IGNACIO "NACHO" ESTRADA, MACLOVIO AND THE TORTILLA MONSTER

 

Brownsville Observer editor at 19

We're told not to dwell on the past or waste our days dreaming about the future.

"Live for today!" they say.

But, I've always been a dreamer and reminiscer.  

Now, the internet, the so-called information highway allows us to research people we knew in our youth, see how they made it in the world and if they're still around.

One person I'd been looking for from my past was Ignacio "Nacho" Estrada, a friend from my original time in Brownsville, 1966-70.

Nacho was hard to forget, with an incredibly quick mind and funny as Hell.

Well-groomed and a snappy dresser, he sold men's clothing at Mr. John's Men's Shop in Brownsville, making $1.70 per hour back then.

I was envious of that wage since I only made $1.35 per hour at Glen's Supermarket.

Anyway, Nacho married a girl from the Bell family who'd moved here from "up north."

The last time I saw Nacho, must have been 1970, as we'd both married and he had a young child.

Waiting in front of their Harlingen apartment to go with Nacho and his wife on a trip to Kingsville, I still remember feeling the stiff-as-a-board towels on their clothes line, such was the hard water in the RGV back in the day.

Nacho got into the front seat of my '59 VW, bringing a small tape recorder with him, and during the two hour trip he played Dean Martin music, singing along with Dean, mimicking every hand and facial gesture the singer would make.

Yeah, Nacho was a little crazy.

Anyway, I found my friend online.

Although there were 20 Ignacio Estrada's listed on a People Finder site, I found one in San Antonio with Nacho's Bell family in-laws listed as contacts. 

It looks like Nacho has had a long career as an entertainer, ventriloquist, comedian and has performed at local schools using characters like Maclovio and Tortilla Monster, but also at adult events.

In one of the pictures below Nacho is getting an award from the F.B.I.

Please let me know if he's performing at your event or school.  I'd love to walk in and see my friend from long ago.