EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Lorenzo Garcia was able to bring his family to the Eastridge neighborhood 20 years ago with the dream of joining the community’s decades-long Christmas lights tradition.
The Eastridge subdivision that it’s located beside Eastwood High School, has been a staple holiday tradition of El Paso since the 60s.
The Garcia family household quickly became known for their unique theme years ago.
“Star Wars. When my dad first started it, Star Wars was a hit. That’s where we said, let’s be the first ones on the block to do it,” said Lori Rivero, Garcia’s daughter.
The house is decorated with custom-made wooden frames of old and new characters from the franchise, from Darth Vader to Kylo Ren.
However, less than a month ago, Garcia died unexpectedly the week after Thanksgiving, leaving a hole in the family this Christmas season.
“That kind of left us in a bind because he was always the leader to help us get it going. Everybody came together. My family members came, and even neighbors offered to help. My husband had to build frames and we got the decorations up within the week after that he passed. So, we did it just for him,” Rivero said.
The family was able to incorporate Garcia’s last idea into the house, snow covered trees.
Garcia’s grandson, Aiden Wardy, has been away for college in Abilene, TX, and explained it has been a difficult process, but has not let that bring his Christmas spirit down as he remembers his grandpa.
“I think that’s my fondest memory of just sitting down with my grandpa and just planning how we were going to deal with the traffic and the lights and just the little things that we do. We’d put up a fire in the backyard and just listen to the music as the cars were going through. It was always a fond memory with him,” recalled Wardy.
Rivero suggested that the best way to experience the Eastridge lights is by walking through the neighborhood to avoid the traffic.
She also invites the community to join them next week in their annual “Walk the Ridge” event, where they will offer hot chocolate and a starting point for people to begin their trip through the neighborhood.
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