Senior Jecoa Ross plays the oud along with other students during Layali Al-Sham’s rehearsal. (Paul Reynoso/Borderzine.com)

Arab music ensemble brings the Middle East to the border

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EL PASO – On Friday afternoons in the practice room of the Fox Fine Arts building, a group of students rehearses for Layali Al-Sham, UTEP’s Arabic music ensemble. The ensemble primarily consists of UTEP students that sing and play Arabic music. The instrumentation of Layali Al-Sham includes a wide variety of Western Classical and Arab musical instruments such as the clarinet, electric guitar and the Egyptian flute called the ney. Dr. Andrea Shaheen, assistant professor of ethnomusicology at UTEP and director of the school’s World Music Ensembles, said that the formation of the Arabic music ensemble began in 2010. “It sort of fell into my lap in that there was this core group of three or four students that were really driven to learn,” Shaheen said.

Instructor Yasmine Ramirez (left) leads participants of the ForWord project at Glassbox, Crystal Acuna, Jasmine Flores and Perla Ramirez. (Yuritzy Ramos/Borderzine.com)

ForWord: A free creative writing workshop for El Paso teens

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EL PASO – At noon on a recent Saturday, 16-year-old Jasmin Flores sits at a round table in a downtown storefront gallery and stares at a picture of a man wearing a tee shirt raising his two fists into the air. After thinking for a few minutes, she uses her imagination to write in longhand on a piece of paper a story about two boys playing together with a ball. These and many other activities are practiced each Saturday during a “ForWord” workshop that helps teenage students develop their creativity when writing from short stories to essays. Flores is been attending the workshops, sponsored by a local non profit organization, since the January sessions started. She said each workshop has been different.

This year's Senior Games have over 300 participants that will compete in over 15 events. (Luis Barrio/Borderzine.com)

El Paso’s senior athletes still compete to win after all these years

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EL PASO – On a recent March morning, 76-year-old Armando Uranga sat on the gymnasium bleachers dripping sweat and catching his breath. He had just played a strenuous 20-minute game of basketball with three other competitors as part of this year’s El Paso Senior Games. After playing in the games for the last 12 years, Uranga considers them his fountain of youth. “I felt like I was in my backyard like when I was a kid, it was so much fun,” said Uranga, who has already competed in the 5K walk, the 3K walk and plans to participate in Saturday’s track and field event at Montwood High School. In its 31st year, the El Paso Senior Games are a beacon drawing residents to get out and be physically active or go watch the community’s senior athletes compete.  With a variety of events, the games are for persons 50 years of age and older who participate in activities ranging from swimming to cycling, basketball to track and field.

Paisano Green Community (Amber Watts/Borderzine.com)

El Paso struggles to fit families into public housing after sequestration cuts

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EL PASO – Families living in public housing will find their quarters shrinking as a result of the federal budget slashing known as the sequester, but local officials say they hope to avoid putting anybody out on the street. “We are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst,” said Shane Griffith, El Paso Housing Authority (HACEP) public information officer. HACEP had already been planning how to meet the needs here when the spending reductions cut of $85 billion in revenue to non-exempt domestic programs for the next 10 years were declared in late March. The housing assistance payment (HAP) standard, which is the federal subsidy allocated to landlords of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program, has been reduced from a proration of 99 percent to 94 percent. The proration for the operating subsidy of the Public Housing Program – the funds HACEP receives to operate its 46 public housing properties – has been reduced from 92 percent to 77 percent.

Cinco miembros de la familia Rodriguez Soriano que se dedicaban a cobrar derecho de piso a comerciantes de Ciudad Juárez. (El Monetario)

Detienen a familia extorsionadora

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CIUDAD JUÁREZ – La Fiscalía General del Estado logró la captura de cinco personas, entre ellas dos mujeres, como presuntos responsables de cobrar el derecho de piso a por lo menos 20 comerciantes de la ciudad. En las denuncias, los afectados después de ser amenazados de muerte pagaban 500 pesos semanales, en hechos ocurridos el pasado viernes en la intersección de la avenida Paseo Triunfo de la República y Lara Leos. Ellos están identificados como los hermanos Miguel, Angélica y Daniel Omar Rodríguez Soriano, de 25, 31 y 21 años de edad, respectivamente, además de Maricela Ruiz Noriega de 25 años y Noé Navarro Olvera de 21 años de edad, quienes reunían de ganancias hasta 20 mil pesos por semana de “cuota”. Los hechos sucedieron después de que una de las víctimas acudiera a interponer la denuncia ante esta representación social, mencionando que tenía seis meses pagando la extorsión, la cual le exigían mediante llamadas telefónicas que recibía del número 656 107 8758, donde lo amenazaban de muerte si no entregaba el dinero cada día viernes. El arresto se dio luego de que el pasado viernes Daniel Omar acudió al negocio a recoger dinero de la extorsión, y al salir del establecimiento lo esperaban sus cómplices Noé Navarro y Angélica Rodríguez a bordo de una camioneta tipo Blazer color rojo, modelo 1994 en la cual pretendían escapar, pero fueron interceptados por los agentes investigadores.

Manuel Alvarado with one of his art pieces at San Eli's art district. (Kimberly Garcia/Borderzine.com)

Tales of Spanish conquistadores and Wild West gunslingers echo within San Eli’s adobe walls

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SAN ELISARIO, TX – Tales of a bygone Spanish colonial era and the gun slinging Wild West echo inside the ancient adobe walls of buildings in this small town half-an-hour drive east of El Paso. Outside one of the ancient structures, now an art gallery, Manuel Alvarado, a tall, slender man happily greets curious visitors. “The reason I like San Eli is because it’s calm, not so hectic like a bigger city,” said Alvarado. San Elizario, or San Eli as it is known to locals, has undergone a change. With the help of local artist Al Borrego, San Elizario has established itself as an art district.

The Cailfornia Beach at sunset. (Courtesy of Stacie Aguilar)

Students spread the gospel on the beach

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EL PASO – The Baptist Student Ministries at the University of Texas at El Paso changed venues from South Padre Island to San Diego for its annual spring break mission at the beach this year, but the purpose of the trip remained the same – to talk to people about the gospel while having fun. The BSM is a well-known student organization that has been at UTEP since 1955. They spread the good news and the gospel of Jesus Christ on campus, serve lunch to students every Wednesday, which helps fund the student missions, and every spring break they go on a missionary trip to the beach. For the past five years they have been going to South Padre Island in South Texas on the Gulf of Mexico to help out with other Texas BSM organizations, but this year due to the Texas spring break being the week before UTEP’s, they went to San Diego. “The biggest reason we are going to San Diego is we wanted a change of pace and to expose the students to another part of the country,” said BSM Director Chris Smith.

Bullfighting draws excitement and tourism to a recovering Cd. Juárez

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CIUDAD JUÁREZ – It had been eight years since the great Spanish bullfighter Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza – one of the best in the world – set foot in Ciudad Juárez. Thousands of people gathered on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in April to cheer him on as he charged the bull on horseback, holding a rejón, a type of pike. So much had changed here since his last appearance. He now rode in the Plaza de Toros Balderas instead of the old Plaza de Toros Monumental, which was demolished and turned into a shopping center. During that eight-year period, thousands of people were murdered here in drug related violence transforming Cd.

Mike Martinez, my grandfather. (Courtesy of Rebecca Guerrero)

When Alzheimer’s strikes, a granddaughter’s memories keep his spirit alive

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Editor’s note: This blog is part of a series of first person essays about identity written by UTEP Liberal Arts Honors students during the spring 2013 semester. EL PASO – Life was beautiful until the year my grandpa started forgetting. The first time I noticed his memory loss I was 15 years old and he was 75. Grandpa walked through the front door, sweaty and breathing hard. “Mickey, ¿qué pasó?

Imperial Valley College On Immigration

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IMPERIAL, Calif.– With Congress drafting out a concrete plan for immigration reform, students and staff at Imperial Valley College shared their opinions on the matter. About 11 million undocumented people in the U.S. who entered illegally could be offered amnesty and a path to citizenship.

Child-abuse prevention month celebrated in Imperial Valley

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EL CENTRO, Calif.–An estimated 15,000 people packed Bucklin Park throughout the day on Saturday April 13, to celebrate Child Abuse Prevention Month at the 34th Annual Children’s Fair. “We hope that families were able to enjoy a beautiful day outside with their children and learn about the resources available to strengthen their families in Imperial County,” said Yvette Garcia, executive director of the Imperial County Child Abuse Prevention Council, the organization that co-sponsored the event with the Imperial County Office of Education. More than 70 businesses and organizations helped entertain and inform attendees young and old alike. Imperial Valley College journalism students spent the day recording the festivities. The following slideshow is a compilation of their work.

A panoramic picture shows Interstate 10 right after the smokestacks fall. The cloud of dust followed the same path. (Sarah Duenas/Borderzine.com)

A pang of sorrow hit as the ASARCO smokestacks came tumbling down

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EL PASO – The skyline in El Paso changed forever on Saturday April 13 when the two ASARCO smokestacks imploded leaving an empty space, a day prior to the demolition of City Hall. The stacks fell in slow motion, as if slowly saying goodbye to their longtime home. Viewing the demolition from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) parking lot across from Interstate 10, I reflected on the experience I had writing a story on the last-ditch efforts to save the stacks. The stacks had a profound historical impact on the city and many people wanted to stop the demolition. The first event I attended was a protest lead by El Paso AWARE, an organization that focused on stopping the demolition until proper testing was done.

El Paso's City Hall demolition. (Ken Hudnall/Borderzine.com)

And it all came tumbling down

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EL PASO — El Paso erected a 10-story office tower in 1979 to be this fast-growing West Texas city’s new City Hall. At 9 a.m. on April 14 that multi-million dollar edifice came tumbling down in a planned implosion making way for a very controversial baseball park. Numerous individuals who worked at various times in and around that iconic building have been pumped for every possible story to fill newspaper columns and would-be experts spouted second- and third-hand information during interviews. The long and the short of it is that El Paso is now a little bit poorer due to the destruction of another piece of history to make way for the personal aggrandizement of certain prominent individuals. This building symbolized the promise that this city had in the seventies and still has today.

Estudian las comunidades judías, musulmanas y cristianas de la Edad Media en Andalucía

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EL PASO – Un grupo de 29 estudiantes y tres instructores de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso viajaron a España en mayo para explorar de manera directa la historia y la cultura españolas. Educadores y estudiantes desarrollaron un proyecto interdisciplinario original que evalúa la importancia de la tolerancia religiosa en la construcción de una sociedad líder en Europa en los campos de arte y ciencia durante la Edad Media. El grupo viajó por Andalucía durante tres semanas, realizando investigaciones sobre la historia de las comunidades judías, musulmanas, y cristianas en el sur de España. Los resultados de este viaje e investigaciones están cristalizadas en el documental, antología, y exhibición fotográfica titulada Andalucía: Fusión de tres culturas. “Ha sido la más hermosa experiencia de mi vida”, dijo Héctor Enríquez, director del proyecto, en la premier privada del documental en presentada en el Quinn Hall de UTEP aquí el 17 de abril.

After arriving at the shelter boys and girls experience a transformation. (Natassia Bonyanpur/Borderzine.com)

Praying for a city of peace and restoring faith in Juarez’s children

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El Paso – Momentous in stature, the white letters can be seen from each curve of the Rio Grande from the campus of The University of Texas at El Paso.  The tall white coated letters contrast against the opaque, rough terrain of the mountain that encompasses it. The painted words on the Ciudad Juarez’ hillside read, “ La Biblia es la verdad. Léela”. These words translate to ‘The bible is truth.

Structures without strictures in the liberated classroom

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By Anu Sachdev with Dr. Lucía Durá

EL PASO –“It is like therapy,” said Marlene, who found herself acknowledged in a university class. Another student, Karla, said, “I have changed!” And many more continued to chime in during casual conversation before the Tuesday evening class. So what was happening in this class? I thought about my own experience as a student for over twenty years spending a good deal of time looking for the right opportunities to make myself heard. Sometimes I was successful, but most of the time my thoughts found comfort internalized within me.

Creosote bush (Creosote Larrea Tridentata) found in El Paso contain polyphenols that help intervene in the process of protein misfolding.

Everyday foods may prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, say UTEP researchers

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EL PASO – Imagine a place where drinking a glass of milk and munching on cheese and crackers is all you need to prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. According to Dr. Mahesh Narayan’s, associate professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at El Paso, this fairy tale scenario could soon be a reality. In recent studies, Narayan has shown that everyday spices such as turmeric, most commonly found in Indian food, neem, almond oil and the creosote bush hold the potential for unlocking the key ingredients in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. “The long term prospect for us is to actually lace everyday food, such as potato chips, milk, cheese, etc., with these ethno-pharmaceuticals, and then have them neuro-protect you without you even knowing,” said Narayan, a native of India. Experiments with curcumin, a polyphenol in turmeric, show the potential of these kitchen table ingredients in the intervention of a brain process called “protein misfolding” (see video for explanation) that is most commonly known to cause many neurodegenerative diseases.

Charles Ndeki, Bourama Seydi and Lamine Fati all stepped on land mines on their plantations in Senegal, West Africa. In his interview with Brinegar, Bourama said, "Journalists, they come and they ask us questions, take our picture and they write and then they leave and nothing happens." (©Felipe Jacome)

Seeing poverty and seeking to change the world, word by word

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Editor’s note: This blog is part of a series of first person essays about identity written by UTEP Liberal Arts Honors students during the spring 2013 semester. EL PASO – Last summer I was standing in front of the Martyr’s Monument in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  There was this being, an old man, lying on a thin mat. He looked like he was dying there as people walked around him, unchanged. One, two, three…I could count his ribs. His arms and legs were as thin as a broomstick, bones jutting out like knobs in wood.

Former MLB player gives back to Imperial Valley

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IMPERIAL, Calif.- After playing 24 years of professional baseball for nine different teams and 13 major organizations and being a 2008 World Series champion for the Philadelphia Phillies, Imperial Valley native Rudy Seanez returned to his home to help inspire young and old alike. “I’ve always lived here. This is home. I grew up in Brawley. My family is here, so that was factor number one,” said Seanez in an interview at his Seanez Sports Academy.

Protestors wore red and white shirts or masks at an April 6 protest. (Sarah A. Duenas/Borderzine.com)

Protesters make last-ditch effort to save El Paso’s ASARCO smokestacks

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EL PASO – A large red and white striped flag waved in the wind as protestors made last-ditch efforts to stop the demolition of the ASARCO smokestack, which was erected in 1966 by the bankrupt copper smelting company. After the plant was closed, the City Council decided on December 5, 2012 to take it and a second smaller chimney down. Because of environmental concerns and the company’s more than 100-year history in El Paso, protests ensued. The stacks are scheduled for demolition on April 13 at 6:30 a.m., but two groups – Save the Stacks and El Paso AWARE – are making last minute efforts to save the two structures. Geoffrey Wright, president of the Save the Stacks, said that the group has received support from various sources.

Children are the main victims of family separation. (Anoushka Valodya/Borderzine.com)

The U.S.-Mexico border splits families, but loved ones strive to stay connected

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EL PASO – With a Border Patrol helicopter hovering close above him, Honduran native Pedro Guzman, who was in his mid-thirties, had to choose between running away or surrendering. After seeing his fellow emigrants detained, Guzman decided to give up, but he still didn’t lose hope. He had spent three days and two nights, without food and water, crossing from Matamoros, Mexico to reach Brownsville, Texas in 1999. “I was just eating air, but I was always positive, telling myself that I was going to make it,” Guzman said. He paid $4,000 to a coyote, but was later abandoned by the smuggler to find his way to the U.S. along with a couple dozen men.

William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) on Ft. Bliss. (Joshua Gutierrez/Borderzine.com)

Many soldiers return from war only to face post-traumatic stress

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EL PASO — When Marine Sgt. Miguel Marquez returned home from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan he realized that post-traumatic stress disorder was preventing him from adjusting to civilian life. “I started drinking heavily to help deal with life back at home because I didn’t know what else to do,” said Marquez, 28. Thousands of soldiers coming home with mental and physical injuries from the wars of the last decade suffer from PTSD. According to the United States Army Medical Department about 10 percent to 15 percent of soldiers returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) suffer from PTSD.

Arroyos like the one at UTEP are home to a wide variety of vegetation and wildlife such as the Yucca plants and skunks. (Paul Reynoso/Borderzine.com)

UTEP arroyo to benefit from campus transformation project

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EL PASO — Major changes are well under way at the University of Texas El Paso as the campus two-year pedestrian and environmental friendly transformation project takes shape. The landscape of the campus features an arroyo that runs primarily from the northeast side of campus near Miner Village down to the southwestern side by the Business Administration Building. This arroyo will be one of the focus points of change during the project. The project falls under UTEP’s master plan to dramatically improve the campus for the UTEP community and the students. There are seven segments of the transformation project such as pedestrian friendly pathways and additional green spaces.

Thousands gather on Capitol grounds to rally for immigration reform

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WASHINGTON – Rosa Murguia couldn’t help but cry Wednesday as she recounted how she missed her last chance to see her brother alive because she didn’t have the proper documentation to return to the United States if she visited her native Dominican Republic. Murguia, 62, of Sterling, Va., is one of thousands of people who stood in 90 degree heat on the West Lawn of the Capitol to rally for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship. “I think this reform should be to protect people,” Murguia said. “Too many people have been cheated and hurt, I’m one of them, it’s not right for hard workers to live in shadows.” Gustavo Torres, rally organizer and executive director of CASA in Action, said the rally was three months in the making, and he was happy with the turnout.

Peatones caminan por un estrecho camino enseguida de Tienda Chihuahua, debido a las renovaciones que se están haciendo a la Avenida Juárez. (Cristina Esquivel/Borderzine.com)

Retratos de la frontera – Un café por Juárez

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Tienda Chihuahua (Audio)

TRANSCRIPCIÓN

(Sonidos de ambiente: tintineo de tazas, conversación en el fondo)

Cristina Esquivel (Reportera de Borderzine): Aunque lentos, Ciudad Juárez ha experimentando cambios positivos en el último año. En la zona central se llevan a cabo una serie de renovaciones que buscan mejorar la estructura urbana y reactivar la economía de la ciudad. Las calles se ven más transitadas y los negocios abren sus puertas a clientes locales y a turistas. Muchos de estos cambios se deben al esfuerzo de ciudadanos Juarenses que aman y defienden su ciudad. Socorro Arredondo es licenciada en derecho pero hace poco tiempo que decidió incursionar en el terreno de los negocios.

Writing out my future then and now

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Editor’s note: This blog is part of a series of first person essays about identity written by UTEP Liberal Arts Honors students during the spring 2013 semester. EL PASO – When I told my Mom I was going to be a published writer, she said to make sure my stories were on audio-tape so she wouldn’t have to do any actual reading. Dad then joked that she’d have to learn how to read first. Whether or no they knew how serious I was, my parents always told me to do what I loved, even if it meant not studying a “safe” major like business or nursing. Neither of my parents, or anyone else in my family, has ever shown an interest in writing, creatively or otherwise.

Thousands climb Mt. Cristo Rey to express their faith on Good Friday pilgrimage

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EL PASO — Lucille Maya remembers when her father carried her infant brother up Mt. Cristo Rey to ask for a miracle. Her brother was born with a birth defect and doctors told her family that he would never be able to walk, but soon after her father’s pilgrimage her little brother walked for the first time. “I do this for my faith.” said Maya, 73, who has been coming to Mt. Cristo Rey all her life.

Trevor Vittatoe former University of Texas at EL Paso (UTEP) star quarterback is now an independent corporate distributor for Direct TV. (Andrea Castro/Borderzine.com)

With pro leagues out of reach, many college athletes fall back on their education

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EL PASO – Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, arguably two of the greatest athletes of all time, started their pro careers right after high school, skipping college. But for college athletes shooting their last basket or throwing their last touchdown, the end of a season means a transition from a life of organized athletics to a real world of hope and frustration. Although they have one advantage – a college education – in reality a lot of players who do exceptionally well on the college field or court struggle with the fact that they’re out of the limelight once their senior season is over. “It was a hard adjustment at first because you’re used to a routine of practicing and being with the guys,” said Trevor Vittatoe, former University of Texas at EL Paso (UTEP) star quarterback. “After trying for two years, I’ve fallen short of making an NFL roster.”

While Vittatoe waited to get picked by an NFL team, working to make ends meet slowly became a part of his life.

Al Día editor Carbajal – Journalism today must consider language, culture, identity

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EL PASO – As a reporter prepares to write an article, he tweets his audiences informing them how the story is going to develop and then rushes to write a short-short piece for online publication. That’s not your old man’s journalism – that’s today’s reporting. “That’s a story, short story, kind of what we call an AP lede. They are just telling us what happened right away. That’s all we need to know,” said Alfredo Carbajal, Editor of Al Día, a weekly Spanish language newspaper in Dallas.

On March 6th a man fired seven 45-caliber rounds into the glass doors of El Diario in Ciudad Juárez. (Courtesy of El Diario de Juárez)

Bullets riddled El Diario’s front door, but the newspaper’s spirit is unscathed

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EL PASO – A group of armed men in a grey van approached the premises of El Diario de Ciudad Juárez, the leading newspaper in the city now ranked as the 19th most dangerous in the world, and fired seven bullets through the building’s plate-glass door before dawn on March 6. “There was never a previous threat or any kind of vindictive message. We did not expect it… so far the authorities have not been able to tell us who it was or what was the motive,” said Pedro Torres, Associate Editor of El Diario de Juárez. The early morning attack was not the newspaper’s first encounter with violence. Armando Rodríguez, the lead crime reporter for El Diario, was shot to death in November 2008.