MERCEDES — What are the most important movies from the 1970s you need to put on your bucket list to watch before graduation?

“Apocalypse Now?” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind?” “The Godfather?”

The first one’s a war movie, a rather disturbing one at that, and then you have a science fiction flick about aliens landing. And last, but not least, is the movie about a bunch of Mafiosos shooting it out. How to decide, thought Caelan Mitchell-Bennett, 17, a senior at the Science Academy of South Texas.

Caelan was helping a teacher create a presentation for “Exploration Day,” which was held Friday at the school. Each classroom had a different presentation by a student or a teacher. The presentations included cooking classes, an Indian martial arts session, and knitting lessons. The event is held periodically at the school.

“We take a day off from regular school, and teachers and students teach classes on subjects that are not their normal subjects but are of interest to them,” said Caelan, of Harlingen. “Right now I just got done attending a class on medieval war strategy games. We played board games the whole time.”

Exploration Day is a nontraditional day of learning, said Principal Irma Castillo.

“Students get to choose what workshop sessions they’d like to attend, and these workshop sessions are presented by the students themselves,” Castillo said.

Some outside presenters did appear at the event. Members of the South Texas Energy and Economic Roundtable committee talked about environmental safety in mining for oil and gas.

Andrew Horn, 17, enjoyed the presentation, which also detailed the process for oil and gas and how those raw materials are used.

Andrew, a senior from Harlingen, planned to give his own workshop later in the day about organic chemistry. Specifically, he planned to explain how organic compounds are named according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Pauline Huff was thinking about chemistry of a different kind, the chemistry of the arts that draw people together. That’s why the 16-year-old sophomore was hosting several sessions on studio art.

“It’s hard to find time outside of school with studying and everything to pursue your hobbies and talents, especially the arts,” she said. “We put plenty of supplies out and pretty much you elect what you want to do.”

She, herself, has her own artistic life.

“I like to paint with watercolor and acrylic,” said the Harlingen resident. “I like comics, too. I draw a couple of comics.”

So there it is. On Exploration Day the rest of us discover what the Science Academy students already know.

In the middle of a world of science, the creative pulse finds a window where it can rush through the hearts and minds of young artists and express itself on canvas. The colors appear as images coming to life, while in a classroom nearby someone teaches knitting and organic chemistry and tells students about the 70s movies they should watch before they leave high school.

Now that’s what you call a “Close Encounter.”

MERCEDES — Any artist will tell you it’s hard to get their music heard, especially on the radio.

Tejano artists are having a tougher time getting air play as the Tejano music industry seems to be declining in radio popularity.

The Rio GrandeValley has only one Tejano music radio station, but they play only the established artists.

But one organization out of San Antonio called the Entertainment Legends of San Antonio (E.L.S.A.) Foundation is helping musicians in the Rio GrandeValley promote their Tejano music and get an audience.

“They help me out by promoting my music on the Internet and radio stations,” said Armando Saldana, a music artist who goes by the stage name Kid Zapper. “Right now they are helping the artists that are affiliated with my label, Barrio Records.”

Saldana said the foundation is doing a really great job.

“They come down and they make my posters, logos, professional photography and they are really pushing my music,” Saldana said.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.

HARLINGEN — The russet Saltillo tile spread through the home, from the kitchen to the dining room that seemed to flow into the living room.

Exposed brick rose from floor to ceiling, and windows along one wall seemed to deny the relevance of any separation. Instead, they invited the afternoon sunlight into the living room, where architects and architect enthusiasts toured the home.

“I love the way the house transcends down and unifies the open spaces,” said Michelle Honl, who teaches architecture in the Harlingen school district.

“I just love the open flow of the entire structure,” she said.

The group’s primary interest was mid-century modern architecture. Nydia Tapia-Gonzales, one of the tour leaders, said mid-century modernism was a movement that took place from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. It’s characterized by large windows and flat roofs. Two of the architects who built many of the Rio Grande Valley’s mid-century modernist homes were John York and Alan Taniguchi.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.

LAGUNA VISTA — Municipal Court has hundreds of active warrants totaling $1.32 million in fines that it is seeking to clear.

To alleviate the current warrant backlog, the town is participating in the 2016 Great Texas Warrant Round-Up.

Laguna Vista will be among 300 jurisdictions across the state that will engage in this law enforcement campaign that begins this week.

“We are participating in this statewide warrant roundup because we owe it to the law-abiding citizens who are expecting us to do what is right and are, at the same time, holding us accountable,” said City Manager Rolando Vela.

“It’s important that if you have an active warrant to call our office and take care of it immediately.”

Municipal Court officials are encouraging defendants to take advantage of the options being available to settle outstanding warrants immediately.

More than 800 letters are expected to be mailed out during the month of February, Vela said.

No amnesty is being offered in conjunction with this statewide warrant roundup.

Once the arrest period begins, police officers will aggressively target persons on the warrant list and arrests can take place at any location, including the defendant’s home, school or workplace.

“The town will have two full-time police officers rounding up defendants with active warrants,” Vela said.

The town will be having “Roundup Day” on Saturday, Feb. 20.

The town’s police officers will be rounding up defendants that day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Municipal Judge Jeremy SoRelle will be in the courtroom to magistrate the defendants who are brought in.

MISSION — With a cardboard chapel covered in citrus and Looney Tunes displayed throughout the float, the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic parish led more than 100 floats that followed the theme of Cartoons and Comic Book Characters lined up on Conway Avenue between 2 Mile Line and Griffin Parkway for the 79th Annual Texas Citrus Fiesta Parade of Oranges.

Irene Ramos and her family were among the hundreds of parade viewers who gathered along either side of Conway Avenue with lawn chairs.

She said attending the parade with her family was a tradition that has been ongoing for several years.

“We look forward to it,” she said. “They’re exciting because families and friends all gather together and support each other.”

The Mission native said though she enjoys seeing the colorful dresses worn by the royal court, her main focus for the parade is seeing her daughter, who is a cheerleader.

Like Ramos’ daughter, Bryceidee Leos spent the past three years cheering in the parade, though this year she was in the parade as the Duchess of Ruby Red Grapefruit.

“I had to walk it before, so it’s going to be a bonus to be in a car,” the 17-year-old said.

Leos wore a bright red ball gown with a large bow on the back with grapefruits embroidered into it. She said that she and her mother designed her dress after she was told she was going to be representing the ruby red grapefruit.

“We had interviews in December,” the high school senior said. “I had to be interviewed to be a duchess. I didn’t get in automatically.”

The Mission native said this was her first time competing in a pageant. She said she became excited to find out what she would be representing during the 79th Parade of Oranges.

Leos said that being a part of the Texas Citrus Fiesta is about more than just the looks and the dresses.

“It’s about studying,” the Mission native said. “You have to study your fruit. Everybody thinks it’s about the dress, I did too, but no, it’s not.”

For her, getting involved in the citrus celebrations gave her an opportunity to learn about the history of the city where she grew up.

“I had to learn about John H. Shary,” she said. “It’s cool to know about the history of where you’re from. I studied like a month before. I went on Google and found every single page.”

Her studying paid off. On Jan. 28, after the Royal Coronation of King Citrus and Queen Citrianna, Leos was named the 80th Queen Citrianna in 2017.

“I don’t get crowned until next year,” she said. “It’s delayed for some reason, but I’m excited to wear the huge crown.”

She said the contest wasn’t just about competing, but also about friendship.

“It was interesting and really cool and an awesome experience,” Leos said. “I got along with so many girls, and I met a lot of girls from different places. It was awesome. There weren’t bad vibes or anything; everyone was really cool with each other and I liked that.”

She is looking forward to getting to know more people and learning even more about Valley native produce.

“I am going to try and be a good queen while learning more,” she said. “I know there’s more to learn while representing other cities.”

HARLINGEN — The District 32-6A swim meet was held in a new venue this year, but it was business as usual for the Los Fresnos swimming program.

Both the Los Fresnos boys and girls swim teams dominated and were once again crowned league champions Saturday after noon at the Harlingen CISD Aquatics center.

It is the seventh consecutive district title for the boys and the fourth for the girls.

“It means the world to me and it’s our goal every year; it’s what we do,” said Albino Cisneros, who was also named Coach of the Meet for the boys and the girls. “It’s been a rough year with weather and us having to practice in an outside facility, but I’ve been tough on the team all year long — they’ve earned it.”

The Falcons placed first with a score of 178, followed by Brownsville Veterans (106) and rounding out the top three was BrownsvilleRivera (76).

Leading the way was sophomore Carlos Paredes, who took gold in the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.91), the 500-yard free (5:11.80), and was also on the winning 200-yard medley relay (1:48.40) and 400-yard free style relay (3:32.55).

The Lady Falcons scored 135 points to run away with the crown. Rivera and Brownsville Hanna tied with 91 points each.

Lady Falcons senior Ivana Besteiro, who qualified for the state meet last year, was named the Female Athlete of the Meet after placing first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:21.81), the 50-yard freestyle (25.85) and was also on a pair of winning relay teams. Now, she looks forward to the next step on her way back to Austin.

Full story at RGVSports.com

HARLINGEN — You will not ever find Harlingen marathon runner Alejandra Martinez, 29, making excuses or giving up at anything.

For that reason, she’ll be one of the 30,000 qualifying runners at the 2017 Boston Marathon after qualifying Jan. 17 at the Chevron Houston Marathon.

It was the ideal race day for Martinez, who thrived off everything from the weather to the on-looking crowd.

“The weather was cold, the crowd was big; it was the perfect marathon,” Martinez said. “Every mile there were people cheering for you. The people, who don’t know you, are calling out your name and encouraging you.

“It definitely gives you encouragement to finish.”

Martinez finished with a time of 3:30:12, nearly five minutes better than the 3:35:00 needed to qualify in the 18-34 age group.

While Martinez accomplished her goal, the road there was not a particularly short one, nor was it without its share of obstacles.

“I began running marathons in 2013 in a San Antonio race, but little by little I started to train for the Boston Marathon qualifiers,” Martinez said. “It was by mid 2014 when I began training for those races with my coach, Footworks-Harlingen owners Jun and Edith Ellorimo.”

Martinez changed her way of eating and began training with speed drills, temple runs and 13 to 23-mile runs every week.

Later in 2014, Martinez ran her first qualifying race in McAllen and finished with a time of 3:39, about nine minutes short of her goal and four short of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

In February 2015, Martinez tried her hand at the USA Fit Marathon in Sugar Land, but came up short despite having the top time in the 18-34 age group with a 3:39:18.5.

It was then when Martinez’s confidence began to waver.

“I finished that race and I was devastated because I had been training for a whole year to try and accomplish a goal,” she said. “The first 20 miles were almost perfect, but the last six miles things began to happen. I was upset because I did not make my time in the end and because I had my two girls waiting to hear if I qualified.”

With Martinez discouraged, husband Juan Martinez stepped in, showing his wife motivational videos and giving her words of encouragement.

“After those videos, I told myself, ‘You know what? I can still do it; I just have to train better,’” Martinez said.

She climbed back in the saddle soon thereafter and continued with her training.

Despite trying and coming up short at an impromptu qualifier in McAllen — in a race where she was sick and the weather was windy and unpredictable — Martinez eventually had her day in Houston.

Now, after all she has been through, the Boston Marathon will be the ultimate payoff.

“I haven’t done it alone. My friends and other runners have helped me train throughout and I want to thank everyone who has helped out even a little bit,” Martinez said. “I will still do my training, but Boston will basically be my victory run.”

HARLINGEN — Local business owner Viola Garza knows everybody. But not everybody knows she went from selling Chick-fil-A sandwiches to selling toys full time.

For more than seven years, Garza and her business partner Jaime Cruz have been selling lots and lots of toys together.

J & V Toys Games and More at 1005 Harrison Ave. in Harlingen will be hosting its monthly Collectors Expo on Sunday at the Casa del Sol event center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The expo is back again for another fun-filled event. Collectibles of all kinds and vendors from all across the Valley will fill up to 52 tables with items to buy, sell and trade.

Superman, Darth Vader, Super Mario and many more popular figures could be in attendance.

Sunday’s event also will have a comic costume competition and feature a Hot Wheels race car event.

Races are $1 to race and winners receive a prize.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.