TEXAS

FRONTeras Magazine Vol. 1 No. 2 Issue At just twelve years old, Dagoberto Rios III plays with more than talent-he plays with vision. People call him Daguito, but there's nothing childlike about what he does with an accordion in his hands. He didn't grow into music. He was born into it. On his father's side, his grandfather, José V. Rodríguez of Huatempo-a small community in the municipio of Ciudad Mier-played the accordion with soul and instinct. On his mother's side, Alejand

Seventy-Five Reasons to Believe You walk in through the front door to a table full of pastries, charcuterie boxes, hot coffee, and personalized cookies. Everything looks welcoming, intentional. Off to one side, a room buzzes softly as scholarship recipients get their makeup done. Another space holds racks of clothes—outfits that each student brought for their photo session. In the main room, a professional photographer waits, lights adjusted, lens focused, as scholarship reci

Judith Zaffirini started at the bottom of the Texas Senate hierarchy in 1987, ranked number 30 out of 31 members. Thirty-seven years later, she ascended to the highest position when former Senator John Whitmire resigned on December 31, 2023, to become Houston's mayor. She became the first woman Dean of the Senate, succeeding 24 men who held the title since 1909. Senators look to the Dean for guidance on protocol, decorum, traditions, and knowledge. Zaffirini earned this disti

The Academy of Tejano Music announced its sixth annual Premios Tejano Mundial ceremony will take place February 5, 2026, at San Antonio's Shrine Auditorium. The red carpet will showcase a lineup of Tejano stars competing for honors across six categories, along with lifetime achievement awards and performances from established and emerging artists. The performer roster includes Conjunto Cats, Los Arcos Hermanos Peña, Elijah Ezequiel, Bianca Ruiz, Luis AG, and Los Heartbreakers

"My name is Sam Vale. In addition to owning and operating a private port of entry that the rent you pay could support all the others for 1,000 years, it is something we feel efficiencies at the ports are of utmost importance to our border security." Samuel F. Vale delivered those words in 2009 before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Chairman Chuck Schumer had invited him to testify about securing America's borders and points of entry. Vale spoke with authority about customs po

Sunday was brutally cold. Most people stayed inside. Food Not Bombs RGV showed up at Archer Park anyway with hot plates, used clothing, and a small pantry. Archer Park sits at 101 N Main Street in downtown McAllen. The 1.8-acre space features a gazebo, benches, and sidewalks where the city hosts community events. Online reviews describe it as well-maintained but note "occasional homeless individuals nearby" as something visitors should expect. It's not that the park has a spe

Congressman Vicente Gonzalez delivered an impassioned defense of immigrant construction workers during a January 21 hearing, emphasizing their indispensable role in America's housing market. The next day, he voted to fund the very agency responsible for deporting them. The contradiction speaks volumes about the performative nature of border district representation. "We have to be honest about that because while we talk about immigrants, 30% of construction workers in this cou

Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar appeared in federal court Thursday to answer charges that he transformed his law enforcement office into a personal profit center during the pandemic. The five-term sheriff faces allegations of conspiracy, theft of federal funds, and money laundering stemming from a scheme prosecutors say ran for more than two years. According to federal prosecutors, Cuellar and his assistant chief, Alejandro Gutierrez, launched Disinfect Pro Master in April

Rio Grande City Grulla ISD spent Wednesday patting itself on the back for fixing problems it should have addressed years ago. Superintendent Guadalupe Garza delivered what the district branded as a "state of the district" address, chronicling twelve months of tackling basic infrastructure failures that accumulated under previous leadership. Garza opened with calculated bluntness. "One year ago, Rio Grande City Grulla ISD began a reset, not with slogans, not with excuses, but

Picture South Texas politics as your favorite telenovela, unfolding across the ranchos of Rio Grande City, the bustling streets of McAllen, and the colonias from Roma to Brownsville. The general election in November? That’s the dramatic season finale everyone tunes in for. But the primary election is the crucial “casting episode”—the one where we, the viewers in every colonia corner, decide which characters even make it to that finale. The dramatic series of Doña Política La

Beto O'Rourke confirmed he hasn't endorsed a candidate in the Texas Democratic Senate primary between James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett. The clarification came during an interview with the Houston Chronicle's Texas Take podcast, where O'Rourke framed his current neutrality as respect for democratic process rather than personal preference. "No, no. Look, we're the party that says it believes in democracy and self-government and the ability for people to freely and fairly cho

President Trump stood in the White House briefing room Tuesday, marking his first anniversary back in office, and dropped a statement that was resounding. While defending his administration's aggressive immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, he noted that Border Patrol agents are predominantly Hispanic. According to Customs and Border Protection data, over half of Border Patrol agents serving on the southern border identify as Hispanic. Applications surged 70 percen

On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the courtroom erupted when Velma Lisa Duran, sister of slain teacher Irma Garcia, snapped. "My sister went into the fatal funnel," Duran shouted. "She did it. Not you!" Her outburst interrupted testimony about the "fatal funnel"—law enforcement jargon for the first bodies through a door when bullets are flying. The defendant, former school resource officer Adrian Gonzales, faces 29 counts of child endangerment. Prosecutors argue he abandoned his

Rio Grande City formed a committee to explore building an eighteen-hole municipal golf course, a project that would finally give the city the recreational infrastructure other Valley towns have maintained for decades. The committee has begun planning feasibility studies. Rio Grande City already had a golf course once. The Fort Ringgold Golf Course operated from November 1970 until roughly 1990. Pete Diaz Sr., the Valley Mart magnate who transformed his family's grocery store

Rose Benavidez boasts about billions. The president of Starr County Industrial Foundation touts figures that would make most economic development directors weep with envy. Over four billion dollars in investments across the past decade. Six thousand jobs created. Wind farms, solar projects, and retail developments transforming one of the poorest counties in America into an emerging powerhouse. The numbers sound staggering despite Starr County maintaining the highest unemploym

Greg Abbott has never faced a challenge quite like Gina Hinojosa. First, she's Mexican-American. Second, she's a woman. And even though he easily won against Wendy Davis, this candidate has something Davis didn't: she's puro 956. The Brownsville native and five-term state representative stopped by Caro's Restaurant in Rio Grande City on Monday to talk with local voters about her campaign. The event drew family and local Democratic officials who turned out to support her candi

Donald Trump made his choice in Texas's 34th Congressional District on December 18, and the fallout has been delicious. The former president endorsed Eric Flores, leaving his 2022 congressional candidate, Mayra Flores (who shares the surname but not the bloodline), fuming on the sidelines. Mayra Flores wasted no time posting a clarification that screamed "we are NOT related" in everything but those exact words. Eric Flores, who worked as an assistant U.S. attorney from 2021 t

Greg Abbott's campaign account hit $105.7 million in January 2026. That staggering sum didn't come from bake sales or grassroots fundraising. It came from billionaires who expect results. Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass handed Abbott $6 million in December 2023, the largest single campaign donation in Texas history. Yass's net worth hovers around $29 billion, and his priority issue is school vouchers. Abbott spent 2024 using that money to unseat Republican legislators who

Across Texas—especially along the border—people continue to face intimidation and civil rights violations during encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Even U.S. citizens have been wrongfully detained or questioned. These are difficult times, but knowing how to respond safely and lawfully can protect you and others. Here's what every Texan should understand—and share—about what to do if ICE appears at your door, your workplace, or stops you on the road. 1.

Most Texans couldn't pick the Land Commissioner out of a lineup if their property tax refund depended on it. That should probably change. The Texas General Land Office manages over thirteen million acres of state property and funnels billions into public school funding through the Permanent School Fund. When hurricanes flatten coastal towns, this office distributes disaster recovery money. When veterans need housing assistance, this agency writes the checks. The commissioner