Alamo
Ed Payne
CNN
(CNN) — “Remember the Alamo,” but show some respect.
That’s the view of Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who is less than happy with the attention, unwanted in his view, that the historic site is getting.
Boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez appeared in Alamo Plaza on Monday night to promote their September 14 super-welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.
“This would not happen at Gettysburg. No one would even imagine holding such an event at the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor,” Patterson said. “It should be treated as the hallowed ground that it is.”
The promotion comes five weeks after rapper Kanye West’s plan to project a video for his song “New Slaves” on the facade of the Alamo failed to come into focus.
San Antonio police said more than 500 people showed up — some to see the video, and others to protest it — but the screening never took place, CNN affiliate KENS reported.
Fans complained on Twitter that the police were responsible for shutting down the event, but authorities said the organizers never showed up, according to KENS.
“Last month it was Kanye West, this month it’s Vegas fight promoters,” Patterson said. “The Alamo is under a constant siege of people who just don’t appreciate the significance of the site.”
The Alamo was the scene of a key battle in the Texas Revolution, sometimes known as the Texas War of Independence. And while the Texans were overrun in San Antonio by the forces of Mexican Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna on March 6, 1836, they ultimately won the war.
— CNN’s Dave Alsup contributed to this report