Texas Border Business
The McAllen Citizens League announced their program speaker for the November 20, 2025 luncheon meeting will be Elva M. Cerda, Executive Director and co-founder of the McAllen Heritage Center – museum of history and culture located in downtown McAllen. Cerda, who was born in raised in South McAllen, was formerly a commercial banker for over 38 years. She has given much of her time towards serving the community in many organizations over her adult life. One such committee included her service as treasurer for the 2004 McAllen Centennial Committee celebration.
During the 2004 centennial celebration, festivities held included an outdoor festival held at McAllen’s Archer Park and the evening gala. The festival included local storytellers, historians, numerous historical displays, and a birthday party including a 10-foot birthday cake in honor of the City’s milestone. The festival event was attended by over 7,000 visitors. At the evening gala, guests wore period costumes, and founding families were honored and presented with commemorative awards. The committee also produced a historical video and magazine covering McAllen history.
After the Centennial events concluded, committee members met to debrief, and at that time they identified two goals: to develop an annual folklife festival and a museum focused solely on McAllen history. The city listened and supported the goals, founding boards were established and went to work. Both recommendations came to fruition in 2006.
The McAllen Heritage Center was founded in 2006 and opened its doors in the historical former USPO in June 2008. The museum has grown exponentially over the past nineteen years and is looking forward to its next milestone in 2026 when they complete their 20th anniversary.
At present, MHC is open Wednesday through Saturday. There is no cost for admission, though donations are always appreciated. “From the beginning, we have maintained a goal that we never make admission cost-prohibitive for families,” Cerda said. Additionally, MHC does not charge admission for many other events held on site, either.
Along with the major support of the City of McAllen, grants, sponsors, donations, and fundraisers cover MHC’s operating costs. Since 2012, its online store, “La Tiendita”, offers souvenirs, t-shirts, historical books, postcards, jewelry, and the ever-popular McAllenopolyboard game. A variety of “La Tiendita” items are handcrafted by local artisans.
The Center also hosts rotating exhibits through partnerships with Humanities Texas, the Bob Bullock Museum, The Valley Land Fund, The Museum of South Texas History and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Program. In addition to new exhibit openings, outdoor festivals and receptions drawlarge crowds for the museum.
Elementary students, who have never known anything other than the smart phones of today are drawn to the vintage phone exhibit. The permanent veterans exhibit is popular along with various displays about former businesses in McAllen. Tourists and persons looking to do business here spend much of their time at the chronological exhibit of McAllen’s history.
MHC shares McAllen’s past while making history for future generations to embrace. The continued growth of McAllen, as well as the growth of the MHC collection, warranted additional square footage. Cerda led the efforts to begin the design for an addition to the museum in 2020 and the legwork involved in such an endeavor. In late 2024, along with support from the City of McAllen for the addition, MHC achieved its capital campaign goal securing their portion of funds required for the construction. It is anticipated that by mid-2026, MHC will break ground on “The Annex,” a two-story building that will add much-needed gallery, storage, and work space.
“McAllen is a trailblazing city, and its visionary leaders got us here,” Cerda said. “Your history is who you are.”
The second goal of the Centennial committee was the PalmFest International Folklife Celebration chaired by Cerda. PalmFest debuted in October 2006 on the grounds of the former McAllen Civic Center. That year, approximately 15,000 people attended. PalmFest moved to the new Convention Center the following year and continued to grow and expand each year. Now called Fiesta de Palmas, the well-loved, two-day, multi-faceted, annual festival which is managed and produced by the City of McAllen draws more than four times the number of people who attended in 2006.
Please call (956) 681-2861 to make your reservation to attend this informative luncheon meeting by no later than 11/17/2025. Lunch fee is $22 for MCL members and $25 for non-members. Lunch is optional. Please honor our “A reservation made is a reservation paid” policy. Credit card payments and check payments are preferred and may be paid at the registration tablealthough prepayment is recommended.
You may also access the following link to reserve and make your payment and reservation on an online basis: https://link.clover.com/urlshortener/86HfGV
If you have a question about your membership status or to inquire about becoming a member, please call Irma Murray at 956-457-1280. Annual membership dues of $30 per member will also be collected at each of these meetings. More information may be found on our social media pages: Facebook or Instagram.
