El Paso at Night by Satxvike
This stunning photo of downtown El Paso was taken by a fellow El Pasoan who goes by the name Satxvike on Flickr. He has many other great photos on flickr and his profile pic is Shemp Howard so, in my book, he’s a man of fine taste.
I was born and raised in that city, and although I haven’t lived there for over thirteen years, I still consider it home. Lately, El Paso has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. CNN newsman Anderson Cooper spent a couple days there last week reporting on the drug-related violence along the US-Mexico Border. Most of Cooper’s coverage focused on the drug-trade, kidnappings, and, “how the violence threatens America.” The violence in Mexico is real and important, but there is more to El Paso than drugs and guns.
I’m glad some attention is being paid to these darker issues, but it’s important to note that El Paso has more to offer than wicked tales of mass graves sites and beheaded police officials. In spite of the mayhem across the Rio Grande, El Paso itself remains one of the safest cities of its size in the US, and El Pasoans are amongst the most hospitable and generous folks I know.
Here are a few stories that don’t involve drug-related violence and will hopefully shed light on some of the brighter aspects of the Sun City.
Jem Ministries is a project started in 1996 by Jesus and Maria Ruiz. They have spent the last 13 years feeding thousands of poor children in Juarez. The Ruiz’s regularly make trips across the border into Juarez to make donations to the many poor children of that city. The Ruiz family was honored by CNN in 2008, and recently the family was the subject of an ABC Home Makeover.
Vanity Fair’s Andi Teran (another former El Pasoan) recently wrote a fascinating article on the budding music scene out in our west Texan town. Andi suggests that musicians have embraced El Paso’s “live and let live” attitude and made the city their home. Or, if not their home, at least a place to make and play their music. Everyone from Ministry’s Al Jourgensen to the Clash’s Paul Simonon, Conor Oberst, Beck, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Tom Waits have played/recorded/lived in El Paso, or in nearby Tornillo where Tony Rancich’s Sonic Ranch has been a comfy home to musicians for years.
Last year, my brothers and I made a trip back home to see Tom Waits. We were surprised and excited that he selected the Plaza Theater for one of the sites of his Glitter and Doom Tour. The show was a blast and local music writer, Doug Pullen had a one of the best post-show reviews. Pullen has a good take on the Vanity Fair Article too. He mentions some of the earlier musical heroes like the Bobby Fuller Four and HR of Bad Brains that Teran missed in her piece. Doug’s blog is a good one that I read often. It’s worth a look, here.
Finally, a post about El Paso, would not be complete without a note about food. Needless to say, I could (and probably will) go on forever about this topic. But, for now, I’ll make a mention of a few of the better places to eat in El Paso. Of course, the first place I go for soulful cooking is my mom’s house. Beyond mom’s cooking, Kiki’s is my favorite place for Tacos and Mexican food in general. The taco place most people mention is Chico’s. I was never a huge fan, but it seems inappropriate to have a post about food and not mention them. They have a facebook profile and even have a wikipedia entry. If I’m going to have fast-food tacos in El Paso, I much prefer El Taco Tote or Tacos de Don Ben (Ben’s Tacos doesn’t have a website, but I think they should). For steak, there is no place better than Cattleman’s at the Indian Cliff’s Ranch in nearby Fabens, Texas.
