McAllen officials declare New Year's bash a success

McALLEN — Fernando Tanguma heard all the hype surrounding the New Year’s Eve party in downtown McAllen and decided to come down and check it out.

Tanguma, his wife and two children jumped on one of the city’s two free shuttle buses and got to Beaumont Avenue just in time to see the giant mirrored ball lowered at midnight.

“We heard it was real good last year but we didn’t come out,” Tanguma said as he walked down South 17th Street back toward the bus terminal after midnight. “It looks like it’ll get better by the year, as
long as you have a lot of
law enforcement.”

The Tangumas and other families were much more prominent at McAllen’s second annual — and much-expanded — New Year’s celebration than last year. The more inclusive and varied crowd was one of the main reasons why city leaders said the event was a success.

It was also a reason cited by several downtown bar owners for the night not living up to their expectations.

Several city departments spent months planning the event, which was in a much wider swath of the downtown area than last year, when everything was centered on the city’s Entertainment District on 17th Street.

“I was very pleased,” McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez said. “As you walked the streets, people were having a lot of fun. There were young people to old people and everybody in between.”

Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said the city roughly estimates that about 30,000 people attended. An estimated 10,000 people showed up last year.

The main concert stage was at 15th and Beaumont and 40 food vendors set up between 15th and 17th streets on Beaumont, where the biggest crowds gathered to watch the ball drop.

At 17th and Beaumont, San Antonio Latin funksters Bombasta performed, which also drew a large crowd.

“It was awesome,” said Josh Lopez, of Mission, referring to Bombasta’s performance and the party, in general. “I think (the city) coordinated everything with precision. It made me feel real good about coming out here without running into any problems.”

Several partygoers and families commended the city’s security job. Rodriguez said there were no major incidents and that safety “basically ruled the night.” More than 200 city policeman and other staff members staffed the event.

“It’s a tribute to them and everyone else that we can get this done, which is essentially unequaled in South Texas as far as a one-day event,” Rodriguez said.

Several bar owners complained that the city’s efforts to spread the event over a wider area drew the crowds away from downtown McAllen’s biggest draw — the Entertainment District.

Bar owners said they had complained to no avail to the Heart of the City, the nonprofit organization that is trying to revitalize the downtown area.

“We were expecting a lot more street traffic. I would say double than what it was,” said Joshua Teague, a co-owner of the Gallery Bar at 209 S. 17th St.

Teague said the city effectively drew the crowd away from the bars and clubs by placing the ball drop and the food vendors on Beaumont.

“The main concert stage was all the way down Beaumont (on 15th Street),” he said.

Heart of the City director Joe Rodriguez and bar owners in uptown McAllen, though, said the bars on 17th Street also drew away some people because of exorbitant cover charges.

Cortez said he was aware of the bar owners’ concerns and sympathized with them, just as he was aware of concerns from some downtown merchants who complained about street closures hurting their sales.

But Cortez said the party’s layout had a lot to do with separating the family aspects from the bar district.

“All the bar owners need to understand that it’s not all for them,” he said. “Part of it is for their benefit, but not all of it is for their benefit.”

Nick Pipitone covers McAllen, PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.