SPANISH SOLDIERS, FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND NATIVE CALIFORNIANS REENACT PRESIDIO’S FOUNDING FOR CALIFORNIA'S 250TH BIRTHDAY

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of California Missions Foundation

July 25, 2019 (San Diego) -- Soldados de Cuera, Native Californians and a Franciscan father depicting Saint Junípero Serra, came together on a hill high above San Diego  on July 16, at the original site of the first Mission and Presidio type garrison in Alta California – to commemorate what many call the Founding of California, exactly 250 years ago Tuesday. View video of the historic reenactment. 

The City of San Diego uses the date July 16, 1769 as its official birthdate, and  along with the rest of California, it celebrated its 250^th birthday. Not only was Alta California’s first Mission and Presidio founded on this date, but also came the official recognition of the adjacent ocean port and the seeds of a united California under the Spanish, and later Mexican and U.S. flags.

"July 16 is an important date in California history," said David Bolton, Executive Director of California Missions Foundation, organizers of the California 250 Reenactment Ceremony.  "On this date in 1769, Spain began its efforts to unify all of the people of this region under the California name and Spanish flag." Bolton notes that The San Diego area Kumeyaay, and other native communities, also contributed greatly to the building of these historic buildings, and to the success of California. 

To Kumeyaay Native Americans, who have inhabited the San Diego region for some 12,000 years, the coming of the Spanish missionaries and conquerors however brought an end to their way of life, with Indians forced to work on the building of the mission and ultimately, many local tribes forced off of their lands or killed in the coming years. The canonization of Father Junipero Serra was opposed by many in the Native American community due to the treatment of Native Americans under the mission system.

Kumeyaay leaders participated in a separate commemorative ceremony at the Presidio at which a Kumeyaay flag was raised alongside flags of Spain and the U.S., with Mayor Kevin Faulconer, State Senate President Toni Atkins and other political leaders also participating, as ECM reported. Atkins stated, ““History shows us a path forward to a more inclusive future,” adding that is important to present an “unvarnished” story of San Diego’s rise.

Angela Elliott Santos, chairwoman of the Manzanita band of the Kumeyaay Indians, said the celebration is both a milestone for the Kumeyaay nation and a “bittersweet” moment because of centuries of suffering.

The Kumeyaay efforts to have their long history recognized in commeorative activitives prompted an inflammatory statement sent by the House of Spain and signed by Bolton and others, including Jesus Benayas, President of the House of Spain and Iganacio Felix Cota, “Founders of the Californias” Binantional Initiative. In an indication that age-old tensions still simmer, their statement denounced “anti-Hispanic efforts orchestrated to distort the 250^th anniversary of San Diego’s foundation” and called certain Native American actions an “insult to San Diego and California Spanish heritage.” 

The Spanish have left an indelible imprint on the San Diego region, establishing the presidio, later moving the mission to its current location on the San Diego River and establishing Old Town, the original heart of the newly established city of San Diego.

It all began in 1767, when King Carlos II of Spain empowered Don Josè De Galvez to organize an expedition to colonialize Alta California, establish missions to convert Natives to Christianity and protect against Russia’s intent to colonize the territory. The action also provided save harbors for Spanish galleons from the Manila trade against British pirates. Galvez named Gaspar De Portola as California governor in command of a sea and land expedition and Father Junipero Serra to preside over the statewide mission system that began in San Diego.  The first families of Californios established pueblos and ranchos.  A little known fact is that Spanish soldiers who founded Alta California, as this region was once known, later contributed to America’s War of Independence from Britain, earning official acceptance as Sons of the American Revolution.