The Business of Mexican Culture in Post-World War II Houston

Deal with Us: The Business of Mexican Culture in Post-World War II Houston Item Type Electronic Dissertation; text Authors Pit, Chrystel Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 27/09/2021 03:52:20 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/145273 DEAL WITH US: THE BUSINESS OF MEXICAN CULTURE IN POST-WORLD WAR II HOUSTON by Chrystel Pit _____________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2011 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Chrystel Pit entitled Deal with Us: The Business of Mexican Culture in Post-World War II Houston and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 04/13/2011 Oscar J. Martínez _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 04/13/2011 Juan R. García _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 04/13/2011 Michael Schaller _______________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________________________________________________________________ Date: Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate‟s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: 04/13/2011 Dissertation Director: Oscar J. Martínez 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Chrystel Pit 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Along my journey towards a Ph.D. in History, I have benefited from the advice and assistance from many individuals. As my advisor and dissertation director, Dr. Oscar Martínez provided guidance and support that helped me tremendously. I have greatly appreciated his editorial comments and advice. For his counsel and encouragement throughout my graduate career, I am grateful to Dr. Juan García. Dr. Michael Schaller also provided helpful feedback on the manuscript. Other faculty members of the History Department at the University of Arizona who have offered valuable professional advice over the years include Bert Barickman, Julia Clancy-Smith, Richard Eaton, Benjamin Irvin, Amanda Spieler, Paul Milliman, Katherine Morrissey, Roger Nichols, David Ortiz, and Laura Tabili. Many thanks also go to Houston‟s archivists who worked with me and made the writing of this dissertation a rewarding experience. Dr. Thomas Kreneck receives my greatest gratitude for his labors as the founder of the Mexican American Component at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC). His scholarly experience, insight, and help securing important materials made the completion of this dissertation much easier. I also wish to thank the HMRC staff for their help and support. Kemo Curry and Amber Seely went out of their way to accommodate my needs, as did archivists Marguerite Radhakrishnan and Erin Norris. Dr. Mark E. Young at the Hospitality Industry Archives at the Conrad N. Hilton College provided me with access to all of the library‟s collections even though the building was about to close down for summertime construction. At the University of Houston‟s Special Collections, Dr. Terry Tomkins- Walsh gave me full access to the newly-processed Ninfa Laurenzo Collection, which proved invaluable for the fifth chapter of this dissertation. For their moral and intellectual support, I wish to thank Kathleen Powers, Joseph Dickinson, Amie Kiddle, Jonathan Jucker, Catherine Belshaw, Craig Calhoun, Julia Hudson-Richards, Dylan Richards, Gretchen Raup-Pierce, James Lockhart, Ziad Fahmy, Jane Haigh, Matthew and Veronica Furlong, Ziad Abi-Chakra, Kathryn Jasper, and Ryan Alexander. Last but not least, I wish to thank my families. To say that my parents, André and Colette, supported me throughout my doctoral project barely begins to suggest their role. They have always believed in me and have never ceased to encourage me to push myself to my limits throughout my educational journey. I am also grateful for the encouragement and love that I received from my husband‟s family. Finally, my husband, Benjamin Kulas, contributed editorial help and research assistance. To all, thank you. 5 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, André and Colette Pit, and to my husband, Benjamin Kulas. Their love and support have sustained me throughout this research project and so much more. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………7 INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………. 9 CHAPTER 1 CELEBRATING MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY: THE INCEPTION OF THE MODERN FIESTAS PATRIAS IN HOUSTON, 1965-1972 …..………..……. 25 CHAPTER 2 HISPANIDAD FLIRTS WITH THE DOLLAR SIGN: THE BROADENING SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SEPTEMBER FIESTAS PATRIAS, 1972-1980s ………...…78 CHAPTER 3 “THE SPIRIT OF OUR PUEBLO”: FELIX AND ANGELINA MORALES AND THE FIRST SPANISH-LANGUAGE RADIO STATION ON THE GULF COAST, 1950-1980s …………………………………….……………………. 122 CHAPTER 4 “THEIR FIRST TASTE OF MEXICAN FOOD, THEIR FIRST WORDS OF SPANISH AND THEIR FIRST CONTACT WITH MEXICAN-AMERICANS”: FELIX TIJERINA AND THE FELIX MEXICAN RESTAURANT CHAIN, 1930s-2008 ………………………………..…………………………………………………..……. 173 CHAPTER 5 “HOUSTON‟S FIRST LADY OF MEXICAN COOKING”: NINFA LAURENZO AND THE REDEFINITION OF MEXICAN CUISINE, 1970s-1990s ………………………………………………………….……………………………… 221 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………….. 267 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………...…273 7 ABSTRACT This dissertation is an in-depth examination of cultural interactions between Mexican Americans and Anglos in post-World War II Houston. Today, Houston‟s Mexican American community ranks as the third largest in the United States. This thriving metropolis offers an urban platform through which one can understand how acceptance and celebration of ethnic cultural ways have come to form an intrinsic part of American culture. While much of the past and current literature on Mexican American history in the postwar period focuses on conflicts over desegregation and fights for equal treatment under the law, my research offers a new perspective on less confrontational cultural exchanges between Anglos and Mexican Americans. Ethnic festivals, Spanish-language radio programming, and the Mexican restaurant industry in Houston illuminate how Mexican American businessmen and women introduced aspects of Mexican culture to a large array of Houstonians and, as a consequence, how Houstonians came to accept these cultural manifestations as a natural part of the city‟s life. My use of English- and Spanish-language newspapers, oral histories, personal papers, business records, advertisements, photographs, and municipal, state, and federal documents allows me to explore the regular cultural exchanges and syntheses of Anglo and Mexican cultures in Texas, even during ongoing struggles for racial equality. Additionally, the surge in celebrations of Mexican ethnicity in the postwar era led to a heightened interest from national corporations in attracting and profiting from the Hispanic dollar. Ethnic festivals, radio broadcasts, and the Mexican food industry gradually opened the way for a repackaging of ethnicity as something to be consumed. By the 1980s, these cultural 8 manifestations remained emblematic of the Mexican heritage but had also become highly marketable commodities; traditions that used to be associated solely with the Mexican American community in Houston now pointed to their increased level of incorporation into the city‟s cultural life. I conclude that this greater acceptance of certain aspects of Mexican culture signaled the gradual penetration of Mexican American ethnicity into American cultural ways. 9 INTRODUCTION On 17 August 1978, Ninfa Laurenzo, one of Houston‟s most prominent Mexican American business and civic leaders, wrote a letter to the city‟s mayor. In it, she celebrated the recent victory of a citywide referendum that targeted many of the public transportation needs of residents of Mexican descent. She reiterated that the Mexican Americans for Better Transit committee, composed of local middle-class entrepreneurs and civic leaders, had worked towards “organizing and mobilizing support

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