Belle Gonzalez-Myers has a variety of talents and is confident in utilizing all of them. She is a serious baker of all sorts of pastries and cakes. Gonzalez-Myers is also handy with a hammer. “I’m not afraid to build things,” she said. Her range of skills could earn a distinction of “Jack of all trades,” but she says that label does not fit her. “I’m not a Jack,” she said. “I’m…
The City of McAllen is adding to its Women’s History Month celebrations with a recognition of trailblazing women in the community. The focus in previous years was honoring women working in McAllen city government. This year, recognition expands to include female community leaders and their contributions. The women receiving honors this month are: Paula Gonzalez, athletic director, McAllen Independent School District. Alma Johnson, region bank president for Wells Fargo Bank/South…
It’s an eventful road from being a 6-year-old child and recent immigrant struggling to learn English to being on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Joe Quiroga has been on that journey. He recalls the days when as a young boy, he would spend hours at the library in the coastal Texas town of Palacios. Quirgoa would pore over books, taking in a new language.…
The 81st annual Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show kicks off on March 12 and will run through 11 event-filled days of exhibits, rodeos, carnivals and live music. It’s the largest show of its type south of San Antonio. The livestock show, as always, takes place at the livestock show grounds in Mercedes. The Valley iconic event has a reputation for its entertainment and fun times but at its heart is…
Elizabeth Suarez was well on her way to law school before deciding to take an interview with the City of McAllen on Christmas Eve 1999. Suarez was a graduate student at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio when a human resources manager from McAllen’s city government made a recruiting visit to the campus. A transit manager job opportunity was available. A political science undergraduate degree to go with graduate-level studies…
Anabell Cardona was 15-years plus into managing clinics and doctors’ offices in Weslaco and McAllen. It was then she figured the time was right, in her mid-30s, to make a career breakthrough. Cardona recalls having no fear in 2001 as she sat in front of a banker and faced a business loan with six figures in it. She was ready to purchase Valley Grande Institute of Weslaco. “Where do I…
Ali Garza of Ali Art & Co. is setting up a display of what she calls “kinetic art” as the first group of onlookers and possible customers stroll over to take a look during Harlingen Art Night. “Anything we can do to get our name out there is good,” said the Brownsville resident. “Events like one this allow us to express what we have to offer.” The last Friday of…
Look at the list of upcoming 2020 winter and spring showings of the Camille Playhouse. Now in its 56th season, you will see the Brownsville arts organization is not only enduring but thriving as well. There’s Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” as part of Camille’s young actor’s company in early May. Before that production is Neil Simon’s “Lost In Yonkers,” running this month. It’s all part of a legacy of creativity and art…
The UT Health RGV/Knapp Family Health Center in Mercedes sits across the street from a high school for medical professions. For Dr. Miguel Tello, the proximity of the health center he oversees to the South Texas ISD High School of Medical Professions is more than symbolic. It points to the range of possibilities now available to Rio Grande Valley youth. “The whole cycle” is how Tello puts it in noting…
The Rio Grande Valley with its estimated population surging above 1.4 million is reflecting its new urban realities via Valley Metro. The regional bus system is adding transportation hubs and new routes with each passing year. Later this month, Valley Metro will open a new hub in Edinburg between City Hall and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The new hub will come off a year where Valley Metro…