Sandra Cisneros

About this Page

This paper is about a topic we discussed in English 2 enriched. I don't remember the situation extraordinarily well, but from what I remember, author Sandra Cisneros went against the historical district of her town and painted her house in vivid colors, as opposed to one of the select colors defined by the historical society. This is a mock-editorial in which I write my thoughts on the issue - what the historical association should do about Cisneros' direct violation of the house painting code.

Dear Editor:

Most people in the Texas town of San Antonio have heard of Sandra Cisneros’ periwinkle purple house and the problem/dispute caused by Cisneros’ choice of color. Cisneros’ house is located in the King William Historical District portion of San Antonio. This district is protected by an ordinance that defines the rules and regulations for living in the district. The HDRC (Historic and Design Review Commission) and the SACS (San Antonio Conservation Society), the HDRC’s governing body, are in charge of creating and enforcing the rules and regulations of houses in the King William Historical District. Since the HDRC has laws regarding modifications (painting, remodeling, etc.) to houses within the King William Historical District, Cisneros went to the HDRC before painting her house. They told her that her choice of color was not historically appropriate in their eyes and that she would have to select another color. Cisneros disagreed, so she went ahead and painted her house periwinkle purple anyway. She totally ignored the HDRC’s decision to keep the color of the houses in this district historically accurate, and she ignored their denial of her color choice. I agree with the HDRC’s decision to keep the houses historically accurate by not paining them exotic colors, and I believe that Cisneros should be forced to repaint her house. The HDRC should not go back on their decision to preserve the history of this district.

To begin with, the regulations of the HDRC laid forth in Ordinance #80910 clearly state that the color of a house in the district must be historically accurate. Section (b.) of the ordinance says, “It is strongly recommended that house should be repainted in their original color(s). If new paint color is chosen, colors shall be harmonious with the surrounding environment.” The word shall is used in this instance as a command; the ordinance is requiring and commanding that house colors be harmonious with the neighboring houses. A bright periwinkle purple, Cisneros’ choice of color for her house, is not harmonious with the surrounding environment – how can a bright purple match the dull, but historically accurate colors on surrounding houses?

Furthermore, Sandra’s purple color does not comply with the rest of section (b.) of ordinance #80910, which states, “Nearby historic colors shall be respected.” Again the word shall is used as a command. The HDRC is commanding all residents of the King William Historical District to choose colors that match the surrounding houses. Cisneros’ choice of color is quite out of place in a neighborhood in which all the houses have a dull, more toned down color.

The HDRC has chosen to preserve the German house styles (both the architecture and the color) in the King William Historical District. Since Cisneros’ color choice is not German but Mexican, she is destroying the very German styles that the HDRC is trying to preserve. Supporters of Cisneros and Cisneros herself would try to say that, since the land was originally owned by Hispanics, periwinkle purple is a historically accurate color and that it should be allowed in the King William Historical District, but this is not so. If you read the Historical Background of the King William Historic District document, you will see that the intent of the founders and current board members of the HDRC is to preserve Greek Revival, Victorian, and Italianate architectural styles. The houses in the King William Historical District would not be painted the way they are if the HDRC wanted to preserve Hispanic culture.

Furthermore, there is no proof that the Hispanics ever even lived and worked the land that the King William Historic District is now on. The document states, “One of the earliest to settle on one of these pieces of land was Carl Guenther, a German immigrant who had built a mill near Fredericksburg, Texas…This [two mills and a stone cottage Guenther built] served as the southern anchor for the King William neighborhood. A number of other successful and influential German immigrants also began building residences in the King William area, using Greek Revival, Victorian, and Italianate architectural styles for their mansions.” It is very clearly shown here that the Germans were the first to settle in this area and they architectural styles they used are the ones that the current houses in this area have today. If the HDRC had wanted to preserve Mexican architecture, they would have built Mexican-style houses.

Another argument that Cisneros is trying to get people to believe is that Ordinance #80910 does not require homeowners in the King William Historic district to paint their houses a historically accurate German color, it just strongly recommends it. I have discussed this topic somewhat already; Cisneros is only pointing out bits and pieces of the ordinance. If you read the whole thing, you will realize that it is actually requiring all homeowners in the district to paint their houses historically accurate, according to the HDRC’s specifications.

An additional argument Cisneros uses has to do with her house being in the “Baja King William,” a sub-district of the King William District. Although this portion of the King William District may be more Hispanic than the rest, nowhere does it say that the regulations in the ordinance are not to be followed. The rules and regulations have to be obeyed by everyone in the historical district, not only the people who aren’t in “Baja King William.”

As you can well see, Cisneros is required to follow the rules and regulations set forth by the HDRC but she has clearly disobeyed them. She should not be allowed to do this, and if she continues to disobey the HDRC, she should be punished.

Thank you for your time,

 

Erich Musick

Return to HS: Sophomore Year