Charro Days, Brownsville, Texas; February 1942; Rothstein, Arthur photographer
Images from FSA collection Lot 36

I chose a selection of images from the Charro Days Festival in Brownsville, Texas on Feb 1, 1942. The images showcase a lot of Mexican/Mexican-American heritage and culture. Beautiful traditional dress, a children’s parade, live music. But then there is this other side to the festivities which include white business owners pretending to be drunk “banditos” as well as a “girls” show with mostly white customers outside. I’m so curious what this day might have felt like. What was the community of Brownsville like: was it heavily segregated or maybe more integrated. Was there racial tension? What was the motive behind the white men dressing as “banditos” and taking staged mug shots?

I’m always fascinated by the presumably blessed people of Texas and other “Christian” states and their relationship to porn. It’s just amusing to see that it’s a tale as old as time.