Charro Days in Brownsville will be hosting its 75th annual celebration Feb. 19-26.

The first Charro Days celebration featured horse-drawn floats, marching bands from Mexico, soldiers from Fort Brown, which was still an active fort, and school children dressed as charros and chinas.

Elegant ball gowns, street parties, and fireworks launched with the traditional “Grito” were part of the original celebration and remain part of it today.

Matamoros has always be a key part of the celebration with the traditional “Hands Across the Bridge” celebration where the mayors of the two cities meet and shake hands to kick off the celebration.

On Sunday, Feb. 19, events will kick off with Baile del Sol Street Dance from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Charro Days headquarters, 455 E. Elizabeth Street. Admission is free and there will be food, live music, and folklorico dancers, an official Grito at the bandstand, a children’s costume contest and a flour tortilla taco-eating contest.

Also on Sunday, the 55th annual Charro Days Golf Tournament will be held at the Brownsville Golf Center and the Brownsville Country Club on san Marcelo.  It starts at 8:30 a.m. Call (956) 521-2578 for information.

The traditional “A Little Bit of Mexico” will be held at the Jacob Brown Auditorium at 8 p.m. Senior Citizen tickets are $8. Call 956-546-4486 for tickets.

On Monday, Feb. 20, a Fiesta Folklorico will be held at Sams Stadium. Pre-entertainment starts at 5:30 p.m. Brownsville students will perform folkloric dances and music from Mexico. Admission is free.

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, Entre Amigos during Charro Days will be held at the Episcopal Day School at 5:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 1 to 3 p.m., the Pan American Round Table I will present “Regional Costumes of Mexico Revue and Merienda” at the Amigoland Convention Center. Admission is $5. There will be costumes, folkloric dancers and mariachis. Call (956) 572-1912 for tickets.

The traditional Hands Across the Border will be held Thursday, Feb, 23, at Gateway International Bridge. Then at 2:30 p.m., the Children’s Charro Days Parade, featuring folkloric dancers and music from Mexico, colorful costumes, floats and bands will be held on East Elizabeth Street in Brownsville. Chairs may be rented from the Lions Club two hours before the parade.

Noche de Fiesta with Noe Pro and the Band and El Mariachi Mexico Lindo will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Jacob Brown Auditorium, 600 International Blvd. Admission is $20.

On Friday, Feb. 24, the illuminated night parade will be held at 6 p.m. on Elizabeth Street. The Lions Club will rent chairs two hours before the parade. It will be followed by Baile Ranchero at the Jacob Brown Auditorium with Grammy award winning artist Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz and El Mariachi Mexico Lindo. Admission is $20 per person.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, the Grand International Parade will move down East Elizabeth Street at 1 p.m. The Lions Club will sell chairs for the parade two hours before it starts.

On Sunday, Feb. 26, Mariachi Vargas, who are billed as “the world’s best mariachi” will be in concert at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at The Arts Center, UTB/TSC. Admission. Go to www.utb.edu to purchase tickets. Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, “El Mejor Mariachi Del Mundo” has been seen in over 200 movies and has over 200 CDs of Mexico’s distinctive musical traditions.

The annual Sombrero Festival will be ongoing Feb. 23-25 at Washington Park, located at E. 7th Street and E. Adams Street in Brownsville. Admission is $5. Musical groups to be heard include La Mafia, Los Invasores de Nuevo Leon, Four Dirty Birds, Ben Nees and Earth Bound, The Chris Rivera Band, Wayne Toups and ZydeCajun and others.

On Friday, at 6 p.m. there will be a chili cook-off. Saturday events include a frijolympics, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Other events include a 5K Charro Days Run at 7 a.m. on Saturday, at Tug-O-War between high schools at 8 a.m. Zumba dancing at 10 a.m., an adult tug-o-war at 11 p.m. and a waiter’s race at noon. The afternoon starts with a tortilla toss at 1:30 p.m., a taco-eating contest at 2 p.m., a hot wings eating contest at 2:30 p.m., a jalapeno-eating contest at 3 p.m. and a Grito contest at 4 p.m.