Downtown San Antonio, Tex. underlines its heritage with its street names. Bowie, Crockett, Houston, Travis and Alamo are all main thoroughfares in America's eighth largest city.

The Mission San Antonio de Valero was founded in 1718 as one of a series of five Franciscan Missions established in the Spanish colonial outpost of Tejas. The name has come down to us as "The Alamo" (meaning cottonwood in Spanish). It was converted to a fort after it was secularized in 1793 when its purpose was to protect settlers from incursions of Apaches and Comanches from the north and west and from French raiders who attacked from Western Louisiana.

By 1830, some 20,000 immigrants from the United States had been attracted to Tejas by the promise of cheap land. These newcomers, calling themselves Texians, became a force that worried newly independent Mexico. One reason for this influx of Americans was the result of an act of the American Congress. The availability of free land was terminated when Congress enacted laws, in 1820, stating that land could be bought in lots of 80 acres for $1.25 per acre. A total cost, non-negotiable, of $100 was a minimum purchase price. Most of the American farmers couldn't afford the $100 minimum and learned that land in Texas was being sold at 12-1Ž2 cents an acre on easily available credit. Naturally, they flocked to Texas to get in on the bargain price.

An independence movement was organized by these Texians and some Mexican nationals, called Tejanos, who cast their lot with them. They were finally forced to take a stand at the Alamo. Between Feb. 23 and Mar. 6 of 1836, this band of 189 men commanded by Lt. Col. William Travis defended the Alamo against a siege mounted by Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The defenders were overrun and all were killed. Only women and children were spared and released to tell the rest of Texas not to defy the Mexican authorities.

"Remember the Alamo" became the rallying cry of the Texians. On Apr. 21, 1836, Sam Houston's army of independence defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Only nine Texians died in the fight. Santa Anna survived, escaping dressed in women's clothing. The Republic of Texas was formed and, 9-1Ž2 years later in 1846, it entered the Union as the 28th State.

But there's a great deal more to S.A. as the locals call it, than the shrine to Texas independence. From the Alamo, it's only an 80-cent bus ride to what is truly the Mexican heart of San Antonio, its Market Square. There, in two large buildings, stall after stall display and sell Mexican goods. Mexican made blankets, pottery, dresses, sombreros, belts and trinkets all are available. One of S.A's best Mexican restaurants, Mi Tierre, also offers a distinctively Mexican menu.

During our visit, Day of the Dead altars were much in evidence in recognition of the typically Mexican holiday which coincides with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and which is becoming an increasingly popular celebration in North America. Altars were dedicated to a broad spectrum of personalities who had died. Some were dedicated to members of the immediate family. Others were reminders of the year past with specific dedications to Bob Denver and Mr. Rogers. Still others were to deceased personalities that affected the students who created these works of art.

Perhaps one of the most unique features of San Antonio is its River Walk. During the late 1930s, a Federal WPA program installed a series of flood control dams to prevent flooding of central San Antonio. This area of the San Antonio River is a horseshoe bend that is 20 feet below street grade. The shoreline has been beautifully landscaped and cobblestone sidewalks on both banks line the 2-1Ž2 mile perimeter. It is now considered San Antonio's fun highway. Along this walkway, the major hotels and best restaurants of the city have found an audience. The walk is alive with people checking out a new menu, shopping in the art galleries and shops, dining in the cafes or simply strolling or people watching. Though most shops and restaurants have street level entrances, it's on the River Walk that they set up tables and offer their specialties. Virtually any ethnic food is represented with some heavier emphasis on Mexican fare.

On the River Walk, one of the better ways to orient yourself is to take a relatively inexpensive cruise around the loop. The trip is conducted on flat bottomed barges which ply the canal-like waterway on a regular route with guides describing the various points of interest.

The River Walk hosts a number of festivals throughout the year. During the first full week in January, the floodgates are closed, the water is drained and the bottom of the canal is cleaned. S.A. has even created a Mud Festival for that event including the election of a king and queen of mud. In the course of cleaning, objects are recovered from the bottom including cell phones, combs, cameras and silverware lost from dinner cruises. And, according to our guide, frequently recovered items include wedding rings tossed into the water by the newly divorced.

The rest of San Antonio is best explored on a one hour narrated trolley tour that begins at the Alamo Visitor's Center. There, you can purchase a ticket which will give you on-off privileges to the trolley. You can get on or off at any of the several stops along the route and explore to your heart's content, waiting at the stop for the next trolley 45 minutes later.

There are stops at two of the remaining Missions built under Franciscan guidance in the early 1700's. One of these trolley stops is at the Mission San Jose which has been fully restored by the U.S. National Park Service. The vast grounds, which were built as a fortification as well as a Mission, have been reconstructed to give the feeling of Mission life in the early 1700's. There are still regular church services conducted; one each Sunday in Spanish with music provided by a Mariachi group of parishioners.

The Mission system held sway for only about 80 years. Within the first 10 years of Spanish presence, about 70% of the Indians attached to the Missions died of European diseases. During that same period, mission cowboys ranched tens of thousands of free ranging long horn steers, horses, sheep and goats and the Franciscans succeeded in converting thousands of Indians to Catholicism as they taught the natives western culture.

Another trolley stop is in an area called La Villita meaning Little Village. It was here that the first European settlement of Canary Islanders arrived in 1731. Artisans work and sell their crafts as fountains glisten in Spanish colonial courtyards. Nearby is an amphitheater along the River Walk that's used for performances by local groups. And on either side are more restaurants including two of the City's best, The Fig Tree and Little Rhein Steak House.

The trolley will bring you to the King William Historic District where Victorian mansions built by newly rich German immigrant merchants and bankers have been renovated and are again an upscale area of the city. Still another area of the city is called "Irish Flats." The area was built by a large group of Irish immigrants who were induced to move to Texas in the latter part of the 1820's.

San Antonio conducts many annual festivals. We've mentioned the Day of the Dead and the annual Mud Festival. But there are more. One of the more important recent events was the sixth annual San Antonio New World Wine and Food Festival which featured gourmet meals at several of the top line restaurants and paired wines provided by the increasingly important Texas wine growing industry. Talented chefs prepared unique, tasty and highly original dishes that attracted food critics and writers from all over the country and rave reviews from the participants.

Host hotels for this festival include the 632 room Hyatt Regency San Antonio on the River Walk, a deluxe property only a block from the Alamo and directly on the River Walk. The Emily Morgan, a 1920's converted office building across the street from the Alamo has been modernized into a contemporary hotel facility.

It's been said that Texas is a state of mind as well as the largest of the contiguous 48 States. The image of the tall Texan in 10 gallon hat, chaps and spurs is still valid. A visit to San Antonio will expose that state of mind and, as you leave, you'll be glad to hear that authentic Texan say "Y'all come back soon."

Resources: The San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau