Location
Stephen F Austin State University, Baker Pattillo Student Center, Student Center Theatre and Twilight Ballroom
Start Date
31-3-2016 4:00 PM
End Date
31-3-2016 7:30 PM
Description
THEY CALLED HIM THE “RED ROBBER OF THE RIO GRANDE.... ” Whether this moniker developed from the reddish tinge of his beard, or from the red blood that he shed on either side of the border depends on who is telling the story. The image of this man that is left to posterity is muddied; obscured by the rhyme and the romance of the corrido, and subject to the whims of political lionization or character assassination. Why Juan Nepomuceno Cortina rode into Brownsville on that early autumn day in 1859 at the head of an armed band of men has been argued over ever since. Juan Cortina was, and still is, an enigmatic figure whose legacy can be seen in the “social bandits” of later generations, and the cultural, racial, and international tensions that plagued the border for decades. Cortina's bold action of riding through Brownsville, and for all purposes taking it hostage, ignited an on again-off again war that lasted for years and left south Texas in a state of fear. This raid has its roots in the politics of Brownsville, racial tension and abuse, and in the aggressive, intelligent, bold, and uncompromising character of Juan Cortina.
No Night For Mexican Tears: Juan Cortina and the Brownsville Raid
Stephen F Austin State University, Baker Pattillo Student Center, Student Center Theatre and Twilight Ballroom
THEY CALLED HIM THE “RED ROBBER OF THE RIO GRANDE.... ” Whether this moniker developed from the reddish tinge of his beard, or from the red blood that he shed on either side of the border depends on who is telling the story. The image of this man that is left to posterity is muddied; obscured by the rhyme and the romance of the corrido, and subject to the whims of political lionization or character assassination. Why Juan Nepomuceno Cortina rode into Brownsville on that early autumn day in 1859 at the head of an armed band of men has been argued over ever since. Juan Cortina was, and still is, an enigmatic figure whose legacy can be seen in the “social bandits” of later generations, and the cultural, racial, and international tensions that plagued the border for decades. Cortina's bold action of riding through Brownsville, and for all purposes taking it hostage, ignited an on again-off again war that lasted for years and left south Texas in a state of fear. This raid has its roots in the politics of Brownsville, racial tension and abuse, and in the aggressive, intelligent, bold, and uncompromising character of Juan Cortina.
