POLITICAL PACHANGA IN SAN BENE TYPICAL S. TEXAS AFFAIR

By Juan Montoya
This Saturday was the second time we have attended a South-Texas style pachanga in San Benito this political season.
San Bene used to be a pit stop on the way to bigger cities headed either north or south, but now it's central location between the big cities in Cameron County have made it the crossroads of political campaigning.
At this pachanaga for Art McDonald – the incumbent candidate for County Court-at-Law #1 – the beer was cold, the heaping plates of BBQed ribs and chicken, frijoles a la charra, and rice were prime time, and the political talk was salacious.
Candidates of every stripe showed up for the affair held at Leo Ramirez's bike bar named Hollywood. Even though the first place we went for a McDonald pachanga in San Benito was only a block removed at the Gas Station, this was a different crowd.
Candidates like to attend political campaign events and see different faces. Campaigning for the same audience time and again has diminishing returns.
There were candidates for Justice of the Peace (locally, incumbent David Garza's signs and supporters were everywhere) and county judge candidates Martin Arambula and Joe Rivera were on hand. County Clerk candidates Sylvia Garza-Perez, Don De Leon and Neida Ruth Grantland-Soto were there, and even north cunty political heavyweights like Dan Sanchez, Pct. 4 commissioner, was on hand and pressing the flesh and

handing out pushcards. Here and there candidates buttonholed potential voters and gave them their spiel.
This wasn't the only pachanga going on at the time. There were some in El Ranchito, Santa Maria, La Feria, Harlingen, Padre Island, you name it. Many candidates made a pit stop, pressed the flesh, and then headed out to as many as it was humanly possible to attend.
There were many local pols from the SB school board to the local judiciary. Mercifully, not all of them addressed the crowd and like all good politicians know, the speeches were kept short and sweet and the music kicked in and folks lined at the serving tables.
The band was replaced by a DJ with a loud sound system that just added to the carnival-like atmosphere.
Ray Ramirez – who owned and operated  Ray's Hickory Pit Bar BQ – provided the eats. Ray's fame as a master griller has spread up and down the valley and beyond. Until he closed his business, it was a must stop for BBQ connoisseurs. We're sorry he closed up shop because he definitely still has the touch. The ribs were delicious and the meat literally melted off the bone. The chicken, well, what can we say.
The McDonald pachanga was notable because this is the second time that he has had good turnouts in the home city of his opponent Dan Robles, the county court-at-law judge who resigned in the middle of his term and took up a law firm partnership with former State Rep. Jim Solis, now serving a prison sentence for racketeering and bribery in connection with disgraced 404th District Judge Abel Limas and Austin attorney Marc Rosenthal. We are hearing a lot of why he chose to run in McDonald's spot in his comeback efforts, but it will have to wait for another day/
San Benito used to be famous for its pretty girls and the town's babes still have it. We remember when we were in high school and went up there on the weekends trying to snag a San Bene babe. We're glad to report that there's yet another fine crop coming up in San Bene.
There will doubtless be more pachangas as we approach the Feb. 18-28 early voting period and the March 4 primary. But this weekend's pachanga at the Leo Ramirez's Hollywood bar will stand out in our memories for a while.