urn:taro:utexas.cah.02491 A Guide to the Charro Days Collection, 1938-1955, 1973 Original EAD encoding by Lauren Algee according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. March 2011 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Charro Days (Brownsville, Tex.) Charro Days, Collection 1938-1955, 1973 Materials are written in English. 88-113; 88-144 6 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin Comprising a scrapbook, a clipping, and photographs, the Charro Days Collection, 1938-1955, 1973, documents the founding and early history of the Charro Days festival in Brownsville, Texas. Historical Note

Organized in 1937 by the Brownsville, Texas, Chamber of Commerce, Charro Days is the city’s annual four-day pre-Lent celebration recognizing Mexican culture. Kenneth Faxon and others founded the festival during the Great Depression to celebrate Brownsville’s unique culture influenced by its location on the Mexican border and named it after the Mexican horsemen heroes of the borderland. Charro Days begins with a grito or celebratory cry at the Gateway Bridge connecting Brownsville and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and an exchange of gifts by the cities’ mayors. Residents dress in traditional Mexican costumes, while parades, street fairs, concerts, and other cultural events transpire in the next three days.

Source:

Acosta, Teresa Palomo. “Charro Days.” Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Scope and Contents

Comprising a scrapbook, a clipping, and photographs, the Charro Days Collection, 1938-1955, 1973, documents the founding and early history of the Charro Days festival in Brownsville, Texas. Organized chronologically, the scrapbook, 1938-1955, includes photographs, newspaper clippings, minutes, sheet music, budgets, treasurer’s report, certificates, programs and other ephemera from the festival. Additional photographs, 1938 and undated, show Charro Days founder Kenneth Faxon while the 1973 obituary describes his life in Brownsville.

 Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Faxon, Kenneth, ca. 1898-1973 Subjects (Organizations) Charro Days (Brownsville, Tex.) -- Archives. Subjects Culture diffusion -- Mexican-American Border Region -- Sources. Festivals -- Texas -- Brownsville Places Brownsville (Tex.) -- History -- 20th century Preferred Citation

Charro Days Collection, 1938-1955, 1973, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory: 2.325/D20d Charro Days scrapbook, 1938-1955 2.325/D20d Photographs, Kenneth Faxon, 1938, undated 2.325/D20d Obituary, Kenneth Faxon, 1979