From the Republic of the Rio Grande: A Personal History of the Place and the People by Beatriz de la Garza (review)

From the Republic of the Rio Grande is a sophisticated personal history by attorney and author Beatriz de la Garza. This narrative focuses on the South Texas–northern Mexico borderlands and covers two hundred years of history from the mid-eighteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. It relies on letters, diaries, newspaper articles, and various other materials from archival collections and from private family papers.

The stories focus on the everyday lives of the de la Garzas, the Garcías, and other branches of her family tree. De la Garza explored how these families experienced the Mexican independence movement, Mexico’s loss of its northern frontier to the United States, the aftermath of that loss, the Mexican Revolution, and other events.

These geopolitical events wrought socio-cultural and economic changes for the protagonists of de la Garza’s stories. Sometimes their adaptive strategies involved migration. One of the most fascinating aspects of From the Republic of the Rio Grande is its ability to capture the fluidity of this trans-border region. The reader witnesses individuals and entire families moving from the United States to Mexico or from the Mexico to the United States in order to escape some threat, whether a revolution in Mexico or anti-Mexican fervor in Texas.

These are stories of survival through struggle, but they are also stories of family unity, perseverance, and success. Generally, these were people of resources who worked hard to keep what they had and augment it. For example, Lorenzo de la Garza supported his family through his ranching interests but also derived supplemental income from his dealings in banking, oil, and insurance. His business enterprises often reflected the transnational world in which he lived, as in the case of when he represented an American oil exploration enterprise, working as a lobbyist for them within the Mexican government.

The Republic of the Rio Grande referred to in the title was a borderlands political effort to secure independence from Mexico in 1840. But the term also designates a culturally significant geography. The Republic of the Rio Grande that de la Garza centers her stories on includes the northeastern Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Old Tamaulipas extended into the sub-region we know as South Texas, up to the Nueces River. The people who settled these areas under the leadership of Don José de Escandón shared an identity, a feeling of belonging, and perhaps even a sense of common destiny.

As deftly as the author narrates the events defining the lives of her ancestors, there are gaps in the historical contextualization. For example, when she discusses how some settlers and their descendants experienced kidnappings at the hands of Indians seeking to use them as slaves or for trade purposes, the author makes no mention of the captive trade that involved borderlanders of various ethnicities. Thus, while settlers such as the de la Garzas feared kidnapping, so too did indigenous people. Also missing from the text is an examination of the impact that Spanish settlement had on the peoples native to the region.

Critiques aside, this is a well-written and interesting book. From the Republic of the Rio Grande captures what life was like for many residents of the lower Rio Grande border region, placing their lives within the broader histories of two nation states.