BROWNSVILLE, TX. – [Editor’s note: The following article is from a press release issued by Bekah Hinojosa, a co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network.] On March 2, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued the draft of the Environmental Assessment for the proposed 712-acre land grab of Boca Chica beach by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. This is the latest example of SpaceX’s egregious, rapid colonization of pristine Boca Chica. Just this month, Elon Musk’s company town, “Starbase,” plans to move forward with annexing about 7,000 acres of land on Boca Chica, which is an appalling takeover. SpaceX enthusiasts are petitioning to rename Boca Chica Beach to the ridiculous name of “Cyber Beach” for Elon Musk. Rio Grande Valley residents, organizations, and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe have vowed to continue opposing Elon Musk’s takeover of Boca Chica beach.
For years, Rio Grande Valley residents and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe have frequently been denied access to Boca Chica beach because of SpaceX operations. Organizations, including the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, have joined in a lawsuit over the loss of beach access. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network filed an amicus brief to support the lawsuit in October 2025. The court hearing for the Boca Chica beach access lawsuit was held on March 5, in Edinburg, TX, at UTRGV’s Performing Arts Center beginning. Attorneys delivered oral arguments, and Rio Grande Valley residents packed the courtroom to show their support for the attorneys and the lawsuit, as well as their opposition to beach access closures. Later that evening, community members planned to protest SpaceX’s colonization of the Boca Chica beach. The protest, to be held on private land near the beach, will featured a concert and the premiere of a Spanish-language ballad, called Corrido de Boca Chica Beach, by musician Carmen Castillo. Other musicians, including Etienne Rosas and B11CE, both from Brownsville, TX, were also expected to perform. Protest concert attendees heard from community speakers impacted by SpaceX operations and will be holding artistic visuals, including banners and signs.
“SpaceX has continued to be a blight on this community, even though they have promised time and time again to be uplifting us,” said Emma Guevara, with the South Texas Environmenntal Justice Network. “I, myself, have experienced firsthand how SpaceX is erasing our culture, denying us access to our beach, and using our people as their pawns. SpaceX has absolutely no business setting up shop for a billionaire’s vanity project anywhere on this planet, let alone our beach, which is sacred to our Indigenous population and holds a lot of cultural significance to those of us who are from the region. We say, ‘not another inch of our beach for SpaceX.'”
Rio Grande Valley musician Carmen Castillo said, “I’m a musician from the Rio Grande Valley, and we resist with our ballads and our instruments to tell the story of how these colonial powers abuse our region and how we fight back. That’s what I did with the corrido I produced: it is instrumental storytelling about Boca Chica beach and everything our community faces because of Elon Musk and SpaceX’s hostile colonization of the area. I’m looking forward to finally performing The Corrido de Boca Chica alongside everyone on the poor people’s beach.”
