News
2024-2025
UTRGV and city in Italy partner for official academic collaboration on art restoration.
UTRGV students will be able to explore hands-on art restoration techniques inside a historic 16th-century castle in Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, Italy, as part of a groundbreaking academic partnership between UTRGV and the Municipality of Perugia. This immersive program, to begin in fall of 2025, will offer students the opportunity to study art, culture, and history in one of Europe's most historically rich regions.
UTRGV Fine Arts hosted inaugural Vaquero Band Camp this summer
UTRGV just one year ago introduced the Valley community to the very first UTRGV Marching Band. Now, in another first for the university, the UTRGV College of Fine Arts this summer hosted the very first Vaquero Band Camp.
2023-2024
UTRGV celebrates FESTIBA 2024
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 — UTRGV’s annual Festival of International Books and Arts (FESTIBA), an educational and entertaining event that promotes cultural arts and literacy, runs this year from Feb. 23 through March 3.
UTRGV Vaquero Marching Band, Color Guard to participate in Laredo Anheuser-Busch Washington’s Birthday Parade
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 — UTRGV’s inaugural marching band will help fill the streets of Laredo with music, when the UTRGV Vaquero Marching Band and the UTRGV Color Guard perform in this weekend's Anheuser-Busch Washington’s Birthday Parade.
UTRGV officially purchases Majestic Theatre in downtown Brownsville
Monday, November 27, 2023 — It’s official! UTRGV now owns one of downtown Brownsville’s most iconic buildings – the Majestic Theatre.
Hit Astray (directed by Andrew Perez, and Jared Palomares,) won the Matthew Shepard Memorial Award for Best Student Film at San Antonio Q Fest LMBTQ International Film Festival.
Matthew Shepard Memorial Award: Best Student Film
“Matthew Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming in 1998. One night at a bar two men pretended to be gay and offered him a ride home. On the way they brutally beat him and left him tied to a post to die. He was discovered 18 hours later by a cyclist. The brutality of the attack incited his mother, Judy Shepard, to become a fierce LGBTQ advocate. She worked tirelessly to get ratified Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act which was signed into law in 2009. She also created the Mathew Shepard Foundation which funds anti-violence education, outreach, and advocacy programs.”
Instructor: Ferenc Moldovanyi, Associate Professor
Country music: a melting pot
The Center for Latin American Arts hosed a one-week residency for Dr. Nadine Hubbs, a professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan. Dr. Hubbs presented a research workshop and gave a lecture titled “Sounding Mexican American Life, Music and Art,” which is available to view on UTRGVs Center for Latin American Arts YouTube channel. A visiting professor at UTRGV says after attending the events, she learned that the country music genre includes contributions from many races and cultural traditions.
UTRGV granted accreditation from National Association of Schools of Dance for dance program
Monday, October 02, 2023 — UTRGV has been granted accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) for its dance program – which means the UTRGV Dance Department has met the highest standards in providing dance students educational services.
UTRGV alum honors his roots dancing at world-renowned Ballet Folklórico de México
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 — Raul Passamentt Jr., a 2022 UTRGV graduate, is living his best life in Mexico City, pursuing his dance career as a company member of the renowned Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández.
UTRGV Marching Band welcomes its founding members
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 — UTRGV in August started workshops for the first season of the UTRGV Marching Band. Ronnie Rios, UTRGV marching band director, said the 150-member band is the first of its kind at UTRGV and a point of pride all on its own.
A warm thank you to the Fall Student Leader Kick-Off Event for inviting Dean Ward to present.
2022-2023
UTRGV Mariachi student winning soloist in national contest
Thursday, June 15, 2023 — The loudest grito heard at the 34th annual Mariachi USA concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California was belted by Jenika Montes, UTRGV junior and national winner of the Jarritos Mariachi USA Talent Search Competition.
CFA Awards Ceremony Digial Program
The Wall that Heals exhibit to be on display April 20-23 at UTRGV
A 375-foot-long replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall will be on display at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on April 20-23, 2023.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) recently chose UTRGV as a stop on the 2023 national The Wall that Heals tour that includes the replica wall and a mobile Education Center exhibit that tells the story of the Vietnam War, The Wall and the era surrounding the conflict. The free exhibit is designed to put American experiences in Vietnam in a historical and cultural context.
“The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is honored to have been selected to host this very special exhibit in partnership with the City of Edinburg,” said Dr. Jeffrey Ward, dean of the UTRGV College of Fine Arts, which is presenting the exhibit. “At UTRGV, we honor our service members and veterans, including those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.”
The Wall that Heals Exhibit
Location: 300 W. Mark S. Pena (Palm) Drive, Edinburg
Parking available along South 9th Avenue
More information The Wall exhibit can be found at: www.thewallthatheals.org.
Apply to honor your veteran, through In Memory, by March 20th and their photo will be included as part of the mobile Education Center display when The Wall That Heals is on display in Edinburg.
For questions about the exhibit or to volunteer during the four-day event, contact Dr. Dahlia Guerra, UTRGV Special Assistant to the Dean for Outreach and Partnerships, via email at dahlia.guerra@utrgv.edu or call 956-665-2353.
Graduate student turned pro boxer
By Matthew Gonzalez
DEC 5, 2022
Eduardo Guerra, a UTRGV graduate student has a rematch against Nick Molina set for Dec. 9 at the Payne Arena in Hidalgo. The match will be Guerra’s first televised professional boxing bout and will be aired on ESPN.
Guerra, while also being a boxer, is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts and writing a book about his experiences as an athlete.
“So, right now, I’m currently working on my first book, which is called ‘Fight,’ and I’m working on that for the master’s and I want to have [it] as my thesis,” Guerra said. “I remember I got in the ring and I was like, ‘Do I have to do this? I’m in college. Do I have to do this? I mean, I could just focus on college and when I graduate, I’ll be a teacher, and I don’t [have to] get punched in the head.’ That was the first time I was like, ‘Do I need to do this?’
Nov 30, 2022
Instructor Ping Xu mentions, it is my pleasure to share with you and our department colleagues our VCD student's academic achievement in the recent UDA Annual Idea Design Competition in Seoul. To participate in the International Design Competition, about seven UTRGV students submitted their course projects from different classes. The winners were announced on November 28. Three UTRGV students won awards and they are:
Kyara Valdez won a gold award
Yamilex Cantu won a bronze award
Lily Sanchez won a bronze award
You can find more information by clicking on the links below:
https://pxstudio.us/blog/?p=60513
http://uniteddesigns.org/idea-design-2022-awards/
http://uniteddesigns.org/jurors-2022/
French playwright, Molière, inspires UTRGV Theatre’s next production
Thursday, November 17, 2022 — The UTRGV Theatre Department is following up its three nights of horror with three nights of commedia dell'arte, love, trickery, mistaken identities, mayhem, farce and fun.
UTRGV Center for Latin American Arts receives grant for Flamenco, art programs
Musical tribute to veterans
By Omar E. Zapata
OCT 31, 2022
In the second-ever concert held at the Edinburg Promenade Park Amphitheater, the Pre-Veteran’s Day Music Festival will feature legendary Tejano artists Roberto Pulido and his son, Bobby Pulido, UTRGV’s own Mariachi Juvenil and other musical acts at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
The free event starts with performances by UTRGV Mariachi Juvenil and UTRGV Ballet Folklórico, followed by an honor guard presenting the colors, the national anthem and a welcome by Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. and members of the City Council.
UTRGV to host arts education conference
By Juan Villarreal
OCT 17, 2022
UTRGV will host its first ever ArtsEd Conference from 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Tuesday in the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. The conference focuses on UTRGV students who are planning to become educators in the field of arts.
“The College of Fine Arts represents the School of Music, the Department of Dance, the Theatre Department and also visual arts and creative writing,” said David Sadlier, associate director of the Office of Engaged Scholarship & Learning. “So we have presentations and performances. … We are covering the entire college.”
Frankenstein’: an exploration of humanity
By Omar E. Zapata
OCT 10, 2022
The UTRGV Theatre Department’s production of “Frankenstein” is not just the typical Halloween play. It also explores life, death, identity and what it means to be human.
Directed by theatre Associate Professor Brian Warren, the play will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre on the Edinburg campus.
The play is based on the novel by Mary Shelley and adapted by Joshua Kennedy and Marco Muñoz.
“Reading the novel is always good,” Warren said. “It’s a classic for a reason, what it says about … humanity, and why we do what we do. … I found this play by knowing my friend, Joshua Kennedy … and I liked his version that we’re doing.”