Before The Alamo

I didn't grow up in Texas, but I learned a little about the Alamo when I was young. The basic things that everyone learns – “Remember the Alamo!”, the deaths of notables such as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and the fact that the Texans lost. I never really gave much thought to the actual historical setting or the events leading up to that battle, though. In her engrossing and clearly well-researched book, Before the Alamo, Florence Byham Weinberg paints a vivid picture of the people who populated Mexican Texas.
Emilia is the focal point of the story. She is born in 1814, in the municipality of Béxar, the result of a short-lived love affair between her mother and a man of Spanish descent. She and her mother work for the father who refuses to acknowledge Emilia, and they are considered lower class. But Emilia learns to read and write, and works her way up to a position of some importance as a clerk for the city council. The story unfolds, following Emilia up to the Battle of the Alamo and its aftermath.

I don't speak a lot of Spanish, and I appreciated how Weinberg used Spanish terms throughout the book, but also used the English equivalent nearby. This made me feel immersed in the story and the culture without having to stop and check Google Translate for every unfamiliar term.

Weinberg also pulled no punches on how some Anglos treated the Tejanos when they came into Texas. While there were some who were honorable and treated the Tejanos with dignity (as exemplified by the character of Charles McCray, a doctor who befriended Emilia when she was working to help others during a cholera outbreak), there were some who were rude and downright ugly. Weinberg didn't try to pretty up those interactions to make the white folks all look better. In the modern era where racism is a topic that's front and center, it highlights that the arrival of the Anglo wasn't necessarily something welcomed by all Tejanos, and for good reason.

The story is compelling and the characters are well developed. It's got action, tension, romance, something for almost every reader. And this was another of my favorite kinds of books, the kind where the story is both enjoyable and educational. Before the Alamo has inspired me to learn more about Texas history, and I hope you'll take the opportunity to read it and learn something yourself. It gets five big stars from me.