El Paso News

By Ricardo Romo, PhD When Joe Lopez was growing up, the most popular Spanish language movie theaters located on the western edge of downtown, just west of the San Pedro Creek, featured the latest Mexican films and stars. These cultural architectural landmarks included the Zaragoza, El Nacional, and the Alameda theaters. The Alameda, with its… Read More Joe Lopez Keeps Latino Cultural Heritage Visible

By Ricardo Romo, PhD For border artists, many who incorporate imagery related to immigration, there has never been a more urgent time for artistic expression than now. El Paso has been one of the busiest immigration centers on the 2,000 mile international border as thousands of refugees arrive daily at this West Texas border station.… Read More Latino Art: A Visibility Issue

By Miguel Juárez, PhD On March 11, 2021, the third major pandemic aid law titled the “American Rescue Plan,” was signed into law by President Joe Biden.  This pandemic aid law aims to be different.  It hopes to have “more accountability, eligibility and reporting requirements than previous aid packages.”  The first pandemic aid law, the… Read More The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Arts: Will Creatives Receive the “Once-in-a-lifetime-funding?”

By Maria R Perez, MSSW I recently tuned in to the PBS program Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (S7E6 Country Roots). In this episode Dr. Gates had researched the ancestral histories of singers, Rosanne Cash and Clint Black. I enjoy this program for the authenticity it portrays. I’ve enjoyed other productions by… Read More PEOPLE OF COLOR – MATICES DE MI RAZA

The 23rd Day 0f the 3rd month, in the second year of the C-19 era. Dateline El Paso Texas … Home of the Amigo Man! H. W. “Bill” Sparks The world was already awake and a half-step ahead of me when I awoke this morning. The air outside was crisp and the skies were clear… Read More Dateline El Paso Texas … Home of the Amigo Man!

By Eva Ross 1889   Nelly Bly visits El Paso and Mexico writes pamphlet Six Months in Mexico. 1892   Sisters of St.Vicent de Paul purchase land for Hotel Dieu Hospital in El Paso, TX. 1894   Mary I. Stanton establishes first children’s library in the U.S in El Paso, TX.       1909    YWCA opened in… Read More El Paso Women’s History Timeline, One Version, March 1, 2021

SEEDS for Change, in collaboration with Mount Allison University and Framingham State University, are pleased to host las Krudxs Cubensi, as part of the Learning Without Border Initiative. Please share it among interested parties. Topic: Maternizando lo patriarcado (event in Spanish) Date: Thursday, February 25th, 2021 Time: 2:30pm (Atlantic Time, Canada) Registration is required:  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUuc-6orjMiHtd8C1YRVf5LaR38oxVzYBhh About Las… Read More SEEDS for Change: Learning Without Borders

The WILL Empower Apprenticeship Program is a paid opportunity for recent college graduates and rank-and-file activists to explore what it’s like to work for the labor and workers’ justice movement, and to gain the skills and knowledge needed to begin making a difference.  The Apprenticeship Program allows movement organizations to invest in the next generation… Read More WILL Empower is now recruiting the next generation of activists and apprenticeship host sites in preparation for its Fall 2021 class of apprentices

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs DHS Announces Process to Address Individuals in Mexico with Active MPP Cases WASHINGTON – Building on a series of Executive Orders last week, the Biden Administration is announcing another step in our phased strategy to reform the nation’s immigration system. Beginning on February 19, the Department… Read More DHS Announces Process to Address Individuals in Mexico with Active MPP Cases

By Marshall Carter-Tripp We are currently being urged to ask for curbside delivery of a book, to show our interest and support for the libraries. Let’s consider what this might mean.  People with inadequate access to the internet, in many poor neighborhoods of El Paso, are unable to locate books and order them.  And if… Read More Curbside service is NOT “re-opening the libraries!”

By Vona Van Cleef I am writing, once again, about what seems to be the City’s policy of cutting corners on El Paso’s cultural amenities and educational opportunities. For what? Spray parks? This seems a bit frivolous, doesn’t it, when libraries and museums are closed for want of funds? The latest assault on culture and… Read More To Whomever It May Concern, and I hope it concerns you all!

CHAMIZAL PARENTS HIGHLY CONCERNED EPISD DOES NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO OPEN SAFE SCHOOLS Douglass parents will hold a Press Conference Friday January 29, 2021 at 1pm via Zoom, to Demand Safe Schools! Children have returned to school in Douglas without a good health plan and this puts our entire community at risk. They are not… Read More FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RELEASED January 27, 2021 SAN MARCOS, TX – Award-winning author Sergio Troncoso, a son of Mexican immigrants who is now regarded as a major American writer from the American Southwest, has donated his literary papers to the Wittliff Collections. Born and raised in the El Paso neighborhood of Ysleta, Troncoso is a novelist, essayist, and… Read More Sergio Troncoso Donates his Archive to The Wittliff

U.S. and Mexico Must Work Jointly to Restore Asylum Access and Center Human Rights, Safety in Migration Policies January 26, 2021 WOLA condemns and expresses its profound sorrow at the discovery of 19 murder victims in a burned truck in the northern Mexican border state of Tamaulipas on January 22. The victims are believed to be Guatemalan migrants, based… Read More WOLA Statement – Reported Massacre of 19 People Underscores Dangers Faced by Migrants in Mexico

Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Help for 11-Million Immigrants and Other Executive Actions Long Overdue WASHINGTON, D.C. — The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has issued the following statement on President Biden’s executive actions proposing new laws that will give undocumented immigrants the chance to become citizens and create… Read More LULAC Welcomes President Biden’s Immigration Plan

By Rosemary Neil Tomorrow I will mail my check in payment for my property taxes.  With that in mind, I would like to know the timeline for the restoration of library services, which I consider essential for a well-managed city. Quality of life services were gutted by our city to address revenue shortfalls.  Ten months… Read More Furloughed City Employees Deserve to Know When They can Return to Work

By Marsha Labodda Dear Mayor Leeser, I want to express my condolences to you losing your mother and brother to Covid. It’s unfortunate that we are losing so many before their time. The distribution of vaccines has been a mess! So disorganized! Now, I read that Tracy Jerome is in charge of the vaccines due… Read More 400 Furloughed City Employees Amid a Budget Surplus – When Are They Going Back to Work?

This letter was sent to Mayor Oscar Leeser and our eight El Paso City Council Representatives By Gretchen Trominski We, supporters and volunteers of the eight active Friends of the El Paso Public Library groups on behalf of the furloughed employees of the city’s Library Department, are seeking your  action. As the city continues to… Read More We Need to Reopen Our Libraries: A Detailed and Comprehensive Plan for Reopening the Libraries is Needed

Little miracles Hoping for succor, promises pinned to purple velvet. Arms, hands,legs, and backs dangle from ribbon, unblinking eyes tied to statues,a show and tell for saints and God. Candles smoulder. Candles turned upside down until what was lostis found, wagers made with the Paduan, pleas to restore tranquility,if not possessions mislaid or love stolen.… Read More Little Miracles: Poem by Donna Snyder

Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Applauds Biden-Harris Road Map as Fulfilling Moral Obligation WASHINGTON, D.C. — The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has issued the following statement on President-elect Joe Biden’s release of a detailed plan his administration intends to start immediately after his inauguration to deal with the impact… Read More LULAC Supports $1.9 Trillion Recovery Plan By President-Elect