Hola El Paso

to the post office

"is this gonna last forever?"

El Paso/Juarez - one city, two countries. A river that divides. An un-crossable bridge for many.

Here on the north shore of the Rio-Grande, like any other American city, locals enjoy relative security, clean, paved streets, parks and buildings lit up with bright (mostly incandescent) Christmas lights, colleges and universities and a thriving arts and music scene. With 80% of the population Spanish-speaking Chicanos (born in the US of Mexican parents), El Paso sometimes feels like it belongs on the other side of the border. Especially in the down-town core with it's shops full of cheap crap - jeans and hair-extensions, markets full of tortillas and chillies, and the Spanish language everywhere. Welcome to Amexica.

A jaunt across the bridge however quickly proves the distinction of the two sides when more than the name of the river changes. South of the Rio Bravo there is no security, there are few paved roads and there are no Christmas lights, except for the giant Texas lone-star, lit up on a northern mountain overlooking the south. A constant reminder - a snubbed nose - to those who can't cross. Where corrupt police officers are laid-off and join the ranks of the drug cartels who really rule the streets, locals are living in fear. When you're lost in the rain in Juarez these days, whether it's Easter time or not, you better find your way out. With over 100 murders a month, since March, it's a full-on war, and instead of allowing "refugees" north of the border, the Americans are building a wall. No where else in the world does such a rich nation share a border with such a poor one.

We were lucky enough to meet Sam, an American former volunteer at the Annunciation House (a transition house for Mexicans crossing over) who was back in town to visit friends. He offered to take us over to Juarez for the morning to visit Peter and Betty, an 85 year old Carmalite priest and a 75 year old nun, as well as Estelle and Berta, two women raising families in Anapra on the outskirts of Juarez and both strongly involved with women's empowerment and community initiatives.
Peter and Betty have been living a simple life in Juarez for the past 13 years doing social justice work in the community through the church. They talked a bit about the recent rise in violence, much between the Narcos, with one cartel currently trying to oust the other from the area. There have also been many threats to the more wealthy - doctors and teachers - demanding money for "protection." Then of course the women - mostly young, beautiful girls working in the Maquilas (American factories built just south of the border taking advantage of cheap wages). Over 1400 women have been murdered in Juarez since the mid-90s.
Estelle and Berta live in Anapra where many houses are built with old pallets covered with tar paper. They belong to a women's group that raised enough money to build a centre where they have a small garden and offer herbology and computer classes, host children's camps, and build composting toilets to sell to the larger community. The whole morning in Juarez was a total inspiration and we had a two-hour wait on the bridge to contemplate it all.

El Paso has been a real surprise for us. Danielle and I imagined ourselves hanging out at Miriam's house doing crafts all day. And while we have done a bit of that, we've also met lots of great folks in town and seem to have immersed ourselves into the local "scene". It probably helped that for our first week here we were riding around with Ryan and his tall bike.

We met Ryan and Krystee in Austin and hung out with them for most of our time there. They love dumpster diving possibly more than we do, and we'd spend our days biking the streets, loading up with pizza and produce to make delicious meals and long leisurly breakfasts. We went swimming at Barton Springs, held signs for $7/hour one day, worked on bikes at the Rhizome, and checked out the many urban farms and the farmers market. Austin is an oasis in the desert.
Ryan and Krystee are traveling the states in a cozy converted school bus that made the 12 hour drive to El Paso totally enjoyable. We found magic with them here, from witnessing a very tribal dance on the steps of the cathedral for Guadalupe day, to an open-mic night where I read a poem and Krystee sang, to a jam night under the stars overlooking the city, to our night playing stic-n-poke, when we each got a tattoo - a forever reminder of this journey. We were sad to see them go but now have great friends from Chicago.

It's so nice to be here with Miriam in her setting, watching her wearing scrubs and playing with placentas. I'm so proud of her...she works like a maniac and is still finding time to hang out with us and show us an amazing time. We've been having a blast, making food, going on hikes, riding bikes, playing dress-up. We plan to hang around until Christmas before heading into Mexico.

Many warm wishes during these short days of holiday craze. Happy Solstice...the return of the light. Much love my friends.
-Sheri