Ask those restless with the region’s image outside the area, and they’ll tell you that the Rio Grande Valley has been seen through a lens that only represents a border crisis. But for most Valley residents their hometown goes beyond what’s portrayed to the rest of the country.
In fact, one Weslaco native has taken it upon himself to highlight the beauty, culture and life that make his home unlike any other. Through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, 31-year-old Gene De La Garza has created a place that sheds a positive light on his hometown.
And he does it all through the cunning use of “Puro 956” stickers, and other merchandise and items representative of Valley life and culture.
As he travels to different parts of the county, Gene always brings a pack of those stickers to leave a piece of the Valley in each place he visits. Currently, he has placed stickers in places such as New York on the Brooklyn Bridge and near One World Trade Center, in Chicago near the Route 66 sign, Boston, Philadelphia and the Big Bend area in Texas.
Study Butte, a ghost town near the Big Bend National Park and a few miles from Terlingua, is also home to one of those stickers.
There, at a gas station, Gene saw something interesting.
“The funny thing is that I saw someone else’s ‘Puro 956’ sticker there and I went ahead and placed one there,” he added.
Apparently, the word, or perhaps the gospel of 956, is spreading.
Although an unintentional trend, Gene explained that with each sticker placed, people across the Valley have reached out to him and purchased his stickers as they prepare to set off on their own adventures.
As more and more people have purchased his stickers, he has noticed people have begun to tag him on Facebook to show off all the places they’ve landed.
“I have seen other people put some in New York and other parts of the country as well as the world — so that is a pretty cool, unique experience to have,” Gene said. “To get that and receive that feedback that people want to purchase those stickers and then go out and do that on their own that is pretty unique. ”
His plans to champion the Valley are not confined to the United States, however. Gene plans on taking Puro 956 global.
“Putting one on the eastern hemisphere would be pretty cool. In fact, someone in the military, based out there somewhere in one of the European countries, … actually reached out and bought some so they can post some over there,” he said, clearly excited about the notion that the Valley could be represented in his own way across the pond.
For Gene, these stickers and merchandise do more than just represent aspects of the Valley, but also serve as a reminder of home.
There’s so much about home that has become great source material, including local meteorologist Tim Smith of KRGV, who he has endearingly trolled for some time. After all, nothing and no one is off limits when it comes to promoting the Valley.
For example, his merchandise includes a T-shirt with the words “Tim Smith’s School of Geography,” which was inspired from a Facebook Live with the meteorologist where he scolded viewers for not knowing where they live.
“Tim Smith is an icon here in the Valley, so he is a big part of what I do,” Gene said as he chuckled.
Such is his quirky affinity for the 956, as many call it in reference to the region’s area code, he didn’t mind entertaining a pressing question: If the Valley was a Looney Tunes character, which one would it be?
He cheated and went with a hybrid.
“I think it’s a combination of a bunch of characters. I think we have a lot of attributes of Bugs Bunny, I think we have a lot of attributes of Elmer Fudd,” Gene said with a laugh. “I’m gonna go with a safe one and say that we are a combination of all characters … we are not all one in the same.”
Speaking seriously, Gene did say that he has a long-held dream he’d like to see realized soon. With all his travels and through all his championing, he’s amassed the makings of a great story of love for home, and hopes to one day take the next step: making a documentary.
“I am continuing to work and research and find different things out that happened in the past here in the Valley (and Texas) and continue to work on things about the history and the culture,” he said of his plans to create a full-length documentary or series of documentaries he hopes to submit to film festivals.
It’s no wonder Gene wants to make a documentary about the Valley, considering his love for South Texas grew from his appreciation for the region’s history — affection passed down from his father.
“I’m a big history buff and I get it from my dad, who is a big history nerd, and I just wanted to tell stories about the Valley and the history of it,” he said.
You can follow Gene on Facebook and Instagram by searching Gene De La Garza.
