SAN BENITO — The legendary Freddy Fender, the historic Ideal Records distribution company and trail-blazing pioneer Col. Sam Robertson hailed the Resaca City as their hometown.
Now, the city is creating a cultural district to showcase their legacy as it works to become a tourist destination.
The cultural district will showcase the city’s rich history as a 1900s agricultural hub that grew out of the so-called White Horse Desert to become known as the birthplace of conjunto music.
“We want to become a destination city,” City Manager Manuel De La Rosa said. “We’re looking at revenue streams from outside.”
De La Rosa is counting on the cultural district to draw more tourist dollars to town.
“We’re trying to generate revenue we can reinvest in programs,” he said.
The San Benito Plaza will become the home of the cultural district featuring the new San Benito Cultural Heritage Center, the Community Building and the old public library.
The city plans to renovate the plaza’s grounds, adding street lamps while wrought-iron fencing will enclose the three sites.
De La Rosa said he plans to use money remaining from bond issues to fund some of the proposed renovations.
Luis Contreras, the city’s museum coordinator, is working to turn the sites into venues showcasing the arts.
The $1.7 museum, expected to open by summer, will showcase the Freddy Fender Museum, the Texas Conjunto Hall of Fame and Museum and the San Benito History Museum.
The museum will feature rotating and traveling exhibits while hosting events aimed at drawing repeat visitors, De La Rosa said.
The museum was built also to serve as a travel center, allowing the city to use hotel occupancy tax revenue to help fund its operations.
The district will also include the iconic Aztec Building, which featured a restaurant complete with an atrium and aquarium while its rooftop patio hosted live music and dances during the city’s heyday about 75 years ago.
The city plans to renovate parts of the building off Robertson Street after Niños Head Start, which has leased the city-owned building, moved out its offices, De La Rosa said.
The plans include turning the rooftop patio into a music venue overlooking the winding resaca.
“It’s a historic building,” De La Rosa said. “It’s got a lot of character.”
The city plans to turn again to its late hometown hero Freddy Fender to help draw tourists.
De La Rosa wants to build a “bold” cover to protect Fender’s monument as part of a plan to lure tourists to his grave site at San Benito Memorial Park.
“It gives us certain name recognition,” he said of the late Grammy Award-winning singer whose image appears on the city’s water tower.
