The City of Brownsville announced at a press conference Thursday the first Crossroads festival in Brownsville that will provide opportunities for learning, networking and innovation through collaboration of paths in film, music, food, politics, art and innovation.
The festival will take place during the Charro Days Fiesta Celebration week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and prices are $35 for daily admission, $95 for a three-day pass and $175 for VIP all access.
“If you look at any of the old logos of the City of Brownsville, the City of Brownsville had at one point a logo called ‘Crossroads of the Hemisphere’ and we really thought that the word crossroads was really a very good summary of what we’re going to do here,” Ramiro Gonzalez, director of Government and Community affairs for the City of Brownsville, said.
The three-day festival will feature film, music, food, politics and art with several events throughout the days such as fashion shows, showcase of films and workshops from both the United States and Mexico, concerts that range from pop to electrifying rock, private dinners with award-wining chefs, discussions with local, regional and national industry leaders about a wide range of topics in the lead up to the upcoming elections, among many more.
“Let’s do something big; let’s think bigger and that’s something that when I was elected I thought ‘let’s make Brownsville a destination city, let’s bring people from other parts of the state, let’s bring them up from Northern Mexico and really make Brownsville a destination place’,” Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said.
Gonzalo Gomez, co-founder of the South Texas Music Incubator, said the event is a celebration and it is geared toward young people but people of all ages can enjoy it, too.
“It is geared toward young people. I’m kind of frustrated that young people have to leave or save up for six months to go to a festival in Austin, LA (Los Angeles,) or what have you,” he said. “I think we have the resources, the talent here in Brownsville to keep these kids here and not only that, but to bring visitors from the outside.”
Rene Rhi, co-founder of the Brownsville Film Society, said the festival will bring a lot of producers and directors from out of town. He said the festival has partnered with universities such as the University of Texas-Austin, Universidad de Monterrey, University of Southern California and Tecnológico de Monterrey.
“The idea is not only to showcase short films from alumni and students but also for them to come to Brownsville so they can meet, build the relationship, the friendship and hopefully come to Brownsville and see Brownsville as a potential film destination,” he said.
For more information about the event and to buy tickets, visit crossroadsbtx.com.
