In the spirit of continuing one of the most-loved traditions in the community, The Brownsville Museum of Fine Art is hosting a Charros exhibit where three local artists are showcasing their work related to the Charro Days activities.
This year, due to the pandemic, Charro Days canceled in-person activities to keep the community safe. This marks the 84th anniversary of the tradition that celebrates the fusion of the Mexican and American cultures in our community.
“My favorite part is the fusion of both cultures, being able to interact and to share the two cultures with the communities that we have here in Brownsville and in Matamoros,” Deyanira Ramirez, executive director at the museum, said.
“I like everything, the food, the dances, the contests and especially that this is a very specific time of the year when families reunite and get out while at the same time supporting the city.”
The exhibit is in partnership with the City of Brownsville, ArtVille cultural projects, the Brownsville Historical Association and Costumes of the Americas. The idea to host this exhibit started as a way to celebrate Charro Days in a different and safer way at the museum.
Don Breeden, a local artist who has done the Charro Days posters for 22 years, said he is exhibiting some of the original posters such as the Charro and the Charra that he used for one year. Breeden said a lot of his inspiration comes from childhood memories about Charro Days.
“We are exhibiting a couple of the originals of the Charro and the Charra that I used for one of the Charro Days posters,” he said. “I’ve done 22 different posts for Charro Days over the years, expanding for about some 30 years. There were some times in between, so I got quite the history with Charro Days and help them promote Charro Days.”
For the poster this year, Breeden decided to include the theme of the pandemic and have the men showcased in the poster wearing a bandana as a face covering. Inside the jail that is depicted in the poster, is a man who was not wearing a face mask.
Juan Velez, who is exhibiting watercolor art pieces, said it is a pity that Charro Days cannot be celebrated this year since his birthday takes place the last week in February. Velez said since he moved back to Brownsville he would always celebrate his birthday during a Charro Days festivity.
“I think that this is a very good way to celebrate in a very different way, but at least we have the visual representation. We have the art, the beautiful costumes, so we can see the art of the Charro Days,” he said.
