Alonso S. Perales

Alonso Perales, born on Oct. 17, 1898 in Alice, was orphaned at a young age, losing his father, Nicolas Perales, at age six and his mother, Susana Sandoval, at age twelve. Perales graduated from Alice High School and attended Draughon's Practical Business College. During World War I, his stenography skills earned a job as a U.S. Army field clerk. Perales moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce. He received a B.A. from George Washington University and a law degree in 1926. His skills as a bilingual lawyer led to a job with the U.S. Department of State, where he served on 13 diplomatic missions to Mexico, the West Indies and Central and South America. Perales was an attorney on General Pershing's staff for the Tacna-Arica Commission in 1925-26, and a legal advisor to the electoral mission in Nicaragua in 1928, 1930 and 1932. On June 29, 1927, Perales issued a press release publicizing his new law offices in McAllen and Rio Grande City, as well as "preliminary steps for the formation…of a strong entity of American citizens of Mexican origin whose exclusive objective would be to sincerely work for pro intellectual, economic, social and political improvement." On Aug. 14, 1927 at a civil rights conference in Harlingen, Perales, J. T. Canales and Luz Saenz, members of the League of Latin American Citizens, supported a resolution to unify all Mexican-American organizations. That action led to the founding of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) on February 17, 1929. Perales was a prominent civil rights leader through LULAC and through hundreds of essays, speeches, and newspaper articles and three books. He died in San Antonio on May 9, 1960 and was buried in Collins Cemetery, next to his mother. In 1977, San Antonio's Edgewood ISD dedicated Alonso S. Perales Elementary School. (2013)

Alonso S. Perales is a historical marker in Alice, Jim Wells County, dedicated in 2013. It is one of 10 historical markers documented in Jim Wells County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 17 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 27.7525, -98.0461 near Alice. The nearest cataloged historic site is Collins Cemetery (cemetery), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Archelaus Bynum Dodson, Jim Wells County Courthouse, and Jim Wells County Courthouse.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507017587. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.