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Lionel Sosa On How the Mexican Revolution Changed America

Chris Eudaily
/
Texas Public Radio
"The Children of the Revolución" chronicles the journey Mexican-Americans families during and after the revolution in Mexico.";

The Mexican revolution drove people into the United States and those that settled in South Texas helped shape the cultural and economic landscape of the area. This is especially notable as the Hispanic population continues to increase in the United States, and the country -- as Mayor Julián Castro put it --  begins to look like San Antonio. The last part of the show highlights a performance of Tchaikovsky’s "The Nutcracker," a production that is a holiday tradition in San Antonio and the U.S.

Los Niños de la Revolución

Sparked by injustice and a brutal dictatorship, Mexico’s revolution erupted in 1910 and dragged on until 1929. Mexico was in many ways about as modern as the contemporary United States, but the revolution wrecked it’s economy, shattered the social structure and drove out over a million of its people into the U.S.

These exiles, however, were not defeated. They decided to make the most of their new home and gave birth to a generation of Mexican Americans with the mission to start businesses, govern and create.

San Antonio advertising trailblazer Lionel Sosa told this incredible story in the public television series "Children of the Revolution," which was produced in cooperation with KLRN-TV. Now Sosa has created a companion book to the series, "Children of the Revolución: How the Mexican Revolution Changed America."

This book tells the family stories of a who’s who of South Texas; how their families were uprooted from Mexico and transplanted to San Antonio, eventually thriving and bearing the fruit of "The Children of the Revolution."

Sosa is the founder of Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar & Associates -- now Bromley Communications -- that grew to become the largest Hispanic agency in the U.S.

Each chapter is marked by double page photos from the time and the entire book features stunning images. This image from Chapter 3 is of mourners at the site where President Madero and VP Pino Suárez were slain.

He has been Hispanic media consultant in seven Republican presidential campaigns beginning in 1980, and is a recognized expert in Hispanic consumer and voter behavior.

Sosa was named one of the "25 most influential Hispanics in America" by Time Magazine and is a member of the Texas Business Hall of Fame.

He is the author of "Think and Grow Rich: a Latino Choice" published by Random House, "The Americano Dream: How Latinos Can Achieve Success in Business and in Life" published by Dutton, and "Children of the Revolución: How the Mexican Revolution Changed America" distributed by University of Texas Press.

Lionel has served on the Board of Regents of The Texas A&M University System, the Board of Trustees for the University of the Incarnate Word, the Boards of Sesame Workshop, creators of Sesame Street, ACT (American College Testing) and the Public Broadcasting System. He chaired both the United Way of San Antonio and the San Antonio Symphony.

The Nutcracker: A Christmas Tradition

Like putting up the Christmas tree, dropping a fist full of change in the Salvation Army’s bucket and eating too many tamales, Tchaikovsky’s "The Nutcracker" is a San Antonio holiday tradition.

John Toohey is the President and Executive Director of Arts San Antonio.

"This is an exceptional production. The principle dancers are Russian, and  Olga Pavlova, the prima ballerina, is actually Bolshoi trained. So it features the discipline and elegance of a classical Russian ballet, but the sensibility and fun of the American versions. It was actually New York City Ballet and George Ballanchine who popularized "The Nutcracker"; it's not as popular in Europe as it is in the United States. It's become a holiday staple here in the United States."

Watch a clip of Olga Paplova performing The Nutcracker:

Click here for more information on performances of "The Nutcracker"

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David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi