La Rejoneada spearheads Acuña tourism rebound

November 8, 2007
By Bill Sontag
Feature Writer

Among the most spectacular, colorful events of arena pageantry in the world, surely the 16th century Spanish tradition of rejoneo (ray-hoh-NAY-oh) tops the list. Arguably, the bravado and drama of the more familiar corrida de toros – bullfight, to most English speakers – is surpassed when the torero is on the back of a skilled, equally daring horse: ¡Rejoneo!

According to Jorge Ramon, Acuñense and owner of La Macarena Restaurant and Bar, 295 Madero Street, the number one rejoneador (ray-HOH-nay-ah-DOR) in the world, Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, is slated to appear here on Nov. 17. Hermoso will test his skills and those of his mounts against three bulls, beginning at 4 p.m., at Lienzo Campanario on the highway to Zaragosa, just south of Acuña, and Alberto "El Geno" Galindo will fight one bull in the same style.

Ramon is making it easy for tourists, Laughlin airmen and their families, visitors and curious Del Rioans to enjoy the premier performance of a rejoneada in Acuña. Aficionados and newcomers alike may congregate at the landmark La Macarena Patio from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., Saturday (Nov. 17). For $3 roundtrip, passengers may board buses to travel to the arena, and return to La Macarena immediately after the event, about 6 p.m. Banda Grupo Fiesta will perform on the patio, and Hermoso will be on hand for photos and autographs.

Viewed as a stepping stone to the gradual reintroduction of bullfighting tradition in Ciudad Acuña – not featured here since the abandonment and demolition of the Plaza de Toros La Macarena, owned by Ramon’s father, Jesús Maria Ramon – the Hermoso appearance may reinflate tourist interest in crossing the international bridge from Del Rio. At least, that's the hope of Ramon and a squad of Acuña businessmen, determined to buoy the confidence of American tourists scared away from what they see as the safest Mexican border town between Tijuana and Matamoros.

Rejoneo is also known as Portuguese bullfighting simply because equestrian arena work is the hallmark of that country, but the Spanish term comes from an ancient style of blade, a rejón, a short, flat knife affixed to a long shaft. When Hermoso and Galindo are here, spectators may come to Campanario early and see their ornately-groomed horses across the highway from the lienzo or arena. The afternoon prior to his Acuña venue, Hermoso will perform in Monclova, and the following day, Nov. 18, in Monterrey.

Readers unfamiliar with rejoneadas or Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza may view vivid pictures of him and the action at an Internet slide show, http://www.ganaderoslidia.com/webroot/hermoso1.htm.

In developing attractions, Ramon and his cohorts are not coy about their motives. They want the American tourists back. After months of declining tourist traffic because of reports of trouble in other border cities, and – worse – baseless rumors about violence in Acuña, shop sales, restaurant customers, and entertainment crowds have all declined. Merchants on "the street" – Hidalgo, that runs the length of Acuña's tourist district – are frustrated and worried.

Gabriel Ramos, owner/manager of Crosby's Restaurant & Bar says his business in the landmark restaurant is off 40 percent from the same seasonal period in 2006. He's seen ups and downs in his 24 years at Crosby’s, and feels that, on Hidalgo Street, little has changed. "It's safe, this town!" Ramos asserted. "Acuña is a safe city. I have a home in Del Rio, and I watch the San Antonio news on television, and there are more bad things and murders happening there and Austin and Dallas. Percentagewise, there’s really nothing happening here."

As with most Acuña merchants, Ramos believes that tourists who are careless or "go looking for trouble" will surely find it, but real risk, he says, is far beyond the tourist district. Ramos said his wife's purse, with $800 and credit cards, was snatched in a large San Antonio mall's parking lot. "It was sad, but we don't go around saying, 'Oh, don't go to San Antonio. It's too dangerous there," said Ramos.

Now, Ramos – and most Acuña merchants – are extremely worried about upcoming U.S. Passport requirements for all who cross the border and want to return to the United States. Wars in the Middle East, Ramos believes, have made Americans more insular, and gas prices have given drivers second thoughts about travel, but passport demand and impoverished U.S. State Department supply have Ramos concerned.

So, too, with Cesar Peña, owner/manager of Casa Uxmal, 125 Hidalgo, a fine gifts store featuring Talavera pottery, silver and pewter dining ware and rustic Mexican furniture. "Sales are down, but they’re trying to pick up a little bit. I'm afraid of what will happen next year when the new passport is required," Peña lamented, Monday (Oct. 8).

He's gratified that the Laughlin Air Force Base ban on military crossings has been lifted. "We have seen a lot more Air Force families coming, and we always tell them, 'Here, there are no problems. If you look for problems you're going to get problems," Peña said. His normal hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, but Peña has cut Sunday hours in half – now set at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – because of reduced tourist traffic.

Faun Lee, quilting store manager in Westminster, Colo., and her parents, Orin and Ada Knutson, San Antonio, now come to Acuña for annual visits, and talked with LIVE! as they strolled into shops along Hidalgo Street. "We used to love going to Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, but it doesn't seem safe anymore, and most of the shops have moved out anyway," Lee said, Monday (Oct. 8).

Cynthia Bennett, Danbury, Texas, and her sister, Vicki Howard, and friend Cindy Golian, both of Galveston, browsed in a large curio shop. "We come here at least once a month," said Bennett. She favors Acuña for dental and optical work, and for prescription medicines from the district’s numerous farmacias. "I wouldn't go to any other border town, because I know this place and these people. They're all really nice to us here," said Bennett, Monday (Oct. 8).

Handcrafted steel and iron furniture, garden pots and a fountain pool teeming with brilliantly-colored Koi are all on display on the patio of El Patio, 7108 Matamoros Street, owned and managed by Roberto Garza Crosby and his wife, Christina. Garza also frets about rumors and their dampening effect on tourist trade from Del Rio. "There are a lot of rumors going around in Del Rio, and they're just not true," Garza said Monday (Oct. 8).

Recalling recent street chat about gangland attacks on Manuel's Restaurant, one of Acuña's most popular restaurants,"That just didn't happen. It was all untrue!" said Garza, reminded of similar rumors about Lando's Restaurant, about a year ago. Lando's, once a thriving and popular eatery, is now closed at the former Hidalgo Street location. "I don't know how these rumors get started or where they're coming from, but they not only hurt Acuña, they hurt Del Rio, too."

Garza, a civil engineering graduate of Texas A&M University, has also owned and managed a 500-cow dairy and bovine reproduction laboratory, and now – and for the past nine years – fabricates sturdy, fashionable steel patio and garden furniture. Christina manages the gift shop at El Patio, and both enterprises depend largely on tourist and Del Rio appetites for unique gifts and home and garden accessories.

So he and fellow businessmen Samuel Flores, Hotel San Antonio owner, Jorge Ramon, La Macarena proprietor, and Jaime Garza, owner of Corona Club, are pushing back against the rumors and advancing new ideas to attract tourists from both Mexico and the United States. Megaproyecto Turistico Amistad, Garza explained, is a state and federal plan to develop tourist attractions along the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras, Coah., to and beyond the Mexican shorelines of Lake Amistad. Opportunities will include campgrounds, hotels, casinos, golf courses, hiking and biking trails, and a theme park.

These same men are now fully engaged in promoting Hermoso de Mendoza's appearance, Nov. 17 at Lienzo Campanario. "This is one of the most beautiful events we've ever had, and he is number one in the world," enthused Garza. "We want as many people as possible to come and experience this unique corrida called rejoneada."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

El Patio's diverse gift inventory includes hand-painted ceramic plates from Guerrero, Mexico, and hanging tin stars with marble inserts that, illuminated, are attractive southwestern décor. On the back wall are milagro (miracle) crosses from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. (LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag) (click image to enlarge)	El Patio's patio, owned by Roberto Garza Crosby, is tucked away on Matamoros, on one of Acuña's side streets between Hidalgo and Madero. Garza manufactures the popular lawn furniture by hand in his workshop, and arranges the product among other popular items, including the big garden pots, called cubanas, made in Tlaquepaque near Guadalajara, Mexico. The tall columnar cactus, center, is organo, from Zacatecas, often used in central Mexico as a "living fence" around homes or livestock pens.(LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag) (click image to enlarge)	Cynthia Bennett pauses to admire a big collection of fanciful, gaily-colored figurines during her Acuña visit with relatives and friends in early October. Bennett comes from her home in Danbury, Texas, at least once a month to shop for medicines, gifts and eye care. She won’t go to other border towns because of her familiarity here with merchants. (LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag) (click image to enlarge)
Greeting customers and guests to El Patio are "Peregrina," the affectionate housecat and store mouser, and sales assistant Lucero Juarez. (LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag) (click image to enlarge)	Westminster, Colorado tourist Faun Lee, quilting store manager, glances over the abundance of fine Talavera ceramics in the inventory of Casa Uxmal, Cesar Peña, proprietor, left. Lee said she has no trepidations about coming to Acuña, but is wary of many other border towns. (LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag) (click image to enlarge)