Using "Mama's Fine China"...

Charro Days has begun, which means the Sombrero Festival isn't far behind. Today, the Herald's J. Noel Espinoza wrote a fair article covering the relocation to the renovated Dean Porter Park and the inherent concerns over the three-day impact to the grounds of a festival that size.

Late last week, however, Sombrero president David Musso distributed a not-so-fair e-mail around town alleging "sabotage" of the festival and urging his supporters to vote in the online poll at the Herald's website. Here's his e-mail below in its entirety:

Friends,
Recent criticism aimed at our organization (Sombrero Festival) as weather [sic] we should conduct our event in the newly renovated and still under construction site of Dean Porter Park. Obviously, this criticism is sparked by a very small group of people who have no vision and do not have a clue what it takes to put on a Festival like ours and I don't mean HOW, I mean WHY we do it. OUR EFFORTS TO CONDUCT THIS EVENT ARE OUR CONTRIBUTION TO OUR COMMUNITY "FREE OF CHARGE TO ANYONE"! WE DO IT FOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND THE COMMUNITY WELFARE OF OUR GREAT CITY, OUR ONLY REWARD IS THE PATRON'S OF THE FESTIVAL ENJOYMENT!
Yesterday, The Brownsville Herald conducted a Pole [sic] Question. "Is Dean Porter Park a good site for Sombrero Festival?
I urge you all to log on to the Internet go to this website http://www.brownsvilleherald.com VOTE YES, But don't stop there please call everyone you know, email everyone you know and ask them to do the same. Please do this and lets shut these people out that are deliberately trying to sabotage and destroy our Event.

Thanks for your support,
David

Mr. Musso & supporters (if you happen to read this), I'd like to speak up for many of those (not all, I'm sure) that questioned the wisdom of the festival relocation at the time and still do (more than don't, if you believe the Herald's poll). I have no ill will towards Sombrero Festival. I've attended as well as participated in it in many years past. I, and most of my friends and compatriots, certainly plan to attend this year. Most folks just want your group to leave the Park in as close and as clean a condition as to when you arrived. We all understand the grass will grow back. Our concern stems from the risk to the elaborate landscaping, play structures, and pavilion facilities that are there and will undoubtedly face heavy use; heavier than anything at last year's Shrimp Festival (regardless of what one of our commissioners may think).

I'm not sure what you meant when you wrote that your efforts in the event are "free of charge to anyone" when admission is clearly charged, other than what I assume to be your group's volunteer work of planning and managing the event. But I applaud your group's contributions of time and resources and I sincerely hope that the festival and the booths that comprise it are as successful as they've been in the past; in spite of patrons attending the various parades earlier in the day having to walk at least a half-mile further to attend.

So good luck and please remember, to quote our Mayor on Oct. 19th of last year, you're using "Mama's fine china" and the public expects little to no trace that the festival's been there after it's done.