Editing Laredo, Texas (section)

==Arts and culture==

===Annual celebrations===

The [[Washington's Birthday Celebration]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbcalaredo.org/|title=121st Washington's Birthday Celebration|website=Wbcalaredo.org|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> a month-long event that celebrates George Washington's birthday, is the largest annual celebration of its kind in the United States, with 400,000 attendees. It was founded in 1898 by the [[Improved Order of Red Men]], local chapter Yaqui Tribe No. 59. The first celebration was a success, and its popularity grew rapidly; in 1923, it received its state [[charter]]. In 1924, the celebration held its first colonial pageant, which featured 13 girls from Laredo, representing the 13 original colonies. The celebration includes parades, a carnival, an air show, fireworks, live concerts, and a citywide [[prom]] during which many of Laredo's elite dress in very formal attire. The related [[Jalapeño]] Festival is one of the United States' top 10 eating festivals.

Jamboozie is held in late January in downtown Laredo as part of the Washington's birthday celebrations. Similar to New Orleans' [[Mardi Gras]], the Jamboozie is a colorful event, with many people dressed in beads, masks, and flamboyant outfits.

===Museums===

[[File:Rio Grande Republic Capitol.jpg|thumb|left|[[Republic of the Rio Grande Capitol Building Museum]]]]
The [[Republic of the Rio Grande Museum]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webbheritage.org/index_files/21RRG.htm|title=Republic of the Rio Grande Museum Home Page|website=Webbheritage.org|access-date=August 27, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201141219/http://www.webbheritage.org/index_files/21RRG.htm|archive-date=February 1, 2015}}</ref> is in the downtown historical district next to the historic La Posada Hotel. What was once the Capitol building now showcases memorabilia from the short lived [[Republic of the Rio Grande]]. It displays pictures, books, and furniture from the 19th century Laredo area, and offers guided tours for school-aged children and adults year-round. Because of this Republic, Laredo had flown seven flags instead of the traditional Six Flags over Texas.

The Laredo Center for the Arts<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laredoartcenter.org/|title=laredocenter4thearts|website=laredocenter4thearts|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> is located in downtown Laredo. The building houses three galleries: the Goodman Gallery, the Laredo Art League Gallery and the Lilia G. Martinez Gallery. The Center for the Arts, in the former City Hall offices known as "The Mercado", displays regional artwork and provides community events for children and adults. The Laredo Little Theater provides Laredo with live stage performances. The theater also hosts comedians.

Imaginarium of South Texas<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imaginariumstx.org/|title=Imaginarium of South Texas – Links|website=Imaginariumstx.org|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> (formerly Laredo Children's Museum), in Mall del Norte, provides a hands-on experience with science, technology, and art for Laredo's youth. A second museum is planned on the [[Texas A&M International University]] campus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gyroscopeinc.com/laredo.html|title=Second Imaginarium Museum on TAMIU Campus|website=Gyroscopeinc.com|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-date=June 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628150243/http://gyroscopeinc.com/laredo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Nuevo Santander Museum Complex is composed of restored buildings of [[Fort McIntosh (Texas)|Fort McIntosh]], a historical collection of photographs of the fort, the main guardhouse, which has World War I (1914–1918) memorabilia, and a science and technology museum.

===Planetarium===

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium<ref>[http://tamiu.edu/coas/planetarium/ The Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center Planetarium Home Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230132249/http://www.tamiu.edu/coas/planetarium/ |date=December 30, 2006 }}</ref> is on the [[Texas A&M International University]] campus. The planetarium surrounds audiences in a dome with an accurate image of the night sky showing all the motions and cycles of the [[Sun]], [[Moon]], planets, and constellations in the sky.

===Library===

[[File:Laredo Public Library.JPG|thumb|The Joe A. Guerra Laredo Public Library at the intersection of McPherson Road and Calton Street]]
The Joe A. Guerra Laredo Public Library<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laredolibrary.org/|title=Home|website=Laredolibrary.org|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> was first housed on the second floor of the City Hall, now known as the Market Hall, in 1916. In 1974, the Laredo Public Library moved to the historic Bruni Plaza in downtown Laredo. In 1993, the citizens of Laredo approved the construction of a new main library at McPherson and Calton Roads, which opened on February 1, 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lmtonline.com/front-news/article_de52b832-5065-11e6-8bfc-2fa436572485.html|title=Laredo Public Library renamed after former city councilman|author=Judith Rayo|newspaper=The Laredo Morning Times |date=July 22, 2016|access-date=July 24, 2016}}</ref> The Laredo Public Library has a {{convert|60000|sqft|m2|-3|abbr=on}}. main library and two branches. The main library is in central Laredo; the Bruni Plaza Branch<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.laredolibrary.org/bruni.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804191557/http://www.laredolibrary.org/bruni.html|url-status=dead|title=Laredo Public Library Bruni Branch |archive-date=August 4, 2007}}</ref> is downtown east of Washington Street, and the Santo Niño Branch is in south Laredo.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.laredolibrary.org/santo.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810211915/http://www.laredolibrary.org/santo.html|url-status=dead|title=Laredo Public Library Santo Niño Branch|archive-date=August 10, 2007}}</ref>

Two new libraries opened in 2014, one in northwest Laredo, the Fasken Library on March 14, and another in the south sometime in July.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kgns.tv/home/headlines/UPDATE-Two-new-libraries-coming-to-Laredo-248241761.html|title=UPDATE: Two new libraries coming to Laredo|first=Valerie|last=Bragg|website=Kgns.tv|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828011816/http://www.kgns.tv/home/headlines/UPDATE-Two-new-libraries-coming-to-Laredo-248241761.html |archive-date=August 28, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Market Plaza and Flores Avenue, Laredo, Texas.jpg|thumb|Market Plaza and Flores Avenue, Laredo, Texas (postcard, {{Circa|1907}})]]

===Churches and architecture===

{{Main|List of buildings in Laredo, Texas}}

[[File:San Agustin Cathedral.JPG|thumb|upright|San Agustin Cathedral]]

[[File:Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Laredo, TX IMG 1856.JPG|thumb|Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church]]

[[File:Renovated St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Laredo, TX IMG 7354.JPG|thumb|Renovated St. Patrick's Catholic Church is on Del Mar Boulevard across from the Laredo Fire Department]]

[[File:First United Methodist Church of Laredo, TX revised photo IMG 2005.JPG|thumb|The First [[United Methodist]] Church near the intersection of McClelland and Guadalupe; the [[cornerstone]] from the 1916 building on Hidalgo Street downtown was moved to the current location in 1949.]]

Most of Laredo's architecture is of [[Spanish architecture|Spanish Colonial]], [[Architecture of the United States|American]], and Mexican flavor. Most of Laredo's Spanish Colonial-style buildings are in downtown Laredo. More modern American architecture can be seen along Interstate Highway 35, as well as in the downtown area<ref>{{cite web |last=ROBINSON |first=WILLARD B. |title=CHURCH ARCHITECTURE |date=June 12, 2010 |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/cgc02 |website=Tshaonline.org|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref>

Our Lady of Guadalupe is an imposing structure in [[Romanesque Revival]] Lombard (North Italian) style. It was designed by [[Leo M. J. Dielmann]] of San Antonio, a popular architect of Catholic buildings, and built for a Mexican-American and Hispanic congregation in the inner city, at San Jorge Avenue and Callaghan St. Dielmann was commissioned by church authorities to design churches for similar congregations in Houston and San Antonio. He also did the San Agustin parish school, and may have had a hand in the San Agustin church, itself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/drtsa/00011/drt-00011.html|title=A Guide to the Leo M. J. Dielmann Papers, Drawings, and Photographs, 1847–1961|website=Lib.utexas.edu|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref>

Both the First United Methodist Church, in 1949, and the Christ Church Episcopal, were designed by [[Henry Steinbomer]], a popular and prolific San Antonio architect who is credited with more than 100 churches and related buildings during the 1940s and 50s, from the Lower Rio Grande Valley mostly in South and West Texas, from the Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Angelo to Union Church in [[Monterrey, Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web |title=STEINBOMER, HENRY JOHN|last=KENDALL |first=DOROTHY STEINBOMER |date=June 15, 2010 |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fst92 |website=Tshaonline.org|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref>

Other Laredo churches include [[Baptist]], [[Presbyterian Church of America|Presbyterian]], [[Lutheran]], [[Assembly of God]], [[Mormon]], and nondenominational congregations.

====National Register of Historic Places sites====

*[[Barrio Azteca Historic District]] 
*[[Fort McIntosh, Texas|Fort McIntosh]] 
*[[San Agustin de Laredo Historic District]] 
*Hamilton Hotel, architects Atlee B. Ayers and Robert Ayers, the tallest building in Laredo
*[[Laredo United States Post Office, Court House and Custom House|U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House]]
*[[Webb County Courthouse (Texas)|Webb County Courthouse]], finished 1909 to designs in the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style by renowned architect [[Alfred Giles (architect)|Alfred Giles]]

====List of the tallest buildings====

[[File:Former Hamilton Hotel in Laredo, TX IMG 1766.JPG|thumb|The former Hamilton Hotel, the tallest building in Laredo]]
{|class="wikitable"
! Rank<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.emporis.com/city/102906/laredo-tx-usa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929160041/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/?id=102906|url-status=usurped|title=Laredo &#124; Buildings &#124; EMPORIS|archive-date=September 29, 2007|website=[[Emporis]]}}</ref>
 ! Building Name !! Height!! Floors
!Year Built
|- valign="top"
|01 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Hamilton Hotel|Hamilton Hotel]] ||150&nbsp;ft (46 m)||12 ||1923
|- valign="top"
|02||[[San Agustin Cathedral]] ||141&nbsp;ft (43 m) ||N/A ||1872
|- valign="top"
|03 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Rio Grande Plaza|Rio Grande Plaza]] ||– ||15 ||1975
|- valign="top"
|04 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Holiday Inn Civic Center|Holiday Inn Laredo]] ||– ||14 ||1984
|- valign="top"
|05 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#700 San Bernardo Avenue|Laredo National Bank]] ||– ||10 ||1926
|- valign="top"
|06 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Senior Citizens Home|Senior Citizens Home]] ||– ||8 ||–
|- valign="top"
|07 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Laredo Medical Center|Laredo Medical Center]] ||– ||7 ||1999
|- valign="top"
|08 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Gateway Inn|Gateway Inn]] ||– ||6 ||–
|- valign="top"
|09 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Rialto Hotel|Rialto Hotel]] ||– ||6 ||1925
|-valign="top"
|10 ||[[List of buildings in Laredo, Texas#Walker Plaza|Walker Plaza]] ||– ||5 ||1995
|}

===Laredo in multimedia===

====Film and television====

''[[Streets of Laredo (film)|Streets of Laredo]]'' is a 1949 [[Western film]] starring [[William Holden]], [[Macdonald Carey]], and [[William Bendix]]<ref>José David Saldívar, ''The Dialectics of Our America: Genealogy, Cultural Critique, and Literary History'' (Duke University Press, 1991), [https://books.google.com/books?id=oUd2nLGZgZIC&pg=PA52&dq=%22Streets+of+Laredo%22+film&ei=8FsqSfLuE47mM9OMtLYD 52].</ref> as three outlaws who rescue a young girl, played by [[Mona Freeman]]. When they become separated, two reluctantly become [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]], while the third continues on a life of crime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0717163/|title="Laredo" on ''Tales of Wells Fargo'', December 23, 1957|publisher=[[IMDb|Internet Movie Database]]|access-date=February 7, 2013}}</ref>

In 1958, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] aired the second episode, "Ambush in Laredo", of the 17-part [[miniseries]], ''[[Texas John Slaughter (TV series)|Texas John Slaughter]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0561217/|title=''Texas John Slaughter'': "Ambush at Laredo", November 14, 1958|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=December 6, 2012}}</ref>

The 1959 Western film, ''[[Gunmen from Laredo]]'', stars [[Robert Knapp (actor)|Robert Knapp]], [[Walter Coy]], [[Paul Birch (actor)|Paul Birch]], and [[Ron Hayes]]. He winds up in prison on a false murder charge, but the marshal allows him to escape to pursue the man who killed his wife.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052869/|title=''Gunmen from Laredo'' (1959)|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=December 6, 2012}}</ref>

The 1983 film ''[[Eddie Macon's Run]]'', based on a James McLendon novel, features [[John Schneider (screen actor)|John Schneider]] as Eddie Macon, who is wrongly convicted of mostly minor crimes. While performing at a prison rodeo in [[Huntsville, Texas]], he escapes and heads for Laredo, where he hopes to join his family in Mexico. Carl "Buster" Marzack ([[Kirk Douglas]]) is a cop in hot pursuit of Eddie. Without transportation, Eddie journeys on foot. He ends up in the woods, where he is nearly killed. He meets Jilly Buck ([[Lee Purcell]]), a bored rich girl who agrees to help him.<ref>{{cite web |author=Hal Erickson|title=Eddie Macon's Run (1983) |department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/15288/Eddie-Macon-s-Run/overview|access-date=August 5, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024180054/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/15288/Eddie-Macon-s-Run/overview|date=2013|archive-date=October 24, 2013|author-link=Hal Erickson (author)}}</ref>

''[[Lone Star (1996 film)|Lone Star]]'' is a 1996 American [[mystery film]] written and directed by [[John Sayles]] and set in a small town in [[Texas]]. The [[ensemble cast]] features [[Chris Cooper]], [[Kris Kristofferson]], [[Matthew McConaughey]], and [[Elizabeth Peña]] and deals with a sheriff's investigation into the murder of one of his predecessors. The movie was filmed in [[Del Rio, Texas|Del Rio]], [[Eagle Pass, Texas|Eagle Pass]], and Laredo.{{citation needed|date=April 2024|reason="Template:IMDb title" failed.}}

The 2011 series, ''Bordertown: Laredo'', is a 10-episode documentary on the [[Arts and Entertainment Network]] based on the work of the narcotics unit of the Laredo Police Department.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aetv.com/bordertown-laredo/ |title=Bordertown: Laredo |website=aetv.com |access-date=December 6, 2012}}</ref>

====Music====

Laredo has been the subject of several songs in popular culture. One of the most popular songs is the "[[Streets of Laredo (song)|Streets of Laredo]]", originally known as "A Cowboy's Lament" and written by [[Frank H. Maynard]], who lived mostly in [[Colorado]]. It has been recorded by artists such as [[Johnny Cash]], [[Marty Robbins]], [[Waylon Jennings]], [[John Cale]], [[Roy Rogers]], and [[Prefab Sprout]] (who also made a lyrical reference to Laredo in an early song, "Cue Fanfare"), and is even featured in a ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' episode ("Pretty Angels all in a Row", season two, episode three). On October 28, 1958, in the episode "The Ghost" of the ABC/WB Western series, ''[[Sugarfoot]]'', "The Streets of Laredo" is performed by child actor [[Tommy Rettig]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/Sugarfoot_02_(1958-59).htm|title=The Ghost|publisher=Classic Television Archives|access-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref> Another song is [[Laredo Tornado]] from the British rock band [[ELO]].

The first song on Marty Robbins' 1966 LP ''The Drifter'' was "Meet Me Tonight in Laredo".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Marty-Robbins-The-Drifter/release/3462152|title=Marty Robbins - The Drifter|website=Discogs}}</ref>

From 1959 to 1972, the six-member singing group, The Rondels, dominated the musical scene in Laredo. Carlos Saenz Landin, the lead singer, left the group to work for the [[Dallas Independent School District]], but years later returned to Laredo. Lead guitarist Humberto Donovan served in the [[United States Marine Corps]]. The late Roberto Alonzo played the bass guitar. Sammy Ibarra, played the keyboard and composed the song, "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero (The More I Love You)." He subsequently became a pastor. Singer Noe Adolfo Esparza pursued a college career and became a supervisor for [[Southwestern Bell|Southwestern Bell Telephone Company]]. As of 2017, he was still performing with the [[oldies]] group, Los Fabulosos in Laredo. Joe Lee Vera served in the [[United States Navy]] and played drums for The Rondels. Several of Vera's brothers were drummers too. The Rondels packed the Laredo Civic Center Auditorium. Two other songs characteristic of the group are "Ya-Ya" and "All Night Worker". With their disbanding, Juan Cisneros of Laredo recalls The Rondels "left a large void that will never be forgotten."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lmtonline.com/opinion/letters/article/Writer-The-Rondels-were-top-musical-group-of-the-10958762.php|title=Writer: The Rondels were top musical group of the 60s|newspaper=Laredo Morning Times|author=Juan Cisneros|date=February 25, 2017|access-date=March 1, 2017}}</ref>