"They went forth to battle,but they always fell..."
- James MacPherson, Cath-loda
By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
The Paz Files
BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Lately, Juan Montoya has buried himself in tales of the Port of Brownsville's administrative salaries, his trumpet solo on the supposed indictment of Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos left, like the last cochinito in the Mexican family's breadbasket, to go stale. Villalobos remains unindicted, but none of that has been reported. Instead, the news pushers here are either wondering about Juan's "scoop" or going elsewhere with their computer keyboards.
Hellbent Montoya, of course, cannot be blamed for playing the political music of his geography. He knows that rumors and innuendo fuel life in this bordertown. No rumors, No service, read the signs at downtown cafe entryways. And no coffee shop conversation is complete without a question about the family, to be followed by a question about the latest insane posting on any of the city's high-anxiety blogs. Brownsville is the used clothing capital of the free world, but it, too, counts world-class chismes on its life impulse ledger. The Blues are said to be the rage in town. Or so says the time's chief rumor. It is the rainy season in tropicalsville, but, really, dust is what dirties the community's large window pane. Salsa used to drown local tacos. Now, it is dust moving across town, swamping outdoor taquerias and ruining the Big Hair favored by local women. Hairspray no longer sells here. It tends to gum up that $20 hairstyle, says Sara "La Plancha" Montalvo, a dancer at one of the city's cheaper cantinas. She makes allowances.
Allowances are big here. Everybody makes them. The sheriff can be sent to prison for aiding drug pushers, but a few will still insist the criminal was the best sheriff ever. An assistant district attorney can die mysteriously and, well, he is still dead mysteriously. No cares, no worries about that guy. Too bad that he left a young wife and a younger daughter. Things come with every new days. Who has time to stop and ask the serious questions? Residents have to be appointed to largely meaningless community boards, so I'll have my silly say on it, as if it's an important issue of the day. Make me laugh.
A young troubadour prepares to play her music at the Crescent Moon. Blogger Jerry McHale, once a rising star in local boxing circles, ballyhoos her appearance. She'll come onstage late, he notes. A can't-miss performance? Hardly. There is no cover charge, the mark of arriving excellence. It goes on, this B-movie in black & white. The plot's a tried-and-true one. Throw the next rock at the picture window, boys. Let's see what comes of it. The ensuing breaking glass and spilling dust'll cover up the joke. We're Number One in town! Ja ja ja. Mira, Maria. Mira como me traen estos huercos!
The weekend's here. Already, maquiladora blogger Jim Barton (he's from up north & west) has stomped on the operator of another blog. He's pumped. That other guy was posting photos of witches and saying the woman in the picture was Yolanda Begum, a current political candidate. Can't have that. That moron must be exposed, must be characterized as being nothing more than skin & seven holes, an insipid lout, a cabron all tomate and no tacos. Barton is rocking. He's on the hoof, fast onto the next story.
Montoya?
He gets it. It's all a big, damned joke. Pay-for-play blogging. Nothing to get vato loco about. That next vignette of the border bandit Juan Cortina, the one in which the outlaw Mexican saves an entire region from the oppression of three Bad Gringos, is on the blog's story budget. Watch out, pinches rinches! He's gonna make you look bad. Again. Yep, sure is.
As for the living district attorney and the dead assistant district attorney, well, those were yesterday's stories. Villolobos is gunning for a seat in Congress and Jose Arturo Iniquez is still dead. Lo que pasa en Bronsvil, se queda en Bronsvil!
It's an ossified border life, a boner of another kind...
- 30 -
14 comments:
Was Iniquez killed to shut him up about information he had on the Limas case?
Hey, Wondering, I'd been thinking the same thing! Great post. All true.
Barton doesn't write. He just copies stories and puts them on his blog. McHale and Montoya do write. What others are there?
LO que pasa en Bronsvil es que todos estan bien pendwejos.
NOT JUST THE VALLEY - Whiffs of burning marijuana in a College Station hotel led to the arrest this week of Guadalupe County Judge Michael T. Wiggins, who was there attending a conference for county officials.
Wiggins, a former state trooper, was charged with possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana after being found with pot and admitting he'd been smoking, said College Station Police Department spokeswoman Officer Rhonda Seaton on Thursday.
How does one go about applying for a reporter's job with The Paz Files? I am interested in the position vacated by Lyle Lopez. I live in Harlingen, support San Benito football, visit Brownsville often, and have friends in Combes. Photo available on request.
JUAN DAVIS:...Submit your one-sentence Resume and photo to our Human Resources director at: eliotelcomedor@gmail.com. The major hurdle is the photo. It has to exhibit a certain panache, something that will tell readers, "This guy has something to say." Good luck... - Editor
Rumor in Brownsville that Jerry McHale is applying for Lyle Lopez's old job. He can write but he can't rush for yardage or hit the curve ball. vote here is No to Mchale as PF sports editor!
I heard Lyle Lopez got mad when he caught his wife naked with Patrick Alcatraz in the Paz Files newsroom after hours. Lyle wasn't bored by the VALLEY; He was gored by Alcatraz who is known to prey on Paz Files reporters weemin.
Sports editor should be someone from Brownsville and not Harlingen. we want someone who will report the "truth" onthe Whietwings for example. THE DAMNED TRUTH!
Sir, my resume is in the ether.
Juan Davis
El Perro,
I am not a Whitewings fan, nor am I a paid media consultant for that organization. I am not for sale!
I heard lyle was threatened by the Zetas, and hi-tailed it to Matamoros.
Junior Bonner in hiding and now Lyle Alzado running frin the Zetas, a news story, no doubt about it. Junior, Leopardo te busca.
McHale's band is playing tonight at a Brownsville bar. I think the name of his group is Los Bluetos, or something like that. check it out. Send Junior Bonner to write about it.
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