Manchaca vs. Menchaca: Step closer to renaming South Austin road
It's always been a head-scratcher for outsiders — Austinites pronouncing Manchaca Road as "MAN-shack." But after decades of confusion, will Austin finally get it right?
After six years and more than $24,000 raised, retired Judge Bob Perkins certainly hopes so. Since 2011, he's been a champion for Texas Revolutionary captain José Antonio Menchaca, who Perkins said is the true namesake behind the approximately 8-mile-long road. Some opponents, though, say the belief that the road was named after Menchaca (pronounced men-CHAH-kah) is incorrect.
Retired Judge Bob Perkins, Juan Garza, David Chincanchan and Jacki Horak look on as City Council Member Sabino "Pio" Renteria gives an application to rename Manchaca Road to Menchaca Road to Amy Teel at Austin City Hall on Tuesday. RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
American-Statesman Staff
But on Tuesday, Perkins and his nonprofit group Justice for Menchaca got a step closer to putting an end to "man-shack" when Austin City Council Member Sabino "Pio" Renteria filed an application to rename Manchaca Road in South Austin to Menchaca Road.
"While there have been innumerable Tejano — Texan of Mexican decent — leaders and pioneers throughout our state's history, very few are honored," Renteria said in an email. "Therefore to maintain the improper spelling not only half-honors Menchaca but it dismisses the many Tejano contributions to our culture and our state."
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Menchaca, who fought for Texas in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, led a patrol in areas north and west of San Antonio to protect against Native American attacks. His actions in this battle, Renteria said, "helped lead to the capture of Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna and eventually to the recognition of the Republic of Texas as a free and independent country."
Over the years, Justice for Menchaca has raised awareness about the late Texas army captain and has brought together many of his descendants. For Hays County resident Jacki Horak, a great-great-great-granddaughter of Menchaca, the news of Tuesday's filing was a long time coming.
"We're all resistant to change, but I feel that if people knew that his name is misspelled and Anglicized that they'd understand and embrace the change," she said. Perkins said the name has been mispronounced dating back to the 1800s, when a plantation owner purchased land near the Onion Creek area, dropped the "a" and began calling it Manchac.
Horak said she stumbled upon Perkins' Justice for Menchaca Facebook page, which has more than 1,000 likes, while researching historical information for her Daughters of the Republic of Texas application. Her family has always known about their relationship to Menchaca and has been proud of all the work done to honor his legacy. After years of advocating for the name change, if the City Council votes to approve it, she said it'd be "the final piece of the puzzle" for her family.
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Justice for Menchaca has raised more than $24,000 to cover the cost of changing the street signs to the new name so that taxpayers won't have to pay for it, Perkins said.
"It's been 180 years now that the name has been misspelled and mispronounced," Perkins said. "If they name a road after your great-grandfather, wouldn't you want the road name spelled the way he spelled it? It's not right that we get the name of this guy who put his life on the line for Texas and fought for the Republic of Texas wrong."
City staffers will now reach out to Manchaca Road landowners and emergency service agencies to notify them of the application and see if there are any objections. If so, a City Council hearing would be scheduled.
About 90 percent of Manchaca Road sits within Austin's city limits and the other 10 percent, Perkins said, sits in unincorporated land and belongs to the state. So for now, Justice for Menchaca will focus on trying to change the name for the part of the road in Austin. "If the city votes (for the name change), then we'll work on the last 10 percent," Perkins said.
"If you are going to honor someone," he said. "You've got to spell their name right."