Frances Isbell Collection
Rodolfo De La Garza interview
Description
Rodolfo De La Garza, an historian, talks about his life in the Rio Grande Valley. He was born in 1906 in old Reynosa, he came to the US when he was four years old with his parents. He used to visit La Joya to look at it. Colliers magazine came out to write about the corruption in Hidalgo County. In 1927 he went to Sam Houston College, where he was the second Hispanic student. He then began teaching in 1929-30. He discusses the Good Government League against Baker’s corruption allegations. De La Garza discusses the Battle of Ojo de Agua when General de la Rosa attacked, and the origin of the name referring to a spring. He discusses working as a proofreader for the Good Government League’s newspaper. He discusses Milton West’s push for a canal that was blocked by water pumping interests on the river. De La Garza and Reynaldo talk about the history of the school district in La Joya. The recording skips at 31:50 to another recording of a meeting