Remembering the night President John F. Kennedy visited LULAC event in Houston

It was the day before he was shot and killed in Dallas.

HOUSTON — It was a night engraved in the memory of 87-year-old Alex Arroyos – the night President John F. Kennedy and his wife attended a League of United Latin American Citizens event in Houston.

“Definitely … that was the biggest event we ever had,” he said.

But to make the visit happen, it took months of work.

Arroyos was 28 years old and a member of LULAC, the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the U.S. and they learned President Kennedy was coming to Houston.

But to make this visit happen it took months of work.  At the time, Arroyos was 28 years old and a member of LULAC.

When they (LULAC) learned President Kennedy was visiting Houston on his tour through Texas, LULAC sent him an official invitation asking the president to stop by at the LULAC State Director’s Ball at the Rice Hotel. And to their surprise, before the trip, they got a call from the Secret Service asking them to meet at the hotel.

“We met with them and that is when they told us the president would not be able to come into our event,” Arroyos said.

They said his schedule was just too tight, but they could get a glimpse of the president.

“He was going to stop the elevator and the elevator door would open he would wave to the crowd,” Arroyos said.

And on the day of President Kennedy’s visit…

“Instead of the door closing, they started coming out one after the other, the president, the first lady, Lyndon Johnson, Lady Bird (Johnson). Well, it was kind of hard to believe that it was happening.”

President Kennedy addressed the crowd, and then Jackie Kennedy spoke.

“Really roused up the people,” Arroyos said. “I mean, they couldn’t believe here is the first lady giving a speech. Her speech was perfect. She spoke Spanish as well as you and I speak Spanish.”

According to Arroyos, the president’s visit left everyone on a high. They couldn’t believe that for the first time in three decades of activism, a sitting president visited their organization.

But that would all come crashing down the following day.

“Kind of hard to believe that next day he would be dead,” Arroyos said. “And here he is and we are really entertaining the president.”

The following day, Arroyos visited all the papers in town.

“I told him, ‘I know y’all were taking pictures. Is it possible for them to buy copies? Can you tell me?’” said Arroyos.

And the staff at all the local papers were kind enough to share the pictures they snapped.

“Probably in less than an hour after he was shot, I had stacks of pictures that were taken there that night,” Arroyos said. “I had them from all three newspapers.”

And now for the first time ever, those pictures and those untold stories of that night are part of a new exhibit at the Heritage Society in downtown Houston.

“To have such optimism for someone to have so much trust for, a president, and for him to spend 17 minutes with them when initially they were only promised a wave was incredible,” museum curator Mikaela Selley said.

Arroyos’ pictures are one of the things on display at the exhibit about the night that meant so much for so many Latinos.

“From the perspective, those that were there, you get validation, respect and just pure hope and optimism,” Selley said.

A moment in history, a highlight overshadowed by what happened the next day, is now on display for everyone to see and experience.

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