Rig, why do you think that is "a heartbreak"? Laredo is on the border; the Rio Grande runs north-south right through the middle of town. It has ALWAYS been Hispanic, since long before the artificial division between the two halves of the city. And "how many of them can read?" I'd bet that they have the same literacy rate as anywhere else, with the exception that most of them, especially on the American side, are literate and completely fluent in both English and Spanish, and that includes both the Hispanic and Anglo parts of the population. It certainly seemed so when I've been down there.