{"id":154026,"date":"2026-02-06T18:43:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/154026\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:43:20","slug":"storytelling-culture-define-world-heritage-centers-anniversary-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/154026\/","title":{"rendered":"Storytelling, culture define World Heritage Center’s anniversary event"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 40 years later, Brenda Romero Pacheco can still see the east wall of Mission San Jos\u00e9<\/a>, rising a short baseball toss from her childhood home. She can see the sun setting over the mission\u2019s bell tower.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, her view of history and nature was woven into a daily rhythm. It felt unremarkable.<\/p>\n

Decades later, Pacheco learned a startling truth. She descended from Native Americans who helped build the mission walls.<\/p>\n

Pacheco shared that remembrance Thursday night at the World Heritage Center<\/a>\u2019s 1-year anniversary celebration, an event that featured Mexican food, modern art and storytelling.<\/p>\n

\"\"Brenda Pacheco speaks during the World Heritage Center\u2019s one year anniversary celebration on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\"\"World Heritage Center Director Colleen Swain speaks during the center\u2019s one year anniversary celebration on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\u201cMy house used to be right behind the mission walls, not even 20 feet away,\u201d Pacheco told a gathering of more than 150 people. \u201cI remember sitting in my bedroom as the sun was going down. And I would think to myself, \u2018Yeah, that\u2019s okay.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five years ago, Pacheco, 69, discovered that she descended from two tribes. The Pacao\u2019s on her father\u2019s side are connected to Mission Espada<\/a>. The Pampopa\u2019s on her mother\u2019s side helped build Mission San Jos\u00e9, the church in her backyard whose walls are as old as America itself.<\/p>\n

The mission structure was constructed between 1768 and 1782.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a gift,\u201d said Pacheco, who lived within feet of the mission until she was 26. \u201cIt was majestic to be able to see that on a daily basis. \u2026 All of us from these neighborhoods feel the same way. We wish we had asked our grandmas and uncles, \u2018What happened?\u2019 What was life like around San Jos\u00e9?\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Heritage Center was built, in part, to find answers to those questions. The center is 10,000 square feet of Spanish colonial history. Long tables provide accounts of early life in the five missions: the settlers\u2019 dependence on the river and their sources of food and various tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A newly installed \u201cMission Molcajete\u201d by artist Marcos Medell\u00edn is a showpiece. It represents a large Mexican mortar and pestle used to grind ingredients into fine powders.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cMission Molcajete\u201d by San Antonio artist Marco Medellin is seen on display at the World Heritage Center during the center\u2019s one year anniversary celebration on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. The molcajete bowl and legs are made of limestone and mortar and the Virgin Mary statues that surround it are made of resin and spices. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

An interactive media wall offers a rich sampling of arts and neighborhood culture. A shared story booth showcases videos of mission descendants sharing childhood memories and discussing connections to the missions, the San Antonio River and acequias, native ancestry, spiritual life and food traditions. <\/p>\n

One descendant recalled his mother\u2019s homecooking. \u201cI remember when I was 5 or 6,\u201d said Vincent Huizar, \u201ccoming home from school and smelling the tortillas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other descendants recalled a mother\u2019s menudo, a father bringing home watermelon and grandmothers teaching them to make tamales.<\/p>\n

Inside the center, a long gastronomical arc unfolds in words and pictures, artifacts and videos.\u00a0Historical snapshots of local food culture abound, from primitive salsas to chili queens in Alamo Plaza to puffy tacos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The displays underscore San Antonio as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy<\/a>. The designation came in 2017, two years after the missions were named a UNESCO World Heritage site.<\/p>\n

In that spirit, Naco Mexican Grayson<\/a> catered the event, providing a delectable array of food samples: meatballs with chipotle sauce, black beans, queso asadero with chili morita, cups of street corn and guacamole and chips.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chef and co-owner of Naco Mexican Francisco Estrada, right, greets and serves visitors during the World Heritage Center\u2019s one year anniversary celebration on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

A long line formed as Francisco Estrada, Naco\u2019s co-owner and chef, filled small plate after small plate. Estrada and his wife, Lizzeth Martinez, are James Beard semifinalists for Best Chef: Texas. Martinez is a UNESCO chef ambassador. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s amazing is that nobody hates to eat,\u201d said Colleen Swain, World Heritage Director and moderator of the event. \u201cPeople\u2019s demeanor changes when you talk about food. In these videos, people talk about how food brings the family together. The universal love language is food.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 40 years later, Brenda Romero Pacheco can still see the east wall of Mission San Jos\u00e9,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[63674,56602,63675,44827,63676,82,84,83,92,63677,63678],"class_list":["post-154026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-colleen-swain","tag-lizzeth-martinez","tag-mission-espada","tag-mission-san-jose","tag-naco-mexican-grayson","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-top-story","tag-unesco-city-of-gastronomy","tag-world-heritage-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}