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  • 105. Santa Barbara: The Queen of the Spanish Missions
  • Do you speak Spanglish?
  • 105. Santa Barbara: La Reina de las Misiones Espanolas

THE HISTORY OF U.S. HISPANICS/LATINOS

103.The Father Serra Cross: On a hill, overlooking the land he shepherded

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From the summit of this hill, standing next to the Father Serra Cross, one can see the land that Junípero Serra shepherded. Overlooking Ventura County, the City San Buenaventura, and the Pacific Ocean, this California landmark, also known as "The Cross of the Hill," recognizes the many accomplishments of the Franciscan missionary who led the way to the Spanish colonization and evangelization of California.

While it has deteriorated and has been replaced several times, some historians say the original was planted by Serra himself, back in 1782, as a guide to nearby Mission San Buenaventura, the last of nine missions established by Serra.

Others say that while the cross may indeed go back that far, Serra was ailing at that time and could not have trekked all the way up to the summit. This theory is entirely believable, given that more than half the hill is climbable by car nowadays, and that the remaining hike is still a struggle!

Erected even before Mission San Buenaventura was built, the cross is considered "the first act of the Mission Fathers." It was meant to serve as a highly visible guide-post for those coming to the Mission by land or sea.

Also known as "La Loma de la Cruz" and "Serra Cross Park," the hill is a one-acre parcel - within the larger Grant Park - that overlooks a huge area, from downtown Ventura to the San Buenaventura State Beach.

The site was designated as a California Historical Landmark in 1933 and as a City of Ventura Historical Landmark in 1974. But amazingly, it has faced legal challenges because of its religious symbolism. 

​In 2003, the City of Buenaventura was threatened with litigation for using public funds to maintain a religious symbol on city-owned land - even though part of the city's residents surely are Christians.

In a settlement, the city 
agreed to dim the lights that illuminate the Cross at night, and to sell the one-acre parcel underlying the Cross to San Buenaventura Heritage, Inc., a non-profit historic preservation organization, which then gave management of the park to another private, non-profit organization, the Serra Cross Conservancy.

According to the Conservancy's web site: "We are interested in preserving and maintaining the Serra Cross Park for a variety of personal reasons; we value the Park for the sake of historic preservation and/or are interested in the cross as a religious icon and a landmark attraction to other communities and tourists. But mostly for long-time members of this community, the cross represents what makes Ventura special and serves as an important element of our lives here in Ventura."
​
Although the city is often called Ventura, its official name is still ​San Buenaventura. And although the Cross faced resistance from those who opposed its religious significance, you have to wonder how they deal with the rest of California, where so many streets, towns and other landmarks are named after saints!

Go figure! When you go to San Buenaventura City Hall, you are greeted by an impressive statue of Father Serra. See photos below.
​

To enlarge these images (except for those in slideshows), click on them.
next chapter

​California Road Trip Part 22

EN ESPANOL:
La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina,
​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba
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The views from Father Serra Cross:
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Even up there, every single person is using a cell phone!
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The rest of the way to the Cross is on foot on a steep, winding road.
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Next: The Great Hispanic American History Tour keeps trekking northward to the 1782 Presidio Real de Santa Barbara, the last military outpost built by Spain in the New World and a huge tourist attraction in downtown Santa Barbara, California. Stay tuned.
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See other parts of my California Road Trip:
Vea otras partes de mi viaje por carretera en California:

23. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara

23. 
El Lugar de Nacimiento
de Santa Barbara


​​22. The Father Serra Cross: On a hill, overlooking the land he shepherded

22. 
La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina, ​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba

21. Mission San Buenaventura
Survived Earthquakes and Pirates


​21. 
Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

20. San Fernando Rey de España Teaches California's Colonial History

20. San Fernando Rey de España ​​Enseña la historia colonial de California

​19. Strolling the Hispanic
​Walk of Fame


19. 
Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama​

18. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes: ​A walk through Mexican-American History

18. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes: 
Un paseo por la historia mexicoamericana

17. 
Hispanics had to be imported for ​El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles
​

17. Los hispanos tuvieron que ser importados para El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles
​​16. San Gabriel Arcangel
A Mission that Launched Cities

16. San Gabriel Arcangel
Una Misión que Lanzó Ciudades

​
15. San Juan Capistrano: 
​The Home of the Missing
​Swallows from Argentina


​15. San Juan Capistrano:
El hogar de las golondrinas desaparecidas de Argentina
​
14. San Antonio de Pala:
A Sub-Mission to Reach
​the Natives of the Interior


14. San Antonio de Pala:
Una Asistencia para Alcanzar
Los Nativos del Interior


13. The King of the
California Missions


​
13. El Rey de las Misiones
​de California

​​12. San Diego: An American Town Named After the Saint from Alcalá

12. 
San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá

11. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes amid a painful controversy!

​10. Chicano Park: Mexican-American history painted under highway ramps

​
9. Even at the beach in San Diego, you can't avoid Spanish history

8. Old Mission (or Padre) Dam: California's First Aqueduct

7. San Diego de Alcalá: California's First Spanish Mission

​6. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends the Story of a Great Man

​​
5. The Birthplace of the Spanish Colonization of California


4. It took more than two centuries

​3. Cabrillo National Monument

2. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park


1. International Friendship Park
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CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              
4. The Black Legend Returns
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Columbus Deserves His Day
10. Colón Merece Su Día
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter

12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!
14. !Nuestro Quinto Centenario
     Se Avecina!

                   
15. American Discovery Day
15. Día del Descubrimiento de América
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     Su Legado Vive Aquí 
                
 19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. Happy Three Kings Day!
22. Feliz Día de Reyes!
               
23. What a Birthday to Forget!
                 
24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas
25. La Primera Navidad en Norteamérica

26. The Bucket List Of Hispanic Heritage
26. La Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana
                  
27. Now That Fiesta Month Is Over,
     Can We Talk About Heritage?
                  
28. Our Hispanic Heritage:
    On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana:
     En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's 500th Birthday
     Should Be a National Holiday

29. El 500 Aniversario de la Florida
     Debe Ser una Fiesta Nacional

             
30. The Fountain Of Our Hispanic Heritage               
30. La Fuente de Nuestra Herencia Hispana

31. The Re-Conquest Of American History
31. La Reconquista de la Historia de América

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July

35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline
     Of Hispanic-American History

37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood


41. Obliviously Living
        In ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento
       De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish

        CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR
June 2014 - January 2015

47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. A Hidden Hispanic Role Model
51. Un Modelo Hispano Oculto

52. The Hispanic Flank
     Of the American Revolution

52. El Flanco Hispano
     de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. Nueva Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español

54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo'
     Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase
     Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion
     On the Spanish Mission Trail


59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road
61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
     Of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through
     Our Hispanic Heritage


64. A Beacon of Hope
     On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library
​
WASHINGTON D.C.
February-June 2015


77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso

78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily
     Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics
     In U.S. History Exhibit

80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.

MIAMI
August 2015


81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo

​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018

82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border ​- A Jagged Corner of the World

83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace of the Spanish Colonization of California

87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends
the Story of a Great Man


88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam:
California's First Aqueduct


90. Even at the beach in San Diego,
you can't avoid Spanish history


91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American
​painted under highway ramps


92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes
amid a painful controversy!


93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia:
The King of the California Missions

94. San Luis Rey de Francia:
​El Rey de las Misiones de California


95. San Antonio de Pala: A Sub-Mission to Reach
the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala: Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano: The Home of the Mission Swallows from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano: Hogar de las golondrinas desaparecidas El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
A Mission that Launched Cities

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades


98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes: A Walk through Mexican-American History
99. 
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes: Un Paseo por la historia ​mexicoamericana

100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. 
San Fernando Rey de España Teaches California's Colonial History
101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña la historia colonial de California

​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill, overlooking
​the land he shepherded

​103. La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina, ​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba

104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara


105. 
The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas




​
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Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

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America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots