Texas Trocas Reality TV Texas-style

In Texas, fairy tales start a little differently. Instead of ‘Once upon a time,’ you might hear: ‘It all started with one truck.’

Texas Trocas, the new reality show on the Discovery en Español network that premiered September 15, follows the familia Méndez. Patriarch Raúl Méndez, Sr. arrived in Texas from Mexico some 40 years ago and dreamed of starting his own business. After working and saving for years, he bought his first rig and begin a transport business with his wife Lupita. From one truck, he steadily built a trucking mini-empire in San Antonio.

Now called the Texas Chrome Shop, and run by his sons Raúl, Jr. and Rolando, they are the builders, refurbishers and repairers of big rigs that rule the road.

“My brother and I have taken the torch from my father and have continued success by working hard and staying focused on the work,” says Rolando exclusively to Modern Tejana. “It’s not tough to stay true to my dad’s vision.”

While Raúl, Jr. and Rolando might not always agree, together these kings of the road pimp out and create some of the most stylish and outlandish trucks out there. Because who does not want a big rig with purple flames and gleaming chrome?

But, it’s not just a man’s world in Texas Chrome Shop. Lupita, “la mera” isn’t afraid to put her sons in their place “todos saben que yo soy la que mando en este negocio”. And Raúl Jr.’s and Rolando’s spouses Johann and Lorena are anything but desperate housewives.

The best part of working with family says Raúl is “the fact that you can always count on them to keep your head up and stay focused on the work. Also having family around makes things easier to have loyalty and share each other’s opinion on work topics.” And if there is one thing there is plenty of in Texas Trocas, it’s opinions.

Funny and relatable, it’s sure to be a hit with both gear heads and reality show watchers. It’s also a refreshing take on the immigrant experience in U.S. television. Instead of devious maids, these are enterprising sharks. Everything about them, down to the way they talk, is authentically Tex-Mex. And, yes, it’s troca, not camioneta. Well, at least, down here it is.