Pete Mendoza
Pete Mendoza | Vaquero Radio
UTRGV students, faculty and staff who experienced Charreada Wednesday on the Brownsville campus were treated to a day filled with Charro Days tradition through food, dance, music and games.
Associate Director of Student Union Sergio Martinez said Charreada has always been a part of the school’s history.
“It’s the student event that the campus community can participate in that honors the tradition, the citywide traditions, of Charro Days and we posted it annually now since the founding of UTRGV, and we’re happy to continue that tradition,” Martinez said.
Psychology senior Vanessa Ortega said it is amazing having a way to express the culture of the Valley in the school.
“I love how we incorporate our traditions here,” Ortega said. “I think it’s really nice to celebrate our culture.”
Martinez said this year the event had a lot more entertainment than previous years. The key performance of the event were dancing horses, live music from “La Lexion” and “Mariachi 7 Leguas” and a dance performance by Ballet Folklorico and the Brownsville Early College High School Dancing Stars.
Different activities and games were available for the attendees to enjoy from a space hopper race to an elote-eating contest to a Huapango contest.
Since student organizations hosted the activities, they were able to connect with students in a more fun and active way.
Social work junior Rosa Sanchez said Charreada was a beautiful event to enjoy.
“This is my favorite event of the year,” Sanchez said. “It’s so colorful and I love seeing everyone so happy.”
Martinez said the event even had different choices of snacks and food.
“The student organizations were selling different kinds of snacks to the students,” Martinez said. “Chartwells was also offering a special buffet that was part of the celebration and they were doing tacos al pastor.”
The associate director said the Student Union will host future events, such as “Union Unplugged,” the Distinguished Speaker Series and a Selena tribute concert.
For more information on events, visit utrgv.edu/studentunion.
This is Pete Mendoza for Vaquero Radio.
