SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 319
WHEREAS, The Texas Senate is pleased to recognize March 5,
2019, as VIVA San Antonio Day at the State Capitol and to welcome
the visiting delegation from the Alamo City; and
WHEREAS, The history of San Antonio can be traced back to
1691, when a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries came
upon a river and named it San Antonio, in honor of Saint Anthony,
whose feast day was being celebrated; and
WHEREAS, The city was founded in 1718 by Father Antonio
Olivares; he established Mission San Antonio de Valero, which
would become etched in the annals of history in 1836 as the Alamo,
the site where 189 brave individuals held the mission for 13 days
against an army of some 4,000 Mexican soldiers; the cry "Remember
the Alamo" became the rallying point of the Texas Revolution;
today, the Alamo is a shrine and museum and is widely recognized
as the cradle of Texas liberty; and
WHEREAS, San Antonio became formally incorporated in 1837,
when the fledgling Republic of Texas granted the city a charter;
the community retains its sense of history and tradition while
carefully blending in cosmopolitan progress; it continues to
serve as a crossroads and a meeting place, where the rich
cultural influences of Native Americans, Old Mexico, German
immigrants, the Wild West, African Americans, and the Deep South
mingle and merge; and
WHEREAS, Known as Military City USA, San Antonio has a
proud military heritage; great figures like Pershing, Stilwell,
Krueger, LeMay, Chennault, and Eisenhower served at San Antonio
military installations, including Fort Sam Houston, the
headquarters for the United States Army North and United States
Army South, and Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, the home of the
Air Education and Training Command, the Air Force Recruiting
Service, the Air Force Personnel Center, and the Air Force
Installation and Mission Support Center; in addition, the city is
the site of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, the largest training
wing in the United States Air Force, which instructs all incoming
airmen in basic military training, along with vital National
Guard and Air Force Reserve missions; and
WHEREAS, The San Antonio Military Health System is the home
of all area military medical training; its distinguished
institutions include Brooke Army Medical Center, which houses
the only Level I Trauma Center in the Department of Defense and
the Center for the Intrepid, a world-renowned rehabilitation
facility; and
WHEREAS, Recent years have brought remarkable economic
development to San Antonio as its skilled workforce, excellent
institutions of public and higher education, and high quality of
life have attracted important corporate businesses and industries
to the city; and
WHEREAS, The city's chambers of commerce serve as leading
advocates for the business community and are dedicated to
building and sustaining San Antonio's diverse and prosperous
economy, particularly in the major local industries of health
care, manufacturing, aerospace, and information technology; and
WHEREAS, San Antonio has the second-largest concentration of
cybersecurity professionals in the United States, with a diverse
workforce and globally competitive cybersecurity ecosystem that is
strategically organized through CyberSecurity San Antonio; and
WHEREAS, Millions of people delight in visiting San
Antonio each year; in addition to the Alamo, highlights include
La Villita, San Fernando Cathedral, the San Antonio Missions
Trail, and the famed Paseo del Rio, also known as The River Walk;
among the other attractions that make San Antonio one of the top
tourist destinations in the country are SeaWorld San Antonio and
the Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme park, as well as the PGA Tour
Valero Texas Open, the Alamo Bowl, and the five-time world
champion San Antonio Spurs; and
WHEREAS, In 2018, the San Antonio Tricentennial Commission
commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Mission
San Antonio de Valero, the Presidio San Antonio de Bejar, and the
City of San Antonio; three centuries of the city's diverse history
and culture were honored with special events and initiatives
throughout the year; and
WHEREAS, The city will once again celebrate Fiesta San
Antonio, the biggest 11-day party in the state, in April 2019;
first held nearly 130 years ago, the event was founded by a group
of women who decorated horse-drawn carriages for a parade in
front of the Alamo and battled with flower blossoms instead of
bullets to honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San
Jacinto; and
WHEREAS, San Antonio is truly one of the treasures of the
Lone Star State, and VIVA San Antonio Day provides a welcome
opportunity to honor the city and its many fine residents; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
Legislature, hereby recognize March 5, 2019, as VIVA San Antonio
Day at the State Capitol and extend to the members of the visiting
delegation sincere best wishes for an informative and enjoyable
stay in Austin.
Menéndez
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on March 5, 2019.
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Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate