2021: A Year in Photos for The Brownsville Herald

By DENISE CATHEY and MIGUEL ROBERTS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

While the year started off promising with the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, 2021 continued to ignore all our requests to please just give us a minute by throwing a political jolt at us with the tumultuous arrival of former President Donald Trump to tour the U.S.-Mexico border wall in January following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. capitol. The following month, the entire power grid for Texas went down under Winter Storm Uri, leaving many in the Valley battling both freezing temperatures with little to no power and shortages in gas, groceries, and propane as residents stocked up to weather the storm.

However, vaccinations made a difference as the vaccine became more widely available over the months for adults and children — along with the authorization for further boosters for those in need. Yet February marked the first year in recent memory since 1945 without all of the festivities that marked Charro Days Fiesta. Then to the surprise of everyone, SpaceX launched the SN10 on March 3 — which did everything it was supposed to do — until it then exploded a few minutes after a too-quick landing. Undeterred SpaceX doubled down on the adage ‘if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again’ and launched the SN15 prototype on May 5 — which marked a milestone for them in landing a full-size Starship prototype without an explosion of any kind.

August brought a moment of triumph for our local athletes when the Brownsville Pony League and Wild Pitch League claimed the Dick’s Sporting Goods PONY League World Series Champions for 2021.

Birthdays, graduations, holiday celebrations, anniversaries, new births and COVID-19 surges were just some of the many things the Brownsville Herald photographers documented this year. As Dorothy Parker would surely agree, this time will live in infamy as “not just plain terrible. This was fancy terrible; this was terrible with raisins in it.”

But before we bid 2021 a relived adieu, here is some of what you may — or may not — remember from this year.

Parked cars line both sides of the street as people line up Jan. 7, 2021 to wait overnight to get a spot for the COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Casa Del Sol on Jefferson Avenue in Harlingen. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
With some help from their son George, Adelina and Ramón dance together to the Mariachi Margaritas’ performance of “El Rey” Jan. 9, 2021, for WWII veteran Ramón Saldaña’s 100th birthday celebration outside the Saldaña home on Villanova Avenue in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
President Donald J. Trump disembarks Air Force One on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, at Valley International Airport in Harlingen. The stop was part of a visit by President Trump for the dedication of a completed section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Alamo, TX. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Sylvia Sugar Vela uses a front crawl stroke to dart through the water Feb. 10, 2021, while swimming her thrice-weekly mile at Pendleton Pool in Harlingen.Vela will swim in the first of a four-race series of ocean swims in Florida, at 60 aiming to place atop her age division, compete in all four races and earn the title of best overall swimmer in her division. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
21-year-old mother of three Lucero Morin waits alongside her two-year-old daughter Darcy for Pastor Mark Redwine to return with her gallon of milk Feb. 4, 2021, from the now resumed USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program in the colonnia at Boca Chica Boulevard and Central Avenue in Brownsville.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
South Padre Island Sea Turtle, Inc. employees and volunteers rescue cold stunned Atlantic green sea turtles and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021 as thousands are brough to the South Padre Island Convention Center to recover during Winter Storm Uri on South Padre Island. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Jose Leal Medellin pulls the starter cord to try and get an unresponsive generator up and running Feb. 16, 2021, outside his home on Otila Drive. Leal Medellin and his family have been without power since noon on Monday due to Winter Storm Uri.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
SpaceX SN10 Starship Prototype launches March 3, 2021, before exploding just minutes after landing at SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Pad. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Circulation Assistant at The Brownsville Herald Aracely Guajardo uses the new COVID-19 vaccine finder tool March 15, 2021, that CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced would help with vaccine registration. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Catholic faithful gather during their traditional Stations of the Cross procession at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Brownsville on Good Friday (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Fifteen-year-old Christopher Thomas Phillippe pictured on April, 18, 2021, is ready to graduate this May from Math and Science Academy High School at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Brownsville campus and will continue his studies at UTRGV in biomedical research and philosophy of art. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Actor Roy Frank “RJ” Mitte III and screenplay writer Michael D. Coffey pose for photos April 29, 2021 at the premier of their movie “Triumph” at Cinemark Sunrise Mall in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) students visit Texas Southmost College (TSC) Workforce Training Welding Program at TSC’s ITEC Center April 30, 2021, as they practice their welding skills at TSC’s welding facility. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
SpaceX successfully launch and land their Starship Prototype SN15 May 5, 2021, at their Boca Chica Launch Facility. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
College of Education graduate Kimberly Cerbin waves her diploma as she crosses the stage May 8, 2021, for the 8 a.m. commencement ceremony at the University of Texas Rio Grande Brownsville campus. The ceremony marked the first in-person commencement at the Brownsville campus since the COVID-19 pandemic began.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Brownsville Fire Department fire inspector Amanda Ely and paramedic Viviana Gaytan go through their preparations to give Oscar Bejardo his second shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine June 11, 2021, as part of the department’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare Unit’s outreach program to help vaccinate homebound residents in Brownsville.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
A patron takes a sip of her Modelo Especial Michelada July 9, 2021, in honor of of the upcoming National Michelada Day at Library Bar at La Rioja in downtown Brownsville. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
A motorist’s vehicle is stuck in standing water July 9, 2021, in Los Fresnos, Texas. The area was one of several that received torrential rainfall with flooding throughout the Valley. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
SpaceX’s 480-foot-tall launch tower looms overhead Jul. 15, 2021, at the Starship Superheavy Orbital Launch Pad facility along Texas State Highway 4 next to Boca Chica Beach. The Federal Aviation Administration has warned SpaceX that the unapproved tower may have to go as the federal agency reviews the company’s evolving plans for the site. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP)
The newest male reticulated giraffe calf holds still as a female giraffe licks his face July 17, 2021, at the Gladys Porter Zoo.The griaffe is one of several new lives that have joined the zoo this year.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist Dr. Hilary Swarts is pictured July 22, 2021, on the Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive, which holds part of the ocelot’s preferred habitat in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Swarts was able to salvage the remains of a male ocelot hit by a car, which was then rushed to Gladys Porter Zoo and later the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens and Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife to preserve its genetic material to help bolster the dwindling ocelot population.
(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Parents watch from the stands as the Texas Rangers and the Red Sox teams get ready to square off in a T-ball game July 23, 2021, at the West Brownsville Little League Park. The park has received extensive upgrades including additions to make the field accessible to the community’s special needs children.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Male lifegurards competing in the Open Board Relay look out at the course before their start Aug. 5, 2021, for the USLA Nationals on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Physician Assistant Eder Hernandez, MPAS at Valley Med Urgent Care in Brownsville provides in person consultations during COVID-19 drive thru testing Aug. 11, 2021, at their Alton Gloor location.While the COVID-19 vaccine provided some relief for healthcare workers, continuing surges prove to be a never-ending battle for weary health professionals. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Ramon Castro holds up a sign reading ‘#walktheline’ Aug. 11, 2021, after reaching the waters of Boca Chica Beach to finalize his 45 days of walking along the U.S.-Mexico border outside of Brownsville,. Castro began his walk to highlight the plight of deported veterans and help repatriate them to the United States.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) Director for Health Services Alonso Guerrero (RN) holds up his face mask as he stresses the urgency to mandate the use of face mask before the start of the new school year at all BISD schools during a BISD board of trustees special called board meeting Aug. 12, 2021, in Brownsville, Texas as COVID-19 positive cases spike in the state. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas addresses the media Aug. 12,2021, in a press conference about the current immigration situation on the U.S.-Mexico border at Fort Brown Border Patrol Station in Brownsville.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Cameron County Deputy Clerk for Vital Statistics Brock Bellamy administers marriage licence oath to future newly weds Nelly Lira and Rich Cirminello Aug. 13, 2021, at the Cameron County Clerk Office in downtown Brownsville. On Aug. 10 county commissioners designated all full-time personnel as “critical infrastructure employees” under the American Rescue Plan Act and approved bonuses for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Competitors gather around a table to register with Rotarians Jimmy John and Larry Holtzman Aug. 3, 2021, for the North Brownsville Rotary Club’s 13th Annual White Wing Tune-Up Fundraiser at the Loma Alta Trap & Skeet Club Shooting Range. The event raises money for the Jerome “Jerry” Jokel Scholarship Fund, providing $1,000 to a deserving senior at every high school in Los Fresnos and Brownsville who graduate near the top of their class, but who might not otherwise have the opportunities that students in first and second place receive for funding their education. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Stillman Middle School students walk through their campus courtyard to class during their first day back to school Aug. 17, 2021, as Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) welcome back all students to in-person classes on their Brownsville campuses. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the district turned to virtual learning during the start of the 2020-2021 school year, before switching back to on-campus. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Players from the Brownsville Pony League and Wild Pitch League listen to a speech by the Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz Aug. 20, 2021, in a ceremony to recognize their achievement as the new Dick’s Sporting Goods PONY League World Series Champions for 2021 outside the Cameron County Courthouse in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Joe De La Garza an avid cyclist rolls along Linear Park Aug. 27, 2021, in Brownsville. De La Garza was among five combat veterans chosen to take part in a cross-country trek from Washington D.C. to Washington along the Great American Rail Trail. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Gladys Porter Zoo primate keeper Ashley Grady feeds a black and white ruffed lemur grapes Aug. 30, 2021, as the Brownsville zoo celebrates their 50th Anniversary. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Zariah Zarate stands in front of the crowd with her father Sergio wearing a medal presented to her by the BISD athletics department Sept. 1, 2021, for a historic unveiling and celebration of Senate Bill 776 Zariah’s Law in the auditorium at Veterans Memorial Early College High School in Brownsville.Zariah’s Law will create an inclusive sports program in the state by the University Scholastic League to provide students with intellectual disabilities access to and opportunities in team sports. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Owner of Toddle Inn Restaurant Mark Perez assesses the damage to his restaurant Sept. 11, 2021, after a truck rammed through the entrance of the restaurant in the early morning on Central Boulevard in Brownsville, injuring an employee at the cash register. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Kay Polt unfurls her American flag Sept. 11, 2021, for the City of Harlingen’s memorial ceremony on the 20th Anniversary the 9/11 attacks in Harlingen.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald).
United States Senator John Cornyn III of Texas speaks to the media at the entrance of the Port Of Brownsville Commissioner’s Board Room Sep. 16, 2021, during a press conference after Cornyn joined a roundtable discussion whith Cameron County Business and Civic Leaders in Brownsville. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville)
Bishop Daniel E. Flores pays tribute to Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña Sept. 28, 2021, during a rosary vigil at Immaculate Conception Cathedral (ICC) in Brownsville. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
People hold up signs and chant as they walk down 6th street Oct. 2, 2021, at the Texas Women for Reproductive Rights rally and march in downtown Brownsville.The march is part of a national call by Women’s March and other allies to to mobilize and defend reproductive rights across the nation on Oct. 2 ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021-2022 session.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Teams of volunteers from city of Brownsville, United Way of Southern Cameron County, RGV Focus and StriveTogether work together to assemble the play space and lay the groundwork for the ground covering Sept. 25, 2021, at the construction of the first KABOOM! initiated play space at Monte Bella Park in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
IDEA Academy students pull the strings on their confetti poppers as they hold a banner printed with “Thank You Elon” Oct. 16, 2021, for an event organized to thank SpaceX and Elon Musk for their community support during the pandemic outside the SpaceX facility near Boca Chica Beach .(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Robert Garcia Jr. holds out his arm as medical assistant Elizabeth Rodriguez administers his Moderna booster shot Oct. 30, 2021, for Cameron County Public Health’s Moderna booster clinic in Los Fresnos.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Deacon Josh Ramirez blesses the cemetery with holy water Nov. 2, 2021, at a mass and gathering in honor of the departed for Día de los Muertos at Guillen Community Cemetery in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Brownsville Port of Entry Port Director, Tater Ortiz addresses the press Nov. 5, 2021, during a media briefing ahead of the reopening of the land border ports of entry to nonessential travel on Nov. 8 with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Registered nurse Laura Gracia and health aide Isabel Delgado go over a child’s vaccine paperwork Nov. 10, 2021, at the Brownsville Independent School District’s drive-thru Pfizer vaccine clinic for children ages five to 11 at the Brownsville Events Center in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Democratic candidate for Texas governor Beto O’Rourke makes remarks in Brownsville, Texas Nov. 18, 2021, during a press conference alongside City of Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez at La Plaza Brownsville Multimodal Terminal. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
Adoptee Nevaeh is held up as her new family Josefina Flores, Roberto Gaytan and their two sons Alberto and Bobby applaud in 197th state District Court Nov. 19, 2021, following the Honorable Judge Adolfo E. Cordova Jr. officially finalizing their adoption during the adoption consummation hearing at the Cameron County Courthouse in Brownsville. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Two Coast Guard response boats head out into the Gulf of Mexico to patrol Dec. 10, 2021, at the United States Coast Guard Station South Padre Island. Coast Guard enforcement has interdicted 78 lanchas and seized nearly eight tons of fish in 2021 along the Texas gulf coast.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Tyler Hammond,Jessica Davila, Adriana Davila, Michelle Garcia, Veronica Tapia and Faith Carrillo enjoy a festive Christmas Eve meal together in the open air Dec. 24, 2021, at Dean Porter Park.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Brownsville residents are administered COVID-19 testing inside their vehicles Dec. 28, 2021, at Anastacio Guillen Precinct 1 Public Works Building along South Browne Avenue amid the Omicron varient spike. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)