Marvel and Columbia Pictures have released three Spiderman movies in the last nine years. (Christine Villegas/Borderzine.com)

Captain America punches his way into the movie mainstream

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EL PASO – Six blockbuster movies based on comic books exploded into theaters this summer mirroring people’s discontent with the general state of the world. In the last seven years the genre has grown from films that appeal to a niche audience to movies that draw the general public. “You see, what they (comics) are, are historical picture books.” Mark Hajunga smiles as he stands at his counter of his store, Comic, Cards & Collectibles. He knows that the proof to his statement lies in the mountains of comics around him. Every time the world changed so did comics, sometimes even predicting future events.

Joe Paz horror host gives kids a taste of what Frank N'Con has to offer. (Jesus Garcia/Borderzine.com)

New sci-fi/horror convention promises to haunt and thrill the borderland

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EL PASO – A convention of ghosts and ghost-busters alike will gather here in the shadow of the Franklin Mountains this Halloween hoping to draw science fiction and horror fanatics from all over the southwest. The first ever Frank N’Con convention will descend on the hotel Wyndham El Paso Airport at 2027 Airway Blvd on October 29th-30th. The haunting event will feature big names from the twilight zone of horror and science fiction such as Ernie Hudson who was best known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies. Convention chairman and founder Sal Arrellano says he expects some 3,000 people to attend the event. Convention organizer and filmmaker Dakota Thomas said that Frank N’ Con can be a new hub for sci-fi enthusiasts throughout the southwest.

Reies López Tijerina, el Rey Tigre. (Cortesía de Reies López Tijerina)

Reies López Tijerina – El Rey Tigre del Movimiento Chicano sigue rugiendo

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EL PASO – La barba blanca y tupida oculta la boca del hombre mientras las anécdotas comienzan a fluir sin orden alguno. Fue pastor de varias iglesias, víctima de cuatro atentados de bomba, fundó su propia comunidad, estuvo preso, lo amenazaron de muerte, se defendió a si mismo en corte, viajó a España, México y a Jerusalén, y por su fiereza, le apodan el Rey Tigre. Con cada anécdota, Reies López Tijerina sonríe y sus ojos brillan. Hace ademanes con sus manos, firmes pese a sus recién cumplidos 85 años de edad, y se acomoda la barba. “Uff, las cosas que he vivido, hermano…

You know it when you see it

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EL PASO – Who gets to say what is ugly or beautiful?  When time is up on a parking meter, you may get a ticket. If you are really lucky, “Lovely Rita, Meter Maid” writes it. But who writes a ticket for an ugly space that we all have to look at?  And why are curators and art historian types the only ones who can definitively say something is art and can be in a museum? Shouldn’t we all have some say in these matters, especially matters concerning the spaces and places we occupy every day? A couple of years ago, I watched a building being built and became uncharacteristically angry.

Lupita shows off her papel picado at one of Latinitas' Saturday camps. (Elvia Navarrete/Borderzine.com)

Young Hispanic women on the border find a voice in Latinitas

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EL PASO – Troubled young women dealing with pregnancy, depression, drug-abuse and attempted suicide can now find help in an organization created specifically for them. Sonia Rangel, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for Latinitas, said it is important for pre-teen and teenage Latinas here to have a voice. The need to empower and inspire them in El Paso is critical because the rate of occurrence of these problems for Latinas here is the highest in Texas, according to the Latinitas website. In a program entitled “Girl Empowerment Training,” volunteers learn how to mentor the girls. Through a series of hands-on work with multimedia equipment, the volunteers practice with cameras and voice recorders.  In this training, the volunteers get the opportunity to look within through a series of questions such as, “What does leadership, mentor and empowerment mean and what does it mean to be a mentor?” Then they are able to teach the girls how to use the equipment for self-expression.

El culto a la Santa Muerte incorpora muchos elementos de la iconografía de la Iglesia Católica aunque esta última no reconozca su veneración como legítima. (Luis Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

La ‘Santa Muerte’ es venerada en una ciudad castigada por la violencia

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A pocos pasos de la histórica catedral dedicada a la Virgen de Guadalupe en el centro de Cd. Juárez se encuentra el Mercado Cuauhtémoc y dentro de éste varios puestos dedicados a vender toda una parafernalia de artículos consagrados al culto de la figura denominada la Santa Muerte. Como en cualquier otro día domingo la plaza principal y los puestos comerciales dentro del Centro Histórico de esta ciudad fronteriza mexicana fluyen abundantes de actividad y movimiento. Ello contrasta con la imagen que mantienen muchos otros sectores de esta ciudad en donde los negocios lucen abandonados y carentes de clientes que no acuden por el miedo a la violencia y crimen que actualmente castigan a esta ciudad. En estos puestos dedicados a la Santa Muerte, mezclados entre locales comerciales que expenden una variedad de frutas y legumbres, artesanías, ropa y artículos de origen extranjero, no sólo se pueden encontrar figuras, amuletos, cuadros y otras iconografías de “La Huesuda”, hay también espacios específicos para rendirle culto.

A cabin with an Albert Corn fireplace. (Cheryl Howard/Borderzine.com)

Come on Baby, Light my Fire

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Teaching and Learning and Caring Blog

EL PASO – Show anyone, even a child, a few Picasso prints and they will be able to identify other Picasso’s from an array of artistic prints that include him. There’s something about a Picasso that makes it iconic, memorable. I would put Georgia O’Keefe in that category as well.  Art historians can identify works by almost any known artist, but it takes years of study and some memorization to acquire that skill. If we had to pick a fiction writer who was identifiable by someone outside the field, would it be Steinbeck, James Joyce, or someone else?

The need for repair is evident on the Aztec Calendar. But, how should the City go about doing the repairs? (Kristopher Rivera/Borderzine.com)

Montezuma’s revenge – Tower of Babel replaces the Aztec Calendar

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EL PASO – After 58 years of exposure to the sandblasting winds rolling off the Franklin mountains, cracks have appeared on the Aztec Calendar in downtown El Paso as if a hard-riding Juan de Oñate had used it for jousting practice. But repairing the artifact that the Mexican consulate gave El Paso in 1953 as a symbol of friendship and respect is problem as complex as the ancient designs on the calendar itself. The calendar must be removed from its location in order for the Mexican consulate to agree to repair it but moving it could result in further, perhaps irreparable, damage. The city fathers want to relocate it to an indoor facility but activists want none of that. “We were all appalled so we did our research…and it is in fact, there’s contracts to remove it and give it to the Consulate,” activist Cemelli De Aztlán said.

When sicarios threatened to kill her, the muralist brought her art to El Paso

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EL PASO – Her art name means magician and just like a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat, muralist Margarita “Mago” Gandara pulls creativity and rebellion from deep within her soul to produce intricate murals, sculptures and bronze pieces that mirror the Mexican-American culture that she fell in love with as a young child. The lively 82 year-old artist spins her story of survival in Juárez like a skilled story teller. After living in Juárez for nearly 40 years, Gandara was threatened by “sicarios” or assassins, who targeted her after seeing her truck with Texas license plates outside of her adobe home studio in a southern Juárez colonia. Immediately after being threatened, Gandara, with the help of her son, fled from her home taking as many pieces of art as she could, while still leaving some behind. Many of the pieces, along with additional new works will be displayed at an exhibit she calls, “Peregrinas Immigrantes” at UTEP on October 13th.

(Cheryl Howard/Borderzine.com)

The Color(s) of El Paso

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Teaching and Learning and Caring Blog

EL PASO – Many years ago, one of our graduate students, Elea, wrote in her thesis: “the color of El Paso is brown.” I argued with her vehemently. She saw brown everywhere. I saw color everywhere:  purple sunsets, yellow sunflowers, blue sky, green chiles, all the colors…even in the desert. Color was vibrant and alive…in nature, in murals, in clothing, architecture and food. ‘ Yes, there were brown people; they weren’t invisible, but some of them were Chinese, Korean, Lebanese.

Abused women from the Co-op Experanza y Fe rebuild their self-esteem through honest work. (Diana Parra/Borderzine.com)

Dominican nuns find need and hope in Juárez as they help poor women survive

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EL PASO – Left alone to deal with the household responsibilities, forced to steal to eat, humiliated and treated as if they were worthless, the women escaped to safety to a haven they call the “dump” in Ciudad Juárez. These abused women made the move to seek a better life in a community of friendship and hope, anchored by the Centro Santa Catalina run by Dominican nuns from El Paso. Although located in a city now filled with violence and homicides, the “dump” is the only neighborhood in Juárez where these women can find the strength to move beyond their misery. Many El Pasoans consider crossing the border to Ciudad Juárez dangerous and life threatening, but that is exactly what Sister Rene and Sister Maureen do every day to help these struggling women and children in Juárez. Sister Rene Weeks and Sister Maureen Gallagher of the Dominican Sisters say they cross the border to bring some light to women and children who have only seen poverty and a struggle to survive.

(Courtesy of Jaime Portillo)

The borderland becomes comic book fantasy as gunslingers and vampires stalk the high desert

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EL PASO – The blazing sun was so hot here Saturday that the mean old Texas gunslinger Dallas Stoudenmire could have strutted right out of pages of the western comic book Hell Paso into the desert morning in a barrage of gunfire. But the scoundrel stayed pressed into the pages of the colorful comic written by Jaime Portillo, which tells the adventures of the Old West marshal who lived in El Paso in 1891. Instead of outlaws and gunslingers the streets of Hell Paso teemed with comic book enthusiast anxious to meet their favorite comic book celebrities. The El Paso Comic Convention helped network local artists to the national comic book community. Such was the case for Portillo, author of other comic books such as Gabriel (2004), The Railroad Killer (2009).

(Justin Anthony Monarez/Borderzine.com)

Soccer at the centerline en español

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EL PASO — Juarenses revered and dubbed him “Superman” during his tenure as a soccer star. “I had the opportunity of being one of the most popular players in that team, said César Sosa. “In Juárez everybody knows me. They say ‘Supermán Sosa’ and they know who he is.”

Although it’s been two decades since the delantero suited up for the beloved Cobras de Ciudad Juárez, Sosa said his relationship with Juárez during his early 1990’s career has continued and garnered support for his new team now in El Paso. “They relate him to that special team and maybe to that time where Juárez was really nice, peaceful and everything,” said Teresa Sosa, César’s wife.

In my Element. (Raymundo Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

In my Element

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EL PASO — Our cars are a little bit like lovers and a little bit like calendars. They remind us of the very best and worst memories of our lives. We still carry tender feelings for some of them and spit out “good riddance” when reminded of others. The older we get, our cars help us remember when and where things happened. “Oh yeah, I remember that trip from Albuquerque to Las Cruces, all six of us in the Pinto station wagon.

The canyon near Curcurpe. It's carved out by the Dolores River, which feeds into the River Sonora farther south. Both rivers are among the rare perennial rivers in Northern Sonora. (Courtesy of Jack McGarvey)

A gringo traveling in beautiful rural Sonora

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In mid-March, I drove south from Rio Rico, Arizona to explore rural Sonora, something I’ve done many times. As spring approached, the pull of this beautiful place had become irresistible. That’s because I kept wondering whether the huge cottonwood trees that line Sonora’s Rio Magdalena were leafing out. The cottonwoods there, were indeed, leafing out – at least two weeks ahead of the cottonwoods that line the banks of the Santa Cruz River in the valley below my Rio Rico home. I then drove on south to Santa Ana, a crossroads city where Mexico’s Route 15 meets Mexico’s Route 2.

Hannah Howard’s Window

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CLOUDCROFT, N.M. — Hannah was my grandmother, my father’s mother. Her family came from Cannon County, Tennessee and homesteaded on Section 15 near Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. My grandpa came from an adjoining county in Tennessee and homesteaded on an adjoining 160-acre parcel in Section 15. They married in 1914 when Hannah was 21 and had four children.

UTEP President, Dr. Diana Natalicio, opens the 8th Border Security Conference. (Luis Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

8th Border Security Conference examines benefits and dangers along the U.S.-Mexico borderline

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EL PASO — Under the umbrella ideal of fostering a new era of bi-national collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico, the University of Texas at El Paso was once again home to the annual Border Security Conference. This two-day event marked the 8th straight year public officials, politicians, scholars and the general public gathered to share concerns, progress, and ideas pertaining to border security and how the border should meet 21st. century challenges. The conference was a joint endeavor of the University and the Office of U.S. Representative Silvestre Reyes (D.,Texas). “It is terrific to have the opportunity to host this conference.

Sobreviviendo Juárez: Residentes toman medidas ingeniosas para protegerse de la narcoviolencia y la criminalidad

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Read this story in English

CIUDAD JUÁREZ — María, madre de cuatro hijos y administradora de varios negocios en Ciudad Juárez, ha tenido que tomar medidas para “sobrevivir” y protegerse de la violencia a su alrededor. “Tuvimos que poner un sistema de cámaras que monitoreamos de casa a través del Internet”, dijo María de 54 años, que pidió no se revelara su apellido o detalles de su familia y negocios. Esto, después de la extorsión de varios de sus negocios, el pago de la ya conocida “cuota”, un “secuestro exprés” de un familiar, y la vigilancia constante por parte de grupos delictivos. Como consecuencia, contrató un guardia de seguridad para uno de los negocios e instaló alarmas. Ahora cierra las puertas de todos los negocios con seguros a media tarde y cuando empieza a obscurecer las abren sólo a clientes conocidos.

Juárez businesses fleeing violence open doors north of the border

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EL PASO — Three years ago, Carlos Gallardo Baquier’s 14-year-old son was victim of a kidnapping attempt. Three armed men assaulted the boy just outside the garage of his house, but before they caught him he escaped. The event, however, prompted his family to flee Juárez, leaving behind their already successful catering business in the city. “It was traumatic for the entire family,” Gallardo Baquier said. “Even though it is more difficult to manage our business here because of the regulations, it is more important to be safe.”

For 20 years, Gallardo-Baquier, owner of Gastronómica de Juárez, ran the successful food service company for maquiladoras in Ciudad Juárez.

Saving Luis Jimenez’ gators — El Pasoans won’t let go of a beloved city centerpiece

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EL PASO — Downtown El Paso could soon lose one of its most beloved landmarks, created by one of the city’s most famous artists if a plan to renovate San Jacinto Plaza is approved and funded by the city council. Luis Jimenez’s fiberglass sculpture, “Los Lagartos” has stood at the center of the plaza since 1995, would be replaced by shrubbery trimmed in the shape of alligators in the renovation plans donated by Mills Plaza Properties, owned by prominent El Paso businessman Paul Foster. El Paso art historian Miguel Juarez is spearheading the movement to keep the statue in the city’s plans. “The alligators are the soul of El Paso,” Juarez said. “Historically the plaza was a meeting place.

Relevance leads to an internship epiphany in the neon desert

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EL PASO — The music festival was a living, breathing organism of 11,000 blurry faces, bright lights and loud sounds. Walking through the darkness and seeing the excitement of people dancing frantically to their favorite artists made me understand that we all shared the same mutual amazement for the present. And I had helped to make it happen. Two months earlier, I had received one of these so called “suggested student opportunities” messages via email. I needed an internship I could care about and Splendid Sun Productions wanted interns to help put on a music and arts festival entitled Neon Desert Music Festival on April 30th, 2011.

Treasure hunting in thrift shops for unique value and priceless memories

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EL PASO — I have found amazing valuables while thrift shopping that will probably remain with me forever. Some of those have been a vintage monogram Louis Vuitton tote from The Label Exchange, another time I found a classic empire waist dress from Vintage Mode, and I found an awesome flower print clutch when I stumbled into a garage sale in Tokyo once. These are the items I treasure the most. The ones I find while traveling because they also bring fun memories along. I think I started thrift shopping when I was 12 or 13.

Trashion show: Recycled trash into fashion

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EL PASO — For the most part fashion design has a reputation for superficiality and a lack of concern for the planet, but this year designers in the technology program at El Paso Community College (EPCC) decided to change that perception with a Trashion Show. “In a way it’s like helping the world and it’s not only about the fashion but about having satisfaction of helping out,” said one of the designers, Zayra Estrada. Students and other collaborators said this is a way to help spread consciousness about recycling. “You can be fashionable without being abusive and use resources wisely,” said Fashion Technology coordinator, Trish Winstead. Five talented students from the Fashion Promotion class displayed their pieces made of recyclable materials at this year’s Trashion Show in commemoration of Earth Day.

No rest for the weary Las Vegas

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LAS VEGAS — It never really clicked in my mind what people meant when they said Vegas is the city that never sleeps, until I was unable to sleep in Vegas. After 72 hours of living a 21-year-old’s dream of freedom, I realized that in the Sin City there are no limits to what you can experience. I don’t think I could have lasted any longer. Vegas was not reality to me. It was almost a never-ending waking dream, probably because Vegas didn’t want me to sleep either.

Threading the needle, learning perseverance

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Teaching and Learning and Caring Blog

EL PASO — I can’t thread a needle or put material in the sewing machine without thinking about Mrs. Lane. She was my home economics teacher at Cloudcroft High School fifty years ago and I was one of her problem students. I resented the whole purpose of the class, making good little wives of us. It was my job as class clown to ask whether a tablespoon of water needed to be heaping or level. Just yesterday I came across a recipe for a soufflé and scrunched up my face in the vivid memory of that sunken mess.

Caravan for Peace demands an end to the wave of Mexican violence

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EL PASO — The beat of drums and shakers echoed off the buildings of downtown El Paso’s San Jacinto Plaza Saturday as matachines danced and a few hundred persons chanted “¡Juárez, Juárez, no es cuartel! Fuera ejército de él.”

The Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity, led by poet and activist Javier Sicilia settled in at the plaza as the poet told a crowd of several hundred about his son’s killing and stressed once again that the drug-war murders in Mexico are non-discriminatory. If something isn’t done to stop the killings, anyone could be a victim, he said. “It’s a war that no longer distinguishes. Any Mexican can be assassinated, can be a victim of crime or repression,” Sicilia said.

Building community with percussion

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EL PASO — If you are ever passing by Rim Road near Scenic Drive in West El Paso in the summer on an early Friday evening, you might hear a throbbing sound of tribal drums pulling you in closer to the infectious pulse that is Echos in the Park. What started out as a series of relaxing outdoor musical improv sessions by heads of the local jam band, Stanton Street Collective, has evolved into a weekly fluid gathering at Tom Lea Park of musicians and percussionists from all walks of life. “There is something special about having an impromptu jam session with a bunch of people that have never practiced and sharing that feeling of camaraderie,” said Roberto Santos, organizer for the Barbed Wire Open Mic Series. Since getting its start nearly four years ago, Echos in the Park has been gradually growing its circle of amateur percussionists up on top of one of the most beautiful and accessible scenic points overlooking the Downtown El Paso and Juarez area. Though the event’s lack of centralized ownership, formal structure, legitimate promotion and fixed schedule, it has some how managed to continue to thrive efficiently and effectively with word-of-mouth throughout intimate circles of music lovers across the city.

(James Smart/Borderzine.com)

Drought record in El Paso

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EL PASO — Lush alfalfa fields. Trees heavy with pecans. White cotton fields. Those sights may diminish next year if this year’s drought doesn’t let up soon. The Greater El Paso area has had more than 110 consecutive days without a trace of rain.

A mural with the most important character of Segundo Barrio can be found at E. Father Rahm Ave. (Azenett Cornejo/Borderzine.com)

Segundo Barrio: a ‘living history’ lesson

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EL PASO — In the heart of El Paso is Segundo Barrio, a port of entry to the United States. It’s the first community people see when they cross the border from Juarez, Mexico. Located on the city’s south side, Segundo Barrio is home to more than 8,000 people, of whom 50.8 percent are U.S. citizens, 13.7 percent are naturalized citizens and 35.5 percent are non-citizens, according to City of El Paso statistics. Yolanda Chávez Leyva, chair of the University of Texas at El Paso history department, calls Segundo Barrio the “heart of the Mexican diaspora.”

“El Segundo Barrio is one of the most historic barrios in the United States,” Chávez Leyva said. “[It] grew out of the migration of mexicanos to the United States going back to the 1880s and it’s been the starting point for thousands of families across the United States.”

The neighborhood is “very important” to El Paso, she said, because it is where the urbanization of the city began.