This home movie captures scenes of the Bentsen family traveling to Mexico, visiting what appears to be the town of Tuxtla Gutierrez. Scenes of tourist sites such as a mission and a monument, as well as street scenes and footage of a park in town center, are included.
The films in the Bentsen Film Collection were made during the 1930s and 1940s by Alton Bentsen. Alton was one of six children born to Peter and Tena Bentsen, Danish immigrants who came to the United States to farm. Originally homesteading in South Dakota, the Bentsen family eventually found their way to the Rio Grande Valley, where they bought and developed land in Hidalgo County. Future generations of the Bentsen family became active in banking and financial services as well as politics. Alton Bentsen was a paternal uncle of Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr., who served as U.S. Senator, U.S. Treasury Secretary and was the 1988 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee.
The films in the Bentsen Collection feature life in and around Mission, Texas, highlighting agricultural operations and celebrations surrounding the region's all-important citrus industry. The collection comes to TAMI courtesy of the Museum of South Texas History.
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