Reflection

Reflect the Legend
Reflect the Legend

San Antonio is a city that dates back to Spanish Colonial times. It has gone from a presidio and village on the banks of the San Antonio river known as San Antonio de Bexar to a modern metropolis. In 1731 fifteen families of Canary Islanders invited by the king of Spain, arrived to begin new lives “about a musket shot from the presidio”. My wife proudly traces her ancestry to those families. They are deep roots in the Americas that few non-native people can match.

San Antonio has always been a crossroads of culture and commerce. Texicans, Texians and finally Texans as they came to be called built lives here. Texans were and are as tough a bunch of individualists as can be found anywhere. Revolutions and Indian wars and civil conflicts swept the land over the years but they held fast. When the Texas revolution came they stayed and died but didn’t yield. When Teddy Roosevelt wanted Rough Riders, he rode his horse into a bar next to the Alamo waving his hat asking for volunteers. He got them. That is how legends are born.

City – Peacock Alley

Peacock Alley
Peacock Alley

Peacock Alley is just a couple of blocks from Alamo Plaza which is perpetually crowded with tourists. There are no tourists in Peacock Alley. It is part of the bones of the city, servicing back doors of upscale hotels and sheltering people that tourists would rather not see. It is a place for workmen, cooks and maids to catch a quick smoke out if sight.

Peacock Alley No 2
Peacock Alley No 2