SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 245
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 State of Texas, 88th
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.
Menéndez, Campbell
Gutierrez, Zaffirini
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Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate
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Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on February 28, 2023.
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Secretary of the Senate