Category Archives: News

Registration Open for RGVHCC’s Entrepreneur Program

e-Brief Features Events News Comments
RGVHCC Entrepreneur Program

The Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is now accepting registrations for its six-session business development program for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The program begins Nov. 11 in collaboration with South Texas College, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Small Business Development Center, Olive Marketing and Leadership Empowerment Group. The program covers essential topics for business growth, including leadership, team development, branding, marketing, social media strategy and…

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Fiesta De Palmas This Weekend

Community Events e-Brief Features News Comments
Fiesta de Palmas

Fiesta de Palmas takes place this weekend, Oct. 17-19, at the McAllen Convention Center, bringing with it three days of live music, international food, family fun and performances that bring the community together. Drawing thousands of attendees each year, the festival shines a spotlight on the Rio Grande Valley as a hub for arts, culture and entertainment. As South Texas’ largest cultural music festival, the music lineup includes a mix…

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Celebrate Día de los Muertos with IMAS

Community Events e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
A family participates in sugar skull decorating, one of the hands-on activities featured at the International Museum of Art & Science’s Día de los Muertos Festival and Market.

The International Museum of Art & Science invites the community to honor loved ones and celebrate cultural traditions at its annual Día de los Muertos Festival & Market on Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival is a day-long celebration of art, music, food and community. General admission includes access to the festival, hands-on activities including a community piñata-fied mural, the museum’s exhibits, artisan vendors and the…

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Edinburg Chamber Announces 2025 Man & Woman of the Year

Community Events e-Brief Features News Comments
Ramiro Garza Jr. and Veronica Gonzales

The Edinburg Chamber of Commerce has named Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. and Veronica Gonzales as the recipients of the 2025 Man and Woman of the Year Awards. Both honorees will be recognized at the chamber’s Centennial Installation and Awards Banquet on Nov. 1. Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. has served the City of Edinburg for more than two decades.…

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Lone Star National Bank Wins Statewide Awards

e-Brief Features Finance/Banking News Comments
Lone Star National Bank Best of Community Banking Awards

The Independent Bankers Association of Texas, the largest state community banking association in the nation, recently honored Lone Star National Bank in McAllen with four Best of Community Banking Awards. LSNB received a Best of Show Gold Eagle award for its “Starr County Volunteerism” community service entry, a Gold Eagle Award for its “Cowboy Cash” innovation entry, a Silver Eagle Award for its “Client Testimonials” marketing entry, and a Bronze…

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Mid-Valley Florist Celebrates Expansion

e-Brief Features Featured News Retail Comments

Nayelli Valdemar was ebullient on a sun-splashed September morning in looking out the windows of her newly expanded business. Valdemar’s Funky Flower Shop in Mercedes enjoyed a chamber of commerce ribbon cutting in mid-September to commemorate a doubling of the square footage of her business. The new floor space of Funky Flower at 400 square feet may not register much excitement at the H-E-B stores where she once worked. It…

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Free GED and ESL Classes Begin at McAllen Public Library

Community Events e-Brief Features Education News Comments
McAllen ESL & GED

McAllen Public Library is partnering with South Texas College to offer free GED and English as a Second Language classes beginning Oct. 13. Classes will take place at MPL locations and are open to qualifying students seeking to improve their English or earn a high school equivalency diploma. “Hosting these classes is one more way we can connect our community to free educational opportunities,” said Kate Horan, Library Director. “We…

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McAllen Wins Highest Festival Honors

e-Brief Features News Recreation & Tourism Comments
McAllen Pinnacle Awards and the World Festival & Event City Awards

The City of McAllen recently earned 49 awards, including an international designation and a coveted industry honor, at the Pinnacle Awards and the World Festival & Event City Awards during the 70th Annual International Festivals & Events Association Convention, Expo and Retreat in Palm Springs, Cali. The awards recognize the outstanding accomplishments, top-quality creative, promotional, operational and community outreach programs produced by events around the world. The professional competition drew…

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RGV Rubs Spice Up Texas Cuisine

Featured Food & Entertainment News Retail Comments
The TXQ Rubs include products entitled with the area codes of Texas cities as well as regional catch phrases.

Lou Castro creates what his TXQ Rubs call “Texas love” in the kitchen of a north Brownsville home nestled by a resaca.  Castro’s kitchen serves as a laboratory for the mix of spices, powders and ingredients that make up his growing collection of rubs for meats, vegetables and Mexican pastas. The TXQ Rubs are now on the shelves of hundreds of H-E-B stores, meat markets and specialty shops across Texas.…

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Donna’s ‘New Mindset’ Leading To Growth

Community News Comments
Donna recently celebrated a ribbon cutting of a new Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen restaurant in the city. (Courtesy)

April Castaneda is a multitasker as are many city administrators in smaller communities. She is the new executive director of the Donna Economic Development Corporation while also serving as the de facto manager of the local chamber. The latter had been inactive and the former was close to it before Castaneda recently made the move from the Weslaco Economic Development Corporation to lead a similar organization in Donna. For Castaneda,…

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