La Villita was a Native American settlement and then a collection of jacales, for the Spanish soldiers stationed nearby at the Alamo). After a flood in 1819 washed away most of the huts, more substantial adobe houses replaced them. La Villita deteriorated into a slum in the early part of the 20th century. During the Depression, work began on the River Walk, funded by the Works Progress Administration which came close to La Villita. In 1939 San Antonio Mayor Maury Maverick spearheaded the restoration of La Villita, and its transition into an art village, which has become one of the gems of San Antonio.
Plaza Juárez is part of the original restoration. Benito Juárez (1806-1872) was a progressive reformer dedicated to democracy, equal rights for indigenous peoples, reduction in the power of organized religion (especially the Catholic Church) and a defense of national sovereignty. The period of his leadership is known in Mexican history as La Reforma del Norte. He was the first indigenous leader of a country in the Western Hemisphere. Mayor Maverick, a liberal Democrat, would have felt affinity for Juárez. There is also a plaza in La Villita names for Maverick.
This is the text on the ceramic plaque on the wall of the plaza:
Benito Juarez, a simple Indian peasant with a sublime understanding of constitutional government, deposed and eliminated Emperor Maximilian, the European interloper, and thereby saved constitutional government for the American continent as well as for Mexico. In his honor and in special dedication to goodwill, peace and Pan-American understanding, La Villita’s Juarez Plaza has been named. Blasa Rodriguez
This is the text on the plaque on the pedestal of the bust of Juárez. Note that the engraved English text is not a translation of the Spanish text above it.
El Presidente Benito Juárez encabezó la Reforma que consolidó el México moderno, defendidó la soberanía nacional contra la intervención extranjera y impulsó de el desarrollo económico del país. (President Benito Juárez led the Reform that consolidated modern Mexico, defended national sovereignty against foreign intervention and promoted the country’s economic development.)
As one of the creators of modern Mexico, President Juárez led the separation of church and state and the resistance against French imperial designs. He also promoted new economic development.
