[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3599]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       A GEM OF THE TEXAS WINTER GARDEN AREA--CRYSTAL CITY, TEXAS

  (Mr. GALLEGO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I use some time to talk about the 23rd 
District. It comprises nearly a quarter of the land area of Texas.
  Everybody has heard of the character Popeye and his penchant for 
spinach, and the spinach capital of the world is Crystal City, Texas. 
It was named by its early settlers for the clear artesian spring water, 
and a statue of Popeye was erected there in 1936.
  The Spinach Festival is now one of the biggest and best festivals in 
all of south Texas. It was started in 1936, stopped for a period of 
time during World War II, and didn't go back up until the 1980s, but it 
has grown significantly over time.
  Crystal City also occupies a unique spot in Texas' political history 
in that it was the birthplace of the first Latino political party in 
Texas, La Raza Unida Party, which, for a time, received enough votes to 
qualify for a statewide ballot.
  Crystal City has long been known as a core of civil rights activism, 
and its rolling fields are now sharing space with the booming Eagle 
Ford Shale economy of our region.
  Come see a gem of the Texas Winter Garden area, Crystal City, Texas.

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