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San Antonio is set to celebrate Jovita Idár this weekend with several events, including the launch of theJovita Idár quarter, the unveiling of a mural, and a conference exploring her legacy.
Idár was a Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist who fought for civil rights. Historians now regard the Texas native a hero in South Texas for her activism against discrimination toward Mexican-Americans and persistence for equality.
Idár was born in Laredo in 1885. She worked as a journalist at her father newspaper, La Crónica. She famously faced off against the Texas Rangers when they attempted to shut down El Progreso, another newspaper for which she worked.
She eventually moved to San Antonio, where she worked as a teacher.
“She was a huge advocate of women's right to vote and women's right to an education,” said Sarah Zenaida Gould, executive director of the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute. “She worked at the Robert B. Green Hospital as a translator, as well as teaching classes there. So she taught classes in sanitation and in child rearing.”
The celebrations begin on Thursday. A roundtable discussion at UTSA's downtown campus will explore her accomplishments and resonance in today's civil rights movements. The event in the Buena Vista Street Building begins at 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
The event coincides with the premiere of the new Jovita Idár quarter — the ninth coin issued in a special American Women Quarters series — at the Buena Vista Theater. The discussion of the quarter's design and symbolism begins at 7 p.m.
On Friday at 11 a.m., activists will unveil a mural dedicated to her memory. The artwork is at the corner of Frio and Robert B. Green Way, formerly known as Perez Street, near where she lived. “We were interested in doing something that would allow folks to get a visual narrative of who Jovita was,” Gould explained. San Anto Cultural Arts students painted the mural.
Gould added that there was also a plan to designate part of the street Jovita Idár Memorial Way.
“We also thought the memorial designation is a wonderful thing, but if you don't know what that means, if you don't know who Jovita Idár is, then even when you see that memorial designation sign, it may not mean anything to you. So having a mural is a way of adding a visual narrative to the landscape,” she explained.
On Saturday, the San Antonio Central Library hosts a symposium on Mexican-American civil rights from 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be live streamedfor those unable to attend.
Jovita Idár Family Day is Sunday from noon to 4:00 p.m. at Market Square. There will also be a Jovita Idár-inspired dance by the Guadalupe Dance Company.
Gould said Idar’s impact on San Antonio is exemplified by the accomplishments of local Latina leaders.
“She is part of a long line of women advocating for their community, and her life story connects to multiple civil rights issues that Mexican-Americans in San Antonio and [people] all along the borderlands experienced.”
Fernando Ortiz Jr. contributed to this report.
