Oh Porky, Porky, wherefore art thou, Porky pig?

By |

EL PASO – Dogs, cats, birds, and even snakes can make nice house pets, but Corrie Simpson chose a miniature pot bellied pig. Corrie fell in love with Porky the moment she saw him on a friend’s ranch, knew instantly that it was meant to be and she had to have him. When Corrie first got Porky he was only about a month old and they both bonded instantly. She could carry him in her arms but that soon changed as Porky quickly ate his way up to over  50lbs. Porky will eat everything and anything is sight.

La música norteña y los narcocorridos fueron las primeras formas de expresión que encontraron las crónicas de narcos. (Diana Carrillo/Borderzine.com)

La narco-guerra mexicana da auge a la narco-literatura

By |

EL PASO – La sangre, las armas y las drogas son elementos de un “género” literario que ha tomado mayor ímpetu en los últimos años – la narco-literatura. Este tipo de escritura trata temas relacionados con el tráfico de drogas, la violencia que lo acompaña, y la dinámica en la que se da. El término comparte su origen con las palabras “narco-corrido” y “narco-cultura”. En este extracto de la novela La Bicicleta de Alquiler por el periodista paseño Alberto Ponce de León, se ve el estilo de la obra: “La cajuela eléctrica se abrió del automóvil y los dos hombres se encaminaron para bajar un bulto en peso. La tragedia ya había sido consumada.

Belia Saucedo dice que el programa Memorias del Silencio le ha ayudado a aprender cosas que quedaron inconclusas en su vida. (Elvia Navarrete/Borderzine.com)

Memorias del silencio encuentran su voz

By |

EL PASO – En los tiempos de antes, cuando el conjunto Los Tríos andaban de moda, Belia Saucedo recuerda cuando su abuelito se sentaba a comer naranjas y todos convivían alrededor de ellos. También recuerda los tiempos cuando bailaban rock-n-roll y en el pueblo había pocos habitantes. Tiempos que ella jamás olvidará porque siempre traerá a su abuelito en su corazón. “Sus ventanas tan chiquitas la cocina con su cafetera de peltre sobre la estufa de leña con su aromático café, ¡qué delicioso sabor! Nos servíamos en jarros de barro, cómo lo disfrutábamos,”  escribió Belia en un cuento.

A rose agave, the emblem of the new gallery. (Christina Villegas/Borderzine.com)

Agave Rosa gallery aims to feature the genuine flavor of El Paso’s Hispanic culture

By |

EL PASO – There is a lag between a dynamic city’s ever-evolving culture and the art on display in its galleries, especially in a city permeated with tradition like El Paso, but Martha Arzabala plan’s to change that with her new art gallery, Agave Rosa. One of the goals of Agave Rosa is to create a home for new artists, who may otherwise not have a place to show their work. “Agave Rosa is going to focus on Hispanic artists, because they are the ones that really don’t have support here. You see, the El Paso Art Association is [mostly] Anglo.”

Arzabala joined the El Paso Art Association in 2008. She volunteered to become the secretary and in one short year was elected vice-president.

El Paso Art Market at Union Plaza. (William Vega/Borderzine.com)

New downtown market gives local artists a weekly sales venue

By |

EL PASO – Local artist Carlos Rodriguez has been painting for decades, but up until late October he had never placed his art on sale in a weekly market. With the inception of the El Paso Downtown Art Market, hosted by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (MCAD), artists can now display and sell their handcrafted art in a large exhibit area. The art market started Oct. 29 and is currently open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Union Plaza District in downtown El Paso. The market was requested by the City Council based on similar art markets in Los Angeles and Las Cruces.

The lights of Ciudad Juarez can be seen from the UTEP campus. (Danya Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

El Pasoans want their sister city to remain in the family

By |

EL PASO – With an ongoing drug war on the other side of a 10-foot high fence, El Paso’s reputation has taken some hits recently, but locals see the Sun City’s image in a brighter light. “It’s incredibly sad what’s happening across the border,” said Sonya Stokes, senior psychology student at the University of Texas at El Paso. “I think it’s terrible that El Paso’s image has been tarnished by irresponsible comments that people in power have made and the media has made.”

Over the past year, El Paso has made national headlines for a number of reasons. In November 2010, the annual Congressional Quarterly Press City Crime Rankings announced that El Paso had the lowest crime rate of cities with a population of more than 500,000. In August 2011, an El Paso Times article said that El Paso officials were taking “the first steps toward ending its ‘sister city’ relationship with Juárez.” The story said that the city was surveying local business to get their insight on El Paso’s “safe” image with the constant violence occurring in their Mexican “sister city.”  The survey wanted to know if the violence in Mexico was “hurt(ing) El Paso economically by reducing its ability to draw businesses, conventions and conferences.” According to the article, “up to 41,000 surveys were sent to the business community.”

On Sept.

View from our car approaching the Paso del Norte Bridge on the way back to El Paso from Juarez. (David Smith-Soto/Borderzine.com)

Women of Juarez tell their stories of death and despair

By |

EL PASO – Cinthia was only 10 years old when they killed her. The little girl, full of life and energy, went out one evening to play in the park just one block away from her home, just like she did so many times. The neighborhood in Cd. Juárez was generally calm, but that one particular day in 1997, Cinthia simply disappeared. After twenty days of distress, her family was notified by the authorities they had found Cinthia’s body in a dumpster.

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is located at 301 W. Missouri Ave. (Christine Villegas/Borderzine.com)

Man of a thousand funerals lives for his work

By |

EL PASO – Most people go to only a few funerals in their lifetime, so it is hard to imagine going to hundreds, but Norman Miller says he has performed 1,000 Masonic funeral services. The 93-year-old Freemason has been conducting funeral services for the Freemasons for 48 years. “The military and Masonry have been my life,” Miller said proudly as he sat just feet away from a chapel-like room where Masonic paraphernalia is displayed in the Scottish Rite building in downtown El Paso. “I came in to the Masons in 1958… In December of 1963, I did my first Masonic funeral on an old gentleman, Mr. Pandelities.” Freemasons refer to the funeral ceremony they conduct as an orientation. The ceremony itself is very similar to non-denomination funeral services in large part because of the Freemason’s ambiguous belief in a supreme being.

John Sheridan. (Yahchaaroah Lightbourne/Borderzine.com)

El Pasoan sheds light on Howard Hughes’ Las Vegas Years

By |

EL PASO – America’s first billionaire Howard Hughes was a very reclusive man whose life was brought into the spotlight by great wealth and controversy. John Harris Sheridan, an El Pasoan who works for Chanel 9 news as a producer, brings Hughes’ secrets to light in his book Howard Hughes. The Las Vegas Years: The Women, The Mormons, The Mafia. Sheridan, who worked for Hughes in 1968 as a film editor, writes about the experiences he had with Hughes and his encounters with other characters in the hotels Hughes owned in Las Vegas. Sheridan picks up where the movie Aviator left off going deeply into the life of the man who “decided to keep himself hidden from the news and most people”.

Marigolds - Mexican gold. (Peg Bowden)

Día de los muertos

By |

NOGALES, México – I love contrasts and extremes: the blazing heat of the desert, and the 40 degree drop in temperature at night this time of year. Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is that kind of festival— a study of contrasts and extremes, a party of joy and sorrow, yin and yang. The Nogales cemetery, a place of sadness and grief, is today a place of singing, feasting, and marigolds everywhere. The streets are lined with booths selling bouquets of marigolds, sugar skulls, and pan dulce (sweet bread and pastries). There is the smell of roasted pork on skewers slowly dripping into the fires, and strolling guitarists and accordions are everywhere.

Michael Romero, Cheryl Howard, Ernesto Alarcón. (Cheryl Howard/Borderzine.com)

Semper Fi

By |

EL PASO – In 1918, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour, fighting ceased in World War I.  This particular war was designated “the war to end all wars.”  That particular November day has eventually become what we know as Veteran’s Day; it is not the day that all war ended. We may no longer be able to remember Washington or Lincoln’s birthday, but this date is unmistakable; today is this day. My personal belief is that we have had thousands of years of “civilization,” enough to teach us ways to solve our differences in more “civilized” ways. Perhaps we have not learned so much from our past as we think we have. Nevertheless, we keep sending young men and now women to represent our government’s official positions at home and abroad.  Those official positions are clothed in patriotic rhetoric, but sometimes we can see the slip of opportunism or greed showing.

José Luis González, a photojournalist for El Norte newspaper, risks his life every to cover murder scenes at Ciudad Juárez as do most of journalists in one of the most dangerous cities of the world. (Ivan Pierre Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

Chasing Death

By |

CIUDAD JUÁREZ – Everyday journalists from all over the world make a pilgrimage to one of the most dangerous cities in the world, Ciudad Juárez, to try to document the city’s daily terror on its people. I have gone into Juárez before to try to document that for myself, but this time I wanted to tell the stories of the journalists. Journalists who risk their lives to cover the thousands of murders that happen every year. This was my attempt to try to get a small glimpse into what it takes to cover Juárez in a day’s shift. For one day this past summer, I rode along with two fixers, and met a news crew from Sydney, Australia, a couple of photographers from El Norte newspaper, and visited the local state bureau of investigation.

(David Smith-Soto/Borderzine.com)

Día de los muertos, Mesilla, NM – Slideshow

By |

MESILLA, NM – Mesilla Plaza near Las Cruces, New Mexico, observed Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Sunday, October 30, with some 50 altars, each one lovingly assembled with mementos  by relatives of the dead to honor and remember their loved ones.  

Lorena Andrade's altar in memory of her father and nephew. (Elvia Navarrete/Borderzine.com)

Día de Los Muertos honors the dead and sustains an ancient Mexican tradition

By |

EL PASO – Carefully placing her deceased father’s framed portrait on a round table covered with a Spanish style tablecloth, Lorena Andrade neatly arranged his favorite things such as the sugar cane, bananas, tunas and lemons, a pack of L&M cigarettes and a Coca Cola glass bottle. “With the candles and the scent of the flowers they can find you,” she said. “You put food that they like to eat that way they would want to come back and, you know, sit down and talk and eat together. It’s a way for them to come back to visit.”

Like Lorena many people gather at Mercado Mayapán to celebrate Day of the Dead, known to Latinos as Día de Los Muertos. It’s a day and a month when mourners remember their lost loved ones and place ofrendas (offerings) on altars in remembrance and to welcome the departed.

Calacas Raymundo Aguirre and John Del Rosario at L & J's restaurant near Concordia Cemetery, makeup by Josie Jimarez-Howard. (Josie Jimarez-Howard/Borderzine.com)

Live like you mean it

By |

EL PASO – During this week we have been presented with three opportunities to reflect on our life and the lives of those who came before us. This year, Halloween also marks the day on which the 7 billionth baby (Danica May Camacho) has joined the world (www.7billionandme.org), giving us an opportunity to contextualize our own life amidst the 6,999,999,999 other souls on the planet, and to consider the planet itself. Halloween is no longer a child’s holiday; adults are increasingly enamored of costume parties and pumpkin carving. Whether child or adult, the day is a chance for us to be someone or something we are not, not quite, or not yet. In a way, it is liberating.

Beautifully renovated on the outside, San Elizario church is crumbling on the inside. (Kristopher Rivera/Borderzine.com)

Crumbling from the inside out, a Mission Trail chapel prays for support

By |

SAN ELIZARIO, TX – A chapel dedicated to San Elizario has stood on this spot  since the days the conquistadores wound their way north on the old imperial Spanish mission trail along the Rio Grande, but the current church built in 1877 is falling apart. Extensive repairs have maintained the exterior of the church, but the crumbling interior looks like it has been damaged by a violent exorcism. The walls have been battered by storms that weakened the adobe and created numerous pits and cracks. Lillian Trujillo, a tour guide for the church who has deep family roots in San Elizario still sees beauty in the existing structure. “Even though it’s damaged you can see that it’s a beautiful church.

The devotion to the Holy Death incorporates many elements from Ctaholic Church's iconography even though this is not recognized as legit by the Church. (Luis Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

Some worship the Saint of Death in a city plagued by violence

By |

Lea esta historia en español

Just a few steps from the historic cathedral devoted to the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Juárez, the Mercado Cuauhtémoc shopping center houses stores that specialize in the sale of paraphernalia dedicated to a different holy entity they call Santa Muerte. Like any Sunday, the main plaza and its different mercados in the historic heart of the border city of Juárez are rich with activity and flowing with movement. This is in complete contrast to other sectors of the city where businesses are run down or abandoned, lacking clientele, who fear the violence currently plaguing the city. These shops dedicated to the sale of various goods depicting Santa Muerte – the Saint of Death or just Holy Death – are mixed in with other shops that sell everything from produce and clothing, to electronic goods. In these shops you can find statues and amulets adorned with the saint’s image and you also can say a prayer to her in one of the mini-worship spots set aside in the shops to venerate  “La Huesuda” or “the skeletal saint” as it is also known.

Del Valle Marching Band director, Manuel Gamez has taken the band to the state competition three times – in 2003, 2005, and 2009. (William Blackburn/Borderzine.com)

High school marching-band students strive and strain to reach the state finals

By |

EL PASO — The Socorro Activities Complex in east El Paso is filled with the blasting excitement of drums, brass and cheers on a warm Saturday afternoon in October as excited spectators root for area high school marching bands competing for a chance to appear at the state level in San Antonio. The Del Valle high school band has been rehearsing for this competition since August, practicing long hours every day, learning their marching steps and the music. It’s fun and it’s challenging. Aaron Gomez a sophomore told Borderzine “I enjoy learning new music and music is my passion and after high school I want to study music and receive a degree from a four-year university.”

Alex Verdugo, a senior leader for the French horn section said, “I motivate students and assist the band directors in what needs to be done.” He became a section leader through a lot of practice and auditioning for the job, he said. Juan Palacios a junior leader for the trumpets section said, “It’s a lot of hard work, but it is worth it in the end.”

Christina Boatman a sophomore told Borderzine she thinks Del Valle is the best band and “…the feeling that you gave it your all on the field is indescribable.”

Cindy Cruz a senior said the band also helps students with academics and she will miss being in the band after she graduates.

Ángeles Mensajeros es un proyecto de jóvenes cristianos pertenecientes a la iglesia Salmo 100. (Mario Ruiz/Borderzine.com)

Ángeles en el Puente Libre

By |

CIUDAD JUÁREZ –La situación de la violencia en Ciudad Juárez llegó al borde de la desesperanza. Tan es así que un grupo de ángeles bajó del cielo para convocar a la reflexión, urgir por un cambio y proclamar la paz. Los aparecidos no hablan, lucen cual estatuas vivientes y en vez de trompetas portan carteles con mensajes diversos tanto para el ciudadano común, como para los funcionarios públicos, e incluso, los delincuentes. Son los autoproclamados Ángeles Mensajeros –un proyecto de jóvenes cristianos, de entre 15 y 25 años de edad, pertenecientes a la iglesia Salmo 100– a quienes la tristeza, el dolor por lo que vive su gente y el amor,  les colmó la copa de la paciencia. Dijeron sentirse “desesperados” por la ineficiencia de las estrategias políticas, los programas de gobierno y con la desidia de muchos de sus conciudadanos.

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

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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.

Imperial Valley supports soliders in annual “Treats for the Troops”

By |

IMPERIAL, Calif.—Imperial Valley College’s Students for Political Awareness held its eighth annual “Treats for the Troops” campaign on Saturday, focusing on “Operation America,” a club project dedicated to supporting American veterans, and U.S. troops deployed around the globe. Various members of this U.S.-Mexico border farming community showed up at the Imperial Veterans Hall to support the cause. Whether they had been involved in the program before or not, they all had their own stories representing a need to volunteer their time for the campaign. The following is a slideshow of the volunteer efforts.

Camerawomen of Video SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association), videotaped by Tavishi Alagh and Alexis Krasilovsky for "Women Behind the Camera" in Ahmedabad, India, January 2004. (Courtesy of Women Behind the Camera)

Women Behind The Camera: a film made by women, for women

By |

EL PASO – The idea of getting slapped on the butt at work may make a woman’s jaw drop in 2011, but for beginning camerawomen in the 20th century this was an all too familiar event. This story of a female camera engineer in Hollywood who experienced sexual harassment by former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger before he entered politics is one of 50 cases documented by filmmaker Alexis Krasilovsky. Krasilovsky traveled around the world to shoot the stories of women filmmakers in many countries for a documentary on women behind the camera. She suggests that film schools should teach women self-assertiveness to handle these situations in their future workplace. Filmmaker Krasilovsky screened the documentary Women Behind the Camera recently at the University of Texas at El Paso.

(Diana Carrillo/Borderzine.com)

The rave is all about music, but some seek Ecstacy to enhance the dance

By |

EL PASO – The dancing crowd rides a wave of lights surging to electronic rhythms while neon colors waft the wall and the crowd becomes one with the massive electro-beats as the wave becomes tsunami, flooding the hall up to eight hours at a time. The ecstasy that drives hours of nonstop dancing, typical at music festivals and raves, is sometimes fed by Ecstasy – the illicit drug. “I wouldn’t have lasted dancing, or even standing for the whole seven hours that I was there. I rolled for seven hours straight,” said Robert, 21. For many years, people have combined the music scene with drug use to increase the energy and enhance euphoria.

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

By |

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

By |

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?

Firefighters, ocal policeman, DPS workers, and the county sheriff department officers climbed the Wells Fargo building in full gear. (William Vega/Borderzine.com)

Local firefighters climb into history to remember 9/11

By |

EL PASO – The El Paso Fire Department thundered into downtown in the waking moments of Sept. 11, 2011 in full turnout gear and 80-pound tanks on their backs. But there was no fire at the 21-story Wells Fargo building on Main Street. Instead, they reflected on the memory of the firefighters who lost their lives 10 years ago during the attacks on the World Trade Center. “Today is the first year that we’re hosting this memorial stair climb.