Andrés Sáenz

Background

Andrés Sáenz was born on August 9, 1927, in Duval County, Texas, United States. He was the son of Praxedis and Ydolina (Lopez) Sáenz.

Education

Andrés Sáenz graduated from San Diego High School, Texas, in 1946.

Career

Andrés Sáenz, before becoming a writer, served in the United States Navy during the Korean conflict from March 1952 till March 1956. Most of his duty was aboard the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61). His tour of duty took him to Hawaii, Japan, England, Wales, Scotland, and Portugal. He later served in Little Creek, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, Virginia.

After coming home in March 1956, he started to work at Gardner Chevrolet as a parts manager. In 1973, he started his own business known as NAPA. He ran the business until 1993 when his voice started to fade.

His motivation to write came from listening to his mother who shared everyday life events of common people who lived in their area in the past - information that was not researched or recorded. In 1999, the book Early Tejano Ranching: Daily Life at Ranchos San José and El Fresnillo was published.

Through the simple, direct telling of his family's stories, Andrés Sáenz lets readers learn about their homes of piedra (stone) and sillares (large blocks of limestone or sandstone), as well as the jacales (thatched-roof log huts) in which people of more modest means lived. He describes the cattle raising that formed the basis of Texas ranching, the carts used for transporting goods, the ways curanderas treated the sick, the food people ate, and how they cooked it. Marriages and deaths, feasts and droughts, education, and domestic arts are all recreated through the words of this descendent, who recorded the stories handed down through generations. The accounts celebrate a way of life without glamorizing it or distorting the hardships. The many photographs record a picturesque past in fascinating images.

Achievements

• Andrés Sáenz is particularly remembered as the owner of the successful firm NAPA. In addition to his business, he became famous after the publication of his book, Early Tejano Ranching: Daily Life at Ranchos San José and El Fresnillo, which is considered to be a comprehensive guide to understand the ranching and ethnic heritage of Texas.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Early Tejano Ranching: Daily Life at Ranchos San José and El Fresnillo

    (For two and a half centuries Tejanos have lived and ranch...)

    1999

Religion

Sáenz was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Falfurrias. He was the first Eucharistic Minister as well.

Views

Sáenz's writing process included in-depth interviews on every aspect of life and verification of information received from different documented sources.

The reading of the book With All Arms by Carl Duaine was a major influence on his work.

Quotations: "What inspired me to write is that there is still a lot of history; there are many beautiful and heroic stories that have not been told, appreciated, and recorded."

Membership

Sáenz was a member of the Band Booster Club.

Interests

• genealogy, history

Connections

Sáenz married Jovita Treviño (a homemaker) on February 3, 1952. The marriage produced four children: Abel Ricardo, Arnoldo Rene, Alfonso Roel, and Angelina Raquel.

Father:

Praxedis Sáenz

Mother:

Ydolina (Lopez) Sáenz

Wife:

Jovita Treviño

(1927-2018)