To many Brits, ‘The Alamo’ means little more than a
rather average 1960s John Wayne film. To Americans, the phrase
‘Remember the Alamo’ embodies the very essence of
spirit, sacrifice and the ultimate taming of the west.
Now a new film version of The Alamo, to be released in the UK in
September and starring Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton and Jason
Patric, will reacquaint us with the actual events of March 1836. It
was then that 180 Texan revolutionaries embarked on a 13-day stand
against General Santa Anna’s Mexican Army of several
thousand, an event etched in the American psyche.
The Alamo, a church used as a fort by the rebels, in the heart
of downtown San Antonio, was originally constructed as part of the
Spanish Mission Trail. Nowadays it is managed by the
severe-sounding Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
The centrepiece of the remains is the mission church where the
last of the Texas revolutionaries, including Davy Crockett, made
their final stand before being overwhelmed by Santa Anna’s
huge army. Today it attracts more than three million visitors a
year. History buffs and admirers of Spanish colonial architecture
might also want to take in some of the other missions, particularly
the atmospheric and beguiling San José Mission, a few miles
away.
However, San Antonio is far more than a one-attraction town.
Although the Mexicans were driven out of Texas, today they make up
more than 60% of the city’s population. This influence has
resulted in a multi-cultural city where my schoolboy Spanish proved
as useful as English.
This culture is at its most palpable in the superb variety of
restaurants where both Hispanic and Native American cuisine is
fused, creating authentic Tex-Mex.
Thankfully, the Texas oil-boom hub is located well away from San
Antonio and as a consequence many period buildings have survived.
The Menger Hotel, just a few steps away from the Alamo, was built
23 years after the battle, in 1859.
Even if you are not staying in this historic hotel you should
stop by for a cocktail as its public areas are as impressive as any
in the southwest.
The San Antonio river snakes through the city for more than 15
miles and the famed River Walk, lined with restaurants, hotels and
shops, is one of the city’s leading attractions. Of the many
excellent restaurants to be found along River Walk, Boudro’s
is hard to beat for food and ambience.
A couple of hours’ drive from San Antonio is the state
capital Austin. For somewhere that boasts George W Bush as a
previous governor, it’s surprisingly liberal, and cars sport
stickers with the proud slogan: ‘Keep Austin
weird’.
This laid-back university town lives up to its reputation as the
live music capital of the world and no visit would be complete
without an evening spent on the legendary 6th St, with its bars and
clubs.
Before leaving Austin I drove out to the lake where Michael Dell
– president of Dell Computers, and the University of
Texas’ most famous dropout – is building a house
rumoured to be worth more than $100 million dollars. That just
about sums up the Texan state of mind: whether it’s food,
cars, houses or even dropping out, they sure do love to do it
big.
