Brownsville saw Mexico's Golden Age of Cinema

 EDITOR’S NOTE: Following is Part 2 of 2 columns on past movie theaters in Brownsville that specialized in the movies of Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema. Part 1 ran yesterday.

As Mexican movie theaters in Brownsville completely took over the showing of Mexican films, David J. Young Sr., a member of a well-known pioneer family of Old Brownsville, opened the El Tiro, a 590-seat theater located on 11th and East Washington streets, in front of the Valentín Department Store. It shared the street with the Grande theater, Zepeda Hardware and the Hanshaw Store.

In the 1940s, El Tiro changed its name to the Teatro México and became the center of entertainment for many loyal cinema aficionados.

Admission ranged from 5 cents to as high as 25 cents per ticket, and the cost of admission provided a lot of entertainment: Jorge Negrete in !Ay, Jalisco, No Te Rajes!, Dolores del Río in María Candelaria, Pedro Armendáriz in Soy Puro Mexicano, María Félix in Doña Bárbara, and Pedro Infante in Nosotros los Pobres. And of course, they showed Tito Guízar and Ester Fernández in Allá en el Rancho Grande, the 1936 movie that started the ranchero Mexican movie genre.

Fans of more comic fare were able to see the incomparable Cantinflas and his famous fast-talking double-talk in El Gendarme Desconocido. I once took my teenage son to see a Cantinflas movie, and to this day he has not forgotten the experience.

In the mid-1940s, a fire destroyed much of the interior of the Teatro México. It was completely renovated, and when it reopened in 1945, The Brownsville Herald wrote: " Brownsville will have the finest of Mexican moving pictures in the United States Southwest when ‘Teatro México’ opens its doors … the México theater is a family operated partnership and is wholly owned by David J. Young, Sr., dean of Valley moving pictures operations …" The owners were able to attract appearances by popular Mexican movie stars of the period, and I happen to have seen on the México’s stage such actors as David Silva, María Lusia Zea and Kati Jurado.

In 1946, the Young family opened a new Mexican theater just a few feet away, sharing the sidewalk with the Zárate Pharmacy and the Colunga Bus Main Station. Thus, the Teatro Iris arrived in Old Brownsville. It could only accommodate 454 customers

Teatro Iris, or "El Iris," as it was popularly called by patrons, was housed in a long building, with barely enough space for patrons to walk and sit. Yet it was extremely popular because of the Mexican movies it attracted. Many a Saturday afternoon, you would see a long line of patrons waiting for the doors to open. Smaller than the México, it held a special attraction for many cinema lovers, including myself.

Also in 1946, the Teatro Victoria opened at 14th and East Harrison streets. Owned by the Ruenes family, which had established similar Mexican movie theaters in other parts of the Rio Grande Valley, it soon attracted its own loyal followers with attractions like weekly amateur nights, where local talent could entertain audiences with music and comedy.

The Victoria could accommodate 1,000 people on plushly cushioned seats. It had a large concession stand for patrons, and during its opening night, the Mayor of Brownsville and the Mexican Consul attended.

Often, the public could see live variety shows there, with their favorite Mexican actors, singers and comedians live on the Victoria’s stage.

By 1956, Old Brownsville had 10 major movie theaters. American movies were shown at the Majestic, Queen, Capitol and Grande, and at two drive-ins, the Charro and the Fiesta. Mexican films were shown at the México, Iris and Victoria, and at the Fiesta Drive-In, also owned by the Young family, but closed its doors in 1965.

I cannot imagine Old Brownsville without its fabulous old movie theaters, where we could congregate with friends, take a date to see a good movie, and enjoy an atmosphere of old-world elegance.

Dr. Lino García Jr. is Professor Emeritus of Spanish Literature at UTPA-Edinburg. He can be reached at Lgarcia@UTPA.edu, or at (956) 381-3441.