(Courtesy photo)
COMMENTARY
By RAY QUIROGA
The Valley, the county, San Benito, and I’ll go as far as to say the state, lost a juggernaut on Wednesday with the passing of Lionel Betancourt. May he Forever Rest in Peace.
To begin listing this man’s accolades and past titles is an undertaking of Herculean proportions. Yet, his name doesn’t appear on any government buildings or street signs, and that’s how this man of modest nature wanted it.
Born on November 26, 1933, Betancourt was a Class of 1952 San Benito High School National Honor Society graduate, who went on to earn his degree from the University of Texas, Austin (Class of 1957).
After a period in the Dallas area, he took over his father, Paco – a legend in his own right and one of the first Mexican American mayors of San Benito – at the well-known Rio Grande Music Company, then based in downtown San Benito.
The Rio Grande Valley Music Co. was at the forefront of recording and distributing regional Conjunto and Norteno music, ultimately providing the opportunity for Freddy Fender to record there. Incidentally, Fender worked and even lived at the recording studio upon release from his infamous stint in the hoosegow.
I’ve always liked to share the tale of the time when Lionel and the late great Rey Avila, founder of the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame & Museum, now located within the Azteca building on Robertson St. in San Benito, invited me to tour the remnants of the studio that was sealed off from what became the Sewing Box section of the edifice.
It was there that Lionel showed me the cot where Fender once slept, still intact as with all else in that section of the building. Records were pressed in the back using barrels of plastic pellets, then labeled and distributed internationally.
As a boy raised outside of Chicago, my family, originally from the Resaca City, owned a Tex-Mex restaurant in Schaumburg, IL, aptly dubbed El Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in thesuburb of the Windy City. At the time, authentic ethnic food of that caliber, in that part of the greater Chicagoland area, was a novelty.
In the front grocery store section of the eatery, these records were sold. Sure enough, some 40 years later, I was able to search for and find the shipping order from the Rio Grande Music Co. in San Benito, TX, to the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in Schaumburg, IL.
My eyes welled up upon the discovery, as I was instantly connected to my past, present, and to my grandparents, San Benitians who had moved to the big Midwest city for better opportunities, who opened the restaurant and had long since passed. What a miracle, I thought to myself. What a treat!
Lionel was a decades-long Rotarian, having been recognized and honored at the highest levels of the international civic organization.
Years back, I was lucky enough to have his wisdom and experience at my beck and call during my two terms as president of the San Benito Rotary Club, but Lionel did much more than that.
Years ago, already at an advanced age, he helped resurrect the defunct San Benito Chamber of Commerce through seemingly sheer will.
He did the same for what is now known as the Port Isabel-San Benito Navigation District at a time when the entity was facing bankruptcy and disillusionment.
He ultimately served on the port’s commission for 22 years, 18 of which as chair.
He helped do the same for the now-defunct Dolly Vinsant Memorial Hospital in San Benito at a time when it was being auctioned off to the highest bidder on the courthouse steps.
From his Rotary-backed adoption awareness campaign to his almost countless other endeavors, in all my talks with the man, I never asked him what motivated him to do it all, especially at a time when many people his age were looking to enjoy their Golden Years resting with family and friends.
After much thought yesterday, I realized I may not have needed to ask him that question because it was clear from his history and background that he did it for the “right” reasons, not for power or fame, but to help his community.
May a little of Lionel Betancourt be within us all.
Lionel Betancourt is survived by his wife, Maryann, his adult children, and other family.
Buck Ashcraft in San Benito is handling the services. Visitation is this Saturday, 10-11 a.m., and he’ll be laid to rest Saturday at 11 a.m. at San Benito Memorial Park.
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