BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Daniel Silva, president of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership, knows he still has a lot of educating to do about his region when he gets questions like he did on the RGVP Legislative Tour.
“When we brought some legislators down for our last legislative tour, we were in Brownsville. And some of them went to the crossing so they could see the fence. They saw individuals walking back and forth with groceries, with briefcases, with backpacks. They said, you mean people cross on a daily basis?”
To people living in the Valley, such a question beggars’ belief. But, to Silva, it shows that his group, which has been charged with marketing the region, still has a lot of work to do.
“It intrigues them (visiting legislators) that we have so much cross-border commerce. You mean, on a daily basis?” Silva said. “It is a huge perception (issue) that we need to work on.”
Silva said another misconception he has to battle is the perception that South Texas stops at San Antonio. He said that in a previous role, running Mission Economic Development Corporation, he would have to go to trade shows across the United States. There, he would get asked, where are you from. He would answer, South Texas. Oh, San Antonio would be the reply.
“People do not know where South Texas is. People know San Antonio, but they don’t think there is anything south of that. I tell them we are four hours south of San Antonio and we have 1.4 million people. And they are fascinated,” Silva said. “That perception needs to change. When we look at our region as a whole it is bigger than a lot of metros throughout the United States.”
Silva made his comments in an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service during RGV StartUp Week at the eBridge Center for Business and Commercialization in Brownsville. Silva had been a panelist with Rick Carrera, economic development director for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress. The discussion was titled, “Insights Unplugged - RGV Edition.”
The moderator of the panel was Linda Ufland Romo, director of entrepreneurship, innovation, and commercialization for UT-Rio Grande Valley. Ufland Romo says when she is asked where she comes from, she replies, South-South Texas.
Asked about this description, Silva said: “I have not heard it but it makes total sense. If someone were to explain it that way I would understand it. I am probably going to start using that. I also say.”
In his interview with the Guardian, Silva also spoke about the Texas A&M Science & Engineering Fair. He is on the statewide board for this program, having been appointed by a member of Texas Workforce Commission. Silva spoke about the fair during the panel discussion. He said Valley students, and particularly those from Brownsville, excel in the competition.
The statewide competition is held in March each year. Around 1,000 projects are submitted in 21 categories. Silva said 127 to this year’s projects came from students in the Valley. Asked what this tells him, Silva said:
“That we have a lot of bright students. I always thought, those that make it to the state level, their parents did their projects for them. No. When I listen to these kids I can tell, they don’t let their parents touch their projects. The research they have done, the amount of investment they have put into it. Time, blood, sweat and tears. It is just fantastic,” Silva said.
“So, it tells me that our region is full of bright students. I feel confident that our future generations, they are doing great. The school system is doing great. I really want to start working with the CTE (career and technical education) out of Brownsville and see how we can replicate it all across the Valley because (they have produced) just fantastic projects.”
Another topic Silva brought up was plans by the RGV Partnership to visit Mexico more frequently. In his remarks on stage, Silva noted that the Partnership was famous for its Mexico tours, back when Bill Summers ran the group. He also spoke about the need for a united Metropolitan Statistical Area for the Valley.
Here is a video recording of the interview:
