Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 13, 1995 Page: 1 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 22 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
215
Hoag Book Bindery
127 Rail Rd
Published weekly in Rio Grande City, Texas every Thursday by The Rio Grande Publishing Co.
USPS 466-200
VOL. 82, NO. 28, THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1995
25 cents
Submerged town resurfaces
after 42 years under water
GUERRERO VIEJO, Mexico -
Each st<?p brings back a childhood
memory as the Briseflo brothers
walk through the sandstone ruins of
m their historic home town,
submerged by progress 42 years
ago.
"This is the market," Joventino
Briseflo says, pointing to a
structure with graceful arches. "And
here we all played ball," Armando
Briseflo says, swinging an
imaginary bat in a clearing.
The Briseflos were teen-agers in
1953 when the government moved
^ the residents of Guerrero to higher
ground to make way for Falcon
Lake, created by a new international
dam of the Rio Grande, the town,
then 200 years old, was sacrificed
undct the lake so the border boom
towns and sprawling farms of the
Lower Rio Grande Valley could
prosper with flood control and
% irrigation.
"The water was coming up and
up and up. The people were
watching it comc up and the didn't
want to leave," recalls Armando
Briseflo, 58. "They cried and cried."
A nostalgic reunion is happening
this summer for many who lived in
or trace their roots to this once-
ornate provincial town at the
£ crossing of the Rio Salado and the
Rio Grande. One of the harshest
droughts in decades lias shrunken
the lake, leaving normally
submerged parts of the ghost town
back on dry land.
In times of high water, the lake
overtakes six blocks of Guerrero.
Fishermen can take their boats into
the airy shade of 194-year-old
Nuestra Senora del Refugio, the
sandstone cathedral with a gently
sloping bell tower.
But this summer Falcon Lake
has dipped 37 1/2 feet below its
optimum level, losing enough
water to supply the City of Los
Angeles for more than three years.
Historians say Guerrero - now
known as Guerrero Viejo, or Old
Guerrero - bustled with more than
15,000 people at the turn of the
century.
But railroads through Laredo, the
Mexican Revolution of 1910 and
economic decline each took their
loll, dwindling Guerrero's
population to about 2,000 by the
time it was flooded in 1953.
Today, buildings above the
normal waterline are eerily
overgrown with prickly pear cacti,
mesquites and other scrubby brush
jutting out of piles of stones.
"It makes us a little sad to see
the city this way," says Armando
Briseflo.
"At the same time you feel good
to remember the town where you
were a child. You walk around,
thinking," he briefly closes his
eyes. "And remembers how it was."
He looks to the main square
where bands use'd to play in the
kiosk. "I slept many days on those
benches," he says.
Munoz announces candidacy
for County Sheriff
Ricardo "Rick" Mufloz, of Roma,
Texas has announced his candidacy
for the office of Starr County
Sheriff for the March 1996
Democratic Primary.
Mufloz, 28 years of age is the
son of Isabel Mufloz and Maria C.
Mufloz, grandson of the late Felix
Mufloz and Santos Mufloz and the
great-grandson of the late Don
Julian Mufloz and Antonia Mufloz,
all of which were from El Garceflo,
Texas.
Mufloz as a child grew up in El
Garceflo and later his parents moved
to Donna, where Mufloz attended
the Donna I.S.D. and later graduated
from Donna High School. Mufloz
attended Pan American University
and then enrolled in the Lower Rio
Grande Valley Regional Police
Academy. After graduating from
the Academy in December of 1989,
Mufloz was awarded his Basic Peace
Officer's License from the State of
Texas. Mufloz then started his Law
Enforcement career working as a
deputy for the Webb County
Sheriff's Department in Laredo,
Texas. Mufloz was assigned to the
Federal Minimum Detention
Ricardo "Rick" Munoz
Facility - Webb County Sheriff's
Department - Laredo, Texas.
Mufloz worked for that agency for
approximately a year.
Mufloz is currently employed
with the City of Roma Police
Department as an investigator.
Mufloz has been employed with the
Roma Police Department for
approximately 5-years. Mufloz
while with the Roma Police
(See MUNOZ, Page 8)
The brothers, who now live in
Zapata, Texas, remember attending
Guerrero's school, normally under
several feet of water but now a
muddy walk fro the square.
And there's Hotel Flores, built in
1871, once an elegant stopover on
the road between Matamoros and
Nuevo Laredo. It had a wrought
iron balcony around its second
floor, a shop of fine imported
goods and a grand piano from
Germany.
"There was a stair case here, and
a ballroom up there," Joventino
says, pointing to a ceiling no
longer there. "There was a
hardwood dance floor - beautiful,
beautiful."
The town's residents were moved
to Nuevo Guerrero, a government-
built town where homes of cinder
block and brick replaced the 2-foot-
widc sandstone walls of Guerrero
Viejo structures. Many, like the
Briseflos, made new lives for
themselves in the United States.
But 64-year-old Julia Zamora
couldn't tolerate the new town, a
hilltop sprawl with gas stations and
a drive-through cervcza store. She's
one of the three people who have
stayed all 42 years in Guerrero
Viejo - living without electricity as
the town's first settlers did in the
1750's.
"I don't like going into town,"
she says. "Ever since I was a little
girl I've been enchanted with the
(See GUERRERO, Page 8)
Auto License
to close July 17
thru the \9
The Starr County Auto License
Department will be closed from
July 17, thru the 19th due to the
Implementation of the Registration
and Title System (RTS) and
Training.
With the new system people will
be able to receive their automobile
title in the about 7 days, then the
usual 2 to 3 months.
The office will open on July 20,
their icgualr business hours.
RGC
Quarterback
Club to elect
officers
The Rio Grande City Quarterback
Club will be having Election of
Officers on Wednesday, July 19 at
6:00 p.m. at the Starr Mall of the
High School.
Anyone wishing to become a
member or officer is urged to
attend.
■
- 'V " .. '.W t * *. s
• • ■ . *V m* ' —
The Nuestra Seflora del Refugio Church in Guerrero Viejo, Mexico, stands decaying in the summer sun. The city of
Guerrero, built in 1827, was a vital city in Mexico until 1953 when the Falcon Reservoir was built causing the city
to be covered with water. The walls of the church are collapsing after years of being under water. Most of the city has
reappeared this summer as a result of the drought in South Texas and Northern Mexico.
First twenty five complete exam review,
ready to apply to Medical School
Twenty-five students from
throughout South Texas are the
first graduates of a review course to
help them successfully complete
the medical school application
process.
The five-week MCAT prep
course, sponsored by the University
of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio and held at The
University of Texas-Pan American,
showed students how to review for
the Medical College Admissions
Test, the standardized admL .ion.-
exam used by medical schools
across the country.
At a reception Thursday honoring
the students, Dr. Mario Ramirez, a
Valley doctor and former member of
the UT System Board of Regents,
said he is glad to see students ready
to enter medical school as
replacements for himself and other
doctors who are nearing retirement
age. Ramirez is credited as one of
the driving forces behind creation of
the program, a response to the
shortage of medical professionals in
the Rio Grande Valley.
"We need you back in South
Texas," Ramirez told the students.
"One of the problems in the Valley
is that out students don't do well on
the MCAT. Our grades have not
been as good. Maybe it's a
language difference or a cultural
difference. We knew that if you
took the course you just finished,
you would do much better. We are
looking to you to see the results.
"I believe this will be the best
year we have had in the Valley for
medical school applicants," he said.
"I am sure that most of you will
succeed. We need you back in the
Valley (as doctors)."
Dr. Miguel A. Bedolla, director
of the Medical Hispanic Center of
Excellence at UTHSCSA, taught
the course. He said he is confident
that all 25 students will be admitted
to medical school.
"I am sure all of them will make
it," he said. "1 have been on the
admissions committee for a long
time. I know the profile of the
successful student.
"I am very proud of what we did,"
Bedolla said. "I wanted to invest in
iJiese students. They are the future
of Texas.
"In the past, we have had very
few medical school applications
from students here and fewer who
get into medical school," he said.
"If this program is successful,
instead of three or four students, we
will have 25 to 30 every year."
He said a second class of 25
students will be selected next year.
"We have funds for one more
year, and we will try to generate
funds to continue as long as the
program is needed," he said. "The
next class starts a year from now."
The piogram is designed for
students who have completed their
pre-mcd course requirements and arc
ready to apply to medical school.
There is no charge to the students
for the program, which includes free
study guides and manuals and a
stipend for living expenses.
In the course, students meet daily
for five weeks, gelling help in
filling out medical school
applications, writing the personal
statement, an essay about what the
applicant plans to do as a doctor,
and reviewing for and taking
practice versions of the MCAT.
Most of the students in the first
class were from the Rio Grande
Valley but a few came from as far
away as San Antonio and El Paso,
staying in the residence halls while
taking the course.
"This course made me aware of
what it's like to lake the MCAT."
said Glenaa Rodriguez, a student a
UT Brownsville. "Otherwise, I
would have taken the test blindly.
"The clashes enhanced my
problem-solving skills and helped
me mentally prepare for the test,"
she said. "If I hadn't come here, I
wouldn't have applied to medical
school."
Rodriguez said she will apply to
UT System medical schools. Jaime
Ovalle of Edinburg, a UT Pan
American pre-med biology senior
and graduate of the MCAT prep
course, organized Thursday's
reception. He said he is planning to
lake the MCAT on Agu. 19 and
should know the results in early
October.
"Students apply to medical
school a whole year ahead of when
they start," Bedolla said.
Students interested in applying
for the 1996 class of the MCAT
prep course should contact Bedolla
in San Antonio at (210) 644-1435
for more information. Selections
for the next class will begin in
January.
• •
Rio High Sophomores to visit
Washington D.C. this summer
Two Rio Grande City High
School sophomores will visit
Washington, D C., this summer as
part of the National Hispanic Youth
Initiative Scholar Program,
RGCCISD officials said
Iris Laurel and Danny Roy Lopez,
who will be juniors when school
starts in August, will attend
workshops and help work on
scientific research projects as part of
the NHYI in Health. Biomedical
Research and Policy Development
The NHYI program hopes to
prepare, motivate and encourage
Hispanic youth to pursue a career in
the health sciences and biomedical
research More than 95 percent of
previous participants liavc furthered
their education at post-secondary
institutions
Laurel will be in the nation's
capitol from July 15-July 22. while
Lopez is expected to attend from
1995 Rio High graduate receives
Vikki Carr scholarship
1995 Rio Grande City High School graduate Felicia Komn (second from left) joins
her parents Lydia Romn and Sotero Acosta in meeting international singing star
Vikki Carr. Romo received a $2,000 scholarship from the Vikki Carr Scholarship
Foundation on July 1 in San Antonio. (RGCCISD photo)
Rio Grande City High School
1995 graduate Lcticia Romo
recently was awarded a scholarship
by the Vikki Carr Scholarship
Foundation, RGCCISD officials
said
Romo. 18. received the $2,000
scholarship after meeting with
Can, an international singing star
on July 1 in San Antonio
The Rio Grande City resident
was one of only five finalist from
more than 2,000 applicants to
receive the grant
Romo had already received more
than $1,000 in scholarships from
the First National Bank, Los
Nuestros Educational Scholarship
Foundation and the Rio Grande
City tenuis program
Romo was joined b\ her parents
on July 1. when she met with Can
and enjoyed lunch
Romo is the daughter of Lydia
Romo and stepfather Sotero Acosta
of Rio Grande City
July 29-Aug. 5
The NHYI provides a wide range
of educational experiences for
personal and professional
development to help students
achieve academic knowledge,
leadership skills and first-hand
knowledge in health care,
biomedical research and health
policy legislation
Applicants must be Hispanic high
school students who will be juniors
ot seniors by July 1995, have a
grade point average of 2 7 and
above and must have taken at least
one course in the scienccs
NHYI scholars arc selected on the
basis of scholarship achievement,
demonstrated interest in the health
sciences and biomedical research,
leadership skills and personal
attributes Selection of scholars is
done nationwide, including the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
The students will visit several
institutions such as the National
Institute of Health, Capitol Hill,
the White House, the Stale
Department and the Smithsonian
Museum and others
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 13, 1995, newspaper, July 13, 1995; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195504/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.