CHEEZMEH KEEPS GETTING CHEESIER AND CHEESIER

By Juan Montoya
The group that started out as a self-styled grassroots organization to effect "Brownsville Change" has now given up all pretense of community activism and cozied up to the Ernie Hernandez vote-harvesting political machine, often riding the coattails of legitimate community groups unabashedly hustling the unwary for personal profit.
Brownsville Cheezmeh, led by Austin-based Erasmo Castro through his proxy sister Linda Castro Dragustinovis, of Los Fresnos, has gone through many different metamorpheses. When it first appeared on the scene, it acquired its website from advertising specialist Gilbert Velasquez and his son, who donated their labor and designed the page under the condition that it remain true to its stated goals of bettering the community through progressive activism and remain politically impartial.
That worked for a short time, until the Velasquezs found out that the Castros were maintaining an iron grip control of the website content, supporting candidates who paid them and censoring those that did not. After they confronted Erasmo, he told them in no uncertain terms that he alone controlled the content of the website, and that the original pledge to remain impartial and accessible to all was out the window,
When they said he could have it if he paid them for their work – about $3,000 – he refused and they pulled the plug on the site. Undaunted, Castro and his dwindling supporters resorted to a Facebook page from which they now operate. And, as it has become evident to those who first latched on to the group in hopes of finding an advoctae for change that the core group around the Castros were more intersted in self-enrichment rather than contributing materially to the community at large, they left the organization in droves.
At one time, the Firefighters and Paramedics Union formed part of the group, as did local activists and motorcycle club enthusiasts who teamed with them to fight against Fly Frontera, a charter airline that was trying to get cash incentives from the city's economic development agencies and the Public Utilities Board. That effort as the apex of the group's visibility. From there on, a series of differences between Castro and local activists have shrunk the Cheezmeh adherents to a small black-shirted group that has taken to coattailing their efforts behind political candidates and legitimate charities.
Nowadays, Era$mo has refined his appeal to the lucky Brownsville masses who might be considering tagging along with Cheezmeh. He now says the group is ther efor information and entertainment, a kind of bread and circus approach, if you will.
However, he does give fair notice that "if your objective is to be an asshole or a whiny bitch" this goup may not be the best place for you. If honey donesn't work, well, there's always vinegar, we guess. Go figure.
This season they will again be visible at the Third Annual Posada de Los Niños, and collect funds through their website just as they did during the Pink Ribbon Month. A small contingent – notably buxom Linda and friends – also established a presence at the Washington Park Lighting festivities. Adn expect to see them also with the BISD At-Risk Kids activities.
To the uninitiated, all this sounds like worthy endeavors. But when followers try to question Castro on the final destination of the proceeds from their fundraising efforts, the Head Queso minces no words. He, and he alone, will decide what happens to the money, he has said on previous occasions. Whoever doesn't like it, well, a string of obscenities followed.
The group does not suffer criticism gladly. Cross them and be ready to be the object of scorn and abuse from these fine folks. The mindset is clearly evident in the Facebook posting where Linda threatens cyber ostracism of a luckless poster who sparked her smug ire. She threatens to expose her name to the cyberwinds "depending on how many likes" she gets on the comment. Tsk. Tsk. Such a fine example of the Christmas spirit, uh?
This year they are raising funds to host their annual Christmas Party. The site for the merrymaking?
Would you believe 1634 San Marcelo, the home of none other than Erin Hernandez Garcia, the daughter of Cameron County Pct. 2 Commissioner Ernie Hernandez whose wife Norma operates the most blatant vote-harvesting political machine in southeast Cameron County?
Shedding their community-betterment garb, they openly supported Erin's candidacy for Justice of the Peace 2-2 even  though ample evidence existed that she and her family were brazenly committing massive voter abuse on the elderly and mentally impaired clients of local adult day-care facilities and centers.
The list of luckless candidates who fell for the Cheezmeh siren song grows longer after each election. Someone recently posted the scorecard on the candidates they have supported and it's not a Who's Who of winners. In fact, except for Jessica Kalifa-Tetreau, theirs has been a losing track record.

Among those supported by the group and ending on the losing side were, Terry Vinson for Sheriff,

Alex Dominguez for State Representative, Carlos Masso for DA. Chuck Mattingly for DA, Tad Hasse for TSC, Robert Uresti for TSC, Dennis Blanchard for District 34, Jessica Bradshaw for District 34 (which they now dispute), Donald Clupper for BISD, and Linda Gill for BISD. 

Only Erin Hernandez Garcia, whose campaign was tainted by proven massive voter fraud came out on the winning side, though the stench of fraud still emanates from the polls.

The pity of it is that legitimate candidates who run with the best intentions will be the object of their pithy scorn and might reconsider running to represent the city residents on the various boards. To have Erasmo, an Austin resident, and Linda, who lives in Los Fresnos, place themselves as arbitrators of the political direction of this city amounts to nothing more than a travesty in representative government.