Environmental Portrait

Edgar Castillo has been my father's mechanic for the last 15 years. Castillo is 35 years old. Castillo lives at 717 S. 26th St. here in McAllen, Texas. Castillo has his own business, and it's called Castle Mobile Service. Castillo likes to work by appointments only. 95 percent of the time he goes out and services vehicles on the spot. Castillo's average working hours are 10 hours per day, Monday through Friday. Castillo charges his customers depending on the problem the vehicle might have. My father and I were lucky to catch Castillo working on this car on April 26th, 2017 from his residence.

Tourist in My Town

The Jackson Ranch Cemetary is one of the two Jackson family cemetaries located half a mile south of US 281 (Old Military Highway) in San Juan, Texas where south I Road becomes Doffin Road once you cross a levee.

The Jackson Methodist Church received a Texas historical marker in 1982 in recognition of it being the first established Protestant church in the Rio Grande Valley back in 1896. The church looks abandoned but has been restored.

Both of these cemetaries contain the descendants of Nathaniel Jackson and Matilda Hicks. Jackson was born in Wilcox County, Alabama, and settled on this land on July 27, 1857.

The weather and time have deteriorated the plot inscriptions causing them to be difficult to read, like this headstone of Rita Jackson.

The Eli Jackson Cemetary was established in 1865 and is 500 feet east of the Jackson Ranch Cemetary. The entrance to the cemetary is not visible from Doffin Road and is where the truck is parked.

When we got there on March 8, 2017, we found that the truck belongs to Jose Angel Gonzalez and his son Gabriel Gonzalez who were working on lying down a slab of granite stone and a head stone belonging to the deceased Alberto Z Jackson, a U. S. Army World War II veteran. Jose Gonzalez and Gabriel Gonzalez own their own business, Gonzalez Monuments, where they make custom-made tombstones.

I told my parents about my assignment, and they brought me here so that I could learn about my history. Here rests Adela Jackson, the eldest daughter of Nathaniel "Polo" Jackson and my great grandmother, and Eugenia Villanueva Jackson, my great great grandmother.

Photo Story - Jesus Perez

Jesus Perez (left), 21, is a Texas-based artist. Perez practiced with his band member, Hugo Uribe (right), 21, on April 7, 2017 in Perez' garage. The two band members rehearsed while they waited for their third band member, Megan Kay Gutierrez, 19, to show up. The band's name is Site Stewarts, and they formed on March 6th, 2017. Site Stewarts performed on April 10 at Yerberia Cultura, a live music bar at 613 S 17th St., McAllen, Texas.

Site Stewarts played three of their songs, Hook, Jack and Shadows, at Yerberia Cultura on April 10, 2017. The event consisted of poetry recitations, solo musicians and band performances. The age group of the crowd ranged from young to old. My parents attended the event and enjoyed listening to the various performers of the night. Free pizza was given and beer specials were had.

Perez and his band members performed on April 13, 2017 outside of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's Student Union, a place for students to purchase beverages and meals, watch TV, play pool, etc. Site Stewarts did not ask for permission to perform on campus. They were instructed after playing six of their songs, Hook, So long, Shadows, I'm sorry (I'm so vague), Untitled and Jack, by UTRGV staff members to inform them of future plans to perform on campus. The staff members appreciated what Site Stewarts did because a live music performance is one way to support students' enjoyment of being at the university.

Perez and his band members placed several flyers at MoonBeans Coffee, UTRGV, UTRGV's art campus, Yerberia Cultura, Cine El Rey, McAllen Public Library and Grind Coffee Co. to promote their upcoming performance at Grind Coffee Co. located at 315 W. University Dr., Edinburg, Texas. Perez designed the handmade flyers in his bedroom and then scanned them to his computer. Site Stewarts performed on April 29, 2017 at 8 p.m. The show was free to attend, and jewelry, art vendors, hot Cheetos with cheese, cupcakes, a polaroid photo booth and projected visuals were available. Tuesdae Lateral and Heather & Emily are musical groups who also played at the event.

Perez worked on his zine production and other projects in his bedroom on April 30, 2017. Perez has his own website at jesusperezdesign.com displaying his artwork.

Perez has published three zines for local Texas artists. Perez has an Instagram account called @importantpapers_. "Important Papers is a publication site where people can submit their zines or artwork and sell through this platform," Perez said. Perez set the price for all publications at $4.00 regardless of the quantity of pages. Perez gives customers a free print with any purchase.

Perez marched on May 1, 2017 with dozens of protestors calling for improved La Quinta hotel construction worker compensations. The march began from outside of La Quinta hotel near the intersection of 10th St. and Houston. Perez designed a red flag bearing the hammer and sickle logo in black.