The start of Brownsville’s biggest fiesta is just days away and preparations are underway for the city’s 86th annual Charro Days Fiesta.
There will be parades, street dancing, food, exhibits, a festival, a carnival; just about anything that represents a fiesta or celebration.
Last week, workers continued to prepare some 31 floats that will be featured in the parades. Some 25 to 30 years ago, the parades only had about 10 floats, said Henry LeVrier, president of Charro Days Fiesta.
Since then, there has been a lot of demands from local sponsors seeking to enter floats in the parades, LeVrier said.
“They want to have a float in the parade, so we accommodate them and thank them for their support,” LeVrier said.
Work on the floats began around September with sponsors saying what colors they wanted on their floats. The work is done strictly by Charro Days Fiesta employees.
“We ask them what they would like, what are their colors and what is their trademark, what is their logo and what they would like to incorporate in the float,” LeVrier said. “They must have a Charro Days theme.”
“We do a lot of strategizing,” in preparing for Charro Days, he said, commenting on how the group goes about preparing for the annual event that residents and visitors look forward to.
Plastic garlands in fuchsia, gold, green, blue, orange, silver and white adorned the floats that were being worked on Thursday. One float had a woman riding a horse on it while another had a cow or vaquita on it.
LeVrier said seeing the floats outside have prompted excited passersby to stop by Charro Fiesta headquarters to inquire just when the city’s biggest fiesta will begin.
The expressions on the faces of the public who see the floats as they make their way down the parade route — many smiling and pointing at their beauty — makes the Charro Days Fiesta group “feels awesome,” LeVrier said. “The time and effort that’s put in to them. We do it for the public, we do it for Brownsville. We want them to enjoy it and be excited when they see them.”
Charro Days was first conceived in 1937 by local business leaders to help residents get through the Great Depression. The event commemorates the Mexican heritage of the area on both sides of the Rio Grande and is named in honor of the “Charro”, that dashing Mexican gentleman cowboy.
According to Charro Days Fiesta, the first Charro Days celebration was held in February of 1938, and featured parades, dances, races, a bullfight, a rodeo, a concert, a grand ball and Noche Mexicana. Residents and visitors dressed in the traditional costumes of Mexico and honored the Mexican “Charros”.
LeVrier said although the same floats are used every year, they are revamped and recreated each year.
“We have some that we modify, but mostly the ones outside have been rebuilt completely,” he said.
It takes about a couple of months to revamp one float; depending on how much work needs to be done.
“They tend to work on different parts of the floats … so they will do three, four or five at the same time … they will work on several floats at a time,” LeVrier said.
The 86th annual Charro Days Fiesta begins Saturday, Feb. 18 and continues through Saturday, Feb. 25.
The Charro Days floats will appear in parades scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, which is the BISD Children’s Parade, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, which is the Illuminated Night Parade, and 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, which is the Grand International Parade.
“We invite everyone to come join us and have a great time. The floats will be more beautiful than ever. I hope people are anxious to see them because it will be a complete surprise,” he added.
More information about Charro Days can be found here.
