Texas Videos: Laredo, McAllen, Three Rivers

HOST: Welcome to the South Texas Plains, where an unmistakable Mexican influence can be found at every turn. It reaches from the charming city streets to the authentic arts and crafts found here, and even to the endless Texas skies. To discover how this region was shaped by the culture, let’s start with the shops. If you’re interested in wares from master craftsmen, Laredo is the city for you. Specifically, San Bernardo Avenue. It’s more than forty blocks dedicated to promoting Mexican arts and crafts. Since nineteen thirty-eight, Vega’s Imports has been a popular spot to pick up beautiful hand-carved furniture for every room in the house. JORGE: The furniture itself is made in a Mediterranean style Spanish, Colonial, Italian, French. Besides that we handle lighting fixtures, chandeliers and all the accessories for the home. HOST: Can’t find exactly what you want? They’ll gladly create a custom piece just for you. There are other ways to find a gem than browsing through shops. Choke Canyon State Park and Reservoir in Three Rivers holds a surprise for anyone with their eye on the sky. PAUL: We have a great deal of fishing here. All fishermen come from all over the United States, but a lot of people do come out for kayaking and boating as well. HOST: The reservoir’s diverse habitat host a variety of game fish like large mouth bass, blue catfish or alligator gar. The American Birding Association recognizes the Reservoir as an ideal place for birders to catch a glimpse of rare species. And because it’s so close to the border, lots of Mexican species can be spotted here as well, making it one of Texas’ best bird watching destinations. COLLEEN: The Rio Grande Valley has always been a major birding destination. We have two major fly-aways that come right through the Rio Grande Valley, the Mississippi and the Central. So, it’s a real diverse community where we can get eagles and hawks and tiny migratory birds and than lots of wetland birds. HOST: Another world-class birding locale can be found in McAllen. COLLEEN: Quinta Mazatlán is an historic home built in the nineteen thirties and when you walk through the imposing gates, you sort of step back in time and to hear the chachalacas welcome you and the red crowned parrots and the green jays and so it’s a tropical oasis, right in the heart of McAllen. HOST: One of nine sights comprising the World Birding Center, Quinta Mazatlán, is surrounded by lush tropical plants and native woodlands designed to attract valley specialities: species that are found no place else in the country. COLLEEN: So a birder down here on a day could get thirty to forty to fifty species, you know if they traveled the World Birding Center route which is dotted along one hundred and twenty miles along the Rio Grande River. HOST: Whether you’re looking for rare birds or just looking to get away, you should find yourself here, in Texas. It’s like a whole other country. COLLEEN: The Rio Grande Valley does attract a lot of eco-tourist, who want to come down and see the birds and the trees and the natural setting as well as enjoy the restaurants and the hotels and all the culture that the area has to bring. JORGE: From the moment that you get up, your days half made and that’s because the sun is out and that is what creates the flowers, the colors. COLLEEN: Spring, Summer, Fall, any time of year is a beautiful place to visit and I hope you’ll join us.