San Antonio Council renames Natatorium to honor community organizer Athanasio Garcia

San Antonio — The City Council on March 20 approved an ordinance renaming the San Antonio Natatorium at 1430 W. E. Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard the Athanasio Garcia Natatorium, honoring a longtime West Side community organizer who led efforts in the 1970s to bring an Olympic‑sized pool to the neighborhood.

Councilmember Terri Castillo introduced the item and framed the naming as recognition of “community organizing and walking around with that clipboard” that made the facility possible. The ordinance passed with no recorded roll‑call tally; the transcript records a motion and second and the mayor announcing “Motion carries.”

The renaming stems from work by Athanasio Garcia and neighborhood leaders in the late 1960s and 1970s who collected petitions, wrote letters to elected officials and pushed for recreation resources on the West Side. Maria Tijerina, who described herself as a COPS Metro leader from the parish Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, told the council that Garcia “was a gentle, soft spoken man, but persistent. Always with his clipboard on hand… He was a man with a purpose. He was a role model.”

His daughter, Rose Garcia, and grandson Jonathan Garcia addressed the council during the public comment portion for the item. Rose Garcia recounted the neighborhood campaign and said the pool opened in 1981 after repeated advocacy. “He never gave up,” she said. Jonathan Garcia described his grandfather’s daily community work and argued the naming would help “ensure that his legacy continues to inspire future generations.”

Councilmember Villagran and others praised the family’s archival materials and the pool’s continuing role in giving local youth a place to learn to swim and to compete. Castillo noted that alumni used the natatorium to gain swimming scholarships and cited at least one swimmer who went on to college because of access to the pool.

The council discussion emphasized the combination of grassroots organizing and municipal partnership that produced the facility. Councilmember Villagran said the action helps “take back our stories and tell them correctly.”

The ordinance takes effect upon adoption; the clerk read the item as item 26 before public comment and the council recorded final approval during the same session. The item was not referenced to a committee and no separate implementation tasks were listed on the council floor.

The family and community leaders who spoke asked the council to continue supporting related neighborhood priorities, including free pool days for children in economically challenged ZIP codes.

The council moved next to unrelated items after the vote.