While the Department of Homeland Security gave many signals that “smart walls,” combinations of physical and technological barriers, would be coming to the Big Bend, recent conversations on the border indicate the time has come. While much of the plans remain shrouded in secrecy—for now—indications are that federal officials are actively talking to landowners to secure sites to get construction rolling. Big Bend Sentinel will be covering the progress from every different angle, since the impacts to the region will be profound.
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, on February 12, 2026. Por La Ventana is a multimedia piece exploring ancestral connections through the lens of the Mexican Revolution set against the visual backdrop of…
Area students honored as ‘Good Citizens’
The Paisano Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) presented Good Citizen Awards to seniors from area high schools at…
Alpine student heads to All-State Band
Houston The Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB) is pleased to announce the selection of the 2026 All-State Band. More than 10,000 high…
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…
Library hosts DIY Valentines
Everyone is invited to a “Do-It-Yourself Valentine Making” event this Friday, February 13, at the Jeff Davis County Library. Drop in any time from…
Obituary: Carolina Nieto Bustamante
San Carlos native modeled, announced radio news Carolina Nieto Bustamante, 80, of Presidio, Texas, passed away on February 1, 2026, at home in Presidio.…
Blood donors are superheroes
Fort Davis Blood donors really are superheroes—ordinary people doing something extraordinary. Vitalant, a nonprofit founded in 1943, holds blood drives in Fort Davis, Marfa…
The border in my mind
Up and down the Rio Grande a thousand footprints in the sand Reveal the secret no one can define The river flows on like…
Our Water Matters: Water Infrastructure Funding Reimagined
Presidio County Judge Joe Portillo and I recently submitted public comments concerning the proposed implementation plan for a one-time grant program enabled by House…
Capital Highlights: Early voting begins Feb. 17
Early voting begins Feb. 17 Early voting in the March 3 primary begins Monday, February 17 and concludes on Friday, Feb. 27. A full…
Call for school board members going unanswered
Marfa The Marfa Independent School District School Board is still seeking letters of interest to fill a vacancy left by Place 1 Trustee Stela…
“Tenemos que empoderarnos”: La contienda por la magistratura se intensifica en Presidio
Presidio En una mañana inusualmente lluviosa y sombría en Presidio, David Beebe, candidato a juez del condado, se dedicó a recorrer el pavimento, en…
Niños de Presidio ganan a lo grande en concurso de dibujo del consulado
Presidio Siete estudiantes de Presidio fueron nombrados ganadores del concurso mundial de dibujo organizado por el Consulado de México. Sus dibujos se exhibirán en…
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…
Jeff Davis judge race features 2 longtime officials
Community center is hot topic Fort Davis Riding championship rodeo for Sul Ross State University long ago might have prepared Jeff Davis County Judge…
‘We’ve got to empower ourselves’: Judge’s race heats up in Presidio
Presidio On an uncharacteristically wet and gloomy morning in Presidio, David Beebe, a candidate for county judge, pounded the pavement—figuratively speaking, as many of…
Celebrating the artist-gallerist dynamic
Celebrating the artist-gallerist dynamic I knocked on the side alley entrance window of Eugene Binder Gallery. Through the glass, I could see the owner…
Elections 2026
County websites Presidio CountyBrewster CountyJeff Davis County Early voting starts Tuesday Early voting for the March 3 primary elections runs from Tuesday, February 17,…
‘Cherokee Cowboy’ tribute to benefit Meals on Wheels
Billy Mata and the Texas Traditions, a Texas swing band, will present a tribute to Ray Price and his Cherokee Cowboys on February 12,…
Obituary: Carolina Nieto Bustamante
San Carlos native modeled, announced radio news Carolina Nieto Bustamante, 80, of Presidio, Texas, passed away on February 1, 2026, at home in Presidio.…
Publisher sues Jeff Davis County
David Flash, the publisher of Big Bend Times—an online news outlet—has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Jeff Davis County officials alleging they…
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
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…
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…
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,…
The real horror of the Epstein story isn’t the crime—it’s the indifference.
As someone who was subjected to childhood sexual abuse for years, I have a complicated relationship to the Epstein story (as I expect most people in my position…
Valverde on display at the Museum of the Big Bend
Visual artist Miguel Valverde of Chihuahua City, Mexico, has more than two decades of experience devoted to the exploration of color, identity, and cultural symbolism. His body of…
NIGHT DRAG
PRESIDIO, established in 1683, may be a lesser-known West Texas border town,but it boasts its own history and personalities. The town is located at the meetingof two rivers––the…
Poet seeks dreamers in Marfa on Monday night
Marfa Poet Mathias Svalina will be in residence in Marfa over the next few weeks and is seeking volunteers in town to record their dreams on the night…
Art in Context
Chinati’s ‘Art in Context: Art, Architecture’ set for Houston this weekend There are plenty of examples of someone’s hard work and creative genius vanishing without a trace. It…
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