Rare photos of Rabb/Stark House at Sabal Palms Sanctuary

Here are a few rare photos of the Rabb/Stark House plantation at Sabal Palms Sanctuary

 Rabb House by Melissa Renee Torres

 1925 Rabb / Stark plantation 

 circa late 1920's photocopy by Jose Cazares

 c1949 photo by Gus Gianfala

8435 Sabal Palm Rd, Brownsville, TX 78521 (Formerly Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary) 

2016 0925 ~ 3rd Annual Paella Festival Cook-off Competition photos

The paella was cooked and tables set for the 3rd Annual Paella Festival Cook-off Competition 

Tents were colorfully decorated and the aroma of Spanish cuisine filled the air

Guests sampled paella made with each teams preferred recipe

This is a seafood paella if you ever saw one

The fun was in trying as many paella dishes as you could

Fruit carving/sculpture

Every team experiments with the right ingredients and cooking to make a perfect paella dish

The mini ranch outdoor setting worked perfectly once the hot sun set.  Timing is everything when cooking paella 

Live music 

Previous awards displays which caught my attention was the Baldwin locomotive a.k.a. El Trenisto 

Prize winner celebrate victories but all were winners here

2nd place plate dish award went to these guys

First Prize Award

1970s Downtown Mall Idea was Thrown About

When the new bus terminal was finally complete destruction of the canopies that surrounded Market Square which had been there since 1986 were removed.  The Market is now progressing in its next phase to make the streets around Market Square into a pedestrian friendly area.  

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In a previous post we showed images from 1930 that suggested making the area next to our Cameron County Courthouse in a "City Plaza Center" which we may assume never came to fruition for one reason or another in those depression years.

Two photos from the 1970s were sent to us by Joe Von Hatten which come as a big surprise!  Below is a photo of intersection of E Elizabeth and 10th with pedestrian crossing the street.  The following photo shows same area as an open mall safe for foot traffic not unlike we were seeing across other towns and municipalities across the nation.  We thank Joe Von Hatten for sharing these images with us.  

Bronsbil Estacion:I would like to share these photos that I had saved since ca1975 on a project proposed by the city.Please note the before and after presentation of an open air mall where by some streets were to be closed from E. 10th St. along E. Elizabeth St. This is what the city now is proposing to do but  correct me if I am wrong.  This was over 40 years ago mind you!  Thanks,Joe Von Hatten

The illustration sent by Von Hatten reminded me of the  San Fernando Mall I remember as a youth growing up in Southern California.  

2017 ~ Green Ghost featuring Charlie Clark and Danny Trejo

from International Movie Database (IMDB) 

In order to help save the world from an Aztec Apocalypse, a gringo from the barrio, raised by an elite group of covert Mexican warriors, has to over-come self doubt transforming into a superhero, The GREEN GHOST. As an orphan, in the care of a careless Stepmother, Charlie longed to belong to someone. And for a while he did, his Nana. 

Nana raised Charlie, along with her own grandson, Marco, teaching them how to make tortillas and speak Spanish. But cooking wasn't the only thing Nana was good at. She and Marco had a secret life, a duty to protect powerful Emeralds that upon contact endow superhuman abilities. Chasing after the Emeralds is Lechusa, the fabled bruja (witch), and servant to the Aztec ruler, Montezuma. If Lechusa can assemble the Emeralds she will have the power to bring back Montezuma, ending the world, as we know it. Charlie, on accident, was endowed with these powers and after he used them to fight a neighborhood bully; it became clear that in order to protect Charlie, Nana and Marco had to leave him. Charlie was too young to understand their sacrifice but the heartbreak of abandonment was tangible. 

Charlie grows up. He goes into business for himself, creating an empire of successful car dealerships but never overcoming a deep sense of self-doubt and fear of abandonment. At the same time, a world-renowned Anthropologist, whose career had been spent studying an Emerald in his possession, passes away, leaving the Emerald, and research lab to his wayward son. This creates the perfect opportunity for Lechusa to slide in, gaining access not just to the Emerald but to the son and powers he processes. 

A power so strong, Charlie is put in real danger. He is now realizing that what he thought was abandonment was really sacrifice. He is called to fight but is so far from ready, he has to be teleported all over the globe to gain the skills necessary to stop Lechusa from bringing back Montezuma and save the world. But can Charlie find the power to overcome how everyone else sees him, transform himself from just a gringo to The Green Ghost?

- Written by Anonymous

--->  CHARLIE CLARK Green Ghost Introduction video <---

1970 Chevrolet Impala ~ Lowrider-revised

This photograph is from the Brownsville Police Department's Public Safety archival collection.  Most of these photos were taken by Captain Ruben Garcia who began his career as a photography assistant and was usually on call to photograph crime scenes for police records.  This might have been an abandoned car someone left parked near the off-ramp to exit N Expressway 77 to Boca Chica Blvd circa 1973.  The following images have been Photo-shopped to give a low-rider revisionist version of the photo - courtesy of the Brownsville Historical Association.

Lean Green Machine

Leaning into the Sunset

 Brown Power

 Down for Brown 

 Bondo-filled and block-sanded smooth light grey primer ready for paint

 Purple passion with Bomber Girl emblem