Conrad Gonzales and his crew were constructing the last of the pens that will house the hundreds of cows, pigs, sheep and a variety of other animals on exhibit at the upcoming Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show.

It will be the 83rd edition of the annual spring affair in Mercedes. On a recent sun-splashed and crisp February morning, Gonzales was motoring around on a golf cart, checking on projects and running through a list of things to get done. The livestock show kicks off on March 10 and will run through the 20th of the month. Organizers expect more than 300,000 visitors to stream through the show’s gates.

“We will be ready,” said Gonzales, a San Benito native who grew up bringing his own animals to the big show for presentations. “For me, this is where I always wanted to be.”

Gonzales is the grounds supervisor for the RGVLS. It’s his sixth year on the job after working for 30 years at Valley cotton gins. He wishes he could have gotten back to the livestock show grounds sooner. 

“I wish I could have had those 30 years here,” he said.

Sofia Pena, the RGVLS programs and events director, feels the same. She is a former higher education administrator who is a current McAllen school board member. Pena is also a self-described farm girl who grew up in Sullivan City, and like Gonzales, came to the livestock every year to exhibit steers, pigs and chickens. She treasures the memories of 4-H clubs and being part of Future Farmers of America. Being back on livestock show grounds, she said, is “like coming full circle.”

“I couldn’t wait to tell everyone,” Pena said of how she felt after accepting a RGVLS offer six months ago. “I showed here as a child. To be back here now, someone can’t understand what it means unless you grew up in 4-H and FFA like I did.”

Pena’s boss, general manager Mando Correa well understands the traditions of Valley agriculture. He worked for years as an educator in agricultural programs at area high schools before starting his current job just months before the 2020 livestock show. Correa has yet to experience what one would call a normal show. He is fervently hoping the 2022 show will be one such event. 

“All indications are that folks are ready to come out,” he said. “We hope so. We really need it.”

Planning For Normal Show

Heading into his first show as general manager, Correa was eagerly looking forward to his oversight of the 2020 show.

Then COVID arrived in those spring months. The 2020 show began as it normally would but was abruptly cut short, with enough time for the student exhibitors to complete their projects. The 2021 show was a modified version with crowd size limits due to public health concerns. So far, it appears the 2022 show will be without such limitations. 

Correa and his staff are planning to host 6,100 entries and 2,500 student exhibitors, who have spent months, if not years, raising the animals they will bring to the livestock show for display and eventual sale. The students will compete for prize money, scholarships, and sales of their livestock, pigs, sheep, goats and other animals, with the proceeds put away for their college educations. 

The livestock show will also include rodeos, concerts and carnivals, but the student exhibits and activities are “why we’re here,” Correa said.

Big Business

The livestock show in Mercedes is the largest of its kind south of San Antonio.

It’s a big business. A successful RGVLS will bring in close to $2 million. The last two years have been far leaner ones, with revenues dropping below $1 million due to restrictions. Correa and his staff are hoping there’s a pent-up demand among the Valley’s public to get out and about and return to the livestock like the old days before 2020. 

He described the livestock show as being “vacation time” for many area families. 

“We’re a little Disney World where you get the kids together and come out and enjoy the festivities,” Correa said. “We’re hoping 2022 will be that kind of year for us.”

If it is, Gonzales will have the grounds organized and ready for the exhibitors and the big crowds. Pena, the events director, is geared up to experience her first livestock show as a RGVLS manager. 

“We catch ourselves reminiscing,” Pena said of she and Gonzales thinking back to when they were Valley youths and bringing animals to the Mercedes show for exhibit. “It’s still the place to be during spring break, just like it was when we were kids.”