Felix Tijerina

Felix Tijerina was born in General Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico to Rafael and Dionicia Villarreal Tijerina when his father died in 1915, ten year old Felix became responsible for supporting his mother and sisters, and the family immigrated to Texas later that year. After finding employment in Houston, he moved his family there in 1922. Tijerina worked as a busboy while taking nighttime English classes and opened a restaurant of his own in 1929. In 1937, Tijerina opened the first "Felix Mexican Restaurant." He opened several additional locations through the years, and the local chain remained a Houston landmark until the flagship restaurant at 904 Westheimer closed its doors in 2008., Tijerina was a devoted member of Houston's Council #60 of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). He achieved widespread recognition as national president of LULAC from 1956 until 1960. Under Tijerina's leadership, LULAC grew from an organization with councils in five southwestern states to a truly national organization with representation in thirteen states across the nation. Tijerina also advocated education during his presidency, implementing the "Little Schools of the 400" program. The program gave Spanish-speaking children the opportunity to learn a core vocabulary of 400 English words prior to their enrollment in first grade, enabling them to successfully pass that first crucial year of public school., Although Felix Tijerina died at the relatively young age of sixty, he made a lasting impression as a businessman, philanthropist, role model and mentor to many Mexican Americans in Houston and across the state.