Gambling and Vice Flourished In Rio Rico

This postcard depicts a crowd watching a cockfight in the rough and tumble community of Rio Rico south of Mercedes. Rio Rico was originally located north of the Rio Grande River on land surrounded by a bend in the river. In July 1906 the American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company built a cutoff to direct the river into a more direct course. As a result Río Rico came to be located south of the border in Mexico. No longer clearly part of either the United States or Mexico Río Rico became a lawless territory where gambling dance halls and saloons flourished. The Tivoli named after a renowned nightclub in Italy was the first and most well-known nightclub. [43] [75] [94]

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