MERCEDES — Kid Zapper made his guitar scream the blues in an effort to raise money for the Cowboys Kickin’ Cancer at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show last weekend.
“Great job Zapper,” said Leo Villarreal, a Mercedes resident. “Way to help out your community.”
Mercedes resident Armando Saldana, who goes by the stage name Kid Zapper, wanted to get into the mix of raising money for the RGVLS charity of Cowboys Kickin’ Cancer.
He did it the only way he knows how — by playing his guitar.
And by the end of his Saturday set featuring the band Sweetwater, they had raised $455 to fight cancer and turned over the money to the Cowboys Kickin’ Cancer organizers.
Kid Zapper is known for playing rock ‘n’ roll, the blues and raffling off guitars and merchandise at the livestock show annually in the beer garden.
And this year was no different. People danced and enjoyed the music for a good cause.
“It was a great turnout,” Kid Zapper said. “We raised so much money in so little time the stock show directors want me to come back next year to play and raise more money to fight cancer.”
He said more than 500 raffle tickets were sold for an all black Budweiser electric guitar.
The rest of the money came from donations.
On Friday, March 17, the livestock show was fighting cancer at the PRCA Rodeo. One dollar from every rodeo ticket sold for the PRCA Rodeo that night went to this cause, in addition to T-Shirt and Koozie sales.
Last year RGVLS General Manager D.J. Wernecke presented MD Anderson in Houston a check totaling $19,563.64, all of which was generated through the RGVLS 2016 Cowboys Kickin’ Cancer fundraiser.
