By Tara Rios, GIGI

When Elon moved one of his launch sites to Brownsville his vision for space travel inspired our whole community. Joe Steven, a local composer created a composition based on the story of a human's first trip to Mars and his interpretation of how it would feel using music as his form of expression. I am not surprised Joe's new composition was inspire…

In this episode, I finally got my youngest daughter to be a guest on my show. We discuss the concept of being “talentless”. The backdrop is a worldwide pandemic and sequestration of ourselves, a moment to have the time and space to “Be” with our humanity. I debate with Ana the very meaning of life and we debate the question, “Can you build a life b…

Selena reminds us to take care in the simple acts of life. She reminds us all to take a moment and try to make it special. Selena does this with clothes but I see the bigger picture. The bigger picture is to create rituals and ceremonies in our everyday life. It could be as simple as curling your hair and choosing the perfect lipstick or reciting a…

By Tara Rios, Dr. Reedy

By Tara Rios, Dr. Zavaleta

Jose “Joe” Sanchez on Tara in the Neighborhood Jose is a resident on South Padre Island, he is a teacher, musician, storyteller, inn keeper and sandcastle maker. Jose left the Valley in the mid 1970's to attend Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jose started his academic journey as anthropologist but dropped out of Harvard to experienc…

Today on Tara in the Neighborhood we have Eduardo Campirano, the director of the Port of Brownsville. He manages all 40,000 acres of the port, provides about 44,000 jobs, and oversees the operation of 13 cargo docks. Not only does the port serve as recognition to Brownsville, but it also partakes in several recreational events like the 5K1M Dock Da…

Today we have Dr. Francisco del Castillo, he specializes on gynecology, hypnosis, and acupuncture. Joining him today is his wife, Teresa del Castillo, they run neighboring clinics together which specialize on weight loss, lipo-massage, laser hair removal, and microdermabrasion in Brownsville, Texas.Together they want to change theValley’s way of ap…

Today we have Chad Tolar, a born musician later turned into a lawyer, who now practices law and manages an upcoming Country group the Powell Brothers. After he played one afternoon with talented individuals that Chad could synchronize with, a few years later they began the country band, Costello. He teaches us the magic behind being a professional …

In this podcast we discuss what and why the Angry Tias and Abuelas do what they do. Madeleine Sandefur begins by stating their philosophy, to offer dignity to human beings who have had to flee their country because of violence and circumstances too harsh to endure. This was all triggered by the family separation policy established by the Trump admi…

By Tara Rios

Duane “Tink” Tinker joins us in Tara in the Neighborhood as we discussed how we have implemented podcasting into our businesses as a way to relate to the world and achieve relevancy. Tink, the CEO of Dental Compliance Specialists, found a way to resonate with his clients and the community when he began using podcasts, after discovering that voice t…

Marie Chang joins us in Tara in the Neighborhood as we talk about bringing a new type of flavor to the Valley. Marie talks about how she managed to fuse over five different countries together to create the unique cuisine of Bara Exotic Food. We discuss how Marie began her journey from being an exchange student in California, to moving to Harlingen …

Many of us dream of turning our passion into a career, and with great determination Dustin Stair made this dream into a reality. Dustin’s journey starts when he decided to steer away from becoming a history teacher and realized his God given talent was cooking, after a 3 year culinary apprenticeship in his hometown Little Rock, Arkansas. Once he re…

In this podcast we discuss coworking and the importance of encouraging our local entrepreneurs with Luis Urquieta, the founder of WorkPub located at 847 E. Elizabeth St. Brownsville, Texas. Luis graduated from UTB/TSC with a Masters in Business Administration . After years of corporate and educational jobs, he decided to take a risk and pursued his…

This podcast is about a nonprofit organization tasked with reducing drop out rates in our community. Eva shares a lifetime of experiences and stories about what it takes to reduce high school dropout rates. Many of us, take for granted graduating from high school but the reality is the "whole community" suffers when a member of the Valley does not …

Micheal J. Limas is a retirement planning specialist, a financial consultant. In our talk, Micheal talks about how he has chosen to give back to his community not only by his professional career but he is what I call a "super Citizen". He is treasurer of the Brownsville Improvement Community Corp. (BCIC). The BCIC is our economic development corpor…

This podcast is all about what Brownsville has hidden in our people. Ruby shares not just her voice but her story. Ruby is not just a police officer, she is a person who uses her "voice" to remind us all ---we have a choice. We can choose to sing our way through life or we can dance or we can use our voice to bring kindness and joy to those around …

Trey Mendez, is a local community leader in Brownsville, Texas. He attended UT Brownsville and graduated with a doctorate in Jurisprudence from the University of Texas in Austin. UT Law school is one of the best in the United States and Trey is using his knowledge to help transform Brownsville through investing in our community both with time and m…

Ana Delagarza Dunn is a local artist who owns -A Different Preceptive Art Studio in Brownsville, Texas. We discuss how finding your voice leads to a more creative life of your own making. Ana explains how she colors her struggles and re-images them in bright colors to help transform pain into beauty. www.adpstudio-anamaria.com Instagram https://l.i…

Craig is a Real Estate Broker for Grove Realty Team. He has been in the community building through social media in Brownsville, TX since 2008. Craig created Brownsville Living. Be part of it and now created “Brownsville Live” a new video live streaming program. We discuss changing the broker real estate relationship. We discussed the idea of " owni…

Lucinda is a local sand sculpture on South Padre Island. She created this profession for herself over 30 years ago and is going stronger than ever. She was one of the founders of Sand Castle Days which brings artists from around the World to create sand sculptures on South Padre Island. She discussed her history and what is considered a "local" on …

An engaging conversation about creating a vision and moving the vision in reality. Anabelle Cordona, CEO of Valley Grande Institute is a dynamic woman from the Valley who is committed to creating opportunities for students of all ages and walks of life. When someone tells Anabelle "we can't" she says " We can and here is how..." Enjoy!!!! Below lin…

Scott Wolfe is a local artist who is a Valley native. Scott attended Saint Josphe Academy and went on to attend the Art Center College of Design- Los Angelos and Parsons School of Design in New York. He is owner and founder of La Maquila, a new curated retail/art space in Brownsville, Texas. He discusses his passion for art in public spaces and his…

Dr. Zavaletta is a border anthropologist based in Brownsville, Texas. His discusses Brownsville history, his personal stories with shamanic healers and his new book about medicinal plants in the border region. Dr. Zaveletta grow up in Brownsville and is a member of one of the 13 founding families in Northern Mexico. http://www.tsc.edu/index.php/abo…

Three Trees is a music healer. He is currently on a trip across the country to "fill the well" and share his music healing with the country. In our conversation, we talk about music healing, nonvisible energy and the history of sound in shamanic customs. Information about Three Tree is found on his facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1…

By Tara Rios, Pastor Bill Moore

By Tara Rios, Liz Charles

By Tara Rios, Nick Shah

By Tara Rios

Jordan is a local South Padre Island resident who gives his preceptive as a "white guy in the Valley" navigating being single and being a professional physical therapist. He is one of the first Podcasts in the Rio Grande Valley, his podcast is called the Wolfman. Enjoy the listen.... Tara Jordan's Podcast : The Wolfman Podcast https://itunes.apple.…

Giselle, owner and CEO of Bold Media in the Rio Grande Valley. She shares her thoughts on business, social media and her experience working with one of the Valley's most notable businessman. At one point, Giselle actually turns the table and interviews me on my "punched in the face" moment. She is a dynamic speaker and her positivity is palable in …

By Tara Rios