By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Del Rio’s annual celebration of the Chinese New Year once again provided a splash of lively culture and brilliant color to a gray winter afternoon on Saturday.
Dozens of youngsters, from three- and four-year-old Head Start students to Del Rio High School seniors, as well as many local dignitaries, including elected officials and business leaders, participated in a parade on South Main Street to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, which began Jan. 22.
Del Rioan Diana Stern, a businesswoman and wife of City Attorney Jack Stern, introduced the Chinese New Year celebration to Del Rio more than a decade ago. Last year, she announced she would no longer be spearheading the event.
But a long-time friend of the Sterns, Linda Guanajuato Webb, a retired educator and administrator and an elected member of the local public school district, thought abandoning the celebration would be a shame, so she and Diana began talking about continuing the event.
Webb said Stern approached her and her daughter Jessica Guanajuato in December and asked if they could help organize the celebration in 2023.
“Of course we said yes, especially because Diana and Jack do so much for the community,” Webb told the 830 Times after Saturday’s event.
Webb said she has had so many parents approach her and tell her how much their children remembered and enjoyed the event.
School children once again formed the backbone of the celebration this year, Webb said, beginning with three classes from Cardwell Head Start.
“We had Ms. Vanessa Salinas’ class, Mr. Tanya DeLeon’s class and Ms. Alva Nieto’s class all participated, about 60 students, three and four years old. With the support of their directors, Ms. Patty Dixon and Ms. Alana Talamantez, these students had the opportunity to participate. They were all very excited about it,” Webb said.
She said two boys in particular, Daniel Villa and Emmanuel Escalante, wore traditional tiger costumes for their performance.
“They were just thrilled,” she said.
“Another girl, Ellie Gonzalez, was working to learn her ribbon dance in San Antonio, before she even came here, and she was all excited, and she spoke to Ms. Stern as well, saying that they were talking about China and the Chinese New Year at her school. So, when they discuss it in school and then they actually get to see it in person, it opens their eyes to a whole new culture. It’s really wonderful for these kids,” Webb said.
The Queen City Belles dance and spirit troupe, under the direction of Kayla Rodriguez, also participated.
“The three ribbon girls, Jackie Ortiz, Nicole Meza and Mariana Peña, they came up to Ellie Gonzalez telling her they would help her with her routine, and that meant a lot to her. When you have high school girls talking to and encouraging a seven-year-old girl, it’s really amazing to watch,” Webb said.
Two groups of high school students also carried two dragons in the parade.
“The male dragon, which was green, was carried by Carlos Treviño, and he is a CTE student, and the other boys who helped him were also CTE or ROTC students. Carlos organized the boys and got them together. The girls who carried the red dragon were all Belles organized and directed by Kayla Rodriguez,” Webb said.
Other Belles donned traditional Chinese gowns and hairpieces and carried large fans for their performances.
“Kayla had over 18 girls ready to help with the dragon, and then she had a group of 12 girls that did the fan dance and then her five Belles captains did another dance, and three of them did a long ribbon dance. They all worked on their performances together, organized them and did everything they needed to do,” Webb said.
She noted her daughter Jessica helped choreograph a traditional Chinese women’s dance.
“Another group of dancers that participated was students from Miss Annie’s Straight Up Dance Studio,” Webb said.
Del Rio Police Department Cpl. Dulce Gonzalez and DRPD Capt. Robert Guzman worked with a group of boys from the Head Start program to develop a martial arts routine they debuted during the parade.
“I really appreciate them helping us, and it was awesome to see them. I think it’s great because it also helps the little ones realize the police are something more than just someone in a blue uniform,” Webb said.
Another dozen or so young girls that were recruited by Del Rioan Alma Ruiz who dressed in costume and participated in the event with an umbrella dance.
Dignitaries who participated in the parade rode in the “Dynasty” float and included Mayor Al Arreola and his wife Myrella Arreola, Michelle Fagan, representing U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales; Patricia Hernandez, representing Texas Rep. Eddie Morales; Señora Paloma Villasenor, the Mexico Consul in Del Rio and her assistant Isabella Gallegos, city administrators Esme Meza and Michael Garcia, Claudia Lopez, Ben Rivera, DeeDee Chattler and Ralph Howard.
Diana Stern walked at the head of the parade, and Nancy Lin of Dallas, her sister, flew in to help Webb with the many details of costuming and organizing.
“It was really just amazing to see all these people and groups working together for something good for our community,” Webb said.
Webb admitted the event requires a lot of work, but added she believes it brings “a lot of culture” to the community.
“I want to thank everyone in the community who supported this,” she said.
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Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
