BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Edcouch, Elsa, La Villa, San Carlos, Monte Alto and outlying parts of Edinburg are rural communities in Hidalgo County, located in South Texas. Before the founding of Edcouch, Elsa, and La Villa, this area was home to a nomadic native people. This area then became home to the Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo ranching communities. Before the Mexican-American War, the population of the region was mostly comprised of mestizo and indigenous people. After this war, a small Anglo-American presence established itself in the region. The large influx of Anglo settlers came around the turn of the century as the economy began to shift from ranching to farming.
During this period of rapid social change, Edcouch, Elsa, and La Villa were founded. At the turn of the century, the farming era began, following the construction of the railroad. At the time of these dramatic changes, land companies played an important role in promoting this arid semi-desert-the area receives less than 22 inches of rainfall per year-as a tropical paradise with promises of abundance and riches.
By the early 1930s, palm trees planted by land development companies lined a number of streets in south Texas towns. This area soon was known as the Rio Grande Valley and would follow the path cleared by those promoting agriculture during the first decades of the 1900s. Today, the south Texas economy is still dependent on agriculture.
The Rio Grande Valley of south Texas is one of the poorest areas in
of south Texas is one of the country. It registers a high 15 to 20% unemployment rate, and personal income levels are 30 to 40% lower than those for residents in other parts of Texas. Nearly 40% of Rio Grande Valley residents have no health
insurance.
During the first 50 years of this century, these communities prospered and the economies thrived, harvests were good, and employment was high. When freezing weather hit south Texas in the early 1950s, the prospering agricultural industry was deeply affected. Packing sheds closed; thousands lost their jobs. Automation then arrived in the regional economy, and many more people lost jobs to the mechanization of labor. Consequently, many people who lost jobs were not prepared or skilled to meet new
challenges. Ever since, rural Hidalgo County has experienced high levels of unemployment.
No two communities in the Texas MIRA Cluster are more than 20 miles distant. Ninety-nine percent of the students in the Edcouch-Elsa area are of Mexican ancestry. MIRA offers south Texas residents the opportunity to draw upon the strengths and civic commitment to meet current and future challenges.
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