Part of the month long celebration of George Washington’s birthday in Laredo Texas is a “Native American themed” pageant and parade with music featuring high school students led by a Princess Pocahontas on horseback. It begins with the “Princess” receiving the key to the city, a tradition started by the Improved Order or Red Men, descendants of the Sons of Liberty, who 123 years ago staged a mock attack on the court house, reminiscent of the Sons of Liberty actions against British rule, like the Boston Tea Party. The “Princess” Pocahontas performed as peace keeper, a role the character of Pocahontas was already closely associated with by Anglo audiences though pageants and plays. The one in Laredo is the last of its kind. It originated as a national celebration of George Washington’s inauguration, established in order to unify the new country. This event in Laredo is now the last, and it remains because it complements both the quinceañera rite of passage for Hispanic girls and southern debutant culture with the participants formal introduction to adult and elite Laredo society.
The elaborate and expensive costumes, incorporate iconography from both Plains Indian and Mexican cultures in this Mexican American border town which is 96% Hispanic, and a short walk to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The celebration has become a means of celebrating the town’s Mexican culture while also asserting its American identity.
Andrea Robbins and Max Becher 2018/2019
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