I am sure that you already know the history of La Prensa, but I would like to share with you some of my own recollections of La Prensa, a historic and award-winning weekly bilingual newspaper, that had a long and interesting historical heritage that goes back to February 13, 1913, when Ignacio Lozano Sr., a prominent exile from Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, started it in San Antonio, Texas. It became the leading Spanish language newspaper in San Antonio, in South Texas, and even at the international level. La Prensa gave a much needed voice for the Hispanic community. Over the years, the ownership changed hands, and at times, it had periods of inactivity. In 1989, Florentino “Tino” Duran and his wife, Amelia, restarted La Prensa to its full glory and prestige it always had since the beginning when they took over as owners and publishers. The format changed from Spanish language only to a bilingual format.
Tino stated the mission statement of La Prensa: “Our vision is to be of service to the San Antonio community by providing informative, inspirational, and positive news to the Hispanic community in both English and Spanish. We also hope to continue the tradition of the Hispanic culture by encouraging readers young and old to continue speaking, reading and writing in both languages.”
When Tino Duran found out that Dr. Félix D. Almaraz, Jr., and I had just published award-winning books and that we had been invited by Laura Bush to participate in the Texas Book Festival in Austin, he immediately contacted us and wanted for us to come to his office in downtown San Antonio and have a photograph taken for his newspaper. Dr. Almaráz’s book was entitled, Knight Without Armor: Carlos Eduardo Castañeda, 1896-1958, and mine was, Border Boss: Manuel B. Bravo and Zapata County, and both were published by Texas A&M University Press. The Texas Book Festival took place on November 10-12, 2000.
It was a pleasure and an honor for me to have known Tino Duran all these years. We worked together on many worthwhile projects for the community and for the students of San Antonio. In the following photograph that was taken at the plush and opulent Plaza Club at the penthouse of the Frost National Bank, I am standing at the lectern addressing a large group of movers and shakers from the San Antonio business community. From the large signs in front of our place at the head table, I had the privilege of seating next to Tino Duran. I thoroughly enjoyed his companionship and had a delightful time.
The last time I saw Tino Duran was on October 10, 2013, at Texas A&M University in San Antonio. I was already retired from the South San Antonio Independent School District and I had received an invitation from Stefanie Wittenback, University Librarian of the Archives and Special Collections, to attend a special reception honoring Tino Duran and Dr. Lionel Patenaude. The former had donated his archives of La Prensa, and the latter’s son, Dale Patenaude, had donated his father’s extensive collection of 900 books. Coincidentally, I knew Dr. Patenaude personally when I worked for him in the History Department at St. Mary’s University in the early 1970s. He was now deceased.
In 2014, Tino Duran was inducted into the Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame. Two years later, Tino announced his retirement, and his daughter took over the operations of La Prensa. Lamentably, on Sunday, June 25, 2017, he passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. May he rest in peace.
