By Mary Torres, Special to the Star
The 2021 “84th annual Charro Days Fiesta” in Brownsville has been canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This fiesta was first celebrated in 1938 when during the Great Depression, local business leaders searched for an antidote to the gloom that engulfed Brownsville and the rest of the country. Charro Days celebrates the spirit of two cultures between the border towns of Brownsville and Matamoros with residents and visitors dressing in the traditional costumes of Mexico and honoring the Mexican cowboys, the Charros.
Although the fiesta has changed format over the years, it is still much anticipated and enjoyed. Many of us have fond memories of this event. Officials said that though the festivities have been canceled, a commemorative Charro Days poster will be produced and unveiled to the public soon via a virtual event Charro Days and that they will continue to monitor conditions and are looking into the possibility of providing virtual events.
FamilySearch has posted new free historical records for the week of January 25, 2021 (https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-25-january-2021/) Among these are the Pennsylvania Historical Society (Births and Baptisms 1520–1999, and Congregational Records 1620–1991), plus 1.6M New Zealand Obituaries 1844–1963, new collections for Australia, NSW Immigrants 1828–1890, England, Devon Parish Chest Records1556–1950, Germany, Saxony Catholic Church Records 1621–1976 and expanded collections for Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, S. Africa, and the US (CA, GA, IL, MA, MS, VA and, WA.)
The Valley Byliners, a local writer’s support group reminds you to mark your calendar for guest speaker Susan Holmes LeMiles presentation, “The Hidden Power of Point-of-View” at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 13, 2021, via Zoom. This presentation will take the place of what would have been the annual Valley Byliners all-day Writing Workshop which, due to the pandemic, will not be held this year. The event is free and open to the public.
SAVE the DATE – Tuesday, February 16 for the Texas Tropical Trail Region’s 178th monthly Partner Event/7th virtual event via ZOOM. You’re invited to celebrate Black History Month as the San Benito Historical Society presents a program on the Callandret Black History Museum of South Texas in San Benito (Cameron County). This is the first museum south of Houston dedicated to celebrating the contributions of African Americans in South Texas.
It is named for Joe and Fannie Callandret who came to San Benito in 1908 from Louisiana & established the family farm. In 1948, Fannie donated land on which the school district could build a school for the black children of the area and so her children could have a school to attend during the days of segregation. The school opened in 1952. This free event is open to the public but an RSVP is required; for more information contact Nancy at [email protected].
The Callandret Black History Museum had a visit last week from Texas Country Reporter who did a feature on the museum which will be broadcast at a later date. This show is not only seen in Texas, but nationally as well! Congratulations to the San Benito Historical Society!
The Texas Historical Commission (thc.texas.gov) has many online resources available. If you are involved with a museum, historical society, or a non-profit organization you may want to see the list of webinars they have on topics such as audience engagement, collections care, disaster preparedness and emergency response, exhibits, grants and fundraising, marketing, museum administration and technology. THC periodically offers new webinars, but recordings of 60+ past webinars are available free and on-demand at https://www.thc.texas.gov/preserveprojects-and-programs/museum-services/webinars.
Stay safe!
