The Mustard Seed Cafe feeds the hungry and demands little in return

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EL PASO—Since its grand opening in December of last year, the Mustard Seed Café near downtown has worked hard to keep its commitment to the El Paso community by assuring that “everyone eats.”

Founded by close friends Christi Brown, Patsy Burdick, and Shelley Speicher, the pay-what-you-can eatery is the only one of its kind in the Sun City. It allows patrons to enjoy nutritious entrées and side dishes for less than full price. Customers can also pay for meals by briefly volunteering their time in the kitchen or garden. “We want to make this quality of food available to everybody in the community regardless of their ability to pay for it,” said Brown. The café is non-profit, which allows guests to pay well below the suggested price of $3 for a side dish to $10 per entree.

Deadly flu season hits home hard and it’s not over yet

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EL PASO — Rene Delgado came home on a Saturday afternoon with a sore throat. The next day, his family noticed that he was becoming unresponsive so they took him to see a doctor in Juarez where he was diagnosed with the flu — the H1N1 strain. He was then taken by ambulance to Del Sol Hospital where he was admitted into the intensive care ward on January 11. He died there three days later. The civil engineering student at the University of Texas at El Paso was 22 years old.

We are who we are, and all we could be

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MIMBRES, N.M. — We like to label people outside ourselves and our inner circle of family and friends in neat, non-overlapping categories. This is an us v. them exercise. In order to accomplish our goal, we have to ignore the fluidity and subtlety of identity. We crash through all sorts of logic gates, mixing skin color or other visible personal characteristics with birthplace, language, religion, education and social class, citizenship. Fine distinctions are unnecessary when we are busy lumping people.

Holding on and letting go — the old fountain pen writes of connectedness, collaboration and shared promises

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FALLS CHURCH, Va. — When I was in Junior High School my parents and I had a yearly ritual beginning with the first September of the Seventh Grade. I got to pick out a new Esterbrook fountain pen. Learning to fill it with ink, the blue black river of unshaped words, was a thrill I obviously have not forgotten. Just me, and a blank piece of paper, and my pen working together to find out what I was thinking about.

Hipólito López’ thriving saddlery business was born behind bars

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Lea esta historia en español

DURANGO, Mexico — Hipólito López never thought that he would learn a new trade in prison that would lead to his own business after incarceration. “Polo” spent 12 years in prison at Beaumont, Texas, where he learned various crafts such as making paintbrushes, beadwork and saddlery. “I learned this leather craft at the prison in the United States. I studied and worked for 12 years doing this at the prison,” López said. In 1998, López was detained for marihuana trafficking and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Original Time magazine cover with Mexican President, Enrique Peña Nieto.

Mexican government payments to Time Warner Inc. stain the journalistic integrity of the legendary magazine

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EL PASO — As I woke up this past Tuesday I went through my regular routine of reading the news of the day on my smartphone. I skimmed over the spam known as CNN, and then checked NPR and Reuters’ headlines, but that particular day I came across a very interesting looking Al Jazeera English article titled “TIME magazine’s ‘Saving Mexico’ issue prompts backlash.”

The image of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (EPN), who in my photographer’s opinion seemed photoshopped in order to look more presidential, filled the TIME’s cover page. But what struck me with an immediate sense of indignation was the cover article’s title: “Saving Mexico.”

There he was, a man whose political party was caught buying votes and still won the presidency, a man interconnected with ex-President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who had one of Mexico’s most tarnished presidencies in history. This man Peña Nieto, the current president of my home country, is not someone I could ever trust. Setting aside the fact that his so called reforms jeopardize the entire country, disregarding the fact that after 75 years of sovereignty he is selling out our oil reserves to foreign investors, my immediate disgust shifted toward the TIME publication and the article written by one of their chief foreign correspondents, Michael Crowley.

n general, the rate of suicide among male Veterans Administration clients connected to care with the El Paso Veteran Affairs Health Care System has remained stable, according to Dr. Donna Nesbit-Veltri. (Camilo Jimenez/Borderzine.com)

More younger military veterans are committing suicide despite available VA programs

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EL PASO — As he sits at a faded-black dining room table, a man in his mid-twenties stares at the front door, his reflection visible from the dirty tabletop where a brown paper bag holding his lunch rests. His eyes dart focusing from one end of the room to the other as if he’s never been there before, sitting upright, inspecting the room. He specifically chose the seat with the best view of the front door, which he never stops looking at for more than a moment, because he says he is hardwired that way. He seems uneasy even though he has been here hundreds, if not, thousands of times, only four doors down from his childhood home. Esteban, 26, served four years in the United States Marine Corps and did two tours in Iraq.

Voices and Images of Migrant Women, exhibit opened at the end of January at Centro De Salud Familiar La Fe's Cultural Center in El Paso. (Christy Ruby/Borderzine.com)

Women’s photos shout a loud message against domestic violence

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EL PASO – Berenice, six months pregnant, remembers how she was trying to relax on her bed after a long day at work when she heard her husband enter the room. Rolling on her side as he began to hit her, she shielded her body so his blows would not hit her swollen stomach. Then he demanded that she get up and clean the house and “act as a maid” even though she already has a full time job. Soon after this incident several years ago, she became the sole provider for her family, which included her husband, his mother and other extended family. Today, looking smart in a green pea coat, it is hard to imagine that Berenice is a survivor of domestic abuse. She says her daughter gave her the impetus to step out of her dangerous domestic abuse cycle.

Lizdemar Najera, 40, mother of four was a victim of domestic abuse. (Marilyn Aleman/Borderzine.com)

Immigrant women survive domestic abuse thanks to protection from a federal law

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SOCORRO, TX — Nestled on a dusty road in a small town of roughly 33,000 residents, sits a brightly colored hair salon tucked to the right side of a 7-Eleven. Bright red and royal blue stripes decorate the hair salon building, conveying a sense of patriotic awareness. Inside the shop, 40-year-old Lizdemar Najera greets customers with a smile and a hug, offering a variety of hairstyles at low costs. Taped on one wall is a sign with her mantra:
“I am Lizdemar: I am brave, compassionate, humble, easy to teach, optimistic, conscious, I feel a genuine pride in my appearance and in my work.”

Najera’s sweet personality and attitude of tender loving care hide her once dark past. The mother of four was a victim of domestic abuse, not once but twice in both of her marriages.

Hipólito López, “Polo”, spent 12 years in prison at Beaumont, Texas, where he learned various crafts. (Jessica Salcedo/Borderzine.com)

La talabartería nació en la carcel, florece en la libertad

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Read this story in English

DURANGO, México — Hipólito López nunca pensó que su experiencia en la cárcel lo ayudaría a aprender un oficio y en el futuro crear su propio negocio. “Polo”, como la gente comúnmente lo conoce, estuvo 12 años en la prisión de Beaumont, Texas. Ahí pasó su tiempo aprendiendo a hacer varios trabajos artesanales como hacer brochas para pintar, hacer accesorios de chaquira y la talabartería. “Yo, este arte lo aprendí ahí en la prisión en Estados Unidos. Estudié y trabajé 12 años haciendo eso ahí en la prisión”, expresó López.

What would Jane Austin make of all this?

Actually… Like… Because… Whatever

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MIMBRES, N.M. — Some phrases and meanings of words come into sudden use, mutate and spread geographically, linguistically, and socially, almost like a communicable disease. They go viral. Years ago, words like segue, meme, trope, zeitgeist… were not popular words; they were hidden in obscure academic texts. And then, they went viral. Some words become popular for a while and eventually wear themselves out and became consigned to trivia games.

(Diana Amaro/Borderzine.com)

El comer es cultura — estamos sacrificando la salud por la sal, el azúcar, y el sabor

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EL PASO — No cabe la menor duda de que estamos viviendo en un país que se considera el primer país del primer mundo. Pero, ¿lo que comemos realmente es de primera calidad? ¿Está la FDA realmente protegiendo a los consumidores de alimentos, o la economía de las grandes compañías? Tampoco me cabe la menor duda de que la comida es uno de los componentes más importantes de nuestra vida. Como así lo explicaron en una rueda de conferencias, que tuvo lugar en el Rubin Center de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso,  los  Drs.

Dr. Allison Brownell Tirres, assistant professor at DePaul University College of Laws, addressed a crowd of students, local activists, concerned citizens and professionals as part of the University of Texas at El Paso Centennial Lecture series. (Héctor Bernal/Borderzine.com)

The past is prologue for U.S. comprehensive immigration reform

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EL PASO  – Immigration policies from the past must be studied in order to reform them for the future was the premise of a lecture by Dr. Allison Brownell Tirres on the topic of deportation, a subject that is as crucial as it is complex for residents of the borderland. “I want to try and put these stories in an historical context and I also want to suggest how the past may help us rethink the future,” Tirres said. Tirres, an assistant professor at DePaul University College of Laws, addressed a crowd of students, local activists, concerned citizens, and professionals as part of the University of Texas at El Paso Centennial Lecture series. While guiding the audience through a century of immigration law, Tirres brought up many legal turning points including the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act along and the Magnuson Act also known as the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943. Tirres demonstrated the relationship between those laws and the current severity of enforcement of U.S. immigration practices.

Alber Camus in 1957. (©Robert Edwards, via Wikimedia Commons)

El genio de Camus

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I
La superficial creencia de que Albert Camus fue mejor periodista que ensayista, mejor ensayista que dramaturgo y mejor dramaturgo que novelista empezó a propagarse cuando su cadáver aún no se enterraba en Lourmarin. Incluso en los obituarios más elogiosos, sus detractores empezaron a reprocharle la extrema claridad de sus ideas, juzgando que tanta claridad no podía congeniarse con una profunda reflexión. Al respecto, Susan Sontag, en su reseña de la publicación en inglés de los Carnets, 1935-1942 de Camus (The New York Review of Books, septiembre de 1963), fue así de categórica: “But was Camus a thinker of importance? The answer is no. Sartre, however distasteful certain of his political sympathies are to his English-speaking audience, brings a powerful and original mind to philosophical, psychological, and literary analysis”.

Boehner takes more heat on reform comments and inaction

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the Republican Party are getting an earful from Democratic congressional members and Hispanic leaders and organizations for saying they do not trust the president to enforce immigration laws and forecasting  that immigration reform isn’t likely to pass this year, if ever. Fair Immigration Reform Movement spokesperson Kica Matos said in a press release that FIRM’s efforts last year to gain House Republican support for reform were unproductive. “Persuasion got us only so far,” said Matos. “From now on, any lawmakers who do not support it should expect relentless confrontations that will escalate until they agree to do so.”

America’s Voice spokesperson Frank Sherry stated that Republicans should recognize that selecting a presidential candidate next year could create serious division within the GOP. “It’s now or never for the Republican Party,” he said, and to oppose reform carries the risk being perceived not only as anti-Hispanic, but also against Asians and other immigrants.

Junior Vasquez takes a picture in front of local restaurant, Nona's Pizza Bar, for an Instagram post. (Yvette Kurash/Borderzine.com)

Social media gets the ‘word of mouth’ out to retail customers

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EL PASO — When Nona’s Pizza Bar opened last summer there was no grand opening celebration and no traditional ads were bought to promote the new restaurant. The Sun City found out through the new “word of mouth” —Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The storefront was ready on Sunday evening and they opened the following day to a good crowd without missing a beat. Once a picture of Nona’s famous LED “El Paso” sign was posted on social media, everyone wanted a piece. If used correctly, social media can help build a small business in El Paso through these networks.

Borderzine seeks to redesign website

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RFP: Request for proposal
Request for a web designer and developer to redesign the Borderzine website. Borderzine is a bilingual online magazine cultivating student journalists in multimedia reporting. The magazine is housed at the University of Texas at El Paso and it publishes stories about borders by student journalists and media professionals. The current Borderzine.com site has been around for several years now and our team believes it is time for the site to get a fresher look that reflects the changes in news media offerings and audiences’ needs, and exploits the Web’s new interactive tools. The work on the new design will include work on branding, look and feel, and functionality of the website according to specifications (see below).

A Border Patrol agent processes individuals at a facility in Nogales, Arizona. (CBP Photography / www.flickr.com License: Creative Commons License)

The War at Home: Report documents physical, verbal abuse of migrants by Border Patrol

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By Alberto Tomas Halpern

Javier, a 35-year-old from Hidalgo, Mexico, was en route to New York where friends were going to help him find work. He had planned on returning back home after a few years working in the United States. Javier never made it past the border. He was apprehended by Border Patrol officers in January 2012 as he attempted to cross into the United States near Nogales, Sonora. Javier is one of many recently repatriated migrants from Mexico who have detailed physical, verbal and psychological abuse—including beatings, sleep deprivation and racial slurs—by Border Patrol officers after being apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Juan Garcia Aleman, 87, said that he passed his U.S. citizenship exam 10 years ago only after he was allowed to take the test in Spanish because he was over the age of 50 and had lived in the U.S. over 20 years. (Velia Quiroz/Borderzine.com)

Language barriers still stop many Latinos from seeking better jobs and U.S citizenship

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EL PASO — When Juan García Aleman, an 87-year-old retired shoemaker who worked for the boot-making Tony Lama Company for 20 years moved here from Juarez in the 1950’s he didn’t need to speak or read English in the workplace. Jesus Saucedo, a 29-year-old who was born in California but went to Mexico with his parents at age three, now lives here and struggles as a community college student with limited knowledge of English. He says he has difficulty communicating effectively at his fast-food job and is hesitant to pursue a leadership position. Their personal stories, different in many ways, are connected because of the language barriers they faced as residents of a border city that is predominately Hispanic and bilingual. For example, U.S. Census statistics from 2010 show that 75 percent of El Pasoans speak Spanish at home, and only 24 percent of the city’s 700,000 resident are monolingual speakers of English.

Diego Luna, a Mexican actor and director of the new film, “Cesar Chavez,” speaks about his support for DREAMers and says how they are part of American history. (Alejandro Alba/SHFWire)

New program to give more than 2,000 college scholarships to DREAMers

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WASHINGTON – A new program will allow thousands of young immigrants to go to college without having to worry about money. Donald Graham introduced TheDream.US, a new scholarship fund, at a press conference Tuesday. It will give full-ride scholarships to more than 2,000 DREAMers over the next decade. “It will be terrible for them and for our country if we don’t help them,” Graham said. “There is no telling what many of them will achieve in their lives.”

Young people described as DREAMers are those brought to the United States when they were  children.

Obama, Republicans fail to advance hopes on immigration reform

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By Aaron Montes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – When President Barack Obama delivered the fifth State of the Union address of his presidency, he dedicated just three sentences to immigration reform. Not once did he mention the contributions or needs of Latinos, nor did he touch on his administration’s handling of deportations. Most of his proposals won applause from Democratic members while the majority of the Republican Party sat in silence. They did the same when the president said “…and fix our broken immigration system.”

On Jan. 30, the house GOP released its immigration requirements: more border security, implemented entry-exit visa tracking and employment verification systems and no special path to citizenship.

Sanjuana Delgado (César Iván Graciano/Borderzine.com)

La fe en el dolor: Fidencio, las cajitas y los milagros en Ciudad Juárez

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CIUDAD JUÁREZ — Desde hace más de 30 años Sanjuana Delgado dedica su vida a ser “cajita” o “materia” del Niño Fidencio. Así se les llama a las curanderas de uno de los varios santos patrones que son idolatrados en el norte de México. Las cajitas o materias son aquellas personas que después de llevar una preparación mística logran “poseer el espíritu” del Niño Fidencio. Sanjuana fundó un templo en honor a Fidencio en la colonia Francisco Villa de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, lugar en el que afirma haber logrado curar a enfermos, hacer caminar inválidos y todo lo que se pueda considerar un milagro. Usualmente en México las personas recurren a los curanderos y la medicina alternativa cuando sienten que la medicina formal llega a su límite.