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 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…
Born and raised in McAllen, Lorena Castillo-Saldaña loved visiting her maternal grandmother’s corner store in Reynosa. She would watch her grandma, her mom and her aunts as they worked. “I would see my mom tallying up lines of numbers,” Castillo- Saldaña said. “And I would think, ‘I want to do that!’” That desire did not wane. After graduating from McAllen High School, Castillo-Saldaña enrolled at the University of Texas-Pan American…
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…
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…
Women’s History Month encourages and celebrates the important roles women have had throughout American history. In the Rio Grande Valley, female artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, community leaders, educators and many others have been inspiring and helping to create a stronger, more unified region. Sirheem Fuentes is one of those women who continues to pave the way for others like her. She realized a couple of years ago that she needed a…
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…
Walking into Coastal Americana Sign Co. is guaranteed to have a calming effect on everyone who enters their doors. A lot of it has to do with the décor, but the true heart and soul of this space are the people who created it – Jimmy and Lyza Garza-Gerow. The beginning of livin’ coastal “It all started with a gift for a friend,” says Jimmy. “Usually we’re the people who…
In 2019, record growth hit McAllen International Airport with 432,178 passenger boardings. This is a 20 percent increase from 2018 and also the highest number of enplanements in MFE’s history. Over the last 20 years, MFE’s compounded annual growth rate in passenger enplanements has trended progressively steady at 1.4 percent. This steady growth has MFE as the leading airport in the Rio Grande Valley, capturing the majority of market share…
The recent COVID-19 outbreak has sent shock waves of fear and uncertainty through our hearts, economies and social media feeds. While the outbreak is grave and tragic, it brings to light how freshness of information and abundance of communication lights the path for attention. Just a few weeks ago, social media news feeds and news outlets were filled with news on the outbreak, economic uncertainty and people succumbing in the…