Behind the scenes of the Sun Bowl game, association works to make El Paso shine

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While El Pasoans geared up for the holiday season and winter break, the Sun Bowl Association was working around the clock. Staffed by a seven-member, full-time crew and relying heavily on volunteers, the Sun Bowl Association juggled the 43rd annual Sun Bowl Andeavor All-America Golf Classic, the 81st Sun Bowl Association Thanksgiving Parade and the 56th annual WestStar Bank Don Haskins Invitational basketball tournament in the past weeks, but those events all lead up to the biggest event – the Hyundai Sun Bowl. “It’s more like a juggle that has a lot of things in the air,” said Bernie Olivas, executive director of the Sun Bowl Association. “I knew what I was getting into and when I hire people I make sure that they know what they’re getting into, but we love it.” Olivas said working long hours is just part of the job.

Parents of El Paso 14-year-old who died by suicide warn to watch for signs of bullying, other changes

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EL PASO, Texas — Maria Bristow sees the school bus coming and leaving hoping to see the face of her “baby boy.” But she knows her 14-year-old son DeAngelo won’t be coming home. Maria called her son Oct. 3 to let him know she would be a few minutes late returning home from a show she was attending with a friend. DeAngelo said there was no problem and hung up the phone.

Borderland DREAMer fights on for rights of immigrants to stay as March deadline looms

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As a Communication student at UTEP, I had the opportunity this year to do an internship at the non-profit Columban Mission Center in El Paso. During my four months there, I had countless opportunities to interview pastors, refugees, travelers, and students from other universities, publish an article on the organization’s web site, and the chance to work alongside members of our branch in Washington D.C. The purpose of the Columban Mission Center is to help urge Congress to pass the Dream Act before the end of the year. Although I enjoyed the work and accompanying tasks, what inspired me most was the chance to interview DACA recipient Claudia Yoli and capture in words her compelling story.  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, is a program approved by former President Barak Obama in 2012, and allows young eligible immigrants to obtain a work permit and grants them protection from deportation. The program expires March 5 of next year and current President Donald Trump, who does not support the program, has left it to Congress to let the program expire or pass legislative protections for the recipients.

El Paso news anchor Estela Casas shares her breast cancer battle

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Estela Casas announced Sept. 14 she had just joined a group every woman dreads. The local celebrity and KVIA-TV news anchor has breast cancer, and announced it to her viewers to call attention to the disease. Casas has been part of El Paso’s viewership for 35 years and through her long career she has become a respected and admired personality, far more than a news anchor. This is not the first time that Casas has shared news about her medical experiences and procedures with the public.

After finding out he is a U.S. citizen, immigrant student doubles up on workload to reunite with his family from Mexico

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As a child growing up in Ciudad Juarez, Alexis Mesta loved racing his bike with his neighborhood friends and watching Saturday morning cartoons on TV, especially Courage the Cowardly Dog. He loved eating his grandma’s homemade food and spending time with her. He says he was a carefree, well-adjusted boy, blessed with loving parents who wanted the best for him.  

That life ended when, as a teenager, he moved alone to El Paso to create a new life for himself and help his family. Today, Mesta, 22, works two jobs, studies for his master’s in business administration at UTEP and has sponsored his mom, dad, sister and brother to live in the U.S.

“I wanted to sponsor my family because I wanted my brother and sister to have the same advantages that I did,” said Mesta, who was born in El Paso and is a U.S. citizen.

Five ways to help single, broken-hearted friends during the holidays

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I remember hugging my best friend Nancy (names have been changed to prevent public humiliation) as she weeped in my arms over Brad for the third time in two months. “I thought we were good this time!” she said, wiping her nose on the sleeve of my new sweater. Nancy and Brad had been an on-again/off-again couple since high school senior year. Since then, we joined a Greek organization in college that put tension on their relationship, which ultimately led to their pre-holiday breakup in the fall of 2016.

National Press Club shocked to see acclaimed Mexican journalist who sought asylum from death threats facing deportation in Texas

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EL PASO, Texas – While many people prepare to celebrate the holidays, Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto remains in an immigration detention cell after seeking asylum because he fears he’d be killed if he returned to his native Mexico. Gutierrez Soto, honored for his courageous reporting by the Washington, D.C. –based National Press Club and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, sits in a U.S. Citizenship and Immigraton Services (USGIS) cell in El Paso awaiting his fate. He was detained Dec. 7 when an immigration judge determined he would be deported. “I can’t explain with words how shocking it is to see someone who has been honored in Washington and then the next time we see him he is in prison clothes,” said William McCarren, executive director of the National Press Club, a non-profit organization that represents more than 3,100 journalists worldwide.

El Paso has many Christmas events to keep anyone busy

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The holiday season is here and it is only fair to say that El Pasoans have a unique style of celebrating. Despite temperatures in the 60’s with no sign of snow this fall, El Paso still makes the best out of the sunny weather. According to a study by WeatherUnderground.com, last year the average temperature was 60 degrees with no snowfall at all. So how do El Pasoans make themselves get in the holiday spirit? Besides the family atmosphere El Pasoans celebrate, the city makes its greatest efforts to plan daily activities that people can enjoy for the course of the winter.

Facebook live makeup tips the latest in beauty trends

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EL PASO, TX – Facebook Live is revolutionizing make-up as young women use the social media to share tips and broadcast the latest trends, according to at least one woman using the social media site. Young women often scroll Facebook and run into live makeup tips from across the world. The women create groups within Facebook so only people they choose to share the tips with can join the exclusive group. “I love to go live because I love the interaction I have with my viewers,” said Ellie Ayala, a Facebook user with thousands of followers that often goes live. With just one “notification” push of a button, they know when I’m on, and they can see me right away.”

Going live on social media is also helpful because not only does the audience learn from the make-up guru, but she learns from her audience as well.

Activist art seeks to show the humanity of Dreamers

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Artists and proponents of the Dream Act have united to tell the stories of the people brought to the United States as young children and might have to return to their native land as changes are made to the DACA program. Artists are creating projects so people “see Dreamers as people in their community, because a lot of people might not know they are interacting with a Dreamer,” said Sylvia Johnson, a photographer. Johnson, who works for a Santa Fe, N.M.-based organization that supports Dreamers, has photographed many Dreamers as a way to personalize them and their struggle. The term “Dreamer” is used for people who were eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the Dream Act, simultaneously used as symbolism of their hopes to stay in the United States. The Stanlee & Gerald Rubin Center of Visual Arts hosted a panel discussion in September to provide a space to share their stories and current works with immigrants.

La Policia Federal de México muestra su cara musical

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La policía federal de México decidió darle una nueva cara a la institución, creando una orquesta y un mariachi conformado de policías que tienen vocación por la música. “Como parte del Mariachi de la Policía Federal nuestro trabajo es la proximidad social”dijo la policía tercera Norma Casillas, de 31 años, cantante del mariachi. “Tenemos que estar cien por ciento entregados para crear vínculos con la sociedad”. Los policías de la sinfónica han estudiado música en diferentes escuelas del país, tanto como en el conservatorio nacional de música. La idea principal de crear la orquesta fue establecer un vínculo con la sociedad y fomentar y difundir la cultura musical.

How a foreign student taught me not to feel like an outsider in my own city

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I don’t consider myself a social person, especially while I’m in college. I get too focused on school work, and usually meet new people if they are the first ones to come up and talk to me. I was also was self-conscious about people judging me for my English skills. Even though I was born in El Paso, I lived in Juarez, Mexico until fifth grade. And like a lot of others who live on the border, I sometimes felt like I was in an awkward limbo between cultures.