The documentary Porvenir, Texas offers a comprehensive view of a 1918 massacre of Mexican men and boys in Presidio County. Credit: Courtesy Image / Mexican American Civil Rights Institute
On January 28, 1918, outside the village of Porvenir in Presidio County, a group of Texas Rangers and ranchers murdered 15 Mexican men and boys.

Tensions were high in the border community after the Mexican Revolution, and despite no evidence that victims were involved in the war or banditry of any kind, they were separated from the other villagers and executed.

More than a century later, tensions still simmer on the border, and with a second Trump term days away, we are entering a dangerous time of revanchism.

As part of DreamWeek San Antonio, an annual series of events honoring the legacy of civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the Central Library this Saturday will screen two films about the massacre.

Porvenir, Texas (2019), a 56-minute documentary directed by Andrew Shapter that first aired on PBS, provides a comprehensive overview of the incident. The 16-minute documentary They Call Us Sediciosos (2021), directed by Iz Gutierrez, follows Jovita, a Mexican reporter who interviews a mother whose son went missing in 1915 during La Matanza.

This event is presented in conjunction with the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute.

Free but RSVP requested via sylvia.reyna@sanantonio.gov, 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, Central Library Auditorium, 600 Soledad St, (210) 207-2500,, mysapl.org.

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.