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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Zapata County are celebrating the |
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dedication of Bravo Park and the unveiling of a marker honoring its |
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namesake, Judge Manuel B. Bravo; and |
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WHEREAS, Born at El Ambrado Ranch in Hidalgo County on May 2, |
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1901, Manuel Box Bravo began his career in public service in the |
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Hidalgo County courthouse tax collector's office; after moving to |
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Zapata, he ran a successful write-in campaign for county judge in |
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the 1936 general election; for the next two decades, he served his |
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fellow citizens with great diligence in that office; and |
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WHEREAS, Judge Bravo instituted a number of vital measures to |
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professionalize county operations; his sound fiscal management |
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allowed the county to significantly improve its educational system, |
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and he established a veterans vocational training school; in |
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addition, he persuaded taxpayers to approve the first bond election |
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in county history; and |
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WHEREAS, This visionary leader solicited government |
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assistance during droughts, lobbied for the establishment of a Soil |
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Conservation Service Office for Zapata County, and supported his |
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close friend Lyndon B. Johnson's 1949 farm bill, which provided for |
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telephone service to rural communities; when the construction of |
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the International Falcon Reservoir required the inundation of the |
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entire town of Zapata, plus five neighboring communities, he fought |
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for just compensation for area residents; in addition, he insisted |
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that the International Boundary and Water Commission set aside land |
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for the development of public parks for family gatherings and |
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recreation; and |
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WHEREAS, Deeply committed to social justice, Judge Bravo |
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helped establish the Edinburg Council of the League of United Latin |
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American Citizens in the late 1920s and served as its president; he |
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was a force in the civil rights movement as well and joined others |
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in condemning racial discrimination in Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Following his retirement as county judge in 1957, he |
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continued to serve his beloved community; he was a longtime member |
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of the Knights of Columbus, and in 1973, he served on the local |
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citizens' advisory committee to the Texas Constitutional Revision |
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Committee; and |
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WHEREAS, Although Judge Bravo passed away on September 18, |
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1984, his myriad contributions continue to resonate in South Texas |
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and beyond; the spot chosen for Bravo Park, part of a historic land |
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grant given by the King of Spain, has long been used for picnics, |
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carnivals, and other festivities, and it is indeed fitting that his |
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memory be honored in a place where members of the community come |
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together in fellowship and celebration; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of Bravo Park and pay |
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tribute to the life and legacy of Judge Manuel B. Bravo. |