Alamo Reenactment on Riverwalk
Heads certainly turned today when 250 volunteers from the Riverwalk Reenactment Association marched on the Alamo, starting from Waxy McGrady’s Irish Pub and Sporting Facility. After planning the event for over 2 years, the four hour battle was completed without a hitch and minimal loss of life to the actors. For authenticity, bicycle police were taken off duty during the climactic shoot-out, and electricity was shut off across downtown, just as it was in the days before electricity was invented.
Menger Hotel Suffers Casualties
Although details of the reenactment were publicized on posters stapled to local churches, some of the younger generation didn’t “get the memo” since it wasn’t Tweeted or Facebooked to them. “All our communications are consistent with 1836, so text messages, billboards and Oprah are not appropriate,” explained Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the now-dead Mexican President from the original battle.
But Philip Fingerhut, head bartender at the Menger, protested that his customers – most of which arrive as part of ghosthunting tours – really thought they’d struck it lucky when hundreds of troops dressed in original costume walked through the lobby. But ghost watching soon turned into ‘ghost becoming’ – “A guy from New York asked if they were ghosts and one solider stuck a bayonet through his eye before he’d even paid his tab. We’re just trying to have a Happy Hour here.”
The Menger, the oldest hotel in Texas, was moved from its original location on the Riverwalk in 1859, so the re-en-actors had to push through the lobby and tear down a wall to continue the path they would have taken. Several reception staff were taken hostage during the final push to capture the Alamo.
CVB Complains to Mayor
The Convening Visitors Bureau alleged this reinactment was illegal and interfered with a garage sale happening under St Mary’s bridge. The vendor only sold $4 of used books since all the visitors were busy tracking the battle. Harry Minder, President of the Riverwalk CVB, said: “This is just another example of the Alamo trying to overshadow the Riverwalk. We’re sick of dealing with the Alamo and we’re petitioning Mayor Hamburger to have it moved.”
This has revived a decade-long campaign to have the Alamo relocated to a quieter part of San Antonio, since it was originally built in the middle of all the downtown buildings without permits or city planning approval. In 1998, the Alamo was almost moved to Alamo Heights, but HEB grabbed up the land for their popular store. Known as the Battle of Central Market, HEB successfully dereailed the project, but while they may have won that battle, they may not have won the war.
The Riverwalk Reenactment group agrees that moving the Alamo makes sense, since there are HEBs everywhere already, and it would finally provide something worth seeing in Alamo Heights. Mayor Hamburger has agreed to the move as one of his final two-finger salutes to the ‘oh-niners’ who typically vote for someone older. Demolition begins next month.
If you’re interested in joining the Riverwalk Reenactment Group, you can sign-upfor next year’s event, where an expected 500 elderly, unemployed and mentally unstable San Antonians will take back Alamo Heights for the Riverwalk.
