By Juan Montoya
In 2012, Rick Ruenes, the son of Brownsville Mexican cinema pioneer Ramon Ruenes, decided that its residents and visitors to the city should be able to enjoy seeing the local history of the industry in an area accessible for the public to enjoy.
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Toward that end, in October 2012, he deeded a gift to the Brownsville Historical Association of important historical objects from his family's theater which opened in November 1946 and didn't close its doors until 1993, providing entertainment to generations of city movie-goers for some 47 years.
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The transaction was coordinated between the BHA through Collections Manager Javier Garcia and included – among dozens of other items – three sombreros gifted to Ramon Ruenes, Jr. by Mexican cinema and music artists Pedro Infante, Miguel Aceves Mejia, and Fernando Casanova.
![2005 Victoria Theater]()
Other items included artifacts like movie reels, movie reel winders, movie projection equipment canisters, projector lenses etc. A catalogue put together later lists at least 28 items used in the theater during its almost 50 years in business.
"We envision the 1955 Manley popcorn machine and projector will be on the first floor of the Market Square and a gallery of Mexican movie memorabilia which is made up of movie posters, lobby cards and photographs from the Agrasanchez collection will be on the second floor," Garcia wrote Ruenes.
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"We believe having the projector and functioning popcorn machine on
the first floor will serve a better purpose by drawing interest to the surroundings and build anticipation for visitation to the golden age of Mexican movie cinema exhibit.
"The artifacts will be arranged as permanent fixtures in the gallery/exhibit room and a space will be designated with a title to include the “Ruenes” family name, long known to be associated with this era of cinema and drive-ins."
According to the deed signed between Ruenes and the BHA the city, the items were: "To be placed on permanent display in Mexican movie cinema gallery planned for Market Square building currently under renovation as a public use building by Brownsville Historical Association and City of
Brownsville."
Ruenes agreed that he was giving the BHA the items "without remuneration, exchange, or restriction of any kind. The Association agrees to treat the items to its best advantage for exhibit, study, or other purposes, and to maintain their condition and security in a manner consistent with the total Association program."
About a year ago, Ruenes said that the new owner of the old Victoria Theater who turned its interior into an adult day care center took it upon himself to give it an old Mexican cine motif. Ruenes thought that a framed autographed photograph of Pedro Infante dedicating it to his father Ramon – who was Infante's compadre since he had baptized Rick – would be a unique addition to the day-care decor.
He contacted the BHA and said he wanted to look through the items to find the framed picture. Imagine his surprise when he walked into the Market Square Resource Center and found that the photo was gone.
Despite the protests of the director and BHS board members that the photo wasn't included in the donation, Ruenes persisted and eventually found the frame – minus the Infante autographed photo – among the collection he donated.
"I walked into the dark vault at Market Square seven or eight years after I donated the collection only to find the sombreros in a dark vault," he said. "I could have had them at my house or sold them online. But I wanted people to see them. They are part of our city's history, the people's history."
"If we had said it had been donated by the McNair family, they probably would have done something right away," said a close friend of the Ruenes family. The city commission recently voted to rename Fronton Street to McNair Family Drive despite its historical significance. Former city commissioner Harry McNair sits on the BHA board.
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The BHA board and director Tara Putegnat decided they didn't want any problems with Ruenes and told him that he could take his donation back. Ruenes said he is in the process of recovering the items, but his personal attachment to the framed and autographed Infante photograph – his padrino– and its link to his father's memory has made him insist on its return.
"When they did an inventory later the framed photograph wasn't included in the gift," Ruenes said. "But I found the frame and I remember we took a picture of all the items at the time and it was included. Someone probably walked in there and stole it from them. If they can't come up with it I am going to have to file a police report for theft."
Meanwhile, Ruenes said that day-care owner Roberto Zamora was trying to get an historical designation for the old theater and was making a replica of the outside sign and restoring its exterior to its original condition. He said the sombreros would form part of the interior's decor.
"My original wish was for this history to be available so people could see it," he said.
"The sombreros will form part of an exhibit and I am working with Mr. Zamora so that maybe once a month the public will be able to enter the building and see them and remember the old days when people would go to see the movies there."
In 2012, Rick Ruenes, the son of Brownsville Mexican cinema pioneer Ramon Ruenes, decided that its residents and visitors to the city should be able to enjoy seeing the local history of the industry in an area accessible for the public to enjoy.
Toward that end, in October 2012, he deeded a gift to the Brownsville Historical Association of important historical objects from his family's theater which opened in November 1946 and didn't close its doors until 1993, providing entertainment to generations of city movie-goers for some 47 years.
The transaction was coordinated between the BHA through Collections Manager Javier Garcia and included – among dozens of other items – three sombreros gifted to Ramon Ruenes, Jr. by Mexican cinema and music artists Pedro Infante, Miguel Aceves Mejia, and Fernando Casanova.
Other items included artifacts like movie reels, movie reel winders, movie projection equipment canisters, projector lenses etc. A catalogue put together later lists at least 28 items used in the theater during its almost 50 years in business."We envision the 1955 Manley popcorn machine and projector will be on the first floor of the Market Square and a gallery of Mexican movie memorabilia which is made up of movie posters, lobby cards and photographs from the Agrasanchez collection will be on the second floor," Garcia wrote Ruenes.
"We believe having the projector and functioning popcorn machine on the first floor will serve a better purpose by drawing interest to the surroundings and build anticipation for visitation to the golden age of Mexican movie cinema exhibit.
"The artifacts will be arranged as permanent fixtures in the gallery/exhibit room and a space will be designated with a title to include the “Ruenes” family name, long known to be associated with this era of cinema and drive-ins."
According to the deed signed between Ruenes and the BHA the city, the items were: "To be placed on permanent display in Mexican movie cinema gallery planned for Market Square building currently under renovation as a public use building by Brownsville Historical Association and City of
Brownsville."
Ruenes agreed that he was giving the BHA the items "without remuneration, exchange, or restriction of any kind. The Association agrees to treat the items to its best advantage for exhibit, study, or other purposes, and to maintain their condition and security in a manner consistent with the total Association program."
About a year ago, Ruenes said that the new owner of the old Victoria Theater who turned its interior into an adult day care center took it upon himself to give it an old Mexican cine motif. Ruenes thought that a framed autographed photograph of Pedro Infante dedicating it to his father Ramon – who was Infante's compadre since he had baptized Rick – would be a unique addition to the day-care decor.
He contacted the BHA and said he wanted to look through the items to find the framed picture. Imagine his surprise when he walked into the Market Square Resource Center and found that the photo was gone.
Despite the protests of the director and BHS board members that the photo wasn't included in the donation, Ruenes persisted and eventually found the frame – minus the Infante autographed photo – among the collection he donated.
"I walked into the dark vault at Market Square seven or eight years after I donated the collection only to find the sombreros in a dark vault," he said. "I could have had them at my house or sold them online. But I wanted people to see them. They are part of our city's history, the people's history."
"If we had said it had been donated by the McNair family, they probably would have done something right away," said a close friend of the Ruenes family. The city commission recently voted to rename Fronton Street to McNair Family Drive despite its historical significance. Former city commissioner Harry McNair sits on the BHA board.
The BHA board and director Tara Putegnat decided they didn't want any problems with Ruenes and told him that he could take his donation back. Ruenes said he is in the process of recovering the items, but his personal attachment to the framed and autographed Infante photograph – his padrino– and its link to his father's memory has made him insist on its return."When they did an inventory later the framed photograph wasn't included in the gift," Ruenes said. "But I found the frame and I remember we took a picture of all the items at the time and it was included. Someone probably walked in there and stole it from them. If they can't come up with it I am going to have to file a police report for theft."
Meanwhile, Ruenes said that day-care owner Roberto Zamora was trying to get an historical designation for the old theater and was making a replica of the outside sign and restoring its exterior to its original condition. He said the sombreros would form part of the interior's decor.
"My original wish was for this history to be available so people could see it," he said.
"The sombreros will form part of an exhibit and I am working with Mr. Zamora so that maybe once a month the public will be able to enter the building and see them and remember the old days when people would go to see the movies there."