IS VIRO CARDENAS PERSONA-NON-GRATA AT SOMBREROFEST?

By Juan Montoya
Jerry McHale has hinted at it in his Themchalereport.blog.
And Sombrero Fest supporters say it is true.
Both say that the association between the Sombrero Fest Association and Viro Cardenas is at an end.
And other sources say that the separation dates back to the 2015 Sombrero Fest celebration where he played a role in the loss of some $3,200 of the organization's receipts.
A Cardenas version overheard by more than a few Sombrero Fest adherents goes like this.
It was getting late in the afternoon when some board members needed to go make a deposit of the money in a local bank. Cardenas said he'd do it. He placed the money in a backpack and headed to the downtown area from Washington Park.
Once there – as he tells it – he found that the banker they dealt with was not to be found. Since he had to make some purchases in Matamoros, he said he headed across the bridge with the backpack and was stopped for inspection at the bridge.
To make the long story short, he said he was separated from his backpack by Mexican customs officer and then told that he was better off just forgetting about the backpack and its contents or he would disappear like others had before him.
Scared and dispossessed of the Sombrero Fest receipts, he headed back to Brownsville thankful he was still in one piece.
Many who have heard this version say they find it unbelievable, but say the group's board did not want to cast any negative publicity on the organization or its activities.
So they say that Roy de los Santos, a main mover with Sombrero Fest, volunteered to make up the loss from his own pocket.
However, many say that despite the fact that the money was made up, the situation did not sit well with others on the board and the relationship between them and Cardenas has soured to the point that a separation has occurred.
As Mchale has stated, "Cardenas' name surfaced ignominiously during Charro Days. Running the Frijolympics as if he were a banana republic dictator, Cardenas found himself isolated in a glaring spotlight when Sombrero Fest officials expressed concerned about a missing $3200.
Though the organization is doing its best to keep the incident under wraps and is counting on the local daily to turn its head as it has traditionally done in modern times, Cardenas' many critics are leaking details to the underground press.
"This inquiry is mushrooming," said Billy Baker. "There is widespread talk that he is going to be stripped of his responsibilities at Sombrero Fest."