By Julien Juarez 

The Mercedes Enterprise

The City of Mercedes and the Colegio Jacinto Trevino Community Committee will unveil a Texas historical marker dedicated to the first independent Chicana/o college in the United States. The Historical Marker will be placed where the school once stood in Mercedes on October 17, 2026, at 9 a.m. City leaders, founding members, and students from the college will speak at the event. 

The Colegio Jacinto Trevino was the first Chicano led educational institution in the nation, and was founded with the express purpose of creating a safe haven against the discrimination that migrant students had to endure at other schools. The college lasted from 1970 to 1976. 

Dr. Carlos Cantu, one of the members of the committee and history professor at Texas Southern University and University of Houston-Downtown, said that he had very little knowledge of the college even though his family was involved in it. 

“[I didn’t know] until later on, and I think this happened for a lot of youngsters, that later on they gain an appreciation for the struggles and sacrifices that your parents made and your family before them…” Cantu said. “I asked my parents [about the college] and the flood gates opened. They started telling me stories, my uncle had some boxes of items, founding papers, flyers, a lot of great information to help tell the story.” 

Derek Garcia, PhD Candidate and another member of the committee, has been colleagues with Dr. Cantu for years, and has been a major force in driving the Colegio into getting the historical marker, becoming the Marker Chair for the Colegio. Garcia was in much the same position that Cantu was, having very little knowledge of the Colegio before doing a deep dive into its history. 

“Lupe Casares, Gilbert Garcia, and Teresita Garcia, who are part of the Colegio Community Committee, have been really instrumental in shaping this event,” Garcia said. 

Cantu and Garcia hope that many people can come out to the event, and want people to understand the weight that the Colegio Jacinto Trevino has. 

“We want to reclaim our history. Like I mentioned, I didn’t know anything about this school, and it shows how hidden and unknown this story is.” Cantu said. “What I want is for a big gathering, I want for people to invite their family from all over the valley, and celebrate and pay tribute–honor the school and its leaders, to show that we did this in a small town in the valley…that’s something to be proud of, and prideful about.” 

At the site of the historical marker, there will be a peace march to the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Library, where people can have some tacos, sweet bread, and see the photo exhibit of the colegio that Cantu and Garcia also put together with help from the library’s director.