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Reflections on MABA-SA and 2020 By Ted Santos, Immediate Past President
Editor’s Note: The Mexican-American Bar Association of San Antonio (MABA-SA) proudly celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018. MABA-SA produced a short video reflecting on its mission and history, which is available online. The article below is adapted from remarks made by Ted Santos, MABA-SA’s Immediate Past President, at the group’s 2020 Pachanga, which was held virtually in December 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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n the Rio Grande Valley, where I was born in McAllen, Texas, crossing into Mexico was more common than traveling North. With that being said, as a young child, I moved from the Rio Grande Valley to rural Southern Illinois with my mom and siblings. Why is this detail important? Because I saw and was reminded at a young age that I didn’t fit into the traditional categories of the community. I would hear, “You’re not black, but you’re not white. So, what are you?” The only “Mexicans” this area may have seen were the fieldworkers who came to town once or twice a year before heading back to their grueling work. Growing up in the Midwest, like so many kids of color, I didn’t have the benefit of a support group of like-minded children or adults with the same background or skin color as me. That is why the Mexican American Bar Association (MABA) is so meaningful, purposeful, and inspiring to me. While MABA was created to support and recognize Mexican Americans in the legal profession, it has become a diverse, influential, and productive organization, not only for Mexican Americans, but also for the legal profession at large and the entire San Antonio community. Many years ago, when I first experienced MABA, I was not an attorney. I had not
18 San Antonio Lawyer | sabar.org
A MABA-SA meeting in the 1980s. Attendees included MABA-SA co-founders Pete Torres, Jr. and Ernest Acevedo, Jr., Adam Poncio, Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Alfonso “Al” Chapa, who later became Chief Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals; and Judge Karen Crouch, who later became Judge of County Court at Law No. 10.
even applied to law school. What I saw were attorneys coming together after work—new attorneys, veteran attorneys—supporting each other, arguing with each other, and debating issues to improve the legal process. All of this energetic engagement would be combined with working on projects for the community—mentoring at-risk kids, raising money for scholarships, and delivering Christmas baskets to needy families. These attorneys were not making a lot of money. Some struggled to pay their student loans, but they would come together to support MABA, each other, and their community. MABA is why I went to law school. Fast forward to 2020, when I had the honor and privilege to serve as President— not just any President—a President with an all-female board. I got some teasing from different people, of course. “Are you crazy? How’s that going?” I say that it made me a very smart man because this board—all of them—got s*** done. We did not miss a beat with CLEs. In fact, we expanded topics and our audience, with one of our members, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales, starting us off in January. In February, attorney and author Humberto Garcia introduced his book, The Mustang Miracle, the true story of the first all-
Hispanic State Championship golf team in the 1950s, which triumphed against all odds. Dr. Ellen Riojas Clark and Rosie Castro spoke on our culture and political progress in March. Then, COVID hit. MABA was a leader for attorneys and our courts on technology and virtual practices early on in the pandemic. Here again, the team kicked it into high gear with technology and organization. In April, board member Judge Angelica Jimenez and Attorney Lara Brock held a CLE combined with a Fiesta Happy Hour on Zoom and the Courts. Also, in April, former MABA President and current member Javier Herrera led a CLE on best remote office practices during a pandemic. In early May, Board member and former President, Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl, and member Judge Lori Valenzuela, who was recently appointed to the Fourth Court of Appeals, aired what I believe was the first CLE on remote criminal court procedures. In June, MABA member Eduardo Juarez conducted a CLE on recent United States Supreme Court cases on equality pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity. June was also a busy month for community service and engagement. MABA created a virtual San Antonio Food Bank fundraising drive to support our community during this challenging year. Also in June the Scholarship
