspect of life on the islands. They changed our names. They changed our languages. They changed our religions. The effects of Spanish colonization were wide-ranging and emphatic, remaining to this day. So, is the Philippines a Hispanic country? Quite clearly, yes. But in the contemporary Hispanic consciousness, it is not understood as such – as if there was something that erased those 333 years of history.

As it turns out, the subsequent 48 years of American colonization is quite the eraser. The United States undertook an expedited process of undoing the Hispanization of the Philippines to make way for its Americanization of the islands. Despite this, the fact remains that the cultural DNA of the Philippines is Hispanic, making many aspects of the Filipino experience Hispanic and the experience itself Hispanic. The father of modern Philippines, José Rizal, wrote all his foundational works in Spanish. We tell time in Spanish. 80% of Filipinos are Catholic. The holiday known in the Philippines as Undas is a carbon copy of Dia de Muertos in Mexico and other Latino countries. Cebuano, also known as Bisaya and the native language of my family, contains thousands of Spanish words. However, the beauty of our culture is not derived from our colonization, but how we rose out of it. Distinctly Filipino music and dance styles such as Cariñosa, featuring dancers in brightly colored, flowing dresses called Maria Claras, bears a striking resemblance to jarabe tapatío of Mexico. Traditional Hispanic family values, including respect for elders, close family ties, and pride of the home country, are powerfully evident in many Filipino families.

Every year, October 1st to 15th serves as a metaphor for Hispanic identity of Filipinos. During this time span, there is a two-week eclipse of Hispanic Heritage Month, which lasts from September 15th to October 15th, and Filipino-American Heritage Month, which lasts the entire month of October— Hispanic, but not completely. History defines the present and the future, an axiom especially significant to ethnic groups. So what does Filipino history say about the country’s Hispanic identity? As Filipino-American sociologist Anthony Christian Ocampo, author of The Latinos of Asia: How Filipinos Break the Rule of Race, plainly states, “You can’t just forget the three-and-a-half century Spanish influence in the Philippines.”

See below for to learn more about the Hispanic identity of the Philippines, Filipinos, and Filipino-Americans:

Books

Bulosan, Carlos. America Is in the Heart: A Personal History. Vol. 2014 edition, University of Washington Press, 2014. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=e700xna&AN=1052322&site=ehost-live

Francia, Luis. A History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos. Overlook Press, 2014. https://setonhall.on.worldcat.org/oclc/878963486 Request through ILL or Suggest for Purchase!

Guillermo, Artemio R. Historical Dictionary of the Philippines. Vol. 3rd ed, Scarecrow Press, 2012. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=e089mna&AN=413501&site=ehost-live&custid=s8475574&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_100

Ocampo, Anthony Christian. The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race. Stanford University Press, 2016. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=e000bna&AN=1115879&site=ehost-live

Rizal, José. El Filibusterismo: Continuacion Del Noli Me Tangere. Boekdrukkerij F. Meyer-Van Loo, 1896. Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30903

Rizal José. Noli Me Tangere. Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20228

Articles

Videos

Online Discussion: 2020 Election—The Impact of the Latino Vote

How deeply can the Latino population of the United States affect the 2020 Presidential election?

On Wednesday September 30 from 6p-7p Seton Hall University scholars explored trends, voting patterns and the current events cycle to analyze the impact the Latino vote will have in the 2020 Presidential election.

All were welcome to join the online discussion, featuring:

    • Dr. Matthew Hale (Moderator) Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science and Public Affairs, Seton Hall University
    • Dr. Patrick Fisher Associate Professor, Political Science, Seton Hall University
    • Maria del Cid-Kosso BA’15, Director, Office of Policy & Legislative Services, NJ Dept. of Health
    • Jonathan Castañeda BA ’11/MPA ’14, Municipal Administrator, Town of West New York

The event was held through Microsoft Teams and you can find a recording here.

Latinx Law Students Commemorate Centennial of 19th Amendment with Heritage Month Panel Event 

In the spirit of the “Mi Voz” initiative developed by the Unanue Institute, the Seton Hall University Hispanic Heritage Committee, and the Seton Hall Archives, we seek to spend this month creating connections, exploring resources, celebrating voices, and opening doors. We are pleased to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with the first of a series of student guest blog posts written by members of  the Seton Hall Latin American, Latina/o/x, and Hispanic community.

The Seton Hall Latin American Law Student Association (LALSA)’s 5th Annual Sangria Social will occur Monday, Sept. 21st 4-6pm via Zoom.  Register to attend.

In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month and in commemoration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment’s, LALSA invites current students, alumni, friends, faculty, and allies to Women of Color in Political Movements: Celebrating an Under-Recognized Power 100 Years Later. Join us as we learn from and engage with our distinguished panelists for a discussion about the impact that women of color have made in political movements, the history behind Equal Rights Amendment, and the future of gender equality in politics and beyond. 

We are humbled by the opportunity to learn from the following panelists:  

  1. Professor Michael Coenen — Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law, and U.S. Constitutional Law Scholar  
  2. Professor Cathleen D. Cahill — Associate Professor of History at Penn State University 
  3. Kerlyn Espinal — New Jersey Department of Education – Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Cultural and Historic Commissions  
  4. Amelia Adams — Chair of 21 in ‘21 and New York Equity Advocates Advisory Board Member 
  5. Maria Del Cid-Kosso — Director of Legislative Services, Office of the Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Health 
  6. Assemblywoman Maritza Davila — New York State Assembly District 53 

Register for the event at this to receive program details and login information. 

Who We Are:  

The Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA) at Seton Hall University School of Law is a non-profit organization committed to the following goals: Fostering individual achievements; Providing necessary services to the law school community; Addressing legal issues of the minority community. 

Our mission is to educate the law school community on the benefits of diversity and create awareness of the challenges that Latino communities currently face.

LALSA achieves its goals by providing academic, professional and social support for all students by recognizing the achievements of Latino students and alumni, so that lessons may be learned, mentorship relationships created, and friendships established among the current LALSA members. 

Suggested Readings:  

One of our distinguished panelists, Dr. Cathleen D. Cahill, is an author and Professor of History at Penn State University. Her newest publication, Recasting the Vote: How Women of Color Transformed the Suffrage Movement, will be published in November. LALSA is recommending this book for purchase by the SHU Libraries.

If you would like to make your own Latinx/Hispanic Heritage book suggestions this month, you can do so by filling out the Latinx Book Survey.  

If you’re interested in learning more, we have also collected the following amazing recommendations from our panelists: 

The following are titles SHU Libraries does not yet own. You can Suggest a Latinx Book Purchase or Request a Copy through Interlibrary Loan.

TV Show
One Day At A Time (Available on Netflix) not available for purchase by libraries due to licensing restrictions

Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15th to October 15th. For more information about the Seton Hall University Hispanic Heritage Month events and participants, visit the homepage.

University Libraries Launch Special Projects to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

The University Libraries invites the Seton Hall University community to contribute to several projects in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 to October 15 by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino/a/x peoples.

In collaboration with the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute, the Library will be adding a select number of literary contributions by Hispanic and Latino/a/x authors. To participate in the literature selection process, please complete this survey.

Mi Voz, an e-repository, will collect personal essays, audio files and artwork from the Seton Hall University community. Contributors are asked to reflect on what being Hispanic or Latino/a/x in the United States means to them. The e-repository will be open to submissions until October 31, 2020 and contributors can submit their work here. The collection will ultimately be preserved in the archives’ digital preservation system.  “The Monsignor Field Archives and Special Collections Center is dedicated to building its collections to better represent the entire Seton Hall community, and collections like this will preserve the voices of today’s Hispanic and Latino/a/x students for future generations,” said Sarah Ponichtera, Assistant Dean for Special Collections and the Gallery.

The Walsh Gallery’s Nuestras Familias is a virtual photography gallery that will be premiering on October 1, 2020. The gallery will highlight members of the Seton Hall community and the families that support, encourage, and inspire them. Please send 300 DPI JPEG images along with the title of the image and the photographer credit to latinoinstitute@shu.edu by September 15, 2020.

Seton Hall University’s Hispanic Heritage Month Committee has united departments and student organizations for a month-long series of events and special project. This year’s theme, Navigating Latinidad, will look at what it means to identify as Hispanic and Latino/a/x and how that identity takes form in American society. By Navigating Latinidad, we can explore the labels chosen for us and their respective histories.

To learn more about the month’s activities, please visit: https://www.shu.edu/latino-institute/hispanic-heritage-month.cfm

Check back throughout the month to see blog posts and social media posts from student scholars and leaders about reading recommendations and ways to get involved in the SHU and greater Latinx and Hispanic communities.