People of Historical Interest
A list of notable people who were born, lived, or died in the Rio Grande Valley includes:
- David V. Aguilar (Chief Border Patrol Agent, United States Border Patrol, Rio Grande Valley Station, Texas)
- Gloria E. Anzaldúa (Writer/Poet, Hargill, Texas)
- Cathy Baker (T.V. performer, Edinburg, Texas)
- Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. (U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Mission, Texas)
- James Carlos Blake (Novelist, Brownsville)
- Harlon Block (Iwo Jima flag raiser, died on Iwo Jima, Weslaco, Texas)
- William S. Burroughs American writer, his time as a farmer in the valley (Pharr, TX) is chronicled, briefly, in his books Junky and Queer
- Rolando Cantu is a Mexican football player who used to play for the Arizona Cardinals in the USA and graduated from McAllen High School. (McAllen, TX)
- Thomas Haden Church (Actor, Harlingen, Texas)
- Kika de la Garza (U.S. Representative, Mission, Texas)
- Freddy Fender (Musician/Actor lyricist, San Benito, Texas)
- Mike Fossum (Astronaut, McAllen, Texas)
- Reynaldo Guerra Garza (Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Brownsville, Texas)
- Roberto Garza (Professional Football Player Chicago Bears, Rio Hondo, Texas)
- Tony Garza (U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Brownsville, Texas)
- Alfredo C. Gonzalez (Medal of Honor Recipient, U.S. Marine Veteran, Edinburg, Texas)
- Matt Gonzalez (2008 Vice Presidential candidate; former president of the San Francisco, California, Board of Superviors; born, McAllen, Texas)
- Esteban Jordan (Accordionist, Elsa, TX)
- Bill Haley (Musician, Harlingen, TX)
- Catherine Hardwicke (Film director, writer, producer, McAllen, TX)
- Rubén Hinojosa (U.S. Representative, Edcouch Elsa, Texas)
- Kris Kristofferson (Musician, actor, song writer, Brownsville, Texas)
- Tom Landry (American football coach, Mission, Texas)
- Bobby Lackey (College Football Player Weslaco, TX)
- Jose M. Lopez (Medal of Honor Recipient, Mission, TX)
- Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas is a musician currently part rock band MuteMath,(McAllen, TX)
- Jack Morava is a mathematician from Mercedes at Johns Hopkins University
- Rachel McLish (Ms. Olympia, actor, Harlingen, Texas)
- Bobby Morrow (Olympic gold medalist, San Benito, Texas)
- Major Samuel Ringgold (Father of modern artillery, served at what is now Fort Ringgold, Rio Grande City, Texas)
- Valente Rodriguez (Actor, Edcouch, Texas)
- Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, USA, Ret. (Ground forces commander in Iraq, Rio Grande City, Texas)
- Julian Schnabel (Filmmaker, Brownsville, TX)
- Merced Solis aka Tito Santana (Wrestler, Mission, Texas)
- Nick Stahl (Actor, Harlingen, Texas)
- Rigo Tovar (Musician/actor/composer, Matamoros, Tamps)
- Filemon Bartolome Vela (Federal judge, Harlingen, Texas)
- Eric Miles Williamson (Novelist/Literary Critic/Professor, McAllen, Texas)
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