MARGARET "PEGGY" LASATER CLARK

Our beloved Peggy passed away on August 23, 2022 at her home at La Mota Ranch in Falfurrius, Texas.

Peggy joined the Pan American Round Table of Corpus Christi in 1974. She served as our table director from 1991 - 1993.  In 1997 Peggy was elected as Texas State Director at the 48th State Convention by the Corpus Christi table.  In 2006 she was elected as Director General of the Alliance of Pan American Round Tables at their 30th Convention also hosted here in Corpus Christi. 

Her kind and intelligent leadership is an inspiration to us all and her legacy as an involved and informed Pan American Woman is a true gift to our table. We were privileged to have her as an active member for 48 years.

We will miss you dearly, Peggy.

A graveside service for family will be held at the Falfurrias Burial Park at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 24, 2022. Later that morning, ALL ARE INVITED to a lunch and celebration of Peggy's life at their home in Falfurrias at La Mota Ranch from noon to 3:00 p.m. 

READ OBITUARY

You may pay by check or credit card at the meeting.

Hector Guzman,

Music Director and Conductor

A recipient of countless distinctions, Maestro Hector Guzman has been Music Director of the Plano Symphony Orchestra since 1983. He is also Music Director of the Irving Symphony and the San Angelo Symphony. In 2004, he was declared winner of the “Seven Conductors…one Baton” International conducting competition and named Music Director of the Jalisco Philharmonic in Mexico. He was honored with the title Conductor Emeritus of the Jalisco Philharmonic in 2010. Most recently, Mr. Guzman was appointed music director of the Corpus Christi symphony orchestra in 2017.

In his native country of Mexico, Hector Guzman achieved an impressive reputation as an organist by taking first prize in the Chamber Soloist and the Manuel M. Ponce National Organ Competitions. In the United States, he earned further distinction by winning solo competitions at the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University. In 1978, under the tutelage of world-renowned master teacher Robert Anderson, he gained worldwide acclaim when he became the first Latin-American ever chosen as a finalist in one of the most prestigious international organ competitions: France’s Grand Prix de Chartres.

Mr. Guzman’s conducting talents became evident at age 17, when he conducted a memorial performance of Mozart’s Requiem at The National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City. Maestro Guzman holds degrees from the Conservatory in Mexico City, UNT, and SMU. Mr. Guzman has studied with many illustrious teachers including his mentor Anshel Brusilow, Helmuth Rilling, and Carlo Maria Guilini at the Academia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. For several years he was a protégé of the late Eduardo Mata, Conductor Emeritus of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

He has been a guest conductor in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, Japan, and Korea with critical acclaim. In demand internationally as a conductor and recitalist, Maestro Guzman was awarded the Outstanding National Young Artist Award from the government of Mexico, the Golden Lyre award, and the Meadows Award in Conducting. In 1995, he received the DeVry Institute’s Director par Excellence Award for his outstanding contributions to the arts, and in 2000, he was included in the “Outstanding Musicians of the 20^th Century” by the International Biographical Center in Cambridge, England. He is the recipient of the Silver Good Citizenship Medal from the Sons of the American Revolution as well as the 2005 Artistic Merit Gold Medal given by the government of the State of Mexico, and in 2006 was awarded the Artistic Silver Medal by his native state, Zacatecas. In 2008, Hector Guzman was the recipient of the Mozart Medal, Mexico’s highest musical honor, awarded by the Mozart Academy and the Embassy of Austria in Mexico City. He was named a 2012 “Member of the Year” by Madison Who’s Who and is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award from the 2012 “For the Love of Arts” event in Plano, Texas. In 2018, Mr. Guzman received the “Outstanding Mexican Artist” award from the Government of Mexico.

ROLL CALL:  CUBA - PATTY NUSS

XII Travelers 

Destination El Paso | El Paso, Texas

JOIN MEMBERS OF PAN AMERICAN ROUND TABLE EL PASO,

XII TRAVELERS, TOM LEA INSTITUTE & OTHER DISTINGUISHED GUESTS FOR A NO-HOST DESTINATION WEEKEND IN EL PASO, TEXAS and CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Benito Juárez - Child to Man is the fourth installment in the XII Travelers Memorial of the Southwest series.

The sculpture honors Mexico’s great president, who lived at Paso del Norte (1864-65) when flooding began changing the course of the Rio Grande. The Chamizal “conflict” between Mexico and the United States continued until the Chamizal Treaty, signed on August 29, 1963. The treaty was officially affirmed on September 25, 1964, when Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos and United States President Lyndon B. Johnson met atop the international bridge connecting El Paso and Ciudad Juárez and shook hands in a gesture of friendship. In an exchange of land through diplomacy, the dispute was resolved peacefully during the Cold War. Commemorative parks were developed on either side of the rechanneled river:  Parque Chamizal in Ciudad Juárez and the Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso.

Mexico installed a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln in 1964 near Parque Chamizal in Ciudad Juárez as a symbol of unity. While the United States spoke of a corresponding gesture on U.S. soil, that moment never came to fruition - until now. Sculptor Ethan Taliesin Houser - son of XII Travelers Memorial of the Southwest founder, John Sherrill Houser - continues his father’s vision with the completion of the Benito Juárez statue.

The History

 The historical links between U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Mexican President Benito Juárez have long been studied by historians. They were contemporaries who rose from poverty through education, leading their nations through civil war. Both stood with the oppressed and were men of strong character. And, both served as president when the Rio Grande – the natural boundary between their nations- began shifting course.

Juárez was born March 21, 1806 in San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca and was a pure-bred Zapotec Indian. He was illiterate until a Franciscan lay-brother began to educate him, which allowed him to study theology and law.

In 1847, he was governor of Oaxaca, and in 1858, President of Mexico. As a defender of democracy he stated: “Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace.” After Napoleon III invaded Mexico and Maximilian became emperor, French troops forced Juárez to flee north – first to Chihuahua in 1864, and to El Paso del Norte for nine months in 1865-66. While the president lived at Paso del Norte, it was Mexico’s capitol.

President Juárez helped build a new irrigation system to replace canals that had been destroyed by floods, and met with residents who complained that the river’s channel had placed their land on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, where Norte Americanos were claiming it. The president declined offers of asylum and invitations from Fort Bliss, vowing to never leave his country while it was occupied by foreign invaders. When he left in 1866, Benito Juarez waved a final goodbye to his gracious hosts and headed south where he eventually reunited his country.

On September 16, 1888, the people of El Paso del Norte proudly re-named their town Ciudad Juarez in honor of their distinguished guest.

Hotel Information

Hotel Paso Del Norte, 10 Henry Trost Ct

Singles $179, Doubles $179, Triple $199, Quad $219, Suite $229.

Aloft Downtown, 303 Texas Avenue

Aloft King $120, Aloft Double $120.

The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park, 106 W Mills Avenue

Classic King $169, Pioneer King $189, Mills Junior Suite $219, Anson Junior Suite $239, Landmark Suite $369.

Hotel prices do not include taxes or other fees