Texas Road Signs Delete Mention Of Mexico
This story hit close to home and caught me a little off guard.
I first heard about it through a niece’s FaceBook update:
En Laredo Tx Quitaron Del 35 Los Avisos Que Señalan A Nuevo Laredo Como Aviso D Q No Visiten La Ciudad
Apparently the good people at the Laredo, Texas Chamber of Commerce asked the Texas Department of Transportation to modify the road signs leading into town. They wanted all references to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico removed. The typical large green road signs outside of Laredo have for decades marked the distance in miles to Nuevo Laredo.
According to a report in mysanantonio.com, the sign references were dropped
because of concerns that Laredo had become associated with drug violence in Mexico.
I’m not sure which level of ridiculous to tackle first.
I understand the Chamber of Commerce’s concern for business and the city’s reputation, but eliminating references to the distance to Mexico on signs just a few miles from the border is on the first order of ridiculous. I can say this with authority because that’s my hometown. It’s not like people don’t know Mexico is there.
On another level, how can the removal of a reference on a sign distance an entire city from it’s sister city’s reputation?
Border towns are strange that way. There is as much cooperation interdependence between border towns as there is mistrust and suspicion. Replace the river with railroad tracks and you get a good idea of how each side sees the other – the bad side of the tracks becomes a matter of perspective. Even so, the sign change was too much, even for border town standards. For 24 hours citizens complained, called, and used the social networks to make their feelings known. The signs are back to what they used to be, Nuevo Laredo reference and all.
The Mayors of both towns met to chat and make happy talk:
After media reports of the change this week, (Laredo, Texas, Mayor Raul) Salinas and Nuevo Laredo Mayor Benjamin Galvan Gomez met to discuss the issue. Salinas said TxDOT should have consulted city leaders and suggested new signs read, simply, “Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.”
Or as my niece put it:
Como Si La Gente No Supiera El Camino Jajaja
Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda
[Photo by MiguelCornejo]
