Dr. Gary Mounce
Rio Grande Guardian
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Mounce: Sorpresas! Surprises in Mexico!
“Best laid plans of mice . . .” Robert Burns would not have been surprised. Trip to Guanajuato, State of Guanajuato, Mexico. After Navidad, through Año Nuevo, and beyond. By bus from McAllen, Texas. (Only $106 dollars, RT, for Senior Citizens.) Bus full. Fifteen hour trip. “Tu servidor” (meaning “Your Servant,” that is, myself) and […] → Read More
Ill-fated “Roarin’ Twenties (1920s) vs. Hopeful Twenties (2020)
A great deal of hope was found today among supporters of Access Esperanza (Access to Hope). Their 20th Anniversary Celebration in bustling, downtown Pharr, Texas, shown brightly in the Autumn twilight, Saturday, November 5th, 2022 The gala was held, appropriately, in the enormous, iconic fruit market on Cage Boulevard, now storage for Access Esperanza goods. Valet parking, champagne and […] → Read More
Mounce: South Texas Politics: Still Your Mama’s Version?
Democrats dominate the news in south Texas politics? It seemed so to your Mama. No longer. If you believe the media, there is a “red tide coming (November 8th). Republicans: are they making inroads in south Texas? They already have – steadily increasing their vote in the last few presidential elections. Why? Clichés? Can they […] → Read More
Mounce: There’s a Starr in Your Future
There’s a Starr in your future—and in your past and your present. So near, yet, in many ways, so far. I took a trip yesterday to Starr—Starr County, Texas–destination, Rio Grande City, driving from my county, Hidalgo, with natives of that region. We had not returned in many years. On the “back road” (State107, to […] → Read More
Mounce: Dos Años, Two Years: The Future for AMLO in Mexico, for Democracy in America?
Dos Años, only two years remain for the presidential term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), in Mexico. Only two years remain—unless sanity prevails—for American Democracy. Mexico elects a new president, July 2024 (AMLO cannot succeed himself; there is only one constitutional term). U.S. presidential elections follow, November 2024. In between those two crucial dates, […] → Read More
Mounce: War and Peace—Ukraine: Tolstoy and South Texas
Tolstoy’s masterpiece, War and Peace, was set during the ‘big picture’ — the invasion of Russia; but he focused on the role of family, of spirituality, of common links among humans. Far from reflection on those larger topics, oblivious to the need for unity in the search for peace, South Texas Republicans tediously repeat the […] → Read More
Mounce: Their Rio Grande, and Our Rio Grande: Texas vs. New Mexico
Sister states! Noble pair in the great Southwest! Texas and New Mexico. Should be friends, compañeras, parecidas (meaning, “similar”). But often, not so much. I shall explain, through the telling of the story of my recent trip to Albuquerque. On a previous skiing trip, Santa Fe basin, I encountered a fellow skier with a sweat-shirt […] → Read More
Mounce: UTRGV Under Attack: Dan Patrick’s Campaign Tricks
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and other Texas universities are under attack. Dan Patrick, current Lieutenant Governor of Texas, (a position, thanks to the Texas Constitution that is potentially more powerful than that of Governor) advocates abolition of academic tenure at all of Texas’s public universities. Patrick is running in the Republican […] → Read More
Mounce: Right Wing Closes RGV's National Butterfly Center? Don’t Let Them!
Who is the “Right Wing?” And why do they close the Rio Grande Valley’s National Butterfly Center? They made scurrilous accusations of fake “human trafficking” and forced—through threat of death – a private, one hundred acre wildlife center, “flagship” facility for the National Butterfly Association to close down (Alex Woodward, The Independent, 2 Feb 22). […] → Read More
Mounce: Desayuno – Breaking the Fast
La Esperanza (Hope) makes for a great breakfast—desayuno, breaking the fast! But, so the expression goes, it makes for a lean supper. Residents of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, like thousands, no, millions of other Americans of all ethnic or religious groups, just had their hopes dashed. Last Thursday, a Democratic plan for U.S. […] → Read More
Mounce: Troubled About Troubled Cuba?
Troubled about what to think about Cuba? Don’t be. Just roll-over, like so many did with Iraq. And like it! (Well, until it blows up in your face.) Don’t you get it? Cuba is ours! Or haven’t you been listening for the last 120 years or so? Cuba, a sovereign country? Maybe. But remember Mike […] → Read More
Mounce: Buh, Buh, Buh Blue Texan in Red Oklahoma
Yes, a very “blue” Texan, from the blue area of the Rio Grande Valley. But no, not the reddest state; Wyoming, one-half million people, now edges out Oklahoma, with four million—both largely Republican! Four Senators between them; four for California (40 million) and New York (20 million). Well, hooo-eee! Now that there’s fair, ain’t it? (This blue […] → Read More
Juneteenth in Edinburg, Texas
EDINBURG, Texas – Edinburg, county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, wasted no time in celebrating the newest national holiday, Juneteenth. Morning presentations stressed the importance of that first event in Galveston, on June 19, 1865—more than two years after President Lincoln’s proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation was revealed to slaves that had been held, working, but […] → Read More
Mounce: Immodest Proposals (with apologies to Jonathan Swift)
Clashes in my head! Science and health versus ignorance! Democracy versus capricious authoritarianism! “All born equal” versus racism! After a long day of historical research, who should enter into my head last night? One great man I had studied anew –The Very Reverend Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and satirist, author of […] → Read More
Mounce: Derechistas (Right Wingers) in the Américas
One gone, two to go! Deadly derechistas, right-wingers in the Américas, North, South, and Central. Trump gone (but not forgotten). But, still in charge are Bolsonaro of Brazil; Ortega of Nicaragua. And they are still racist and misogynist. They are still hampering recovery from Covid-19 and, thus, perpetuating economic stagnation. Explanations? Connections of right wing ideology […] → Read More
Mounce: Dia de los Reyes Magos: Gifts of the Magi for Mexico and U.S.
Epiphany! January 6. When Jesus, according to legend, encountered “Gentiles” (the “Three Kings,” one Black, one probably Arabic, one—White? More likely Asian, who knows?) The end of the “Twelve Days of Christmas!” Let’s celebrate, even if not of those traditions (strong in Mexico, Latin America—and strong, still, here in the Magic Valley of South Texas)! […] → Read More
Mounce: A Paean to Mexico, a Plea to Save Her: COVID and Americans
“México, Lindo y Bonito”… lovely, beautiful Mexico. So the song goes. Still true. Those who know the truth of these words remember the Christmas lights of the gorgeous main avenue, Paseo de la Reforma, leading from downtown to the Castillo de Chapultepec. “Old-time” travelers to Mexico may recall fondly the spectacular Christmas and New Year […] → Read More
Mounce: Mexico-US: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe—a Link?
Christmas is coming! But, before that, so is Día de la Virgen Guadalupe, December 12, 2020. She is the patron saint, in the Catholic faith, of Mexico. Midnight songs and celebrations inaugurate Christmas season. There will be tequila toasting and fireworks. The Sacred and Profane often seem mingled in Mexico—and, in odd ways, in the U.S. […] → Read More
Mounce: Hemp in Mexico and Texas: Pot Luck?
Pot Luck? Or out of luck? Farmers in Mexico and Texas are anxiously awaiting possible financial benefits from the now legal growth of the hemp plant. Some have their doubts. My amigo, Xavier (pseudonym), a cowboy/rancher/farmer in southern Mexico, where the climate is favorable, has high hopes for pot (pardon the pun). The “Law for […] → Read More
Mounce: The Family that Laughs Together... Mexico and the U.S.
Americans in the U.S. and Americans in Mexico (we are all Americans in the Americas) say Gracias a Dios. We say “thank God” we live in lands with freedom of speech. That includes freedom to laugh and make fun, especially of political figures and parties. Our senses of humor help sustain us, help each country […] → Read More