SAN ANTONIO — Felix Yruegas always feels the pride of San Antonio’s West Side when steps into Lanier High School’s basketball gym, the Lanier Alumni Center. 

“We raised $30,000 in about six months to pay for the banners that you see over there,” Yruegas said. 

Banners of the Lanier Voks' 1943 and 1945 state championship basketball teams, squads deemed as the “Mexicans who could play basketball.“ The team was led by Hall of Famers Nemo Herrera and David Rodriguez. 

“It’s really an eye-opener for Lanier students to see,” Yruegas said. 

He graduated from Lanier in 1957 and was a part of the school’s 100-year celebration, which featured appearances from former San Antonio Councilwoman Lourdes Galvin, former Lanier coach Rudy Bernal and hundreds of current students. 

Lanier senior Starfire Sanchez understood the magnitude of this milestone. 

“If you think about it, Lanier, it’s like known for the bad stuff, a lot of the bad stuff, and they don’t realize how much good people have come from here and how everybody is so good to each other,” Starfire said. 

The stigma she and many alumni say has stuck. 

Lanier rests in one of the state’s most impoverished ZIP codes, the 78207, where 96% of students are Hispanic and 96% of them are economically disadvantaged. It neighbors some of the oldest housing projects in the country, the Alazan-Apache Courts. 

It’s those obstacles that bring different generations of Voks together to share stories, whether about the famous football rivalry against Fox Tech at the Chili Bowl, or the well-known chili dogs in this barrio’s hidden gem, Galleria Foods. 

“We all grew up, pobres (poor), we all have that spirit of never say die,” Yruegas said. 

Shared experiences, Yruegas says, are compelling different generations to give back whether with their wallet or as an educator and coach like Sal Tellez, who graduated from Lanier in 2001. 

“I mean my coaching staff for the boys’ side on football. There’s four of us, then my basketball staff, all four of them are alumni,” Tellez said. 

Tellez says it’s a bond between teachers and students that only be understood through lived experiences. 

“When you hear that day in and day out for four years of your life…some kids only come here a year and want to give back,” Tellez said. 

Lanier has produced educators, activists, attorneys, artists and even the madre of mariachi, Belle San Miguel Ortiz. 

Yruegas says this celebration was just another reminder that the pride of the West Side has conquered obstacles for well over a century. 

“I know these classes that are coming up, the younger people, and we are very proud of them. We Have the honor and love for Lanier High School,” Yruegas said.