Four co-chairs of The Border Organization (Organización Fronteriza) --a Del Rio-based group devoted to community organizing-- share their story about the group's mission and strategies. The interviewees talked about how they joined -- Sandra Fuentes and Elvira Castro are veterans from the organization and have been involved in numerous fights for local government accountability, while JoElda Hinojosa and Beatriz Arizpe joined recently when the group helped organize food service workers from the San Felipe Del Rio school district. Among the issues discussed were geographic disparities in the quality of public services and how race and gender affect local activism in Del Rio.

Jovita Casarez was born in Acuña, across the border from Del Rio. After marrying, she and her family settled in Del Rio and started migrating to many different parts of the United States to work in the fields. After her husband was injured on the job in the 1970s, the family had to move to Madison, Wisconsin so that he could receive treatment. There, she started her career as an organizer after being hired by a farmworkers' rights organization. Upon their return to Del Rio, the Cazares established in San Felipe; a seasoned activist, Jovita became deeply enmeshed in local politics and grassroots activism. Cazares talks at length about several events that impacted her life, including the 1998 floods that destroyed her house, the death of her daughter and other personal and family struggles. In the mid 1990s, Cazares was the plaintiff in Cazares v. Val Verde County, a lawsuit that challenged the practice of allowing former Laughlin AFB personnel from submitting absentee ballots for local elections.

Jovita Casarez was born in Acuña, across the border from Del Rio. After marrying, she and her family settled in Del Rio and started migrating to many different parts of the United States to work in the fields. After her husband was injured on the job in the 1970s, the family had to move to Madison, Wisconsin so that he could receive treatment. There, she started her career as an organizer after being hired by a farmworkers' rights organization. Upon their return to Del Rio, the Cazares established in San Felipe; a seasoned activist, Jovita became deeply enmeshed in local politics and grassroots activism. Cazares talks at length about several events that impacted her life, including the 1998 floods that destroyed her house, the death of her daughter and other personal and family struggles. In the mid 1990s, Cazares was the plaintiff in Cazares v. Val Verde County, a lawsuit that challenged the practice of allowing former Laughlin AFB personnel from submitting absentee ballots for local elections.