Alonso S. Perales

Alonso S. Perales (October 17, 1898 May 9, 1960) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and civil rights activist based in Texas. He was the intellectual architect of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) though he served as the second president, helping write its constitution. Perales also served as a US diplomat in thirteen missions in Latin America in the 1920s.

Early life

Perales was born on October 17, 1898, in Alice, Texas to Susana (née Sandoval) and Nicolás Perales. At age 6 his father died and at 12 he was orphaned. He worked as a child picking cotton, peddled tamales and pan dulce, and worked for the railroad. He married Marta Engracia Pérez of Rio Grande City, daughter of prominent businessman Casimiro Perez Alvarez. Together, they adopted a daughter and two sons in the 1950s. He moved to Texas shortly afterward as one of the first Mexican Americans to practice law in the United States.

Career

Diplomacy In the 1920s through the 1930s, Perales served as a diplomat, traveling to the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chile, and the West Indies on various diplomatic missions. Later, in 1945, he served as legal counsel to the Nicaraguan delegation at the United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), also known as the San Francisco Conference.

Civil rights Perales was active in civil rights advocacy and according to scholars, is one of the most influential Hispanic Americans of his time. His book, Are We Good Neighbors?, published in 1948 by Artes Gráficas, examined the discrimination, exploitation, and injustices faced by people of Mexican and Latin American descent throughout the United States. Are We Good Neighbors? also includes affidavits from the public that detail these incidents of discrimination. This resulted in the formation of Order of the Sons of America (Orden Hijos de América) and the Order of the Knights of America (Orden Caballeros de América), Mexican American organizations with various statewide chapters. Between 1927 and 1928, Perales and Ben Garza, leader of the Order of the Sons of America Council #4 in Corpus Christi, discussed how to merge these organizations. Perales, with the help of Canales and Idar, drafted the LULAC constitution. As president of LULAC, he focused on the creation of 24 new councils across South Texas. According to the LULAC News (LULAC's official newsletter), Perales helped to cement the organization's spirit: "LULAC is much indebted to the efforts and sacrifices put forth by these pioneers like Alonso S. Perales. It was this spirit of courage - tenacity, and self-sacrifice - during the early history of LULAC that became known as the 'LULAC Spirit.'" Perales, together with his fellow LULACers, Canales and Garza, traveled to Washington D.C. to testify in US congressional hearings against the bill. The bill did not pass.

In 2011, the Perales family donated his archive to Arte Público Press and its historical arm, Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage program. The collection includes correspondence, historic LULAC papers and publications, photographs, and rare manuscripts. It is housed at the University of Houston's MD Anderson Libraries Special Collections.

Exhibits

The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute in San Antonio created an exhibit on his life in 2024. In 2025 Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) sponsored the traveling exhibit adding a geographic timeline, linocut prints, and hands-on activities for school-aged children all by OLLU students.

Works

En Defensa de mi raza, vol. I & II. (Artes Gráficas, 1937) Are We Good Neighbors? (Artes Gráficas, 1948) "La Evolución De La Raza Mexicana En Texas," La Prensa (San Antonio, TX), Sep. 13, 1927.