Endometriosis, a painful stealth disease, attacks women under many disguises

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EL PASO — Melissa Ronquillo, was a teenager when she first experienced some painful and bewildering pelvic cramps and pain that radiated down her legs. The mystery discomfort continued for years until at age 24 it was diagnosed as endometriosis

“I have painful cramps, pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, nausea, and back pain not only during my cycle but in between, as well as when I exercise.”said Ronquillo,33. The Mayo Clinic describes endometriosis,which affects 176 million women and girls worldwide, as a painful disorder in which the tissue that normally lines the inside of a woman’s uterus, referred to as the endometrium, grows outside. The symptoms include nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue and in more severe cases infertility. Although there is no known definitive cause for the disorder, there are many treatments available to make life with endometriosis easier.

Un jovencito mira la vida desde su diagnosis de cancer

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EL PASO – La primavera de 2013 fue una de las mejores temporadas para un joven de 13 anos de edad, Job Arellano. La temporada de futbol americano habia terminado y el empezaba a vivir las celebraciones de jugar en un equipo de fútbol que acababa de ganar 9 de 12 juegos. Pero todo cambió cuando los doctores le dieron la noticia que no todo estaba bien. “Job tenia una bola del tamano de una llema de dedo en el lado izquierdo cerca de la clavicula”, dijo Margarita Arellano la mamá de Job. La primera vez que le hicieron examenes a Job, el doctor lo dejo ir a su casa porque al parecer era un exceso de grasa.

El Paso marchers join global protest against kidnapping of Mexican students in Ayotzinapa

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EL PASO—With their fists raised in mid-air, more than 80 persons including students, and teachers, marched through downtown streets shouting out against the kidnapping and suspected killing of Mexican students in Ayotzinapa in the state of Guerrero. They started the march Friday, November 21,at the University of Texas at El Paso, ending at the main doors of the Mexican consulate. “Who has the leadership, the students or the government that killed them!” they shouted. Photo gallery: El Paso march, vigil demands justice for Mexican students
En español: Marcha en El Paso da grito de apoyo a Ayotzinapa
Voces / Commentary: Condenan en El Paso la muerte de los estudiantes y la corrupción en México

Different groups gathered in this march. The students came from the organizations Ayotzinapa Sin Fronteras and the Master of Social Work Student Organization.

Marcha en El Paso da grito de apoyo a Ayotzinapa

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EL PASO — Con los puños en el aire, más de 80 personas — un combinado de estudiantes, maestros y gente local — caminaban por las calles del centro de la ciudad pegando gritos de protesta, desde la Universidad de Texas en El Paso hasta las puertas del consulado mexicano. “Haber, haber, ¿quién tiene la batuta? ¡Los estudiantes o el gobierno que ejecuta!”, gritaban. Fueron varios los grupos y facciones que se juntaron en esta marcha fronteriza. Por el lado estudiantil, Ayotzinapa Sin Fronteras y la Organización Estudiantil de Trabajo Social tomaron las riendas de reunir a alumnos de la universidad.

Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope in Scandal. Photo courtesy ABC.

‘Scandal’ fashion hits the racks in El Paso

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By Estefania Y. Seyffert

EL PASO – Fans of the hit ABC TV series “Scandal” have been delighted to find the fashion of their favorite character available in a local store. Scandal joined forces with The Limited Store’s head designer Elliot Staples, costume designer Lyn Paolo, and actress Kerri Washington, to create an affordable collection reflecting the style of Washington’s character, Olivia Pope. “People want to dress like Olivia Pope, they want to be Olivia Pope,” said Sarah Perez, sales lead manager at The Limited at Sunland Park Mall

Although most of the collection is made to resemble the type of clothing Olivia Pope would wear, some highlighted pieces such as a crème wool coat and a charcoal jacket are as seen on the show. Some pieces have tags that inform shoppers which articles of clothing have already been seen in the series

Fashion Merchandising student Claudia Garza at Texas State University in San Marcos explains how the extensive detail and neutral color palette gives the career clothes a more feminine feel. “Sometimes people think career clothes or professional attire would age somebody, however this collection brings about some modern twists,” Garza said.  

Contemporary dance studio hopes to go with the flow Downtown

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EL PASO – The desert sun blasting through the clear glass windows and bouncing on the gleaming wood floors followed the graceful movements of the dancers to the slow beat of the music. Located on the fifth floor of the historical Abdou Building in Downtown El Paso, Sound and VisionStudios opened its doors to lovers of contemporary dance in late August. “Right now we are trying to find a niche,” said Jennifer Burton, 33, co-owner of the studio, which has become a unique place for clients to practice the art of contemporary dance. Burton co-owns the studio with her husband, Justin Leeah. She lived in the downtown studio for 15 years when it was just her apartment, moving out in January 2014 to turn it into a dance studio.

Breast cancer shadows my family, redefines womanhood

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The years 1989, 2000, 2013 and 2014 scarred the women in my family. The scars remained on their breasts, the same breasts that nurtured their children, the same breasts that marked their rise into womanhood. Breast cancer scarred them, one of the most common cancers to affect women. More than 220,000 women in the U.S. were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 according to the Centers for Disease Control. My grandmother, Natividad Saucedo, was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in 1989.

Today’s parents challenged by tech trends changing childhood experience

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EL PASO – Vanessa Canales has seen her daughters — ages 2 and 3 — give up playing with dolls and switch to spending long hours every day glued to the family’s iPad and her iPhone. And she’s all for it. “Parents are becoming too over protective when it comes to allowing children to incorporate technology in their play time. They must realize the importance it will have later on in their life,” said Canales, 30, a nurse at Las Palmas Medical Center. But widespread public concern that technological devices may have negative effects on young children, such as a lack of social skill development and even obesity, have driven some of the world’s leading technology innovators to put a damper on their children’s use of mobile tools.

Condenan en El Paso la muerte de los estudiantes y la corrupción en México

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Shine a Light for Mexico! “Ayotzinapa Sin Fronteras” from Jesus Genaro Limon on Vimeo. Por Sharon Murillo

EL PASO — El pasado 26 de Septiembre 46 estudiantes de la Escuela Normal Rural “Raul Isidro Burgos” en el estado de Guerrero, México, fueron víctimas de la violencia y corrupción de la policía y el grupo criminal Guerreros Unidos. Estudiantes normalistas habían viajado de Ayotzinapa, Guerrero a Iguala, para recolectar fondos y exigir mejores condiciones para su escuela. Sin embargo, esa noche se convertiría en una pesadilla para ellos y la sociedad mexicana.  Esa noche marcaría la historia de México como una de las mas grandes tragedias del país.

Fire, dance, fun fuel Odd Lab entertainment project

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Odd Lab, a flow arts entertainment troupe, found a new level of expression while preparing for its performance at El Paso’s Chalk the Block festival in October. “This pushes us to a theatrical production standard that we’ve never had the incentive to really accomplish,” said Georgina Armendariz-Ramirez, director and coordinator of the group. Find out more about Odd Lab at their website here. Members of Odd Lab, who practice on Rim Road overlooking the city, spent up to 12 hours a day perfecting their skills and planning for the 7th annual Chalk the Block, which drew more than 30,000 people to Downtown El Paso October 10-12. The group unveiled a 20 minute Shadow Box Theatre show as well as a 40 minute fire show that were developed especially for the festival.

At 80, El Paso folklorico pioneer Rosa Guerrero still lets faith guide her steps

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EL PASO – Dressed in a bright orange jacket adorned with a necklace and a crucifix pendant, Rosa Guerrero flashes a warm smile, projecting the trademark youthful spirit and upbeat stamina that belie her approaching 80th birthday. “Age is just a matter of the mind,” Guerrero said as she sipped her cranberry and orange juice drink, a mix she concocted herself. “If you don’t mind, then it doesn’t matter.”

Guerrero’s long resume in the professional dance world has not weighed her down. An avid dancer in all types of genres, a dance teacher of students that range in age from two-year- olds to 100-year-olds, and an ambassador for Mexican folkloric dance, her love for dance is evident in the rhythm of her hand gestures and expressive nature. “I started dancing in my mother’s womb,” Guerrero exclaimed as she sculpted a simple dance move with her hands.

Border job growth tied to better college prep, school funding

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EL PASO – Political and community leaders on the U.S.-Mexico border are promoting improved college graduation rates as a key to future economic development in the region. The importance of increasing the number of college graduates to attract and fill high skill, high paying jobs was a big part of the discussion at the 2014 Border Legislative Conference Sept. 12 in El Paso. The conference brought together civic, political and business leaders from both sides of the border to talk about issues of trade, commerce, mobility and education. “There must be a push for higher education in order for the border region to succeed,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.

Award-winning writers team up in Texas to broadcast unique national showcase for creative writing

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EL PASO – A little stubble on his face, a fedora hanging on an empty microphone to his right, Daniel Chacon is ready to record Words on a Wire, a KTEP-FM weekly radio show that showcases some of the best in creative writing. The show, in its fourth year, is attracting listeners throughout the borderlands and beyond. That’s no surprise to the creator of the show, Chacon, a University of Texas at El Paso associate professor of creating writing and novelist who has a reputation around campus as being somewhat eccentric. A lover of reading and books since childhood (his favorite book as a child was “Danny and the Dinosaur”), several years ago Chacon began thinking about doing thought-provoking radio interviews with accomplished writers. After discussing the idea with then chair of the UTEP creative writing department, Benjamin Alire Saenz, they agreed to approach El Paso’s public radio station KTEP-FMA with the idea.

Celebra la Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas 125 años de razón y diálogo

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Por Myriam Cruz

En este año de 2014, estamos de fiesta, celebramos el triunfo de la razón, el diálogo y la diplomacia, celebramos los 125 años del establecimiento de la Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas (CILA), con su Sección Mexicana y su Sección Estadounidense, una institución que nos marca el camino de lo que significa tratar con tus vecinos de manera pacífica, y que ha dejado una profunda huella en nuestra historia y seguirá siendo crucial en el desarrollo de esta bendita frontera. Una forma de trabajar única, porque las secciones de cada país siempre están consultando entre sí, -con todo lo que eso conlleva, lidiar con cultura, puntos de vista, lineamientos de los gobiernos, y por supuesto, personalidades; trabajando para el bien común de todos, mexicanos y estadounidenses, los que vivimos en las ciudades y los agricultores que esperan con gran anticipación las descargas del río para empezar una nueva cosecha y un nuevo sueño. “CILA es ejemplo de cooperación fronteriza en el mundo”, dijo Enrique Serrano, Presidente Municipal de Ciudad Juárez, en septiembre 2014. Como a veces pasa, la razón de su creación se desprende del Tratado de Guadalupe-Hidalgo, cuando México pierde más de la mitad de su territorio y hay que establecer una nueva Línea Divisoria Internacional, en los tiempos en que se hacían los deslindes y marcaciones a través del compás y observando las estrellas, viajando por meses y acampando en medio de la nada para establecer la nueva frontera. Sucesivas convenciones van estableciendo las delicadas funciones de la CILA, usando los instrumentos a la mano de acuerdo con la época, para dirimir desde los límites de cada país -las fotografías que ilustran la forma en que se medían los aforos de agua, en canastilla a mitad del rio en los 40’s, hasta las modernas estaciones telemétricas que se utilizan actualmente, que nos van llevando por los entramados de un largo camino para repartir de manera justa lo que nos corresponde a cada uno.

Smith-Soto’s street photography – the human condition, one frame at a time

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With one quick motion of his finger on the camera shutter release, David Smith-Soto erases the boundaries of time and eternalizes an intimate instant as two lovers stare into each other’s eyes. “It’s a glimpse of intimacy,” said David Flores, photographer and special collections archivist at the University of Texas at El Paso. “This is life one frame at a time.”

The black and white photograph taken in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2000 entitled “Lovers” is one of 26 prints in David Smith-Soto’s street photography exhibit in the Glass Gallery at the University of Texas at El Paso,

Photo Gallery: The Street Photography of David Smith-Soto

Smith-Soto said he was pleased to show some of his 60 years of photography to a large audience, but that the purpose of the show was to raise funds for journalism student internships. “We need to send out more students into the world, so that means we need more funding for that,” said Zita Arocha director of Borderzine, UTEP’s online bilingual magazine. Arocha said it costs approximately $3000 to send one student on an internship.

The Mextasy of William Nericcio dashes stereotypes and builds ‘mexicanidad’

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EL PASO— The Mexican experience in America, presented with verve as a celebration of the culture and and as a bulwark against negative stereotypes in popular art and media was dubbed Mextasy by Dr. William Anthony Nericcio. “This anti-Mexican fervor needs to be met with a kind of invocation of mexicanidad that needs to be equally strong,” Nericcio says. “You got to attack it with the same power with the same fervor, with the same dynamic focus.”

Nericcio captivated a room of faculty members and students when he came to the University of Texas at El Paso recently to discuss and present his travelling art show,

TheMextasypop-up exposition contains objects that Nericcio has collected over the years, Ranging from dolls to posters that harken back to the 1950’s representing and satirizing the Mexican experience in the United States, representing an analysis of Hollywood’s contribution to perceptions of Mexican ethnic identities. Nericcio gets serious when addressing how consumers should fight the negative commentary on Mexicans that some commentators in media like Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter advocate. Ectasy healing

For Nericcio, Mextasy can be seen as a form of defense and cure against those Mexican stereotypes and tropes.

Dale un efectivo “like” a las elecciones – Los millennials no ejercen su derecho al voto

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Por Elizabeth Giadans

Los de la generación del milenio [“millennials” en inglés] vivimos en un tiempo donde hablamos sobre la violencia como si fuera algo regular, común y corriente. Los temas del entretenimiento y deportes consumen nuestro tiempo. Pero cuando de política o economía se trata, nos quejamos pero no hacemos nada. Nuestra generación representará el 40 por ciento de los votos en los Estados Unidos en el 2020. Un estudio del Pew Research Center revela que somos la generación más liberal en el país.

Brothers predict tea trend timing is right for a refreshing new business

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EL PASO —After an inspiring speaker at summer church camp described how ordinary people can achieve extraordinary goals, brothers Andrew and Michael Estrada saw their future in the tea leaves. What started as a classic dream for the Estrada brothers at that camp in 2012 in Sacramento, N.M, became a reality in 2014 with the first shipment of “radically refreshing” Humanitea bottled tea. “Fresh brewed tea is just another level of good,” said Andrew Estrada, 26. “At youth camp, we always drink tea. Literally, brewed tea.”

When asked why tea above all else, he said, “It dawned that people don’t like tea because it’s not made correctly.”

The Estrada brothers’ journey began when they came back home from summer camp.

Abortion law reduces access to health care for El Paso women

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While most people might not remember the date October 21, 2011, it is eternally engraved into Mimi’s mind. She was 18, scared, and pregnant. She was lying down in a room inside one of El Paso’s abortion clinics, her heart beating through her skin. Two nurses entered the room and poured a cold blue gel on her stomach to do a sonogram. After the nurses left, the room seemed to enlarge.