Two young girls dressed up to celebrate the Fourth of July take in the scenic view of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, from Tom Lea Park on Rim Road. Photo credit: Kate Gannon

Borderzine’s  top stories of 2014

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Borderzine.com readers showed a wide range of interests in the most viewed stories of 2014. Not surprisingly, among our top-ranked stories and columns were issues of immigration and border policies ranging from a migrant humanitarian crisis and immigration reform to a call for deporting an ill-mannered Canadian pop-star. Also popular were stories about the economy, small businesses and sustainability efforts. Other top stories looked at drugs, corruption, abuse and human rights struggles. Still, many readers also found inspiration in family tradition and an exhibit of street art.

LGBT advocates push for broader nondiscrimination law

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By Wesley Juhl – SHFWire.com
WASHINGTON – A new report by the Center for American Progress prompted renewed calls for legislation to protect the LGBT community from discrimination. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the lead sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the Senate, spoke Dec. 10 at the progressive think tank’s headquarters about the importance of such legislation. Sarah McBride, the lead author of the CAP report, said that progress made by the LGBT community in the last 10 years highlights the issues it still faces. “A lot of Americans think that LGBT discrimination is a relic of the past,” she said.

U.S.-Cuba peace pact: Enemies, a Love Story, to be continued …

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I blinked in disbelief when the message that the U.S. was restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba flashed across the top of my iPhone screen. How do more than five decades of Cold War strife between Cuba, my native country, and the U.S., my adopted one, come crashing down with a headline flash on a sunny midweek December morning? At first I was doubtful it was true but after listening to simultaneous announcements by Obama in Washington and Raul Castro in Havana, the impact of what I had heard hit me and I began to sob. They were tears of joy at the good news and long suppressed grief over a homeland lost in time and memory when I was four and my penniless guajiro parents immigrated to Florida in search of una vida mejor, a better life, a tired cliché but true nonetheless. I imagine most Cuban exiles residing in the U.S. and throughout the world –the so called Cuban Diaspora ­– felt similar mixed emotions when they learned that se acabó lo que se daba, the party’s over, after five decades of U.S.-Cuba enmity.

Decades of helping migrant farm workers leads to founder of El Paso shelter meeting the Pope

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EL PASO – When Carlos Marentes decided to help migrant farm workers who slept on cold sidewalks in Downtown El Paso he never imagined it would one day lead him to meeting the Pope. Marentes, who opened El Centro de los Trabajadores Agrículturas Fronterizos (The Border Farmworkers Center) in 1995, was one of three people selected from the U.S. to take part in the World Meeting of Popular Movements conference at the Vatican in late October. The conference was an open discussion about poverty, unemployment, loss of homes and land that affect people around the world. Marentes was surprised to receive an invitation to the conference. “I was meeting the pope,” Marentes said.

Take warning signs of dating abuse seriously, mother warns

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EL PASO – When 16-year-old Monica Sanchez started dating high school senior Jorge Gurrola her mother warned her of his history of abusing other girlfriends. “I’m not stupid, it wont happen to me,” she told her mother, Maria Sanchez. But it did happen, Maria Sanchez said. Gurrola was jealous and possessive causing him to begin verbally abusing Monica Sanchez and threatening to hurt both of them if Monica hurt their relationship. Her mother would try to talk with her when she came home with bruises.

Despite economic challeng, Anthony Wright, 24, is focused on his dream to run in the 2016 Olympics.

UTEP track star steps up training to take a run at Rio 2016 Summer Olympics

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EL PASO — Anthony Wright came to a crossroads early in life – follow a life of drugs and crime like other kids in his neighborhood, or follow his dream of being a world-class track star. Now, a few months after graduating from the University of Texas at El Paso in May 2104, Wright, 24, is about to do something only a select few dream of doing. A dual citizen of Germany and the United States, he is training to secure a spot on a team to compete in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics in Brazil. “I’ve always been drawn to sports, soccer, basketball, and I always gathered around the groups that always isolated themselves with sports,” Wright said. “I am good at it and I think it’s amazing the ability the human body has and what it can do.”

The 5’9, 190 pound athlete with dark brown hair and eyes peppers his conversations with German phrases like Guten morgen (Good morning), and Wie geht es ihnen?

8 things to know when considering becoming a go-go dancer

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Go-go dancing might seem like an easy job. You just get in front of people at a club or party and dance, right? Wrong. There is so much more to it than just moving around. As a former go-go dancer I learned the hard way that it takes more than just looks and moves to succeed.

Hoja de Ruta le trae cultura a ciudad Juárez

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CIUDAD JUÁREZ—Cada quince días Edgar Rincón y su esposa Verónica Martínez, acompañados de sus dos hijos Diego y Elena, caminan hacia el puente peatonal situado frente a Plaza Juárez Mall, esperando la ruta, el transporte público de la ciudad. Esto puede parecer un acto cotidiano en Ciudad Juárez, donde la mayoría de las personas usan las rutas como principal medio de transporte; excepto que, cuando la familia Rincón Martínez se sube al camión, ellos entregan a los pasajeros cuadernillos en forma gratuita que contienen poemas y cuentos que después se disponen a leer en voz alta. In English: Literary readings add culture to Juárez bus rides

“—Tú que vas allá arriba, Ignacio, dime si no oyes alguna señal de algo o si ves alguna luz en alguna parte—” proclamó Martínez, 42, al leerle a un grupo diverso de pasajeros el cuento llamado ¿no oyes ladrar los perros?, del escritor mexicano Juan Rulfo. “Nos impacta mucho ver a los niños, los señores, a todo el mundo, muy interesados en la lectura”, dijo Martínez.  

Lo que hacen Rincón y Martínez junto con su familia y otros jóvenes y ciudadanos es parte del proyecto Hoja de Ruta, una iniciativa juarense con la finalidad de difundir la literatura y fomentar la lectura por medio de lecturas en camiones que a la vez son acompañadas por la entrega de cuadernillos.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Street Art (Photo Gallery)

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EL PASO – On December 12 Catholics the world over, especially in Latin America, celebrate the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. In Mexico this is one of the most important holidays of the year. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico. She is called La Reina de Mexico the Queen of Mexico and is quite a cultural icon. In 1999 Pope John Paul II proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe a patron saint of all the Americas. Photography students at UT El Paso compiled this gallery of images of Our Lady of Guadalupe seen on murals and signs throughout the city.  

Literary readings add culture to Juárez bus rides

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CIUDAD JUÁREZ—Every fifteen days Edgar Rincón and his wife Verónica Martínez along with their two children Diego y Elena, walk towards the footbridge in front of Plaza Juárez Mall, to wait for the ruta, the city’s public transportation. This might seem like an everyday event in Juárez, a place where most of the people use rutas as their main form of transportation, except that when the Rincón Martínez family gets on the bus, they distribute free booklets that contain poems and stories that later they read aloud. En Espanol: Hoja de Ruta le trae cultura a ciudad Juárez

“—Hey you up there, Ignacio, tell me if you can not hear a sign of something or see some light somewhere—” Martínez, 42, proclaimed when reading the story, Do you hear the dogs barking? from Mexican writer Juan Rulfo to a diverse group of passengers. “We are surprised to see children, men, everybody, very interested in the reading,” Martínez said.

El Paso’s unique style shines in holiday gifts and supporting local businesses

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EL PASO/SUNLAND PARK — From fresh local produce and artisan foods to hand-woven baskets and natural soaps, Ardovino’s Desert Crossing in Sunland Park, New Mexico is one popular local spot to get a taste of El Paso and New Mexico specialties. Julia Cipriano, owner of Of The Earth Beads & Jewelry, greets potential customers with a genuine smile at her booth. She tells shoppers that she can adjust any piece of handmade jewelry to their liking. She calls it negotiation. “Once I make something, even if I make a duplicate, it’s not an exact duplicate,” said Cipriano, who has been beading bracelets, earrings and necklaces since childhood.

The suburbs of Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique, with the legendary Mount Pelée looming in the distance. Photo courtesy of Stacy Marie-Luce, Tanisha Photography.

Learn more about America’s neighbors in the Caribbean’s Creole region

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 Life in the Creole region of the Caribbean

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique — Bonjour ! Sa’w fè?  Please allow me to introduce myself.  I am a former aid worker, journalist, musician and all-around n’er-do-well who lives in Martinique, an island with a history, people, and language most people know very little about. The booming influence in the United States of all things Hispanic dwarfs our knowledge of the Caribbean’s Creole region, even though the latter is geographically closer to our shores than most of Latin America. Like the other islands that form this diaspora of former slave colonies, Martinique is much more than a Club Med beach or the obligatory “…and the Caribbean” tacked on  to discussions about Latin America.  First, unlike, say, Saint Lucia or Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique is not a nation; its status as part of France could best be compared not to Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. territory but rather to Hawaii’s statehood.

5 pizza combos worth trying in El Paso

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EL PASO—My love for pizza is undeniable. I find it fascinating that you could eat pizza every single day of your life and never repeat the same combination. Delectable, creamy cheese that melts in your mouth is the one layer that’s a constant among many variations. Usually, it is the endless toppings that range from spicy meats to fresh vegetables on top of a delectable crust make pizza unique. I decided to take my infatuation of pizza eating to the next level by driving to several of El Paso’s locally owned restaurants to try a diverse range of pizzas.

Risk-averse young investors ignoring booming equity markets

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EL PASO – When Candace Olivas gets home after work she drops her bag full of nursing textbooks and right away turns on the TV, flips through the channels, and turns up the volume as news about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ and S&P; 500 blasts through her apartment. Numbers from the day’s stock market trading session shine from the screen onto her intense eyes. Olivas, 22, is not a stockbroker, but a young American stock market investor. “I always felt that only way to gain wealth in today’s world is either starting your own business and making it big or investing in the stock market,” Olivas said. Olivas, who recently graduated with honors from the University of Texas at El Paso nursing program, is one of the few young Americans investing in the stock market.

Immigrant rights advocates bring protest, Aztec dance, prayer to free detainee in El Paso

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El Paso – Alexi Cruz may not have realized he had friends in this border community until he was on the verge of being deported. Cruz, 24, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who has lived in the U.S. since he was 14 years old, was detained in early November by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his car broke down on the way to Arizona. He was on his way from his home in San Antonio to see his mother in Arizona because authorities had apprehended his sister. His wife, Anayanse Garza, said that Cruz sought help after his car broke down in New Mexico near the Arizona border and was questioned by law enforcement officers about his residential status. The Border Patrol was called to pick him up.

Womens T-shirt – Black / Sexy / Long Sleeve

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Women looking for a sexy new shirt to wear on dates or during a night of recreational activities will love this must-have shirt from dresshead online. The front of the shirt is deceptively modest, with solid black fabric covering up the woman’s front. However, the sides, sleeves, and back are made of a mesh material that provides a seductive see-through look. The combination of these two fabric choices give the shirt a flirty, fun, and daring appeal. The shirt also features a wide collar that extends out and allows a teasing peek at the wearer’s shoulders.