USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Who are Tejanos? Tejanos are descendants of the Spaniards and Mestizos – Spanish, Native American, and other groups – so they are largely a mixed race people. As a group, they are identified as a Hispanic people. Texas history and the Southwest are very intricately linked to the Spanish colonial period.

Detailed explanation-2: -People of Mexican descent who live in Texas, whether native or foreign-born, are generally referred to as “Tejanos” by Spanish speakers. The designation has been used since at least the 1820s.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Spanish settlers in Texas lived in a small part of what they called “New Spain.” In the beginning, Tejanos were the older generations of people in Texas or descendants of these Spanish vecinos. At one point they actually used the word Tejano as a self-designation, or Tejana for women.

Detailed explanation-4: -The first generations in Texas and later descendants were called, and called themselves, Spaniards, Mexicans, Tejanos, Texas Mexicans, and, in recent years, Hispanics, Latinos, Mexican Texans, Mexicanos, Mexican Americans, la Raza, Chicanos, and, again, Tejanos.

Detailed explanation-5: -Most Tejanos are concentrated in southern Texas, in historic areas of Spanish colonial settlement and closer to the border that developed. The city of San Antonio is the historic center of Tejano culture.