In 2014, the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture awarded funds to Dr. Saidi for his literary project Yanaguana: Native River. Over the last decade, Dr. Saidi’s origin project evolved into Name the River—a poem and short film. An important role for the Department of Arts & Culture is to support the work of our creative community and champion projects that reflect the significance of San Antonio’s arts and culture. Name the River is this kind of project; it exemplifies how our River beckons, sustains, and inspires generations who call this region home. And it illustrates how an initial investment in the arts can lead to new ideas, new projects, and new directions.--
Krystal Jones, Director, City of San Antonio, Department of Arts & Culture
Name the River
Poems with Annotations
and
Multimedia Video
Name the River
I.
Drops of rain fall and penetrate the porous limestone into a hidden massive hollow, a concealed sea the city’s indemnity.
A sea beneath the limestone hills musters force and rises in a torrent as a geyser gushes out from the Blue Hole.
Water flows, and a river is born and satiates the thirsty land and towns witness the sun, the moon, and the stars carries its tired body to the Gulf.
II.
The River from its Green Basin,
Crossed the fertile valley of wild roses
pecans trees and cornfields
and had greeted the First Peoples.
Hunters and gatherers, they fished
ate wild corn and pecans, and consumed cacti. Their offspring, Payaya
They named the River Yanaguana.
Mother Earth was their God
the River, a vital umbilical cord
deer, their saint; trees, their fortune
and pecans and live oaks, their parasols.
III.
Armed and mounted on the giant beasts
The Second Peoples arrived from the south.
They called the friendly First Peoples
Tayshas, the land of Tejas.
The First Peoples became neophytes
the Explorers exploited the natives
and built an outpost, A mission called The Alamo. The camp grew and became a village.
Then, a small town around the River.
The explorers expanded and built more missions and then came the white people
from the North―they procured ample land.
They brought their enslaved people and cattle joined Tejano, breaking away from the young free slavery Mexican Republic and declared a sovereign state of Texas.
IV.
Santa Ana, the Mexican General, battles the rebels Surrounds The Alamo. Under siege, Tejanos and Texians stood fast; none fled to safety. They lost and were massacred. They are the heroes of The Alamo.
On the 13th day, before dawn, the cannons roared. The defendants, totally outnumbered, were overwhelmed. The General’s soldiers breached the brittle barricades. Alas, a carnage ensued.
All but one was massacred.
A mound of corpses was set aflame.
A temporary win for the General
Loss of a battle for the heroic rebels
The war raged on. At San Jacinto
The cry of Remember the Alamo
Shook the General’s camp before dawn.
Defeated, he signed the deed of the new republic.
V.
Today, the river city remembers these heroes
Crockett, Esparza, Bowie, Travis
Seguin, Navarro, and the natives.
Now, The River hosts annual fiestas.
Embodies the past, The River meanders the city crosses the Spanish Missions feeds the farms slopes of bluebonnets groves of live oaks redbud trees and scattered mountain laurels.
On the Riverwalk, Mariachi bands
play loud music; barges carry tourists.
And in boisterous cafes, flamenco dancers stomp the wooden floors and display variegated skirts.
Colorful flags wave atop the Texas shrine Old and fragile, The Alamo faces the River which flows sluggishly south and east. It carries its tribute to the warm Gulf.