SAN ANTONIO – Rebecca Viagran is proud to trace her heritage back to the Alamo. She volunteered at Ground Zero following 9/11, and she gave up queso this year for Lent.
We talked about her service – and more lighthearted topics – over a basket of tortilla chips at Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant on SW Military Drive.
“This is a South Side iconic institution, a tradition,” Viagran said about the restaurant where her family often celebrates special occasions.
But the setting gives her a bit of a guilty conscience as her trainer comes to mind – the tortilla chips went untouched during our interview.
“If she sees me here, she’s going to say ‘More planks, more sit-ups, extra running,’” she laughs.
Exercising through RioFit is one of the many ways Viagran relieves the pressure of her full-time City Council job.
Viagran cares for her three dogs - Marshall, Cachito and Jibber - and sometimes her mother’s pups, Cosmo and Kramer.
“My mother gives herself the title of ‘council mom.’ So that's how she introduces herself,” Viagran says.
Her father died five years ago after battling cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
Active in his community, he inspired Viagran to run for office and instilled in her a love of softball.
Athletics are a family tradition, she says. "He owned a softball field complex and he would host tournaments every Sunday,” she said.
So she jumped at the chance to play in the first ever City vs. County softball game this month.
KSAT 12’s Steve Spriester was the city’s celebrity teammate.
So how did he really play?
“Well….” Viagran laughs. “He did great! He did great!”
Viagran attended Providence High School and graduated from Texas State University.
She still keeps in touch with some of her high school classmates. Some days, she said, her jobs seems surreal.
“In City Hall in particular, I step into the elevator and I see my name on the directory list and I think, ‘Wow!’” she said.
“To know that I’m the same little girl that was riding my bike in front of Mission Concepcion, to Mission San Jose to Espada with my little cousins. Then I got to be there when they were designated World Heritage Sites?
“That was another almost ‘other world’ moment when that happened,” said Viagran.
Her duties do come with personal sacrifices.
Her time is never her own, she acknowledges, but says she knew that going in.
In five years, Viagran hopes to still be representing District 3, but she’s hoping for two big changes: to be married and have children.
What’s dating like as a city councilperson?
“There is none,” she jokes.
“Want to meet me at this ribbon-cutting? Or meet me at this groundbreaking? Maybe we can hang out there,” she said sarcastically.
Viagran is dedicated to her church, St. Leo’s, where she ministers.
No matter where life leads, she always leans on her faith. “The only reason I am able to do what I do is because of the grace of God,” she says.
Viagran was elected to the District 3 City Council seat in 2013 and re-elected in 2015.