Californio Voices: The Oral Memoirs of Jose Maria Amador and Lorenzo Asisara (review)

José María Amador and Lorenzo Asisara were two ordinary folk who likely would not merit reference in historical narratives of Mexican California. After an eight-year stint as a presidio soldier in the early 1800s during which he rose no higher than sergeant, Amador worked as a foreman and an administrator for two missions between 1827 and 1842. Only after finding gold a few years later and then thriving as a rancher did he achieve a certain prominence. The historical record reveals little about Asisara, an Indian friend of Amador, other than that he sang in the missions to earn his keep. Yet thanks to Hubert H. Bancroft's research project on California history—as part of which both men were interviewed in the late 1870s—Amador's and Asisara's recollections, which offer a nonelite perspective on the region, have been preserved for future generations.

Their memoir is significant for several reasons. First, it sheds light on military and mission life in California. Amador makes clear that presidio soldiers were poorly supplied, equipped, and paid. He claimed that all he got from the Mexican government for his services were "fourteen arrow holes" (p. 223). These deficiencies hindered the development of a sense of nationalism, as soldiers' primary loyalty was to their superior officers. Amador's and Asisara's reminiscences also illustrate the clerics' abhorrent behavior. Several priests they regularly dealt with not only sexually abused, but also inflicted physical and psychological harm on their Indian charges. Andrés Quintana, for example, intended to "try out a new whip he had made with metal points" on the Indians who resided in Mission Santa Cruz (p. 81).

In addition, the memoir provides insight into the reasons that hindered Mexican resistance during the 1846–1848 war with the United States. As Amador recalled, "the bad qualities of the leaders"—he referred to Commander General José Castro and Pío Pico—"disheartened their subordinates, the troops, and the people" (p. 187). The chronicle also offers a wealth of information regarding everyday life in California, including the inhabitants' diet and work routines, and the entertainment they enjoyed. One of Amador's observations about the latter is telling. Although by the 1840s class differences had become more apparent, rank-and-file soldiers could still swing to the son and the jarabe at elite balls. By the 1870s, however, Amador lamented that such popular dances had all but become extinct.

Numerous features enhance the book's quality. Most significant is the placing of the original Spanish version of the manuscript side-by-side with Gregorio Mora-Torres's English translation of the text. In addition, his rich introduction discusses the pros and cons of travel narratives as a historical source and surveys Amador's career. Mora-Torres also provides footnotes that amplify information on the sites and characters discussed by Amador and Asisara, thus enhancing the volume's usefulness to nonspecialists. The book is further endowed with twelve illustrations, an index, a glossary of terms, and a bibliography that evaluates numerous primary sources and secondary works. Anyone interested in early nineteenth-century California should read this text.