Special to El Rrun-Rrun
In yet another grand move to lift relative unknowns from Mexico to take their place among the pantheon of illustrious men and women of politics and the arts from that country, we have learned that the Mr. Amigo Association will name Fernando Romero as (one of two, maybe?) this year's Mr. Amigo(s).
Who, you may well ask, is Romero?
Did he find a cure for cancer? Is he more famous than Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the new Mexican president?
The short answer is: The son-in-law of Mexico's richest man, the billionaire Carlos Slim, the Mexican businessman said to be worth $65 billion in 2017 and estimated to make almost $9 million a day ($8,947,848.52), or about $310.68 per second.Romero married Soumaya Slim, one of the tycoon’s daughters.
Apparently, the cabal at Mr. Amigo believes that its established practice of hobnobbing with the rich and famous is the main criteria for the selection of its annual celebrity to coincide with Brownsville's Charro Days celebration.
The idea that the residents of the poorest community in the United States will wine and dine the son-in-law of the world's richest man and host his entourage and pay for his entertainment is nothing short of brilliant, if not callous and insensitive.
In 2016, the MAA named Fernando Landeros, the founder of Teleton who had established free clinics and pharmacies to treat disabled children in Mexico and the United States. Interestingly, that year the MAA's was president Ricardo Garza, a pharmacist whose clinics in Los Fresnos and Port Isabel went belly up. Apparently, Landeros' success didn't rub off on Garza.
(Don't try looking this up in the MAA web site because the roster of Mr. Amigos stops at 2014.)
And, the MAA's critics point out, most of the actors and actresses the association choices seem to be associated with Televisa, for some reason.
Or, as the late Mr. Amigo Raul Velasco (also of Televisa) would say: Aun hay mas!
The long answer is: He is an architect of some note who was awarded the contract to design Mexico City's new international (NAICM) airport in collaboration with fr·ee and Foster + Partners; and promised to be one of the largest airports in the world and the largest in the Americas, with an area of 743,000 square meters. It was going to cost more than $13 billion.
(However, all that came to naught when incoming Mexican President AMLO ditched the project even though it was backed by some of the nation’s wealthiest investors.)
Oh, no! All we need is for Romero to hook up with City of Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez to inflate the cost of the new terminal building at the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport. Under Martinez, it has ballooned from $21 million to more than $50 million. Think BIG, Tony!
Will the MAA make people think that Carlos Slim himself will make an appearance? If that is the case, imagine the cost to have someone like that visit here. Where will he stay? At Martinez's house? Or Sergio Arguello’s gig at Rancho Viejo? Maybe at the Zoo?
For some reason, we suspect that they will not be wanting to eat flautas at Mi Pueblito or quesadillas from Chef Ricardo. For entertainment they will probably bring a band straight from Mexico City, that does impersonations of singers like Luis Miguel, Rigo Tovar, Los Bukis, Los 5 Babosos, y aun hay mas!
Well, he ain't no Cantiflas (actor), or Miguel Aleman (president), but he's a billionaire's yerno, so we guess that makes him eminently qualified for a free week of peda, apparently. No MAAmen!