Sunday, March 2, 2014

THE END OF 2014 CHARRO DAYS PARADES, SOMBREROFEST








By Juan Montoya
Well, another Charro Days have come and gone, blissfully bereft of the usual cold front that sometimes spoils the annual event.
Talk about a show of force by the Cameron County Sheriff's Dept. and the police.
Huge armored vehicles and SWAT assault trucks led the parade and the police contingent bearing the colors were also armed to the teeth.
The Lions members went up and down Elizabeth Street charging for the folding chairs, their big moneymaker of the year. The couple in the second photo had a good view of the parade, but the firefighter from Station 1 had the best one around atop the engine.
The food health inspectors were also busy checking the permits of vendors lining the route. It's too bad that the event has become so commercialized that some community and church groups can;t afford to sell their homemade cookies, empanadas and other foodstuffs because the fees (and fines for not having them) make it prohibitive.
The Brownsville Police Dept. promised a heavy law enforcement presence at the event and they were as good as their word. One couldn't look in any direction at the parades or at SombreroFest they were thick as flies. I asked one why he didn't have an admittance band and he patted his holstered gun and said he did.
Someone did point out that the new grass that had been planted at Washington Park just about a month ago wasn't going to survive the trampling of thousands of SombreroFest visitors. They may have been right. Did someone plan this right? Or will it just have to be redone at a double cost?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

the event CHARRO DAYS is singular. Fix your verb.

Anonymous said...

Sombrero festival donated the grass & sprinkler system. I passed by the park today and it look surprisingly ok . it just needs some water.

Anonymous said...

Juanito Garzoria-Uresti, do some research before you complain your heart out. The new grass has a stronger root system that can endure a lot of foot traffic. While the grass may look sad, the roots are still alive and will recover quicker than the old grass. And as far as the health inspectors go, do some research on that too and you'll find that a few years ago there were a lot of salmonela infection cases that were traced back to a vendor who was not practicing sanitary methods. The permits are sold to keep track of who is vending and to keep them accountable to their customers in case they become ill, not to make the city get rich overnight. Maybe Sombrero Fest can give you a free beer next year so you can write the truth.

Anonymous said...

montoya...las sillas a 3 dlls ya ni la chingan.

Anonymous said...

...two great Charro Days sounds:

- Crack when the rented folding chairs are collapsed ....

- Slam when those chairs are stacked.

Listen in 2015!

Anonymous said...

The Sheriff's combat vehicle reminds us of what is going on in the Ukraine. I guess the Sheriff was saying "mine is bigger than yours" by pulling out a combat or tactical vehicle for the Charro Days parade....a bit of overkill Sheriff. I noted to that Sheriff Omar Lucio was at the recent meeting on "Ethics" sponsored by the other Lucios. The Sheriff needs to learn what "ethics" are..
he has demonstrated that he doesn't know what they are. Too bad County and City officials were not "required" to attend. Tony "'Da Mayor" Martinez said he would have a Committee on Ethics...but we have never heard from that committee; nor has Tony mentioned "ethics" again. Dan Sanchez should have attended too; along with David Gonzalez....neither care about "ethics". And, the greatest hypocritical act was that the "ethics" meeting was sponsored by Eddie Lucio, Jr. and his son, "the Turd".....neither of whom knows what "ethics" are . Maybe they were there to learn. And surely Rene Oliviera should have been there...he is the most unethical slug of the bunch.

rita