Crossing the Rio Grande: An Immigrant's Life in the 1880s

119 Pages·2006·5.663 MB·English

by  Luis G. Gomez, Guadalupe Valdez, Thomas H. Kreneck

CROSSING THE RIO GRANDE
Number Nine: Gulf Coast Studies
Sponsored by Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
John W. Tunnell Jr., General Editor

CROSSING THE
RIO GRANDE
An Immigrant’s Life in the 1880s
LUIS G. GÓMEZ
Translated and with commentary by
Guadalupe Valdez Jr.
Introduction by Thomas H. Kreneck
Edited by Guadalupe Valdez Jr.
and Thomas H. Kreneck
Texas A&M University Press
College Station
Copyright © 2006 by Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
Manufactured in the United States of America
All rights reserved
First edition
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48-1984.
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
o
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gómez, Luis G.
[Mis memorias. English]
Crossing the Rio Grande : an immigrant’s life in the 1880s / Luis G.
Gómez ; translated and with commentary by Guadalupe Valdez Jr. ;
introduction by Thomas H. Kreneck ; edited by Guadalupe Valdez Jr.
and Thomas H. Kreneck.—1st ed.
p. cm. — (Gulf Coast studies ; no. 9)
“Mis Memorias originally published in 1935 by Gorena Press, Rio
Grande City, Texas”—T.p. verso. Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58544-514-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-58544-514-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Gómez, Luis G. 2. Mexican Americans—Texas, South—Biography.
3. Immigrants—Texas, South—Biography. 4. Texas, South—
Biography. I. Valdez, Guadalupe Jr. II. Kreneck, Thomas H. III. Title.
IV. Series.
F395.M5G66 2006
976.4'0616872073—dc22
2005037457
Mis Memoriasoriginally published in 1935 by Gorena Press
Rio Grande City, Texas
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
Introduction, by Thomas H. Kreneck 1
Memories of My Grandfather, Luis G. Gómez,
by Guadalupe Valdez Jr. 9
Mis Memorias(My Memories), by Luis G. Gómez 19
Prologue 21
Table of Contents 23
Chapter 1 My Pilgrimage in Texas 25
A Rare Coincidence 31
Another Unusual Incident 35
Chapter 2 My Arrival in Houston 50
Chapter 3 The Negro Brakeman! 53
Chapter 4 An OpíparoBreakfast 55
Very Delightful Conversations
with Friends 58
A Mule Loaded with Gold! 60
Chapter 5 The Company “Tamez-Gómez,
Contractors” Signs Very Lucrative
New Contracts 70
An Unexpected Meeting with
Mr. Stafford 72
Chapter 6 The Phantom! 82
Chapter 7 Where We Will Hear the True Story of
That Mysterious Petite Woman 86
Index 103
vi Contents
Illustrations
Map of area covered in Mis Memorias
by Luis G. Gómez 5
Alfonso Gorena, circa 1930s 7
Luis Gonzaga Gómez and Brígida Cano Gómez 15
Cover of an original edition of Luis G. Gómez,
Mis Memorias 16
Mexican workers laying railroad track in South Texas 27
Passenger train, late 1800s 47
Main Street, Houston, Texas, looking south,
late 1880s 51
Brownsville riverfront, 1863 80

Preface
MISMEMORIAScameto my attention at a 1991 meet-
ing of the Spanish American Genealogical Associa-
tion (SAGA) in Corpus Christi when Guadalupe
Valdez Jr. gave a formal presentation on the book. Luis Gómez
was Valdez’s grandfather, and as Valdez’s commentary details,
the two had a special relationship. At that SAGA meeting,
Valdez showed the audience one of approximately five known
extant copies. He was keenly interested in sharing these mem-
oirs with researchers and was justifiably proud of his grandfa-
ther’s literary and historical contribution. After I expressed the
interest of the Special Collections and Archives at Texas A&M
University–Corpus Christi in obtaining one of these rare items
(online catalogs did not reveal one in the holdings of any li-
brary), Valdez soon generously donated one of the family’s
remaining copies to our institution. Following subsequent con-
versations, Valdez agreed to translate Mis Memorias into En-
glish for publication and to include a translator’s commentary.
Though a difficult undertaking, for him this project was natu-
rally a labor of love and family devotion. He has done what
everyone should do: that is, carefully listen to one’s elders, re-
member and preserve that which is meaningful, and pass that
wisdom and experience down to future generations.
Thus, this current publication of Mis Memorias is truly a
product of two men: Luis G. Gómez and Guadalupe Valdez Jr.
Courteous and correct in his demeanor, educated and dedicated
to learning, Valdez is a consummate gentleman, possessing char-
acteristics doubtless in the tradition of his grandfather. To know
Guadalupe Valdez Jr. and to read Mis Memorias would lead
anyone to recognize similarities between the two men.