visit to the heart of a city that lives in the mythical past of cowboys

FRANCE 5 – WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17 AT 9:00 P.M. – DOCUMENTARY

For a European tourist, there are multiple reasons to go for a trip to Texas. In this gigantic state in the south of the United States, populated by nearly 30 million inhabitants, there is no shortage of points of interest, whether it is listening to good music in Austin, discovering the museums of Dallas, visiting Fort Alamo in San Antonio or the NASA Space Center in Houston, to name only the most obvious.

But, for her first visit, the journalist Alexandra Alévêque, presenter of the documentary series Funny towns for a meeting, chose Fort Worth. Geographically close to Dallas, but very different, the fifth largest city in Texas (just under 900,000 inhabitants) plays the card of a mythical past: that of the cowboys and their way of life.

For two weeks, staying on the big ranch of a pure Texas family (Stetson on her head, cowboy boots on her feet), Alexandra Alévêque goes “living in the middle of a western”. In addition to breeding horses and bulls for the popular weekly rodeo competitions, the host family introduces their French visitor to the joys of life in Fort Worth.

Strong emotions

A visitor who, during a shopping day in the completely preserved historic district and lining up saloons dating back a century or more, will almost faint when a hat seller, after having praised the quality of his leather Stetsons beaver or rabbit, announces the price of the pretty model chosen: 789 dollars!

Amazed by this historic district that has remained in its original condition, Alexandra goes a long way in the company of Steve Murin, a true living memory of Fort Worth. With his white beard, his white Stetson, his red scarf, the old cowboy tells how, in the 1970s, this central district fell into ruin. After having bought many homes with two partners, in order to preserve the places against developers, Steve Murin does not hide his pride in having saved this heritage.

After having bought many houses in order to preserve the places against developers, Steve Murin does not hide his pride in having saved this heritage.

Alexandra never gets bored: a delirious cattle market, a country evening at Billy Bob’s (a local institution that covers 900 square meters) and finally thrills at a rodeo competition. Faced with the violence of certain sequences of bull riding, a test during which young cowboys try, at the risk of their lives, to win by resisting a few seconds on the back of a raging bull, the Frenchwoman does not hide her reactions. But living an evening in the temple of rodeo that is the Cowtown Coliseum cannot be refused.

It’s time to go back to old Europe. When you wake up, a few hours before leaving for France, Alexandra shivers. During the night, it snowed and the temperature suddenly dropped by 25 degrees. Another Texas specialty. In Fort Worth, you really have to be tough like a cowboy.

Fort Worth, TXdocumentary directed by Pierre Belet and presented by Alexandra Alévêque (Fr., 2022, 52 min). Aired as part of the show “Strange towns for a meeting”.

Alain Constant