By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
City Civic Facilities Director Leno Hernandez was recognized for his contributions in organizing local events during the Aug. 8 city council meeting.
Mayor Al Arreola presented Hernandez with a certificate of recognition at the meeting.
Arreola honored Hernandez’s involvement with the Del Rio community, especially for his work for the city’s 2023 Fourth of July events.
“Leno Hernandez has been behind the scenes bringing in entertainers for the past 12 years to the city,” Arreola said.
Hernandez was born and raised at Laughlin Air Force Base and has attended Southwest Texas Junior College. Hernandez began working for the city of Del Rio as a sound technician at the Paul Poag Theater in 1997.
In 2019, Hernandez filled in as temporary manager for the Del Rio Civic Center. He then became the city’s civic facilities manager. Hernandez has been in charge of overseeing events at the Paul Poag Theater, the Del Rio Civic Center, the former city’s multipurpose facility on the grounds of the San Felipe Springs Golf Course and the Dr. Alfredo Gutierrez Jr. Amphitheater.
Hernandez said he has always felt like the luckiest employee in Del Rio since working for the city.
Hernandez said he is currently in charge of building connections with promoters and presenters to bring entertainers to Del Rio. The biggest entertainer Hernandez was involved in bringing to Del Rio was stand-up comedian George Lopez in 2015 and again in 2017.
Recently Hernandez helped coordinate the entertainment aspects of Freedom Fest 2023 during the Fourth of July weekend and bringing in bands including Los Lobos and Radney Foster.
“I am a big part of selecting the artists and going through that process of making sure we have artists of that caliber in Del Rio,” Hernandez said.
The next upcoming event Hernandez helped put together is the Tribute to the Eagles performed by Houston-based band Already Gone, taking place at the Civic Center on Saturday.
Hernandez is also helping organize the Border Showdown car show on Oct. 21 and the Del Rio Comic-Con on Sept. 9.
During his free time, Hernandez does a lot of drawing, photography and videography, including graphic design work for the Outdoorsman and the Amistad Life summer magazine. Hernandez also started creating comic-book illustrations and began selling his work for the first time at the 2022 Del Rio Comic-Con.
