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…
The Rio Grande Valley truck stop industry took a leap recently as Love’s Truck Stop recently opened for business away from the Interstate Highway System. Part of the Oklahoma-based company‘s move into the area can be attributed to an increase in business activity at the Port of Brownsville. Love’s Truck Stop, just off FM 511, is just a stone’s throw from the deep-water facility. “Love’s generally has its truck stops along…
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 RGV is home to many incredible local businesses that strive to make an impact on the community. Among them are those who have a dedication to instilling life lessons such as anti-bullying through the art forms of martial arts and taekwondo. Team Tiger Martial Arts was first established nearly 15 years ago out of founder Gilberto Villanueva’s home in Palmhurst, Texas. The licensed chemical dependency counselor came across victims…
Long known as a place for members only, the Rancho Viejo Resort and Country Club has been trying to change its image by adding some events that are open to a more general audience. About a half dozen concerts and comedy shows are some of the activities the club started having for a number of years that are open to the public. Staffers Jenika Gonzales and Jorge Lopez said the goal…
If you are not familiar with the sport of axe throwing, you may want to throw on some closed-toe shoes, grab a few friends and drive over to Kickin Axes RGV at 1017 W. Shasta Ave. in McAllen. It seems fitting that three brothers, not biological brothers but firefighter brothers, own this “new fun in town.” It all started when Mark Koite and his wife traveled to San Antonio for…
The old house at East Madison and 15th street in Brownsville might look like a building in stages of decay. Some of the letters on the east side of the building are fading away. It reads “Carlotta K. Petrina.” Petrina was an artist from New York who moved to this part of South Texas many years ago. But inside the brick structure that served as her home until she died in 1997…
The list of entertainers who have graced the stage of the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium is impressive. They include Guy Lombardo, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Paul Robeson, the Von Trapp Family Singers and famous pianist, composer and conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff. But, all of those names go back to the 1940s, just a few years after the facility was built. Today, the music and entertainment continue at the 1,500-seat auditorium, but most…
Many of the country’s beach resorts have a place where the locals and visitors alike like to hang out. South Padre Island has its Entertainment District as well. It’s a place with about a dozen businesses that cater to families and to those who enjoy dancing, dining, fishing or who simply like to watch the many beautiful sunsets over the usually tranquil waters of the Laguna Madre. There are also rides for…
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…