European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 15, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Carlos flares and hit Crew pull the lot Bonos ferry across the Rio Grande award Mexico. By Jules Loh associated press the he River bends sharply at los ,1 Texas and Narrows to no More than 40 1 Yards Bank to Bank. On each Bank is a Small by building on each building a Flag. 4hha there is no town Here just a spot on the Rio Grande named in the Long ago Lor the rare old Ebony Trees whose tiny leaves and shaggy Gray bark stand out on the Riverbank among the Mesquite Brush and prickly Pear Cactus. Rustlers once knew it As a place to lord stolen beef unseen. It remains today Remote Miles from any place of excitement or Commerce. The Only natural sounds Here Are cicadas humming in the heat and the Ripple of the Jade Green River. Ii is. For certain a most unlikely place for an official Flag flying document checking International port of entry Between la Republica de Mexico and the United states of America. Yat that la what it it. And the fact that it is Here a familiar crossing place As old As the Ebony Trees demonstrates yet another frustration facing an overworked Border patrol and a Congress trying to enact an immigration Law to Deal with a flood tide of illegal aliens the simple reality of history. I Cross Here All the time said a Young Man waiting in the Shade of an Ebony tree. His car had Texas plates. I buy whiskey in Mexico. Cheaper. Much much cheaper and they Don t bother about tax Stamps at this what s your name he laughed. your last name whatever you like. Perez. Juan along the Border some Lor their own reasons prefer anonymity. A recent newspaper report of a stabbing on the Border South of Here for example contained this sentence police said Martinez who died from the wound was using an alias he always used while in the United no further amplification except that his real name was Alvarado and his residence was Monterrey. Mexico. He was 22. Thora la no Bridga at this official International crossing but there is a ferry. It is a Flat Barge that holds three cars bumper to bumper. A Cable stretched Between two Ebony Trees on either Bank holds it to the River and four sweating men pull it across Back and Forth with a rope. The ferry is privately owned. To ride it costs one american Dollar per car and 25 cents per person. The Lour rope pullers earn 1.000 pesos a Day. In american Money that amounts today to about $2.70. One of the four Carlos Flores. Has been pulling the rope since 1954. He remembers that his wage then was the equivalent in pesos of $ 1.10 a Day. He has seen it go As High As $3.50 a Day. The capricious value of the peso drives businessmen on both sides of the Border crazy. Csatlos Flores does t try to keep up with the fluctuations. He just pulls the rope. In Diaz Ordaz 1.000 pesos will barely provide a Day s groceries. Diaz Ordaz is the nearest Village on the mexican Side of the ferry. You reach it by risking your axles for two Miles Down a rutted dirt Road lined with spindly sunflowers powdered with Road dust a Village of. Of. 1,700. On the main Street paved carts pulled by Burros Park next to John Deere tractors and dirty pickups outside an obvious place of midday recreation a Cantina named Al Torito. The a Almata of dial Rodax a population it varies v with the season is that Ole Torito s bartender. Francisco Javier Melendez presides Over a Ian cooled room with sawdust on f the Cement floor Low Selling linoleum bar loud music Lour stools no Cash Register. The pictures Over the bar clipped from ring Magazine Are of mexican prizefighter. A picture of our lady of Guadalupe is there too. A 15.1985 a hand lettered sign out front reads in translation. No minors no women no drunks no the first prohibition apparently excludes the bartender. Francisco the son the owner who is not yet 15. He has a Bright Star lied expression with Ink Black eyes and Pearl White Teeth. He speak no English but is trying to learn. Ii the pattern holds True someday suon Franscisco will pay two bits to take the los Debanos ferry to the other Side and perhaps stay. On the other Side Are somewhere from 3 to 12 million undocumented the Range is that wide because they Are a Clandestine population. One expert s guess at How Many there Are is As Good As another s. The immigration and naturalization service picks an arbitrary figure vaguely in the Middle. 6.5 million As a working number but admits that nobody really knows. Argument Over the Tolza of the problem and therefore the Cost of the solution is the main reason Congress has not been Able to agree on an immigration Bill for four years. At los Debanos debates in Washington or Mexico City for that matter Are far removed from the Urgen cies of daily life. The most recent of those according to Albert Simo. Who collects ferry tolls on the North Bank occurred when a car plunged Down the South Bank smashed into the Barge and ended up nose first in the River. There is no Dock you see. Chains thrown around tree stumps snug the Barge up to the dirt Bank and two steel planks just the right distance apart Flop Down for the cars to Roll aboard gently. The Driver of the car that missed explained that he was on his Way to get the brakes fixed. The uniformed immigration inspector at los Debanos is Tina Salinas. She checks to see that those who Cross from Mexico have papers usually at this crossing a 72-hour pass to shop visit relatives see a dentist get the brakes fixed. Ii does t take Long before you get to know the local people she said. Most Are Doet anyone Ever Croft Ovar on a pass and not come Back All the officer Salinas also explained How whiskey gets through untaxed. Some months ago an american drug enforcement agent was killed in Mexico resulting in tension along the Border. . Customs pulled its inspector out of los Debanos. Explaining that it was so isolated As to be unsafe and has not sent him Back. Tina Salinas says she. However does not feel threatened. On the american Side the counterpart of the Village of Diaz Ordaz is not a Village at All just a Small Community a neighbourhood of tidy Brick Homes along paved streets with mexican names. The contrast in the Standard of living is striking the language the culture. Are the same. The residents on both sides of the River Here have been crossing Back and Forth routinely for generations from the time both sides were a part of Mexico not particularly concerned about choosing a political allegiance More often just to find a better Job. Maybe temporarily maybe not. The ferry itself is an International Enterprise. It was started in 1950 by two friends. Both of mexican parentage one named Garza. One named Reyna. The one an american citizen the other a mexican citizen. At 4 . Every Day immigration officer Salinas Lowers the Flag and goes Home to Mcallen. Tex., a 40 minute drive. The Lour rope pullers Chain the ferry to a stump and go Home to Diaz Ordaz. The official port of entry at los Debanos is officially closed. No nay problems. A Rowboat sits in Plain View on the Riverbank or. Like those cattle rustlers of old you could Wade. The Rio Grande at least at this tranquil spot along the 1,933-mile mexican Border is less an International Boundary than a local inconvenience. A photo Burro drown cart a foot out offer muting to Moko. A Pitolo up if Hill toward Tat Tomt and Tho United slain. The stars and stripes Page 15
