Tuesday, March 23, 2010

New Braunfels isn't the only place...

...facing such a problem:

It's always nice to read in the Express-News how folks of all nationalities in San Antonio cherish and protect your city's Hispanic culture and Texas history. The destruction of historical treasures for profit by greedy developers, backed by thoughtless politicians, too often results in a city losing its soul, that uniqueness its founders once nurtured.
San Antonio itself has also had to deal with this sort of thing; only it's from those who would undermine the city's other ethnic heritages in favor of the Hispanic influence. One example that comes immediately to mind is one Sabra was recently telling me about, of author Sandra Cisneros painting her home in the King William Historical District purple, a color forbidden by the San Antonio Historic and Design Review Commission. Purple was proscribed by the commission because it was historically inaccurate for the area, being that it was German and had more toned-down colors and architecture. From what I've read, Cisneros and her defenders said that purple was a historically accurate color because Mexicans originally owned the land in the King William district, but their assertions weren't backed up with proof. (Albatross, Sabra or any other SA-area bloggers, feel free to correct me on any of this if it's not right.)

However, I see very few if any protests about San Antonio's German heritage being downplayed. Why is that?