LUIS SAENZ CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISER OVERCOMES AMIGOLAND EVENT CENTER'S BAD ACOUSTICS

The National Anthem with Sara Stapleton Barrera(singer) & Baby, Attorney Aida Montanaro-Flores, Luis V. Saenz, Delia Saenz 

Sara Stapleton Barrera, clutching her baby, opened the Luis Saenz Campaign Fundraiser Event at the Amigoland Event Center with a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

Saenz referred to Barrera as "Brownsville's American Idol."

A local preacher gave one of those long-winded prayers where it was difficult to discern if he was talking to the God of the Universe or the "400-500" in the auditorium.

Just as she did for District 2 City Commissioner Candidate Pat Ahumada, Attorney Aida Montanaro-Flores was the Master of Ceremonies,  describing, among other things, her job interview with Saenz after getting her law degree as a breeze except for his question about her experience with domestic violence.

"I'd gone to a candlelight vigil once, but that was the extent of my relationship with domestic violence," stated Montanaro-Flores.

Saenz himself took up a similar theme.

"The drug cartels won"t bother you unless you mess with them, but people are being hurt in our community by domestic violence," Saenz said.

Saenz also claimed that the federal government, that had ceased to interact with his predecessor, the now-imprisoned Armando Villalobos, had been totally cooperating with local law officials since 2012, the year Saenz took office in his current stint as District Attorney.

Behind the seated group was a collection of a hundred or so who continued their conversations throughout the event.  In most venues, that would not be a problem, but, the hard walls, flooring and ceiling of the Amigoland Event Center, not the best acoustics, ricochet those sounds off the hard surfaces, making the event almost inaudible.

"Please show some respect and end your conversations for 5 or 10 minutes while I finish my speech," Saenz had to say.

"All of you are invited by here for my swearing in ceremony, January 1, 2021," Saenz added.