Johnny N. Cavazos as Charro Days Parade Marshal 2010
 Honorary Parade Marshal for the 2010 Charro Days festival will be successful businessman and philanthropist Johnny N. Cavazos.
Cavazos is being honored for his extraordinary years of volunteer service to Charro Days, and his involvement throughout the Brownsville community. He will ride in a position of honor in the traditional Illuminated and Grand International parades.
“Johnny has been an active member of Charro Days for over 50 years,” said Kenneth Lieck, president of the Charro Days Association. “He’s a past president and life director.
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Charro Days Book signing
 Meet the authors of “Charro Days in Brownsville” at Baile del Sol on Sunday, Feb. 21
Dr. Anthony Knopp, Dr. Manuel Medrano and Priscilla Rodriguez will sign copies of their new book “Charro Days in Brownsville” between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Charro Days headquarters, 455 East Elizabeth Street.
Books will be available for purchase. A portion of book sales revenues will go toward a scholarship for UTB/TSC history majors.
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Sombrero Fest in Iraq
 Somewhere in Baghdad, the soldiers of 812th Quartermaster Company are getting into the Charro Days spirit, with help from Sombrero Festival and Charro Days officials, plus other civic and veterans groups.
Sombrero Festival officials were contacted in January by Sgt. Mark Anthony Lucio of Brownsville, who is currently stationed at Camp Stryker near Baghdad. Lucio had a plan to stage an Iraqi Sombrero Festival, just like the ones he has attended and enjoyed all his life.
Most of the soldiers in his company, based in Harlingen, are from the lower Rio Grande Valley, he wrote.
“For years I've attended the Charro Days events...Read more...
Charro Days Volunteers ...Thank You!
Volunteers are the heart, soul and willing hands of Charro Days.
Also, the crepe paper flowers, fajita taquitos and just about everything else.
Whether it’s arranging beautiful table-top decorations or cutting, scooping and rolling hundreds of pounds of grilled beef into flour tortillas for a hungry Baile del Sol crowd, Charro Days wouldn’t be Charro Days without the thousands of helpers who give their time to make the festival happen.Read more...
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Vicente Fernandez Jr. This Year's Mr. Amigo
 Champion horseman, singer and actor Vicente Fernandez Jr. -- “a true charro for Charro Days” – is being honored with this year’s Mr. Amigo award.
Son of the legendary Mexican singer and actor, Vicente Fernandez Jr. has made his own mark in the world of charreado, or Mexican style rodeo. His skill has brought national acclaim, including at the National Charro Championship in 2007. He also is a past president of the Federation of Mexican Charros.
“We’ve honored politicians; we’ve honored actors, singers, statesmen, sports figures. I think this is the one of the few times we’ve actually honored a true charro,” said Eddy E. Hernandez, who serves this year as president of the Mr. Amigo Association.
The Mr. Amigo award has been given every year since 1964 to an outstanding Mexican citizen who exemplifies international friendship and respect between the U.S. and Mexico. Mr. Amigo has played a key role in Charro Days festivities since 1969.
Fernandez joins a long list of luminaries from the worlds of art, politics, business and entertainment – both male and female -- who have worn the Mr. Amigo mantle. His own father won the award for 1977. Last year, the award went to a sports figure, Jose Sulaiman, who is longtime president of the World Boxing Council
“One of the main goals of the Mr. Amigo Association is to promote those things that bring us together and unite us,” said Hernandez. “Just like on our side of the border, with the cowboys, the Mexican culture reveres its charros -- hats and all. They represent a way of life, a mystique.
“Who better to serve as Mr. Amigo during Charro Days than an actual charro?”
Hernandez said Fernandez also is making his mark in the family business of acting and singing. “To us, that’s just icing on the cake. He’s very proud of his family and his last name. But we looked at him because he is a charro of the highest caliber. It fits right in with everything we are doing.”
Mr. Amigo joins in many high-profile Charro Days events during his visit to Brownsville, and is honored on both sides of La Frontera. His Charro Days visit begins with the traditional “Hands Across the Border” ceremony on one of Brownsville’s international bridges, and ends with the International Parade, which starts in Brownsville and continues into Matamoros.
Fernandez also will preside over the Children’s Parade, be recognized at the Presidents Costume Ball, and will receive his official medallion at the Awards Banquet. In between are meetings and luncheons with university and local officials.
“We keep him pretty busy,” says Hernandez, who is director of customer and information services at the Brownsville Public Utilities Board.
A committee of current and past presidents of the Mr. Amigo Association selects an honoree each year. Mr. Amigo must be “a Mexican citizen who has contributed to the friendship and understanding of the United States and Mexico, and has excelled in their profession, exemplifying the highest standards in their personal and professional life,” according to the organization. |
