UTEP student, Nicole Chavez, shows Mexodus' Online Journalism Award. (©Stacey D. Kramer)

Borderzine’s teaching newsroom produced award-winning Mexodus

EL PASO – Winning a national prize for an outstanding piece of journalism like the one awarded to Borderzine’s Mexodus project last week by the Online News Association goes way beyond public recognition for a job well done. To me the classy, foot-high triangular glass trophy that UTEP student Nicole Chavez brought home to El Paso is confirmation of what great work journalism students can produce when educators bust open traditional journalism classroom walls to create a teaching newsroom within the academy. That’s how we did it at our school on the U.S.-Mexico border five years ago when we created Borderzine, a web magazine by students about borders that is the capstone class in our multimedia journalism degree program and is run like a professional newsroom.  While some journalism education programs continue to resist technological and news industry changes, we’re proud to be in the company of major-league journalism schools that have adopted similar “teaching hospital” models. Our teaching newsroom produced Mexodus, a semester-long reporting project about the exodus of Mexican middle class families, businesses and professionals fleeing drug war violence in Mexico.  The project broke linguistic, national and even professional-student boundaries by including nearly 80 students from four universities, two in the U.S. and two in Mexico, journalism faculty and news professionals like Lourdes Cárdenas, who has run newsrooms in the U.S. and Mexico. The collaboration produced 22 professionally edited print stories and various multimedia, all of it translated and published in English and Spanish.  Trainers from Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) came to UTEP to teach professors investigative reporting techniques that they in turn taught their students who used them to report and write the project.

Mexodus, Borderzine's especial project.

Borderzine’s especial project finalist for 2012 Online Journalism Award

Borderzine’s bilingual project, Mexodus, united students from across the U.S. – México border to report on the exile of thousands of middle class Mexican families, who fled seeking shelter from the violent drug war in cities such as Ciudad Juárez. The multimedia project was recently selected as finalist for the Online Journalism Awards by the Online News Association and the School of Communicationn at the University of Miami. Students and professors from the University of Texas at El Paso worked in partnership with the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Chihuahua, the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de México, and the California State University at Northridge to develop the project. “The use of multimedia, the power of data and social media, and the ability of journalists to integrate them to inform, entertain, and emotionally connect with readers has set a high water mark,” said ONA Board member Josh Hatch in a press release about the quality of the works submitted this year. Mexodus will be competing in the Non-English Projects category against similar publications from Spain and Germany.

El Paso, the safest city in the U.S. by fact, the most dangerous by media coverage. (José Luis Trejo/Borderzine.com)

El Paso is still the safe, prosperous Sun City it has always been

EL PASO – As editor-in-chief of The Prospector and Minero Magazine, reporter for Borderzine and the occasional freelance journalism work I have been able to take around El Paso, I find hard to believe the image many have of this city. As the drug-related violence continues in our sister city, Ciudad Juárez, the borderland has been in the national spotlight with various media outlets focusing on the drug-war. Even though El Paso was ranked as one of the safest cities in the U.S. by CQ press in 2010, the city is still perceived as a dangerous city due to its proximity to Juárez. When I went on an internship at the Houston Chronicle in 2010, once people found out I was from El Paso they all would ask the same questions: how dangerous is El Paso? Is it true that the violence has spilled over to El Paso?

UTEP y El Paso son el perfecto crisol para una nueva forma de periodismo en Borderzine

Traducido por César Silva-Santisteban

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EL PASO — Nacido en las clases de periodismo universitario, un nuevo medio de comunicación ha ganado fuerza en la cobertura de noticias locales con respecto a los tradicionales y debilitados paquetes de noticias de periódicos y estaciones de televisión, casi barridos ahora por Internet y la Gran Recesión. Publicada por la Universidad de Texas en El Paso (UTEP) como la piedra angular de su plan de estudios de periodismo,  Borderzine.com, nuestra revista en Internet, es un buen ejemplo de este nuevo concepto mediático, que entrelaza la formación de periodistas, la cobertura local y el financiamiento gracias a organizaciones sin fines de lucro. La tranferencia de algunas fuentes tradicionales de ingresos hacia Internet ha forzado a los ‘viejos’ medios de prensa a reducir su personal y su cobertura de noticias. Incluso hubo algunos que no pudieron evitar la bancarrota. Aunque mi alma mater, el Miami Herald, todavía continúa en el negocio, su editor ha anunciado que el majestuoso edificio del Herald en la Bahía de Biscayne ya fue vendido a una promotora turística malaya y, por lo tanto, el periódico deberá mudarse.

(Raymundo Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

UTEP and El Paso provide the perfect crucible for a new kind of journalism in Borderzine

EL PASO – As the traditional delivery of news by newspapers and television stations weakened during the past decade, swept aside by the Internet and the Great Recession, a new medium driven by the college journalism classroom has gained strength in local news coverage. Our Internet magazine, Borderzine.com, published by the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as the keystone of its journalism curriculum is a good example of this new media concept that marries journalism training, local coverage, and funding from nonprofit organizations. The transfer of some traditional revenue sources to Internet media has forced some “old” media to cut staffs and curtail coverage. Some were forced into bankruptcy. While my alma mater, The Miami Herald is still in business, its publisher has announced that the majestic Herald building on Biscayne Bay was sold to a Malaysian resort developer and the newspaper will have to move out.

"Our job is to bring them (our customers) a piece of Juárez", said Omar Apodaca co-owner of La Choza. (Alexander Gandara/Borderzine.com)

Mexican businesses thrive in El Paso with support from their own network

EL PASO – New businesses and professionals resettling here from México have assimilated almost seamlessly into the local culture and economy in the last two years with the help and oversight of a close-knit network they formed to orient and advise them. Known as La Red, the organization with 300-plus members aims to assist its new immigrant middle-class membership with business and legal advice.  La Red includes business entrepreneurs, laywers, architects and other professionals. They help empresarios from Juárez transfer their businesses to El Paso using L1A visas.  In 2010 L1A visas were issued to 5,000  Mexican business professionals, according to the U.S. state department statistics. The L1A visa is a quicker way for professionals to establish residency for up to seven years and it allows them to bring children under the age of 21.  La Red retains lawyers who can help with the proper documentation. Once issued the visa, they must prove that the business is succesful.  The visa can be renewed every two years.

(Justin Anthony Monarez/Borderzine.com)

Soccer at the centerline en español

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.

Ciudad Juárez walls full of colors, late 90's. (Courtesy of Cheryl Howard)

La frontera de mi memoria

Traducido por César Silva Santisteban

Read this story in English

EL PASO – Deseo escribir sobre la frontera. Deseo escribir sobre ella sin llorar, pero eso no parece posible. Si todas nuestras lágrimas juntas cayeran sobre el Río Grande/Bravo irrigarían de nuevo su torrente. La edición «Mexodus» de Borderzine justo acaba de salir, y yo deseo leer y escribir acerca de todo esto sin llorar, pero no es posible. Mi amiga Georgina publicó un enlace hacia un artículo de El Diario que dice que 300 mil viviendas en Ciudad Juárez han sido abandonadas.

Mexican journalists are an endangered species

SAN DIEGO — Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights received 608 complaints of injuries against journalists, 66 murders of reporters, and 12 disappearances of journalists, between 2000 and 2011. “Drug dealers aren’t concerned about killing one reporter or 20 or 30 because nothing is going to happen to them,” said Jorge Luis Aguirre, editor of LaPolaka.com, a news web site that covers drug trafficking and related topics. Aguirre says the attacks and threats against journalists pose a threat to a free press in México and to the democratic institutions in that country. Aguirre was recently granted political asylum in the U.S. based on claims he received death threats from the state government of Chihuahua. The journalist continues working as the editor of LaPolaka.com from his residence in El Paso, Texas.

La Casa del Migrante alberga sufrimiento, ofrece esperanza

TIJUANA — Pasa la media noche y una camioneta blanca ahuyenta a los perros callejeros mientras se estaciona a dejar más migrantes que llegan cansados, hambrientos y otros hasta moribundos a la Casa del Migrante en Tijuana, Baja California. “Pedro” es un migrante que vivió por 14 años en Van Nuys, CA y prefirió guardar su identidad. Al tratar de regresar a California por Tecate, Baja California, con un grupo de ocho compañeros sus planes no fueron como planeaba. “Traían pistolas, inclusive me pusieron la pistola en la cabeza, una 3-57… ellos querían que dijera que yo era (el) guía y lo tuve que decir para que no me siguieran golpeando”, afirmó. Al intentar cruzar La Rumorosa, todos fueron secuestrados por un grupo de delincuentes.

Training program keeps international students in the U.S. after graduation

EL PASO — International students graduating from U.S. colleges can extend their stay legally and work in this country for one year by applying for the Optional Practical Training Program (OPT). “(OPT) is the only way we as international students can stay working legally in the US,” said Fernando Hernández, who graduated from UTEP this year with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems. “I am planning to stay in the U.S., going back to México will be like walking backwards.”

OPT offers F-1 visa students the opportunity to stay in the U.S. to work for a 12-month period in a field related to their degree. According to Carol Martin, assistant director of International Programs at the University of Texas at El Paso, the goal of OPT is not to extend the students time in the U.S., but to give them an opportunity to gain work experience in their field of study. “The goal of OPT is to give them practical training to help them be a better graduate,” Martin said. “The point of OPT is not for them to be in the U.S. as long as they can and to get a job, that is why it is not called optional practical employment.

(Raymundo Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

El Paso school districts have no idea how many new students fled Juárez

EL PASO — As the drug war rages on in México, the number of students that have enrolled in El Paso schools due to the violence remains unknown and unrecorded by schools. Ysleta and the Socorro Independent School Districts said there is no clear indication that people fleeing México to escape the violence have dramatically affected either district. “I know students are coming in from México, but I cannot say with any certainty and there is not any data that I can look at right now that tells me that we have grown by any significant number and that we can directly attribute that to students coming in from México to flee the violence,” said Hector Giron, director for Bilingual/ESL/LOTE Department for YISD. For students that have already made the transition to U.S. schools, the main challenge for them has been overcoming the language barrier. A junior from Montwood High School in the SISD, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he has been going to school in the U.S. for six years and due to his level of English he felt intimidated when he began school here.

El periodismo en México se ha convertido en oficio peligroso

SAN DIEGO — De acuerdo con la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos en México del año 2000 al 2011 se han recibido 608 quejas de agravio contra periodistas, 66 homicidios de comunicadores y 12 desapariciones. “Al narcotráfico no le interesa matar un periodista ó 20 ó 30 por que no va a pasar nada” afirmó Jorge Luis Aguirre, el editor de LaPolaka.com, una publicación en línea que cubre el narcotráfico y otros temas desde El Paso, Texas. Para Aguirre la democracia en México es un derecho donde cada vez es más difícil de encontrar ya que los medios han sido amenazados y callados por evitar la libertad de expresión y prensa en México. Aguirre obtuvo asilo político en Estados Unidos basado en sus declaraciones que había recibido una amenaza de muerte por parte del gobierno estatal de Chihuahua. Sigue trabajando como editor de LaPolaka.com desde su residencia en Texas.

Running from violence, young student finds cultural barriers in her new country

EL PASO — Mariana had always dreamt of her quinceañera party. For several months, she and her family planned the celebration, looked for the nicest dress and the best place, sent the invitations and ordered a big cake. But exactly 15 days before the big day, she was kidnaped from her home by a gang of thugs. On April 1st, 2009, 20 men dressed as Mexican police agents broke into her house in a small town in the state of Chihuahua, beat up her father and threatened him and the rest of the family. They took her away for two days and one night.

Inseguridad aumenta número de migrantes a Estados Unidos

CHIHUAHUA — El ultimo censo realizado por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), mostró que un total de 1 millón 112 mil 273 mexicanos viven en Estados Unidos, cifra que representa el 89.4 por ciento de los migrantes que dejan el país, en su mayoría de entre 14 y 24 años de edad. Según datos del Consejo Nacional de población, hay más 500 mil chihuahuenses residiendo en Estados Unidos. Entre las principales causas de la migración, históricamente se encuentra la búsqueda de empleo, a la que, en los últimos tres años, se suma la inseguridad. A pesar de los esfuerzos que las autoridades federales y estatales realizan en materia de seguridad, son muchas las personas que han tenido que abandonar el estado debido a problemas de esta índole, desde funcionarios públicos, como Marisol Valles García, ex directora de la policía de Práxedis G. Guerrero, quien recientemente solicitó asilo político al vecino del norte ante amenazas del crimen organizado, hasta familias de la localidad que están alejadas del ámbito político. Tal es el caso de Iván Zaldívar, un estudiante de 19 años de edad, ex alumno del Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Chihuahua.

El Centro Comercial San Lorenzo cerró su estacionamiento e instaló casetas para evitar los robos de autos y facilitar la detención de algún delincuente. (Gilda Moriel/Borderzine.com)

Surviving Juárez: Besieged residents and businesses devise strategies to stay safe in the violence-plagued city

Lea esta historia en español

CIUDAD JUÁREZ – María, a mother of four children and business owner, says her family has had to adopt “survival” measures to protect itself from the crushing daily violence plaguing her city. “We had to install a system of cameras that we monitor from home through the Internet,” said María, 54, who requested that her last name, details of her family and name of her businesses not be disclosed. This was after her family had to pay a “quota” when several of its businesses were targets of extortion, one family member was victim of an “express kidnapping,” and they realized their businesses were under constant surveillance by criminals. Subsequently, the family has contracted a security guard and installed alarms. By early afternoon, they lock the doors of their businesses and, as soon it starts to get dark, open the door only for known customers. They also removed business ads from the telephone directory and switched business and private telephone numbers to unlisted numbers.

Negocios juarenses huyen cuando clientes dejan de tocar a sus puertas

EL PASO – Durante los últimos tres años, los empresarios de Ciudad Juárez han vivido con el miedo de ser víctimas de la violencia que se ha apoderado de su ciudad. De acuerdo con la Cámara de Comercio de Juárez, más de 10,000 negocios en la ciudad han cerrado durante los últimos tres años debido a la violencia en  la ciudad. En una atmósfera que impide que cualquier negocio crezca, algunos empresarios han decidido ir en busca de mejores oportunidades en los Estados Unidos. Este es el caso de Inglés Individual, una franquicia de escuelas que abrirá sus puertas en El Paso en julio. “Si la situación no fuera tan dificil en Juárez, yo me hubiera quedado allá”, dijo Gustavo González, quien fundó Inglés Individual en noviembre de 1985, junto con sus hermanos, esposa y cuñadas.

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

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

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.

A store at Mercado Juárez. (Courtesy of Cheryl Howard)

The border of my memory

I want to write about the border. I want to write about it without crying, but that doesn’t seem possible. If all our collective tears fell into the Rio Grande/Bravo, it would be a raging torrent again. The Mexodus edition of Borderzine just came out, and I want to read and write about it without crying, but that doesn’t seem possible. My friend Georgina posted a link to an article from El Diario that says 300 thousand dwellings in Cd.

Mexodus: A student journalism project that truly crosses fronteras

EL PASO — This Sunday Borderzine goes to press with Mexodus, an unprecedented bilingual student-reporting project that documents the flight of middle class families, professionals and businesses to the U.S. and safer areas of México because of soaring drug cartel violence and widespread petty crime in cities such as Ciudad Juárez. We believe Mexodus sets the bar for future collaborate investigative journalism that builds bridges across academic, national and language borders, in this case English and Spanish, the U.S. and Mexico.  The web and digital technology facilitated the collaboration, as well as expertise from professional trainers from Investigative Reporters and Editors and research by Fundación MEPI in México City. The project received funding from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. The result is more than 20 stories in two languages, videos, slideshows, photos, info graphics and charts produced by participation from nearly 100 student journalists from four universities, University of Texas El Paso, California State University Northridge, and Tecnológico de Monterrey in Chihuahua and México City. Although it was difficult for students to quantify the dislocation of México’s middle class due to the violence –– researchers and demographers estimate the Mexodus at about 125,000 –– more empirical studies will likely reveal a larger number of refugees pushed out by growing violence, perhaps twice as many, according to some.

Negocio cerrado en la colonia Melchor Ocampo en Ciudad Juárez. (Cortesía de El Diario de Juárez)

Desplazarse o morir: Empresarios mexicanos migran por violencia e inseguridad

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — Edgar N. era un exitoso hombre de negocios del estado de Michoacán. Habiendo vivido en la entidad buena parte de su vida adulta, Edgar disfrutaba de la tranquilidad y ganancias que le generaba su empresa; al menos hasta hace 5 años, cuando se vio obligado por el crimen organizado a mudarse hacia el estado de Querétaro. Luego de ser víctima de extorsión por parte del narcotráfico, su negocio de exportación fue desmantelado; él, su esposa y su hijo, tuvieron que rehacer su vida entera en otra parte. “El negocio iba  bien,  facturaba 500 mil pesos mensuales; yo era de los competidores más fuertes en mi rubro en la región”, comenta el empresario. Michoacán nunca estuvo libre del crimen organizado, diferentes bandas criminales operaron el negocio de narcotráfico en el territorio, pero los traficantes de antes operaban como negociantes, explica Edgar.

(Raymundo Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

Mexicans seeking asylum: A facet of U.S.-Mexican political entanglements

EL PASO — A young policewoman feels trapped living in abysmal despair after fleeing a Mexican town near the border. She attempted to uphold the law in a society fed by narco-violence, but faced insurmountable opposition. Now, her only escape hinges on the uncertainty of the U.S. legal system. “You have to run away like a rat because you don’t know who to be careful from,” she said in resigned desperation. “You feel like everyone wants to kill you.”

This woman, who refused to provide her name because her life is in danger, has seen the worst of her society from the known criminals and those who are supposed to uphold justice.

(Raymundo Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

Mexodus: Mucha política y poca investigación

CIUDAD JUÁREZ — Rodolfo Rubio Salas es profesor e investigador de la Dirección Regional Noroeste del Colegio de la Frontera Norte de Ciudad Juárez. Con un postgrado en demografía y 16 años de experiencia en esta institución, Rubio Salas se especializa en cuestiones migratorias en zonas fronterizas y asegura que detrás de las diversas cifras que se han dado a conocer sobre el éxodo de personas de Ciudad Juarez a El Paso hay mucha política y poca investigación. Pregunta: ¿Qué piensa de lo que se dice acerca de la migración fronteriza en esta región? Respuesta: “Mira yo aquí en algunos sectores me convertí en persona non grata. Hubo un momento a principios del 2009 donde se hicieron muchísimas reuniones a las que venía el gobierno federal y uno se sentaba muy seriamente, pues las investigaciones son serias.

Juarez coach now trains long-distance runners at UTEP

EL PASO – The violence that overwhelms daily life in Ciudad Juarez didn’t stop Pedro Lopez from helping others pursue the dream of becoming world-class runners. But now he dreams of the American dream. “The violence in Juarez is crazy. It became a crazy city. I remember when I was young and I could go out at whatever time and come back home late and not have any problem.

El Karaoke-Lounge llega a El Paso

EL PASO — A unos segundos de pisar el escenario con el micrófono en la mano, la joven se mueve al ritmo de la música y entre gritos y aplausos de la audiencia toma un paso hacia adelante y comienza a cantar una de sus canciones favoritas. La audiencia  aplaude más y sus amigos esperan ansiosos para animar a quien en instantes se convertirá en una de las tantas aspirantes al canto. “La verdad es la primera vez que vengo a este lugar y el ambiente está padre y me agrada. No suelo cantar en público pero el ambiente aquí te motiva”, dijo Stephanie Gonzales, estudiante de El Paso Community College. De acuerdo con la Cámara Hispana de Comercio en El Paso el crecimiento dinámico de está ciudad ha sido acreditado a un comercio internacional con Ciudad Juárez.

Juarez violence pushes a pastor and his flock across the border

EL PASO – Because of a lawless environment in Juarez in which churches are forced to pay protection money to gangsters or else suffer terrible consequences, the congregation of the Centro Cristiano Familiar Vencedores church felt threatened. Gunshots would regularly disturb services and Pastor Ramiro Macias’ church didn’t know what to expect when strangers appeared at the church door. Macias recalled recently that family dinners would be interrupted by the sound of gunfire in the neighborhood and the doorbell of his house rang at 3 a.m. on a regular basis. Not knowing what they wanted or why, he wouldn’t open the door and his family endured the sleepless nights in fear. The murder of a church member was the dreadful, final act of violence that motivated him to move his family and his church to El Paso.

A young man struggles to rebuild his life after Juarez gunmen murder his father

EL PASO — Norberto Lee’s tranquil life was abruptly struck with tragedy when his father was shot and killed by masked gunmen in front of their place of business in Juarez after he refused to pay protection money to gangsters. For months his father had been receiving phone calls demanding payoffs. “The calls began after my dad arrived from a trip, but he only told one of my brothers who then told my mom and then she told me. I told the rest of my siblings and we thought it was best for him to come to El Paso,” said Lee. His father came to stay in El Paso for 10 days but felt uneasy and was unable to stay any longer.

Juárez business finds new life across the border

EL PASO – Drug-war violence has crippled the economy of Cd. Juárez sending many business owners packing along with their customers, to the safer sister city across the border. El Paso has become the beneficiary of that middle-class migration since the criminal activity began to escalate in 2008. Ke’ Flauta, for example, a restaurant in west El Paso, is one of many businesses that has fled from its original location in Juárez.  “Unfortunately, Juárez has gotten hit very badly with the violence. The economy is greatly affected and there are scary threats from extortionists against businesses all the time,” said Raul Aguilar, owner of Ke’ Flauta.

Businesses abandon a troubled Juárez as they follow customers to El Paso

Editor’s Note – This is another in a continuing series of Borderzine articles on the migration to the U.S. of Mexican middle-class professionals and business owners as a result of the drug-war violence along the border.  We call this transfer of people and resources, the largest since the Mexican Revolution, the Mexodus. EL PASO — With a black apron around his waist and a headset on his head, the expatriated Mexican teenager places the payment for a lunch meal in the cash-register just as the drive-through starts beeping to place the next order. “When my dad came here we didn’t had any money, no money at all,” said Jose Antonio Argueta, Jr., 19. “Me and my sister had to pay everything, the house, the cars everything we had.” With a serious tone, Argueta tells how his family struggled to establish their restaurant Burritos Tony here. “My dad started working at minimum wage earning maybe like two hundred a week.”

Argueta has been working at Burritos Tony for more than a year.