Featured Stories
Big Bend sheriffs speak out against the wall
These border sheriffs felt abandoned by Biden. Now Trump wants to blast a wall through their backyard. Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson moves through the world like he’s playing…
Portillo wins Presidio County
It was close—just 91 votes. But strong support from the City of Presidio precincts gave incumbent County Judge Jose “Joe” Portillo a victory over challenger David Beebe in the…
Locals give wall contractors grief
Local residents and businesses aren’t keen on rolling out a welcome mat for border wall contractors in the area. One local electrician in Terlingua, Josh Flack, was contacted last…
Border wall opposition increases political pressure
Terlingua The opposition to the proposed border wall has been organized in startlingly quick fashion. A second standing-room-only meeting was held at the Cinnabar Theater in Terlingua Monday, one…
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Aumenta la oposición local al muro fronterizo
A medida que la noticia de los planes de la administración Trump para construir un muro a través del Parque Estatal Big Bend Ranch y el Parque Nacional Big…
El sheriff del condado de Brewster firma contrato con ICE
El acuerdo no afectará la labor policial diaria, afirma el sheriff Dodson A finales de enero, la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Brewster (BCSO por sus siglas en…
Featured Stories
District releases name of new board member hopeful
Candidate’s name initially had not been divulged the public Marfa The Marfa ISD School Board met Wednesday night with plans to discuss the appointment of a new board member…
Marfa schools going back to 5 days a week
Marfa ISD will be returning to a five-day calendar for the 2026-2027 school year. The new school calendar was approved at last week’s board meeting and marks a change…
Steel contract signals physical wall construction
How much border wall would up to $2.2 billion in steel buy you? It’s uncertain, but a Tennessee company recently won a contract for up to that amount for…
Border wall opposition increases political pressure
Terlingua The opposition to the proposed border wall has been organized in startlingly quick fashion. A second standing-room-only meeting was held at the Cinnabar Theater in Terlingua Monday, one…
Dim Zayan: ‘A Three-Quarter View of the Future’
Artist’s first solo exhibit engages questions about time, erosion, and human intervention. Envisioning the future, we stare directly into the past. Zim Dayan’s debut…
Letters to the Editor: March 3, 2026
Science and meaningful engagement needed on border security As the president of Friends of Big Bend Ranch State Park, and on behalf of our…
Marfa High teams advance to state science fair
Marfa ISD High School students competed in UTPB’s Regional Science and Engineering Fair Valentine’s weekend in February. The school had eight projects enter the…
Obituary: Jose “Joe” Luis Zubiate
Vietnam sergeant worked for Presidio TxDOT for 22 years In loving memory of Jose “Joe” Luis Zubiate. Jose “Joe” Luis Zubiate was born on…
Students come out on top at cowboy poetry contest
On Saturday, February 21, 15 students from the Big Bend Area gathered with family and friends at the Event Center of the Museum of…
Trump, your wall would destroy our economy
Dear President Trump, I’m writing today with a simple plea: Please do not hand over the Rio Grande River to Mexico. When I was…
Marfa School Board denies interested candidate
District judge rebuffed, receives no phone call Marfa Marfa ISD School Board trustees declined to appoint State District Judge Genie Wright at Wednesday night’s…
Marfa Studio Arts hosts SITES exhibit
Marfa Studio of Arts invites the public to attend its latest art show, which will showcasethe work of the elementary students in the SITES…
One-Act Plays on Wednesday, March 4, at Crowley Theater
Marfa Live Arts presents the 15th Annual Marfa High School One-Act Playsshowcasing four award-winning student plays at the Crowley Theater onWednesday, March 4, at 7…
CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS: Early voting ends February 27
Early voting ends February 27 By Gary Borders Early voting in the March 3 primary ends on Friday, Feb. 27. Texas Secretary of State…
FBI offers a reward for information on Presidio resident’s death
The FBI in El Paso is seeking information—with a reward of up to $25,000—regarding the killing of 20-year-old Presidio resident Alan Valenzuela outside a…
INTERVIEW: David Beebe
Last week, the Sentinel’s Roger Black sat down with both Presidio County judge candidates to talk about the race and their visions for the…
INTERVIEW: José Portillo, Jr.
The Sentinel’s Roger Black sat down with both Presidio County judge candidates last week to talk about the race and their visions of the…
Last chance to view Valverde’s vibrant paintings
The Museum of the Big Bend will hold a closing reception for Desierto Peregrino with acclaimed visual artist Miguel Valverde of Chihuahua City, Mexico.…
Our Water Matters: Conference highlights challenges in the desert
Earlier this month, over 350 people gathered at Sul Ross State University (SRSU) in Alpine for the Water in the Desert conference, an “ongoing…
Conservation group files suit over park sign removal
Last Tuesday, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)—an advocacy group supporting the National Park Service—filed suit with a coalition of other plaintiffs against the…
Anaglyphs offer a whole new dimension
This month, Galeria Raices in Presidio exhibited Luis Ramos, known as Lucatero, with his collection Anaglyphs: Three-Dimensional Studies—an exhibition that explores depth, color, and…
Local opposition to border wall mounts
Residents of Brewster and Presidio Counties join forces As news of the Trump administration’s plans to build a wall through Big Bend Ranch State…
Elections 2026
Portillo defeats Beebe by 91 votes to retain his county judge seat. Many area results were late, not arriving until the day after the…
Mental Health Series
In a mental health crisis, Big Bend residents have options for help
Direct Hotline 988 is in place, but few know of its existence TRI-COUNTY — Few Americans are aware of a relatively new…
The weight of the badge: Customs and Border Protection responds to rash of agent suicides
US-MEXICO BORDER — As journalists and politicians endlessly dissect the current situation on the southwest border, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is…
Alpine program provides mental health support for seniors
TRI-COUNTY — A program housed in the Big Bend Regional Hospital provides crucial mental healthcare services that brighten the lives of seniors,…
A ‘deficient’ safety net
TRI-COUNTY — Jeff Davis County Justice of the Peace Mary Ann Luedecke picks up her frantically chiming cell phone. “I don’t know…
Hospital district, Big Bend National Park explore addition of mental healthcare providers
BREWSTER COUNTY — The Big Bend region’s dire need for more mental health resources was central to discussion among local political and medical…
Big Bend’s isolation creates challenges to addressing mental health
TRI-COUNTY — Brian Enlow is much different than his brother Greg was. Greg embraced an artistic world, immersed himself in music and lived…
The Big Bend Sentinel partners with Presidio County Community Fund for mental health reporting series
MARFA –– The Big Bend Sentinel is publishing a series of articles on mental and behavioral health starting with next week’s issue,…
Schools play a vital role in student mental health but face several challenges meeting needs
TRI-COUNTY — The need for mental and behavioral health resources in schools has never been more dire, with rates of depression, anxiety and…
Few options available for substance abuse treatment in the Big Bend
FAR WEST TEXAS — Big Bend residents are no strangers to tackling problems posed by the physical isolation of their home turf.…
New community-based therapy offers benefits for rural areas
TRI-COUNTY — A series of articles on mental health published by The Big Bend Sentinel the past two months has highlighted both…
Visuals
The ARTS
Marfa Live Arts presents ‘Por La Ventana’ in San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende Marfa Live Arts Director Jennie Lyn Hamilton will present Por La Ventana at the Teatro Santa Ana in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico,…
RULE presents seven-artist exhibit
What Repeats, Holds brings together work by Sasha Alexandra, Amy Hoagland, Jim Johnson, Richard Kallweit, Matt Larson, Frances Lightbound and Clark Richert—artists who approach pattern not as surface…
Presidio kids win big at consulate drawing contest
Presidio Seven schoolchildren in Presidio were named winners of the global drawing contest hosted by the Mexican Consulate. Their drawings will be exhibited throughout Presidio through the end…
Cody Barber’s latest ‘Moiré Work’ pays homage to early chair restoration
Artist experimented with ‘psycho color’ chairs When artist Cody Barber graduated from Texas Tech with a mass communications degree in 2009, he applied for jobs in television and…
MAINTENANT inviting submissions for group exhibition
Marfa Founded in 2020, MAINTENANT is an art and fighting laboratory in the Chihuahuan High Desert, with two gallery spaces—one also a boxing gym—and outdoor sculptural works embedded…
Guitar in the Big Bend features Bokyung Byun
“Here is a simple fact: with artistry such as Ms. Byun’s, the state-of-the-art of guitar performance has reached a new level.” —Soundboard Magazine Guitar in the Big Bend…
Melendez exhibits assemblages
Marfa Country Clinic announces Aquarius Rising, an exhibition of new works by Natalie Melendez, featuring recent collages, reliefs, and a video installation. The works will be on display…
Junior high students writing with Marfa Live Arts this week
Marfa This week Marfa Live Arts is back in Marfa Junior High for the 10th Annual Marfa Live Arts Playwriting Preparatory workshop. “It’s been 10 years of working…
Cal Poly professor to work with Marfa High School
By JD Garcia Marfa Marfa Live Arts’ collaboration with Marfa ISD has entered its 15th year with playwright and California Polytechnic State University assistant professor of theater Ramón…
Chinati Foundation announces 2026 Artists in Residence
Last week, The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati announced its 2026 Artists in Residence: David Batchelor, Will Boone, Deondre Davis, SoiL Thornton, Gillian Walsh, and Sarah Zapata. The 2026…
Art in Review: Part II
Shoshannah White and Andrea Caretto join forces on Ghost Keepers Ghost Keepers, a two-person show at RULE Gallery opened on December 13 and is scheduled to continue until…
Art in the Rearview Mirror Part II
By R. Parks Shoshannah White and Andrea Caretto join forces on Ghost Keepers Ghost Keepers, a two-person show at RULE Gallery opened on December 13 and is scheduled…
Joe Ely — A Tribute
1947-2025 Very few musical collaborations have been as successful and long-lasting as the beloved Texas troubadour band The Flatlanders—Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock. Many Texans…
Art in the rear view mirror
Origin myths worth retelling: Art’s intrinsic value 2025 may be remembered as a tumultuous year in the world of the global art market, especially for Los Angeles. (In…
The Trio performs poetry and music at Do Right Hall
“The Trio” will perform at Do Right Hall Thursday, December 18, at 7:30 p.m. The group includes guitarist Steve Gunn, who has played many times in Marfa, and…
‘Ghost Keepers’ brings ancient ice and pillars to RULE
Marfa RULE Gallery is pleased to present Ghost Keepers, a duo exhibition featuring works by Andrea Caretto and Shoshannah White. Together, their practices consider the material world as…
Chinati staff present ‘UN TITLED’ art show
The staff at the Chinati Foundation invite you to UN TITLED: Chinati Staff Art Show, opening at the Locker Plant this Friday, December 12, from 6 to 9…
Marfa Book Co. features Terry’s ‘watercolors’
Join Marfa Book Co. on Friday, December 12, from 5 to 7 p.m., for an opening of watercolors, an exhibition of new work by Nick Terry. The event…
Ornament sale raises $8K for food pantry
The spirit of Marfa rose up and shone brightly Saturday night at Do Right Hall as throngs of folks seeking some 400 ornaments made by those near and…
Mosaic adds sparkle to historic Murphy Street
Alpine Dozens of area residents recently took part in a project to install hundreds of mosaic eyes in a wall along historic Murphy Street in Alpine. For months,…
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