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.

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.

Herbal remedies big sellers in wellness strategies for Hispanics

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EL PASO— When it comes to trying to keep bodies healthy in the fit-vs-fat wars, this predominately Hispanic border city leans toward natural solutions. Seventy percent of residents here and across the border in Cuidad Juarez say they use herbal medicines to lose weight and treat a variety of illnesses, according to a 2010 study funded by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. Infographic: The pros and cons of 5 common herbal remedies

El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are essentially one urban metropolis of some 2 million residents divided by an imaginary political line. Together they make up one of the largest population centers to regularly use medicinal herbs. “It is definitely tied to the cultural factors especially among Hispanics,” said Armando Gonzalez-Stuart, one of the authors of the study.