'This is our home': East Austin barrios project preserves Mexican American history

Before it was the Bernhoft Law Firm, the Quintanilla House on East Cesar Chavez Street served as a hub for East Austin’s Mexican American community.

Purchased in 1972 by Joel Quintanilla, the home took on many forms in the neighborhood.

The building, a Victorian-style home of limestone and cedar, used to be completely made of wood and was surrounded by large panels tagged with graffiti art and murals.

For years, it served as the home base for the League of United Chicano Artists, or LUCHA.

In one of the home's earlier forms, it also served as a community center where residents could find help with legal services and meet with immigration attorneys, said Bertha Rendon Delgado, president of the East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association. The house sometimes was used as a campaign headquarters. After school, children would come for free snacks and candy, Rendon Delgado said.

On weekends and during holidays like Halloween, the house would serve as the anchor for block parties. Picnic tables would be set up and live music would echo throughout the neighborhood.

“This was us,” Rendon Delgado said. “There used to be art buckets and spray cans all around here. They would bring kids from around the barrio and do art classes, and teach us about expression and freedom. This was ours.”

Preservation Austin, a nonprofit that works to preserve historic sites and their cultural significance, marked the Quintanilla House as part of its East Austin Barrio Landmarks project.

Lindsey Derrington, executive director for Preservation Austin, said last year that the organization’s board of directors adopted underrepresented heritage as a priority. The move is a commitment to saving and honoring places treasured by Austin’s Mexican American, African American, Native American and LGBTQ communities.

The Quintanilla House is one of 25 cultural and architectural sites across East Austin and downtown that celebrates the city’s Mexican American community. The 25 landmarks create a 12-mile route throughout East Austin, featuring each of the sites and several murals. Tour materials are available in English and Spanish.

Los barrios

According to Preservation Austin, Mexican settlement in Austin began in the 1870s, and then greatly increased in the early 20th century because of instability caused by the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Many Mexican immigrants found work and economic opportunities in roles once held by Black Americans, who began migrating north in the decades after the Civil War.

Mexican communities originally formed near the banks of the Colorado River and Shoal Creek, but implementation of Austin's 1928 city plan altered settlement patterns. The plan pushed Black and Hispanic families into East Austin, which denied them access to municipal services in other parts of the city.

As a result, Mexican Americans formed a vibrant and close-knit community just north of the Colorado River, or present-day Lady Bird Lake, with commercial districts along present-day East Sixth and East Seventh streets. While development and displacement has changed the face of the neighborhood, several original sites still stand today.

Before Rudy “Cisco” Cisneros opened Cisco’s Restaurant and Bakery in 1950, East Austin didn't have a lot of options for breakfast joints.

Known for its migas, huevos rancheros and homemade biscuits, the long-standing building at the corner of East Sixth and Comal streets has become an East Austin staple and community hub.

In its early years, the building served as a meat market. Since 1950, Cisco's, short for Cisneros Company, has served breakfast and lunch to the community, and it has been home to countless fundraisers and community events.

Walls adorned with memorabilia and photos of staff and customers — including Oscar-winning actor Kevin Costner and former Texas Gov. John Connally — tell the story of Cisco’s role in the community as the neighborhood evolved around it.

Co-owner Will Bridges said the place has not changed much in the past 70 years, preferring to stay true to Cisneros’ original vibe. Bridges said the eclectic décor that Cisneros left still remains intact, and they have made little change to the menu.

However, in 2019 the restaurant added dinner service, and has also acquired a liquor license. Grant funding is also allowing the building's exterior to be restored, Bridges said.

“Cisco’s is a landmark in the community, and it's important to Austin as a whole,” he said. “It also represents economic resilience in the Latino community, and we want to preserve and honor that history and history of this neighborhood.”

Around the corner, John Cazares has transformed his family business at Green & White Grocery into a botanica that also sells religious goods. The store, which sits at the corner of East Seventh and Waller streets, was founded in the 1930s by Norverto and Susie Lopez. It was a general store with food, a meat market and other goods imported from Mexico.

“There weren’t a lot of full-size grocery stores in this neighborhood back then,” Cazares said. “So, my family opened up the store here, and it was still going until 1996.”

Cazares, who began working at the store as a teenager, said the shop over the years became known for its breakfast tacos and during Christmastime for its tamales. But the increasing cost of running the store in growing East Austin forced him to rethink the business model. He said the move allowed him to follow his passion of selling tools people use in their spiritual and religious practices.

Today, the store is still emblazoned with the original Green & White Grocery sign, but it now sells herbs, candles and incense. Community events, including live music and martial arts classes, are also held there.

“We are a historical place here in Austin, and people know us and come to us,” Cazares said. “This place has always been here and will be here because of our loyal customers.”

Preserving what’s left

As people of color are forced out of their East Austin homes by development and growth, Rendon Delgado continues to fight to keep the places and art that tell the stories of her people.

“When it comes to the barrio, no one wants to hear what we have to say or hear the truth,” she said. “But our stories — the stories of my community — deserve to be told and recognized. It’s why we have to preserve what is left. This is our home.”

Derrington said Preservation Austin is working to share and tell more stories of East Austin, and other communities of color around Austin, in hopes of giving people a chance to connect with the city’s rich culture.

“This is not the whole story,” Derrington said. “There is a still a lot of important work to be done so that we can share the history of our city. This is only the beginning.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'This is our home': Austin barrios project preserves Latino history