The Heritage Society Hosts a Countdown to America's 250th with a Speaker and Wine Reception Series

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Join us on Wednesday July 9, 2025, at 6:00 PM for speaker John Espinosa, Governor General - Member of the Houston Chapter, Los Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez. The speaking engagement will be preceded with a wine reception and Spanish tapas. This speaker event was generously sponsored in part by the Summerlee Foundation.

“I grew up as a Hispanic boy in East Houston. In school, I learned all about the Boston Tea Party, about Paul Revere, and all that happened up north in the thirteen colonies. But they never told me about Gálvez or the pivotal role of Spain and the Gulf Coast in the American Revolution.” Espinosa will illuminate the accomplishments of General Bernardo De Gálvez of Spain, a great hero of our country’s war for independence. He will also perpetuate the memory of the Spanish soldiers who fought during the American Revolution and share facts about how Gálvez ordered cattle in advance of mounting his campaign against the British.

Did you know Spain chose to join the war against England primarily out of global political strategy? Three places played into their thinking: Menorca, an island off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean; Gibraltar, a point in southern Spain guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean; and the large region of the Mississippi Valley known as Louisiana. In 1776, as the result of centuries of conflict, the British controlled Menorca and Gibraltar – key to Spain’s defense of its coast – and the French held Louisiana – a potentially lucrative source of raw materials. When France agreed to return Louisiana as part of an alliance, Spain entered the War on the Franco-American side.

About the Organization- Los Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez was founded during the Bicentennial of the United States in 1976 to research and understand the pivotal, yet unpublicized role of Spain -- and the contributions of her King and her people -- to the colonists’ victory in the American Revolution. In this endeavor, our organization labors to teach about this important, but forgotten, aspect of American history.

Tickets include free parking at 212 Dallas Street, wine and tapas reception, and three museum gallery exhibits.