The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is the oldest organization of its type in the United States, having been chartered on May 31, 1929, by five local businessmen from Bexar County as the Mexican Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose was to encourage and promote trade and cultural relations between San Antonio and Mexico, to disseminate data and information relevant to the San Antonio business community, and to provide technical assistance to the business community in the form of seminars, workshops, and trade shows. Its activities for membership social interaction have included dances, awards ceremonies and luncheons, business mixers, events for the Mexican Consul, celebrations of Mexican holidays, golf tournaments, banquets, and community outreach.
The Chamber was organized by Don Enrique Santibanez, Consul General of Mexico in San Antonio, who became its first president. The first meetings were held in May and June of 1928 under the sponsorship of Santibanez. Given the deep historical and commercial ties and tensions between the U.S. and Mexico, the chamber's primary emphasis in its early years was to promote trade, policy and cultural harmony. During this time, Chamber activities were characterized by efforts to develop an active network of officials and Chambers of Commerce in Mexico. The social climate and subsequent barriers to Mexican American pushed the San Antonio Chamber to go beyond the traditional scope of Chambers of Commerce, and into one of dual social and business advocacy.
In 1987 the Mexican Chamber was renamed the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The name change was indicative of globalization emphasizing their relationship with all of Latin America and also the diversity of San Antonio Hispanic businesses.
The name change also set the stage for one of the greatest accomplishments for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber. The chamber had an active alliance with Mexico's President Salinas de Gortari and Commerce Secretary Herminio Blanco to coordinate the North American Free Trade Agreement's (NAFTA) public education and promotion campaigns among Mexican-Americans in the United States. With NAFTA's passage, the Hispanic Chamber was recognized as a critical component in negotiating the many compromises which made it possible, and also as critical to its future success, again serving as the cultural and commercial connection through which many new trade deals would be realized.
The Hispanic Chamber has always provided outreach to the San Antonio community. Outspoken advocacy of educational programs, establishment of a scholarship fund, and publicly stated positions in civic matters have distinguished its contributions to the city. In recent years, guided by the fundamental belief in full participation in the free enterprise system, the chamber's role has broadened to include advocacy on behalf of small, minority- and woman-owned businesses.
The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SAHCC) Records include materials that reflect the history, work and policies of the Chamber between 1931 and 2008. Documents include correspondence, membership directories, yearbooks, bylaws, newsclippings, newsletters, legislative agendas, registers, photographs, press releases, invitations, scrapbooks and paper copies of the website. Of note is an impressive collection of photographs that document chamber board members, activities, and businesses in 20th century San Antonio. The SAHCC Records include 7 series:
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Collection is open for research, except original audiovisual and digital format materials, which are closed to patron use.
This collection is housed at UTSA's Main Campus and must be accessed via the John Peace Library Special Collections reading room. To request access, please use the
Permission to publish material from San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce must be obtained from University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections. However, UTSA does not hold copyright on the professional photographs and permission must be sought from the photographer.
[Identification of item], San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Records, MS 126, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.
Materials in this collection were donated by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 2004-2008 (Acc. 2004-017, 2005-029, 2005-061, 2006-095, 2006-099, 2007-036, 2007-058, 2008-015, 2008-075).
Processed by Elaine PeIntern, April 2005, and Traci JoLeigh Drummond, Archivist, June 2006. Additionally processing done by Matt Dafler, Student Volunteer, April 2011.
Additions encoded by Tatina Wulzer, Collections Assistant, December 2008 and February 2009.
This series includes bylaws, information about the history of the Chamber, and a mission statement. It also includes information about the Board of Directors, members and several committees. The correspondence includes some postcards, and a few outgoing letters, memos and an e-mail. The yearbooks provide a record of the activities and work of the Chamber throughout the year and include flyers and photocopies of color photographs from some events.
This series documents the social and formal events sponsored by the SAHCC. Among these events are awards ceremonies and recognition luncheons for local businesses, business owners, and supporters of local businesses; golf tournaments; events with speakers; installation banquets for the Board of Directors; and networking mixers for members. There is also information about seminars, conferences, and programs sponsored or co-sponsored by the Chamber.
This series includes newsclippings, press releases from the Chamber office, and scrapbooks which recount the activities and work of the Mexican Chamber between 1948 and 2001. The clippings are from as early as 1950, but the bulk of the newsclippings run from 1987 to 2000. The newsclippings chronicle the activities of the Chamber from its early years as the Mexican Chamber of Commerce through its many changes, including the 1987 name change. The articles cover Chamber events and banquets, member affiliations with local businesses, and SAHCC support of local woman- and minority-owned businesses. Articles were also collected if a Chamber member was mentioned in them, or if the articles would be of interest to the Chamber and its Mexican-American audience. Included are a number of articles about the Chamber's role and support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
These photographs provide information about Chamber members (including Board members), events, and activities within the San Antonio community. Important, older photographs include the Mexican Chamber of Commerce (1931) and a group photograph of attendees of the First Mexican Chamber of Commerce Convention (1939). Also of note is a group of oversize portraits of Board Chairs, spanning the years 1931 to 1999.
Other photographs include images of events the Chamber and its members have participated in over the years; Chamber members with presidents of the United States of America and visiting foreign presidents; group photographs of Chamber members participating in events and ceremonies (including banquets, receptions and ribbon-cuttings for new businesses) (1995-2002); a series of Mexican and Mexican-American celebrities; and scrapbooks (1980-1995) in which some people and events are identified.
Materials are organized by format. Events covered on the recordings include speeches, award programs, interviews and news coverage.
Addition of May 2007 (Accession 2007-058) has been merged with the Addition of March 2007 and includes 2 Fiesta medals, a member bio for Max Navarro, and a 2007 program.
The bulk of the material in the Addition of March 2007 is Board of Directors and Executive Committee meeting minutes and correspondence. Also included are assorted administrative records and awards and plaques.
Includes material related to special events, banquets, awards, budgets and other administrative material, membership directories, CDs, DVDs, and photos.
Includes meeting minutes, material documenting events and award programs, membership directories, meeting notes, reports, DVD’s, awards, and a plaque from businesses and initiatives related to the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.