By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
It’s been a wild quarter of a century covering this wonderful community!
So this week brought about two milestones for me. First, I turned 45. Do I feel older? A little, but if I wake up and take a breath I consider that a win.
Secondly, I celebrated my 25th year in journalism. Hard to believe I’ve been bringing news and sports and more to this area for a quarter of a century. So what did I do on the official day I celebrated that milestone? Why I went down to Brown Plaza for the 16 de Septiembre celebration!
For an event that’s been going on for years, this year’s event had the odd specter of a changing attitude regarding pride for one’s community hanging over it. Del Rio has always celebrated its diversity with folks of all walks of life taking part in events that recognize not just our great nation, but the roots of the people that make up this community.
As I walked around the plazita, I saw people of all ages and demographics enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the thing that brings us all together – a good time.
However, there are residents here that don’t feel this kind of celebration is appropriate. They believe we should only celebrate American holidays or ceremonies. They make veiled racist, and often misspelled or poorly written, comments regarding the local celebrations to honor Mexico’s Independence Day and seemed to forget the importance of the impact those original settlers and immigrants from Mexico had to this area.
Looking through photos of events I’ve covered and attended here, I noticed that we’ve done a lot as a community to celebrate so many different cultures and races. We’ve celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a parade and speeches. We’ve celebrated the life of Cesar Chavez with a parade and informational speeches that served to educate and inspire. We’ve honored our veterans, our fallen, the unique bond our community has with Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, and we’ve celebrated the good ol’ USA with Fourth of July activities like a parade, music and fireworks. We’ve even celebrated Chinese New Year with all the color and pageantry you’d expect.
So where did we go wrong? When did all this celebration and joy turn into a “horrible” thing that disgraces this country? If that’s how you truly feel, I suggest you stand tall and organize an event of your own and make sure to add how only certain folks can take part and let’s see what the public thinks of your idea.
I am the blessed child of two cultures. It took me years to understand why that’s special to me, but I haven’t forgotten since then and the look on the faces of folks when they learn that Brian Todd Argabright is actually Latino is priceless.
I spent part of my childhood with family who didn’t speak English well or at all but were proud to be a part of this community, proud to contribute and had children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren that contributed to make this town better each and every day.
I always hope things get better because it’s better to be positive and realistic then negative and a fear monger. However, as the title of this column has proclaimed for years, that’s just me talking.
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Brian Argabright has been a journalist for 25 years. An award-winning writer and photographer, he has covered sports, features and much more during his career. Contact him at drnhsports@gmail.com
