“We Became What She Taught Us”: A History of Colegio Altamirano, 1897–1958

Abstract: The Voces Oral History Center at the University of Texas at Austin conducted sixteen interviews with individuals who attended El Colegio Altamirano, the most famous escuelita in Texas. Although scholars have known about El Colegio for several decades, many details about its existence have remained within the community, rather than within an archive, until now. The experiences of these interviewees, who are part of the last group of students to have attended Hebbronville’s famous escuelita before it closed in 1958, reveal the impact El Colegio had on their lives, as well as the school’s relationship with the community. Beyond what these interviews provide on the micro level, they also make enormous contributions on a larger scale. Focused on the 1930s to 1950s, they are the missing link in piecing together a complete history of El Colegio. Additionally, these interviewees’ experiences are connected to the generations of students who came before them. One of the first generations of El Colegio graduates—in many cases the parents or grandparents of the interviewees—established a Hebbronville council for LULAC in 1931. These interviews with El Colegio graduates from one or two generations later demonstrate the pervasiveness of these early activists’ values.