Gloria Chavez Casas is the Facilitator for MidValley Comadres and has been since 2000 when the original facilitator Cristina Balli moved to San Antonio and asked her to take over.
The MidValley Comadres have met every month since 2000— that’s 25 years! They meet on the third Thursday of each month. Usually one of the Comadres hosts, if not Gloria’s house is always open to her Comadres. They meet every September 16 in celebration of Mexican Independence Day at South Padre Island and invite other Comadres from the Valley. They eat at a restaurant (Dutch), take lots of pictures and dress in their Mexican attire. Everyone looks forward to this day.
Also, in the summer they meet in a popular restaurant in Weslaco. They invite Comadres and friends for supper (Dutch) and listen or dance to Mariachi’s present. This gives them a chance to meet new Comadres and other Comadres from the Valley.
This past year, they added going to movies as a group and visiting cultural places and/or places of interest. They attend Harlingen Mayor’s monthly meeting and Coffee held in the community. They always wear their Comadres shirts and always get recognized. (Gloria orders the t-shirts with her money and then sells them to members. Not as a fundraiser or money maker.)
Gloria has kept a sign-on-book for years with names and phone numbers. Therefore, she can always keep in touch. She encourages other city networks and friends to form a Comadres network group. She places pictures and meeting announcements on Facebook every month to inform the community of their activities and actions. *