Luis Saldana was coming to the end of a three decades-long career with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service when a job offer came along involving the leadership of a historic organization in his hometown. Saldana’s fellow board members of the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show approached him in early 2023 with the possibility of the general manager leadership post. Saldana grew up the son of an agricultural education instructor…
Mercedes was one of the first Rio Grande Valley cities established between Brownsville and the Starr County communities of Roma and Rio Grande City. There was the American Rio Grande Land & Irrigation Company setting up operations in what would become Mercedes in 1909. The land company and its investors brought one of the first east-west railroad extensions from Brownsville to Mercedes and into the heart of what would become…
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…
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…
It’s time for the 80th edition of the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show, as the iconic event continues to showcase its connections to area communities. “Ask anyone who has grown up in Mercedes and the Rio Grande Valley, and they will name the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show & Rodeo as one of the best-known and attended events of each year,’’ said Beatrice de Leon Edwards, a local historian and…