DISCOVERY EN ESPAÑOL STARS VISIT THE AUCTION: Barrett-Jackson’s reach spans continents
October 14, 2016
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Raul and Rolando Méndez from the Discovery en Español hit show “Texas Trocas” are checking out this year’s Las Vegas auction.
Throughout the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, including the U.S. Hispanic market, car enthusiasts are now able to tune in to the Las Vegas auction through coverage on Velocity, Discovery Velocity in Canada, Discovery UK, Discovery Turbo UK and Discovery en Español (view entire TV schedule HERE).
A couple of familiar faces from the popular Discovery en Español series “Texas Trocas” decided to check out the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas auction for themselves this year. The series, which begins its third season on Monday, follows the South Texas Mexican-American Méndez family while they transform average rigs into amazing masterpieces. While they knew they wouldn’t be seeing any semitrailers crossing the block, brothers Raul and Rolando Méndez are nevertheless impressed by what they’re seeing at The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions®.
“This is my first time at a Barrett-Jackson auction,” said Rolando. “It’s different; very cool!” And no doubt inspiring for the Méndez family’s truck customizing business, Texas Chrome.
The patriarch of the family, Raul Sr., was busy running their freight-hauling business when he decided to try a little experiment. “My dad had the crazy idea to buy an old dump truck, paint it, put a little bit of chrome on it and sell it,” says Rolando. “He parked it in front of our building and it sold within two days. He did another one and it sold within two days. So we just started buying and selling trucks. Next thing you know, we were customizing trucks, and Texas Chrome began.”
The San Antonio-based bilingual family was discovered by Discovery en Español through their YouTube videos and before-and-after photos, and the idea for an original series was born. The entire Méndez family is involved in the business and the show: father Raul Sr. and his wife Lupita, as well as Rolando and Raul Jr., along with their wives. “Working with your family has its good and bad points,” says Raul. “You get to spend lots of time with your family. But then arguments do break out … we wanted to be 100 percent real!”
The Méndezes are no doubt appreciative of the many custom vehicles here at Barrett-Jackson, which tie right in with the Méndez business. “Every truck we customize is different,” says Rolando, who is the primary creative force at the company. “You get a visual for what the customer wants. What colors do they want to use? Do they want to keep it clean, hot rod simple, or do they want to get crazy with the graphics? Every customer is going to be different, and we just try to get as much input as possible.”
It’s not always easy. The family does all customizing in-house, from upholstery and paint to chrome and mechanicals. “We enjoy what we do, but it’s tough,” says Raul, the company’s vice president of operations, who oversees client relations. “We do eight or nine trucks at the same time, and we’re doing them in just three months. But I love seeing the customer’s reaction to each vehicle!”
In addition to the Méndez brothers, former race car driver and TV commentator Jorge Koechlin and Antonio Brunet (star of the show “Buscadores de cromo”) are on hand at the Las Vegas auction as presenters of Discovery en Español’s “Barrett-Jackson Live” show. As television coverage of Barrett-Jackson auctions continues to expand across the globe, it is exciting to welcome the stars of these Spanish-language shows to our events.