Reprint from the Progress Times - February 1, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

Product Costume Style Show is captivating

 

 

By Kathy Olivarez

"It’s become my passion," said Mary Virginia Gerlach, explaining why she makes costumes for the Texas Citrus Fiesta’s Product Costume Show each year.

It takes careful planning and hundreds of hours of work to create each costume. But each year Gerlach makes costumes for her grandchildren with the assistance of her daughter-in-law, Cori Gerlach. This year they produced four costumes.

It’s more than just a passion; it is a keen desire on Gerlach’s part to keep a community tradition alive. The art of creating costumes made from citrus and other Valley agricultural products is the only American handicraft recognized by the Smithsonian Institute.

Gerlach spends a good bit of her time planning her costumes and what materials to use. The only stipulations on the type of agricultural products used are that the products must be grown in the Rio Grande Valley and at least 10 percent citrus must be used.

For grandson, Brett Gerlach, she chose a Charlie Brown costume. The bright yellow shirt was fashioned from dehydrated tangerine peel while the stripe that extended across the shirt and his shorts were made from burnt citrus peel. Brett pulled a little float of a doghouse made of bougainvillea and dehydrated citrus circles. Snoopy, who was covered with powdered white onion skin and onion seeds, and Woodstock, who was covered with citrus peel, rode on top of the doghouse. The grass around the doghouse was made of citrus and calamondon leaves.

Grandson Westin Seahorn was a South Texas Indian. His costume was made of dried citrus peel adorned with pumpkin, corn, wheat and papaya leaves. He carried a spear made from a sour orange tree limb. The spear was fashioned from layers of charred mesquite glued together to create a stone-like effect.

Granddaughter, Makenzie Gerlach, was a 1960s girl wearing a bouncy poodle skirt with a white blouse covered with white onion skin. The skirt was covered with bougainvillea while the poodle on the skirt and the top of the soda she carried in her hand were fashioned of cotton. The darker color of the soda was burned citrus.

Granddaughter Kaylee Seahorn was a 1920’s flapper girl, who wore a bright green dress fashioned of green citrus leaves. Dried star fruit sections adorned the dress along with pumpkin and cantaloupe seeds. Grain sorghum and yellow onion skin were used in the trim.

The love that Gerlach has for the Texas Citrus Fiesta Product Costume Show is evident in the amount of work that it takes to create her costumes.

The same question, of why they put so much time into creating costumes for the style show, was put to Betty Ramirez and her daughter, Cindy Ponce, who have also been creating costumes for the show for many years.

"It’s like the Mafia," quipped Ponce. "Once you get started in it, you can’t get out." Like Gerlach, Ponce said she felt she almost had an obligation to try and preserve what in recent years has become a disappearing art.

For many years, when women stayed home instead of going to work, there was fierce competition and the costumes in the show were nothing short of creative genius. But in recent years, as more and more young women have gone to work, participation in the show style has dwindled. Those who love the show feel that obligation not to let it die.

For almost a decade, the Ramirez family has been participating in the Product Style Show. This year, Judy Ramirez, Betty Ramirez, Cindy Ponce and Justine Pena made the family costumes. And Betty volunteered her time to teach classes at the museum on how to prepare materials.

Grandmother Betty Ramirez, who is a retired school administrator, gathers materials such as bougainvillea, citrus leaves and peels, onion skin, and seeds and gets them ready for use by dehydrating, grinding and powdering them so when it is time to put them on the costumes, they are ready.

Cindy Ponce and Judy Ramirez did much of the decoration of the costumes. The children get involved by dipping seeds in glue and into product for color accents.

For granddaughter Miranda Ramirez, a dress made of red bougainvillea, was adorned with symbols of wind. Called "The Wind Beneath My Wings," the dress was dedicated to Berta Filut, who is "the wind beneath the Texas Citrus Fiesta." Citrus leaves, tangerine peels, cornmeal and old red roses were used in the decorations.

Grandson C.J. was dressed in the costume of an Oblate Father, looking back at the early days of the Rio Grande Valley when the Cavalry of Christ rode the river from Brownsville to Roma serving the needs of the ranching families along the way. His costume was fashioned from charred grapefruit peel and mesquite charcoal.

Granddaughter Carlisa Ponce wore a white dress covered with 100 candles to represent a birthday cake for the City of Mission’s Centennial celebration. White onion skin was used on the base of the dress, while the candles were covered with bougainvillea and citrus peel.

A dress made for Justine Pena, but modeled by Morgan Martinez when Justine became ill, was called the "Belle of the Ball" and looked like a gown worn by Mrs. John Shary at one of their balls. A white lace covered with white onion skin decorated a long yellow ball gown with color accents made of dried bougainvillea leaves.

Cindy Ponce modeled a gown for a "Butterfly Queen" in honor of Mission’s new ecotourism activities with butterflies. The dress was made of citrus and had a tree of brown onion skin on it. A variety of butterflies in various shapes and colors were attached. All were made using an array of Valley products to produce different hues, including red, yellow, white and green.

New to the style show this year was Madeline D’Nay Chapa, who wore a citrus acrobat costume, honoring her great-grandmother, Adelita, who was an acrobat with a Mexican circus, prior to her marriage to Efrain Chapa of Mission in 1910. Her costume was made of bougainvillea and adorned with a variety of fruit and flowers. Olivia Chapa designed and made the costume.

Also new this year was Bailey Starr Hernandez, dressed as a butterfly. Her costume was made of green citrus and papaya and decorated with white and yellow onion skin.

Winners in the primary division were: first place, Makenzie Gerlach, second place Brett Gerlach and third place Bailey Starr Hernandez

In the elementary division, Westin Seahorn was first place, Carlisa Ponce, second place, and Madeline D’Nay Chapa, third place.

In the teen division, first place to Kaylee Seahorn, second place went to Morgan Martinez and third place to Miranda Ramirez.

Cindy Ponce was first place in the adult division.

A special hat competition has been part of the style show for several years to encourage participation by those who might not be ready to make an entire costume. First place went to Cindy Ramirez, second place to Madeline Chapa and third place to Olivia Chapa.

This year’s product costume style show was one of the best in recent years. But it takes people with a passion for Mission’s unique history to keep it going.