Sydney Salas graduated from Texas A&M University in 2025 and immediately headed down a road less traveled. Her bachelor’s degree was in public health, but she had another field in mind. Salas flew to Denver in May 2025 with her mother, Christina Lopez, who is a State Farm Insurance agent in McAllen. Lopez was yearning to saddle up and fill an untapped niche. “I wear a lot of hats and…
A mobile unit rolled into towns across the Rio Grande Valley in 1996 and made children healthier along the way. A small group of local dentists applied for funding from the Community Development Block Grant program and gathered donations in launching Dentists Who Care, a nonprofit group. They also gathered a group of volunteer dentists committed to “Bridging Smiles. Transforming Lives,” a motto seen on dentistswhocare.org. The dentists took time…
The story of Victor and Lori Arteaga is a tale of two countries. It is a tale rooted in family, tradition, food and culture. Both were born in Mexico City and moved to McAllen as pre-teens, though they did not meet until years later. At the age of 11, Victor and his family moved to McAllen, where his mother’s sister lived. “I didn’t speak any English when I moved over…
The McAllen Wind Ensemble website reads that the group was established in 1973 by local music supporters and “sparked by Bill Wilson’s inspiration from plaza bands in Mexico.” But who is Bill Wilson? Bill Wilson was not a musician who wanted to start his own band. He was a man who saw a need and fulfilled it without fanfare. He was an Oklahoma native and led his high school band…
The Thanksgiving turkey and tamales are already a savory memory. Holiday lights sparkle throughout our communities. But nothing says “most wonderful time of the year” quite like music. In McAllen, a revered town band has spread the spirit of Christmas for over 50 years. The McAllen Wind Ensemble is actually the third name of the group, which was established in 1973. Businessman Bill Wilson brought the idea home to McAllen…
Nelson Martinez and Joe Robledo met in fifth grade and from that point on seemed to live parallel lives. They lived one mile apart in Las Milpas in southern Pharr. Both men graduated from Hidalgo High School and each went on to serve two combat tours in Iraq. Martinez served in the Army and Robledo is a Marine. They are each college-educated with bachelor’s degrees in business administration. Their friendship…
Bob Mills and his oldest son cut through two ribbons in late August and officially brought a Bob Mills Furniture store to the Rio Grande Valley market. The company’s 12th store in its chain is located in San Juan and is the first one south of San Antonio. The Oklahoma City-based company now has nine stores in Texas. It represents a significant addition among the Valley’s furniture store offerings with…
Dr. Roberto Alejandro Cruz moved to the Rio Grande Valley in the summer of 2020 and a few months later developed a vision for a comprehensive multiple sclerosis center at DHR Health. Five years later, the DHR Health Neuroscience Institute in McAllen received an official designation that makes it the only center of its kind south of San Antonio. Cruz is the center director of a medical facility that earned…
Princeton University student Wendy Kopp formulated the idea of Teach For America in 1989 for her undergraduate thesis. The first participants in the nascent TFA program began their lifelong pursuit of educational excellence in 1990. Teach for America Rio Grande Valley was founded the following year. The national organization and its affiliates around the country are non-profit institutions. They recruit and train recent college graduates and professionals to teach in…
Customers walk into M Krowns to hear owner Miguel Sauceda greet them with one of his two signature shoutouts. It could be a “What’s up everyone?” Then there’s his hearty ‘C’mon!’” Customers of the custom hat shop enjoy seeing Sauceda don a cowhide apron he bought at the Fort Worth Stockyards. It protects his shirts while he’s steaming and delighting his customers at his Edinburg shop. Sauceda’s trail began in…