The 300th anniversary of San Antonio will be commemorated at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 1, with an official San Antonio Tricentennial event at San Pedro Springs Park.

The event – presented by the Battle of Medina Historical Society, Friends of San Pedro Springs Park, Univision 41, and Texas Before the Alamo – will feature a re-enactment of the founding ceremony of Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) in the place it was established on May 1, 1718, by Franciscan friar Antonio Olivares and Governor Martín de Alarcón.

The “Founders of Texas” event is hosted by Dan Arellano, SA 300 commissioner and president of the Battle of Medina Historical Society; Hector Cardenas, president of Friends of San Pedro Springs Park; Felix Almaraz Jr., Ph.D.; and Jorge Nuñez of Univisión 41.

The free public event will feature Archbishop of San Antonio Gustavo García-Siller as well as historians, investigators and officials from Mexico, Spain and Texas. Their comments will focus on the events of that historic day and the origins of the city of San Antonio.

St. Mary’s University speakers include President Thomas Mengler, J.D., and Gerald Poyo, Ph.D., Chair of the History Department.

“As the oldest Catholic university in Texas, St. Mary’s is honored to have developed along with our great city and to share in this important historical celebration,” Mengler said. “The event offers the public a rare opportunity to understand our Catholic roots and delve into San Antonio’s origins through historical re-enactments and discussions by experts, such as our own Gerald Poyo.”

A memorial tribute will honor the late Gilbert R. Cruz, Ph.D., and the late Sen. Jesús María Ramón, whose ancestors Diego and Domingo Ramón founded four of the five San Antonio missions.

Schedule of Events

10:55 a.m. Welcome: Jorge Nuñez (Univisión 41) and Maria Cordoneda Millet (Farmers Insurance)
11:00 a.m. Introduction: Gustavo García-Siller (Archbishop of San Antonio)
11:10 a.m. Thomas Mengler (President, St. Mary’s University)
11:15 a.m. Ricardo Danel (UNAM San Antonio) and Felix D. Almaraz Jr.
11:20 a.m. Dan Arellano and Hector Cardenas (SA300 Commissioners)
11:25 a.m. Ed Mata (President, Los Bexareños)
11:30 a.m. Miguel Angel Mazarambroz (Ambassador of Spain)
11:35 a.m. Manuel Ornelas (Principal, Losoya Intermediate, Southside ISD)
11:40 a.m. Karen Thompson (Daughters of the American Revolution)
11:45 a.m. Martha Fleitas (Daughters of the Republic of Texas)
11:50 a.m. Gerald E. Poyo (History Department Chair, St. Mary’s University)
11:55 a.m. William A. Cloud (Director, Center for Big Bend Studies)
12:00 p.m. Lucas Martinez (Director, State Archives of Coahuila)
12:05 p.m. Tribute to Gilbert R. Cruz
12:10 p.m. Tribute to Sen. Jesús María Ramón
12:20 p.m. Re-enactment of the establishment of Mission San Antonio de Valero
Closing Remarks: Jorge Nuñez and Thomas Mengler

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