Bill Text: TX SR15 | 2023 | 88th Legislature 1st Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-15 - Reported enrolled [SR15 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SR15-Enrolled.html
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In Memory | ||
of | ||
Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez | ||
WHEREAS, San Antonio lost an admired activist, artist, and | ||
cultural historian with the passing of Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez on | ||
May 8, 2023, at the age of 83; and | ||
WHEREAS, The son of Olivia Sanchez and Ramon Vasquez, Ramon | ||
Vasquez y Sanchez was born on the city's Westside on May 6, 1940; | ||
he attended San Antonio College and joined the staff of the Bexar | ||
County Archives to focus on the preservation of Mexican American | ||
history; in addition, he was a member of the Bexar County | ||
Historical Commission; he also gained increasing recognition as | ||
an artist, illustrating the Bexar County coat of arms and | ||
publishing work in newspapers and other media; his acclaimed | ||
paintings of the early Indian Missions centered on the ordinary | ||
people and Mexican heroes generally left out of historical | ||
narratives, and his subjects included daily life in the barrio; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Vasquez y Sanchez became a leader in the | ||
Chicano rights movement; he wrote the preamble for the | ||
establishment of the Raza Unida Party, provided graphic designs, | ||
and served as vice chair and gubernatorial campaign manager; as | ||
chair of the Bilingual Bicultural Coalition on Mass Media, he | ||
oversaw suits against the Federal Communications Commission that | ||
led to greater Mexican American representation among | ||
journalists; he was a fierce advocate for equity in city arts | ||
funding, and he was instrumental in establishing Centro Cultural | ||
Aztlan and ran its visual arts program for decades; in that role, | ||
he encouraged other artists, created a sense of community, and | ||
popularized public Día de los Muertos commemorations; he also | ||
fought for the inclusion of Mexican American and Tejano stories | ||
in the Alamo narrative and organized the first "Olvidate del | ||
Alamo" and "Las Mujeres del Alamo" art exhibits; tenacious and | ||
outspoken, he nevertheless expressed his strong viewpoints with | ||
grace, courtesy, and logic; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1988, Mr. Vasquez y Sanchez helped reorganize | ||
the Mission Descendant Families of Northeastern Mexico and South | ||
Texas under the umbrella of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation; he | ||
served as a tribal council member for over three decades; | ||
moreover, he formed the nonprofit group American Indians in Texas | ||
at the Spanish Colonial Missions and united with other activists | ||
to secure the return of over 150 ancestral remains to Mission San | ||
Juan Capistrano; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Vasquez y Sanchez married Gloria Camarillo in | ||
1962, and they became the parents of three children, Ramon Juan | ||
Vasquez, Edna Marie Vasquez, and Marisol Vasquez; he and his | ||
second wife, Maria Magdalena Gonzales, had one son, Javier Ramon | ||
Vasquez; following her passing, he was fortunate enough to find | ||
love again, and in 2013, he wed Maria Chavez, who survives him, | ||
along with his children and his 11 grandchildren and 5 | ||
great-grandchildren; and | ||
WHEREAS, Throughout his lifetime, Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez | ||
sought to root out injustice and illuminate the richness of | ||
Mexican American heritage, and although he will be deeply missed | ||
by all who were privileged to know him, they will treasure their | ||
memories of his wisdom, compassion, and wry sense of humor; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th | ||
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life | ||
of Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez and extend sincere condolences to his | ||
family, to his many friends, and to all who mourn his passing; | ||
and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns | ||
this day, it do so in memory of Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez. | ||
Menéndez | ||
________________________________ | ||
President of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that the | ||
above Resolution was adopted by | ||
the Senate on June 15, 2023, by a | ||
rising vote. | ||
________________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
________________________________ | ||
Member, Texas Senate |