The residents of a small frontier town who discovered they were not Mexicans but citizens of the United States

Rico, in the state of Tamaulipas, is a small Mexican border town steeped in history.

While it’s hard to imagine these days, at one point it looked like a little Las Vegas.

And before that, it was part of the United States.

But they have all forgotten.

How it happened?

straightening the river

Borders often change, either violently as a result of war, or peacefully when land is exchanged or purchased.

But neither was the case: it was a company, now long forgotten, that rewrote the history of the border between the two nations.

The Rio Grande, for those in the South, or Rio Grande, for those in the North, has marked the border between the US and Mexico since 1848.

To settle the disputes arising from the frequent changes in the course of the river, the Treaty of 1884 was signed, which recognized only those anomalies that are the result of natural events.

In the early 1900s, the American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company had a pumping station on the American side that drew water from the river for distribution to local farmers.

However, the company was concerned that the river would change course, so it dug a canal without any permission in 1906, isolating 419 hectares south of the river, 1.67 km² of territory, known as Banco Horcón. .

“There are consequences to trying to control nature”says Joe Vidales of the McAllen Heritage Center, Texas.

Although the piece of land was still legally part of the US, its location, now south of the river, placed it under the jurisdiction of the Mexican authorities.

The US Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company had violated several treaties and was fined, but the area’s situation remained devastated. legally uncertain.

little vegas

The inhabitants quickly adapted to be part of Mexico.

Prohibition was introduced in the United States in 1920.

“If you were in South Texas and you wanted to have a beer or a margarita, you couldn’t do that on that side of the river, but you could paddle it, swim it, sometimes even walk it, and have a great time. ”

And Rio Rico, left for such purposes on the right side of the river after the artificial and illegal diversion by the US irrigation company, was happy to supply its neighbors to the north with whatever they wanted.

“In 1928 they started building a bridge to cross the Rio Rico,” says Vidales.

The local newspapers reported not only about the festive opening, but also about everything else the place had to offer.

“They had casinos and gambling. The Tivoli nightclub had a dance floor the size of a basketball court. There were cockfights and brothels. 250 of the fastest dogs arrived for the Rio Rico Kennel Club’s inaugural race.

“The ban helped Rio Rico’s economy flourish.

“And the name that sounded was that of Al Capone.

“There is no official record that he was there. But it is believed that his accomplices took it upon themselves to pump money into Rio Rico to turn it into a tourist area.”

Alma Bernal, from Rio Rico, recalls that “there was a hotel and a theater where my grandparents could see Pedro Infante and Sara García, very important artists in Mexican history.

“A lot of people traveled to Rio Rico to see these artists.”

The good times dried up after 1933 when prohibition was repealed.

forget

Rio Rico became a sleepy frontier town again, recalls Mike England, who works for the England Cattle Company and grew up on the American side of the river.

For him, the border was never something that separated people.

“It was heaven growing up there by the river: I went fishing and hunting every day with some children from across the river, who came to our house as a family.

“I also swam across the river and went south and met their families just as they met mine.

“It’s a bit strange. They talk about illegals on this side… I think I was illegal on that side too, but nobody cared.”

By then, and for decades, the people of Rio Rico had largely forgotten they were ever US citizens.

Until 1967, when a geography professor named James Hill found out what had happened.

“I was born in Rio Rico!”

Hill “did extensive research on this area and created some well-documented maps identifying owners on all of these 419 acres (170 hectares) where the river cut,” Vidales says.

One of those particularly interested in the investigation was attorney Laurier McDonald.

I represented a client named Homero Cantu, who was about to be deported from the US.

McDonald was able to prove that his client, because he was born in Rio Rico, was a US citizen.

“It’s the 14th Amendment to the Constitution: If you were born in the territory of the United States, you’re a citizen of the state,” says Vidales.

“That caused a lot of confusion.

“People from all over Mexico, Europe and even China came saying, ‘I was born in Rio Rico.'”

With so many people seeking US citizenship claiming they were born in Rio Rico, lawyers had to weigh their claims.

“We had clients whose situation depended on the room they were born in, because the house itself was on the international border,” remembers Robert Crane, an immigration attorney.

“You have to remember that none of those who lived there knew about this, so the lots were divided and the houses built.”

Finally, The United States officially ceded Banco Horcón to Mexico and accepted the claims of some 250 people.

Most of them immigrated to the US, leaving Rio Rico a shadow of its former self.

“It may be hard to believe that it was once a very active city,” says Bernal.

Rio Rico is now a quiet place.

The few families that remain are farmers and the visitors who come are on their way to the border, one of the most heavily guarded in the world.

“That river doesn’t separate people,” says England. “We are still brothers, we are still all human beings.”