Hoja de Ruta le trae cultura a ciudad Juárez

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.

Literary readings add culture to Juárez bus rides

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.

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

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.

Are you a thrifty shopper? The earth says thank you

EL PASO – Savvy shoppers who hunt through thrift stores and vintage shops to create one-of-a-kind outfits may not even realize they are helping to improve the planet, too. “My family used to shop in those stores because it was cheaper and because the clothing isn’t at all bad,” said avid shopper Cinthia Prado “To us it was a normal and smart habit because of how much you could save.”

For Prado, 21, the search was about finding great deals on designer fashions. “I like how sometimes you find brands like Mango at a very cheap price,” she said. While consumers like Prado are looking for style and savings in used clothing stores, they don’t usually think about the Earth-friendly benefits of their shopping habits. “It wasn’t on my mind that buying used clothing is something positive in an environmental way.” Prado said.