How the west was won
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.