Author Archives: Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

Ricardo D. Cavazos is a Rio Grande Valley native and journalist who has worked as a reporter, editor and publisher at Texas newspapers. Cavazos formerly worked as a reporter and editorial writer at The Brownsville Herald, Dallas Times Herald, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and San Antonio Light. He served as editor of The Monitor in McAllen from 1991-1998 and from there served for 15 years as publisher at The Herald in Brownsville. Cavazos has been providing content for the Valley Business Report since 2018.

Barber Passes ‘Goodness’ Back To Community

News Professional Services Comments
James Horta had a varied working background before opening his barber shop in downtown Mercedes.

James Horta is a barber with a flair and a commitment in giving back to his community. Horta’s glow-in-the-dark shop in downtown Mercedes is adorned with deco-style posters that illuminate and feature a cast of characters from Albert Einstein and Albert Hitchcock to racecar driver Jeff Gordon. There’s also plenty of memorabilia to be found, especially items featuring his beloved Dallas Cowboys. The barber’s affinity for pop culture is reflected…

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Alliance Gives South Texas Higher Profile

e-Brief Features Government News Comments
Palmview Mayor Ricardo Villarreal says he is picking up ideas from larger cities in attending meetings of the South Texas Alliance of Cities. (Courtesy)

The South Texas Alliance of Cities launched in 2023 with the goal of fostering greater cooperation and collaboration among communities in addressing key issues. The partnership appears to be off to a good start. The majority of the communities in the pact are in the Rio Grande Valley although it does extend to San Antonio. That city’s mayor, Ron Nirenberg, has attended some of the alliance’s quarterly meetings. The focus…

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McAllen Lauded In Top Business Listing

Community Government News Comments
McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos says his city’s pro-business policies are benefitting small businesses in the community. (Courtesy)

McAllen’s inclusion on a national top-20 list for small businesses reaffirms the city’s long-standing support for entrepreneurship and development. McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos made that assessment after learning of CoworkingCafe listing his city as the ninth best place for small businesses among 136 southern U.S. cities surveyed. Coworking Café is a listing service for flex workplace solutions in supporting remote workers, freelancers and employees from all fields seeking user-friendly platforms.…

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New Bookstore Proving A Point

Featured News Retail Comments

Gilbert Hernandez had 500 books and a $5,000 loan when taking his business from markets and pop-ups to a storefront in downtown Brownsville.  It was the first days of January 2022. His new bookstore Buho now had a physical location in a historic downtown building that got its start in 1921 as a pharmacy on Washington Street. The 29-year-old Hernandez was out to prove a point. His research revealed that…

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Pooches Goes ‘From Ground Up’ To Success

News Professional Services Comments
Dogs are always welcome at Pooches Corner in Harlingen. (Courtesy)

El Paso native Michelle Franco-Mar fell in love in the aughts and moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 2009. “I married a Valley boy,” Franco-Mar said of her husband, Greg, who is from Brownsville.  Once here, the former newspaper graphic artist sized up her job possibilities, and wondered, “What can I do here?” Her new husband, an accountant, advised Michelle to do something she liked and to think about…

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McAllen Adds Flights, Sets Passenger Records

News Transportation & Travel Comments
McAllen International Airport opened in the mid-1990s and its growth in passenger traffic has led to a study looking at facility expansion. (Courtesy)

The McAllen International Airport is looking to build out its 150,000-square-foot-plus terminal during a time when the airfield is setting all-time total traveler records on a monthly basis. In July, 114,694 passengers utilized the McAllen airport, which set an all-time monthly traveler record. The July traveler number marked an eight percent improvement over June, which at the time with 105,508 passengers represented a new monthly record. In all, for 2024,…

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Mercedes Bakery Offers ‘Taste of Mexico’

Food & Entertainment Comments
Miniatures versions of pan dulce were the original creations of the De La Garza Bakery in Mercedes.

The “pan chiquitos,” as Albaro De La Garza calls them, started out as miniature versions of sweet bread for his then-young children. De La Garza’s kids often didn’t finish off a full-size empanada or a fluffy concha pastry. So, De La Garza and his baker at the time at the Mercedes panaderia made them smaller. The child-sized Mexican sweet bread of De La Garza Bakery and Cake Shop in Mercedes…

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Zoo Doubling In Size With Land Buy

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
The Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville houses a diversity of animals and attractions and will be expanding over the next five years. (Courtesy)

The Gladys Porter Zoo opened in 1971 as a gift from a foundation to the city of Brownsville.  The Earl C. Sams Foundation envisioned the only zoo south of San Antonio as a place to feature endangered species and to give Brownsville a distinction of its own. The 31-acre site on Ringgold Street in central Brownsville has more than proven its worth to the city. It has become a prime…

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TSTC Program Meeting Mechatronics Demand

Education News Comments
Mechatronics program team lead Carlos Reyes views a completed electrical box that is a requirement to complete the TSTC Program.

Carlos Reyes opens an empty electrical box in one of the labs of the mechatronics technology program at Texas State Technical College. The box represents something of a starting point for students in the program. As the program progresses, students will be tasked with filling those empty boxes with the circuits, sensors and other components to make it a fully functional electrical unit.  “We build them up from scratch,” said…

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Anzalduas Expanding Trade Possibilities

News Transportation & Travel Comments
Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza welcomes Ricardo Gallardo Cardona, the governor of San Luis Potosi, to Mission during a recent ceremony at the Anzalduas International Bridge. (Courtesy)

The $83 million project to transform the Anzalduas International Bridge into a full-service cross-border commercial port is entering its final stages of construction. A first quarter completion in 2025 is now anticipated. In late July, the governor of San Luis Potosi, Ricardo Gallardo Cardona, visited the bridge south of Mission to see the work being done and to meet with city leaders from Mission, McAllen and Hidalgo. The bridge opened…

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