Air wars

Southwest will foot $100 million Hobby expansion, Mayor Parker says in pep rallypress conference

Mayor Annise Parker was surrounded by city council members who plan to supportSouthwest Airlines' proposal for a new international terminal at Hobby Airport.
Photo by Clifford Pugh
Gary Kelly, chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, says the increasedcompetition that will result from Southwest flights to Mexico and Latin Americawill be good for Houstonians.
Photo by Clifford Pugh

In a Hobby Airport press conference that seemed more like a pep rally, Mayor Annise Parker announced that Southwest Airlines has agreed to foot the entire $100 million bill to add an international terminal at the southeast Houston airport.

"I want to be very clear and succinct, Southwest Airlines has agreed to pay for all of expenses," Parker said, as she was drowned out by applause. "That's it."

Standing next to Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, the mayor was surrounded by the airline's employees in T-shirts with the words, "Houston, we have a solution," emblazoned on the front.

"We are big city in a growing region. We can handle two international airports," Parker said.

The "memorandum of understanding" between the city and Southwest, which underwent last-minute fine-tuning late Tuesday, must be approved by Houston City Council. But Parker appeared confident she has more than the necessary nine council votes to approve the deal.

"I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't," she said, as a several council members stood by her at the end of the press conference.

The council is expected to consider the proposal at the May 30 meeting.

Previous proposals called for the terminal to be funded by a tax on each passenger. But Parker said no such "passenger facility charge" is involved in the latest proposal, which calls for Southwest to bear all construction costs of the facility, which the city will own debt-free. She also said the airport authority will not issue bonds for construction.

In a 25-year-lease, Southwest will get rent-free use of four of five gates in the new terminal, along with rent-free use of a new customs facility to process passengers from overseas flights. Other airlines that use the fifth gate will pay rent, along with fees to use the customs facility.

"Truly it's that simple," Parker said. "When partners negotiate in good faith, all with the best interests of the consumer and the taxpayers of this region, you can come to a deal that will stand on its own like that."

Southwest and other carriers who operate international flights out of Hobby will receive a rebate of airport revenues for every additional passenger "that would not otherwise be serviced by this airport," Parker said. "This rebate is based solely on anticipated increase in concession sales inside the airport. It is not automatic. If there's not an increase, they don't get anything."

The rebates are capped at $3.9 million a year.

Parker added that the city remains committed to the growth of Bush Intercontinental Airport, the hub for United Airlines, which has vociferously objected to Southwest's plans to use Hobby as a hub for international flights to Mexico.

"But we are big city in a growing region. We can handle two international airports," she said.

"Competition is good," Kelly said. "Houston has suffered from monopoly airfares to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America long enough."

The 20 additional daily flights from Hobby, which are expected to begin in 2015, will still put the airport below the historical record of 1997, Parker noted. "But we think that with this partnership we'll get there a lot faster than we could have some other way," she said.

Southwest CEO Kelly admitted the deal "does sound too good to be true, but that's the way we do business at Southwest Airlines. In the end we bear the risks to expand the airport, and certainly we have made some commitments we want to follow through."

Kelly added the best way to increase traffic at Hobby is to institute international service. He maintained that Southwest's entry into the international market will benefit both Houston airports.

"Competition is good," he said. "Houston has suffered from monopoly airfares to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America long enough. We will bring lower fares and more competition. It will be more jobs. And we're very excited about the opportunities."

Parker declined to estimate the number of jobs that will result from the expansion. The number has varied, from a city report of 10,000 jobs to Kelly's estimate of as few as 50 added Southwest jobs over an eight-year period, which he stated when he appeared before city council.

"Splitting the city's international air service will harm the city's competitive advantage and cost jobs," Clark said.

Construction is planned to being in spring 2013.

During the press conference, former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby sat in the front row, with a broad grin. The airport is named for his father, former Gov. William P. Hobby.

"It's a no-brainer," Hobby said about the deal, before getting in a dig at Southwest's archrival, United.

"I find it amazing that Continental/United says they are concerned about Houston job losses. They weren't so concerned when they moved their headquarters from Houston to Chicago."

In an email statement, United spokesperson Mary Clark said the airline has not seen Parker's proposal.

"But there is no funding plan that makes this proposal good for Houston," Clark wrote. "Splitting the city's international air service will harm the city's competitive advantage and cost jobs. We will continue to advocate that maintaining a single international airport is the best policy for Houston's future."

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New Texas museum shines spotlight on Tejano music history

Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum, San Antonio, tejano music

Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Roger Hernandez serves as board president of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum.

For a city that proudly calls itself the capital of Tejano music, San Antonio has long been missing a permanent place to honor the genre’s pioneers and preserve its history. That gap officially closed In December with the opening of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum at 1414 Fredericksburg Rd.

The music couldn’t have found a better steward than its founder and board president. Roger Hernandez has had his finger on the pulse of Tejano music for decades. His company, En Caliente Productions, has provided a platform for countless performing artists and songwriters in Tejano, conjunto, and regional Mexican music since 1982.

Hernandez says his wife, who ran a shop at Market Square years ago, would often get questions from visitors about the location of a physical Tejano music museum, a thing that simply did not exist. In 2022, he banded together with friends, family, and other local Tejano music supporters to make the nonprofit Hall of Fame a reality.

“I decided I've been in the music scene for over 40 years, it's time to do a museum,” Hernandez recalls.

Hernandez says a brick-and-mortar Tejano music museum has long been needed to remember musical acts and other individuals who grew the genre across Texas and northern Mexico, especially those who are aging. Recently, the community lost famed Tejano music producer Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla, the renowned Tejano singer/songwriter and father of the late superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Both deaths occurred roughly one week after the Totally Tejano museum opened to the public.

“They're all dying. They're all getting older, and we need to acknowledge all these people,” Hernandez says.

The Totally Tejano Museum — named after Hernandez’s Totally Tejano Television Roku streaming — has 5,000 square feet of space packed with plaques, photos, promotional posters, musical instruments, and other memorabilia honoring the pioneers and stars of the beloved genre. Mannequins wear stage outfits from icons like Laura Canales and Flaco Jimenez, and a wall of photos remembers late greats. Totally Tejano Television plays legendary performances on a loop, bringing the exhibits to life.

The newly opened Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum includes a growing collection of memorabilia. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Hernandez says the museum will soon welcome permanent and rotating exhibits, including traveling shows, a Hall of Fame section, and an area paying homage to Chicano music crossovers, such as the late Johnny Rodriguez, the South Texas singer-songwriter who blended country with Tex-Mex music. Plans call for the organization to hold its inaugural Hall of Fame induction in February 2026.

Eventually, a 2,000 square feet back room will be converted into additional display space and host industry gatherings, community symposiums, and record and video release parties. The museum also plans to add a gift and record shop and a music learning room where visitors can listen to early Tejano music and browse archival photos. Hernandez is already talking with local school districts about educational field trips.

Much like Tejano itself, the museum is a grassroots production. Hernandez and fellow board members have used their own money to rent, renovate, develop, and maintain the museum space. The board also leads the selection of the Hall of Fame honorees and curates the exhibits.

Hernandez has been heartened by the museum’s reception, both from media outlets and music fans around Texas and beyond.

“We had a radio station come in this morning from Houston to interview us,” he says. “People have come in from Lubbock, Texas. We have had people from Midland, Texas. We have another person who emailed us who’s coming in from New York. People are learning all about us.”

That includes many of the musicians who helped shape the genre. Johnny Hernandez, Sunny Ozuna, Elida Reyna, and Danny Martinez from Danny and The Tejanos are among the luminaries who have already graced the halls.

The Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum is now open 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Fans can call 210-314-1310 for more information.

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