88R15144 CJM-D
By: Menéndez, et al. S.R. No. 245
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, VIVA San Antonio Day is taking place at the State
Capitol on February 28, 2023, and this occasion provides a welcome
opportunity to honor San Antonio residents for the important
contributions they are making to the Lone Star State; 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 defenders 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 was 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, and great figures like Pershing, Stilwell,
Krueger, LeMay, Chennault, and Eisenhower served at San Antonio
military installations; today, the armed forces facilities in the
city include Fort Sam Houston, the headquarters for the U.S. Army
North and U.S. 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 Market is home to several
distinguished medical institutions, including Brooke Army Medical
Center, which houses the only Level I Trauma Center in the Military
Health System 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 one of the largest concentrations 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, Many people delight in visiting San Antonio each
year; in addition to the Alamo, highlights include La Villita, San
Fernando Cathedral, the San Antonio Mission Trails, 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, A highlight of the city's robust event calendar is
the annual Fiesta San Antonio; first held more than 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, A city of great historical, cultural, and economic
importance, San Antonio is one of the treasures of the Lone Star
State, and its citizens may indeed take great pride in the place
they call home; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature
hereby recognize February 28, 2023, as VIVA San Antonio Day at the
State Capitol and extend to the city's residents sincere best
wishes for the future.