Photo: aarp.org
The Museo Alameda was the largest Latino museum in the United States, and the first formal Smithsonian affiliate outside of Washington D.C.
The $12 million, 40,000 sq ft museum was located in the historic Market Square area of San Antonio, and it opened to the public in April 2007.
Photo: Author
“It’s la cuna — the crib, where the consciousness of the Mexican-American movement was born,” Henry G. Cisneros, former Mayor and Federal housing official told the New York Times.
The celebration began Thursday night April 12th with a dinner in Market Square that raised $2 million
The festivities culminated the next evening, Friday April 13th with a scheduled concert by Linda Ronstadt and other performers, including the huge mariachi band, which hoped to set a world record.
Linda Ronstadt, who was performing with Los Camperos, had completed two songs, “Por Un Amor” and “Los Laureles” when the weather changed dramatically. San Antonio was deluged by torrential rain, driving winds and hail, and there was a tornado warning issued as well.
According to Linda, “It was the scariest weather situation that I’ve ever been through outdoors. I thought, Oh my God…there’s going to be a tornado here ?”
Unfortunately, the weather put an end to the outdoor activities that evening, however, Linda returned to San Antonio a few years later with Los Camperos to perform at the Municipal Auditorium.
It turned out to be her final performance in front of an audience before she announced that she was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.
That also ended in a sad way. Look for that future story here at “Memories of San Antonio”
Sources:
New York Times
mysanantonio.com
Wikipedia
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