by Scott L. Moss –

I spent two years as a docent at the Alamo while I was living in that area. Three times an hour for eight hours every Thursday, I told the story of the battle of the Alamo to gatherings of people who–in most cases–were just there because they’d heard of the place, the visit was free and in summer the Long Barrack (where I worked) was air conditioned. I say all of that in order to say that I almost certainly have a lot more of an emotional tie to that place and those events than is “normal.” I consider my time there among the most valuable days of my life.

El Deguello is a song about which I spoke every single presentation. I spent so much time wondering what it sounded like. It appeared that nobody knew. So, this is inordinately important to me. I “get” that the battle of the Alamo did not have to happen. I “get” that the Texicans took Texas from its rightful owners by force. There has been a lot of that in human history. I also know that had Santa Ana not been slowed down there, it would have been years longer before Texas became a separate political entity and that Santa Anna was a dreadful human being.

We are spending a goodly amount of time these days (most of us anyway) thinking and rethinking what America is, was and ought to be. I truly encourage you–especially if you are Texan–to also think about February and March of 1836 at San Antonio de Valero. If you aren’t Texan and I sent this to you, it’s because I thought about it and decided you would find it worth your time.

Sorry if this sounds pedantic.

YouTube – Scott L Moss / The Alamo Deguello Horns