If you love to be in the air and enjoy the city view from the sky, this was a show that you should have not missed. The Stars and Stripes Air Show Spectacular was held on Sunday Feb. 17, as part of the WBCA Celebration at the Laredo International Airport. Tickets were only $5 and the gates opened at 11 a.m. until about 5 p.m.
The usual warm weather was present in Laredo for the weekend event. Many visitors of surrounding areas and across the border started arriving at 10:30 a.m. to get a good parking space and be the first in line. People never stopped arriving throughout the day and more than a thousand attended. Children were the first to enjoy the helicopter rides, climb the stages that showcased the various kinds of planes, and questioned the troopers at the Air Show. Not only kids, but adults seemed fascinated by all the aviation that was exhibited in this event.
As the people waited for the show to begin, typical Mexican and American food and beverages were sold. Lines were very long, but some audience members stated that it was worth the wait. All the Laredoans that currently attend this annual event came prepared with drinks and their personal seats for their whole family. At about 12 p.m., the paratroopers and the precision pilot teams started to appear. The audience excited went along with the opening ceremony to start enjoying the show. The pilots made a lot of tricks with vintage airplanes forming the 8, a trick style, doing several exhibitions of how they work during the wars and much more. Joe Martinez from Rio Bravo stated, “I was amazed of how fast these airplanes can fly and the amount of stuff pilots can do with them, it certainly looks risky, but it was very entertaining.” While the pilots did their best, the speaker explained the difficulty of the performance and gave some information about each airplane. Some of these airplanes are currently not being flown or they exist since 1984.
For a brief airplane intermission, motorcycles appeared at the airport streets and the jumping trick could be seen all over the place. They seem very hard and some very common among motorcycle lovers, but the form that they calculated each movement was amazing, as some of the audience members’ faces expressed. Some of these tricks included two people in each motorcycle, not using their hands to drive, feet flying on the air, using only one wheel to keep driving, and other different movements. People could also see car exhibitions, safe driving exhibitions, and entertainment was available for kids to play.
Many other events happen throughout the month each year in Laredo as part of the WBCA Celebration. This include the Ueta Jamboozie, Taste of Laredo, Fun Fest, Carnival, The Youth and Grand Parade, The Fireworks Extravaganza and others. For more information, you may visit http://www.wbcalaredo.org
(Sandy Lugo may be reached at sandylugoespinoza@dusty.tamiu.edu)