It can be argued that in order to understand and fully appreciate California, one has to have some knowledge of its beginnings and what better place to start than the Spanish colonial period that spawned twenty one religious outposts by Catholic priests. These missions where the method in which the Spanish brought their European culture to California: agriculture, laws, technology, and religion all had a tremendous impact on the native population as well as California as a whole. Mission San Juan Capistrano embodies the significance of these missions and those in charge of this historical site do a more than adequate job in giving patrons a worthwhile experience about this period despite a few flaws in authenticity.
Considering it is right in the middle of Los Angeles and San Diego it makes perfect sense that this mission a highly visited tourist attraction. According to the tour guide it attracts over 200,000 people annually and is…show more content… The holy father stands proud with his right hand raised up towards his flock while the other was placed on the shoulder of a young native facing him. Again the tour guide poured out his spiel about the great Serra doing God’s work and saving the souls of the natives and unfortunately I couldn’t help but question whether the legacy Father Serra left behind was really that great. Alas the guide was quick to comment no one is perfect but the Pope himself saw him fit to be canonized which is where that discussion ended. I didn’t argue the matter but I left pretty much after that. To me the statue told of an alliance of church and natives that was mispresented as beneficial for both not to mention completely overlooks the genocide that Father Serra was almost directly responsible for. It appears that he will always be the benevolent hero of the missions and for the sake of historical accuracy this should be amended; a footnote would not
