The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Cluster is at the southern tip of Texas. Relatively isolated from the rest of the United States as well as most of Mexico, it is culturally distinct from both. It has almost 1.4 million inhabitants, over 90% of whom are Hispanic. The RGV offers a friendly, family-oriented approach to life where people tend to greet others warmly and to help strangers in need. The Valley is growing fairly rapidly due to a high birth rate and immigration from across the Mexico border. Many families have members on both sides of the border. A seasonal influx of “Winter Texans” brings tens of thousands of retirees from the Midwest, and the beautiful beaches of nearby South Padre Island attract tourists.

The Bahá’í communities of the Valley date from the 1970’s. Local Spiritual Assemblies are regularly elected in McAllen, Harlingen and Brownsville. The current Bahá’í population is about 115, most of whom are adults. For over a year the total number of core activities has hovered around 45, with 2/3 of those being devotionals. Although work has been done in two focus neighborhoods at the initiative of individuals and couples and the potential for growth is enormous, human resources are not sufficient to fully develop these receptive neighborhoods. Children and junior youth primarily speak English, but a significant percentage of their parents communicate more comfortably in Spanish. In this environment, it is clear that the Valley would especially benefit from more Spanish language support.

The Area Teaching Committee warmly welcomes inquiries from friends interested in home-front pioneering in the Valley and can be reached at RioGrandeValleyATC@gmail.com.

For general information, visit this Wikipedia article about the Lower Rio Grande Valley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Rio_Grande_Valley