Eva Longoria Parker celebrated UTPA’s FESTIBA with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan in Edinburg recently.

Eva spoke to several thousand students on Saturday about the importance of education, staying in school, remembering where you come from and giving back to the community. “La familia is the most important social unit we (Latinos) have so we have to make sure literacy  and reading is part of the family unit and that it plays the biggest role in our children’s future,” says Longoria Parker. “We still want you to watch Desperate Housewives but we have to turn off the TV and give children the tools they need to succeed,” she said.

Mariachi Vargas performed shortly after Eva Longoria Parker’s presentation during a free, outdoor concert on the campus of the University of Texas Pan Am in Edinburg. Their performance helped wrap up a week-long literacy festival to promote reading and higher education in the Rio Grande Valley. Congratulations to Dr. Dahlia Guerra and the UTPA team for bringing together Eva Longoria Parker and Mariachi Vargas for the entire community to embrace. It was a perfect evening enjoyed by all with a message that was loud and clear…..education is the most important gift for our children and our community!