ICYMI: Dozens Gather at LIBRE’s Hispanic Heritage Luncheon in Pharr, TX with LIBRE President Daniel Garza

The LIBRE Initiative, the largest center-right Hispanic organization in Texas, hosted a luncheon at Rudy’s BBQ in Pharr on Thursday, October 15, 2026, drawing dozens of community members for a conversation with LIBRE Founding President Daniel Garza. The event occurred on the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month and returned to the Rio Grande Valley, where LIBRE began fifteen years ago. 

Garza headlined the lunchtime conversation, which centered on what it takes to build and sustain a livelihood in South Texas. Topics included the regulatory burden on small employers, the price of doing business, and the important role of affordable, reliable energy in the Valley’s economy. The stakes are high in a state where Hispanics own more than 63,000 employer businesses, roughly one in every seven in Texas. 

Jorge Martinez, Texas Strategic Director for The LIBRE Initiative, issued the following statement:

“The Rio Grande Valley is where LIBRE began, and it was a privilege to bring LIBRE President Daniel Garza back home to close out Hispanic Heritage Month. Families here want the American Dream kept within reach, and that depends on policy choices made far from the Valley: whether a small business can get a permit without months of delay, whether energy stays affordable and reliable, and whether a family that saves to open its own shop is rewarded or buried in paperwork. LIBRE will keep bringing these conversations to the communities where they matter most.”