Baking bread may not seem synonymous with border identity, migrants’ rights or social protest through art, but the Ciudad Juárez bakery Panadería Rezizte combines all of these elements with the recipes passed down from owner ...
Kayla Gomez is making the roof shake. The force of her gloved fists against a heavy punching bag, hung from a wood ceiling beam, kicks up dust that’s blown into the carport-turned-boxing gym after weeks ...
The inspiration behind Jonna Perrillo’s latest book came when she discovered a black and white newspaper photograph in an El Paso history book of four girls on the Crockett Elementary School playground. “Which girls are ...
It’s the season for gingerbread and 34 gingerbread houses fill the lobby of William Beaumont Army Medical Center. The Fort Bliss hospital started a gingerbread house contest last year during the pandemic to raise spirits ...
Jackie, a mother from El Paso, created an account two years ago on OnlyFans, a subscription-based service where users or “fans” can pay to see content posted by creators. Content on the site includes videos, ...
CIUDAD JUAREZ — Vicente Ruiz touched the handmade bracelets he carried on a display board as he walked up and down Avenida Juárez. “My grandmother used to sew by hand,” Ruiz said. “I would ask ...
At 7 years old, Wilbur Coleman III, commonly known as “Bookie,” can say he is the founder of his own company. “This was all his idea,” said Chereè Coleman, Bookie’s mother and co-founder of Bookie ...
Winston Churchill once remarked, “We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us.” In El Paso, the buildings that help set the stages of our lives contain their own special histories and reflect the complex local ...
After being featured at this year’s New York Fashion Week in September, Imperial Legacy Clothing, an El Paso-based, Black-owned business, is experiencing an increase in growth and recognition. “It was amazing, it was crazy. We ...
Paulina Reza boarded a flight from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso in spring 2020. She flew from Ciudad Juárez to Mexico City, to Los Angeles, to Houston, and finally to El Paso, all so that ...
At least one El Paso school district is resisting a state Republican lawmaker’s inquiry into whether library or classroom books in its inventory deal with race and gender. Socorro Independent School District officials declined to ...
When Femme Frontera held its first filmmakers’ showcase in August 2016, it was supposed to be a one-time thing. Founder Angie Reza Tures wanted to share her new short film with friends and family, but ...
Along the border, residents and businesses are counting the days until the pandemic-related travel restrictions are lifted, allowing all fully vaccinated visitors to cross into the United States on Nov. 8. “We’re all excited that ...
Now through Dec. 31, you can have your membership support for El Paso Matters matched dollar for dollar, thanks to support from national foundations and generous El Pasoans. El Paso Matters is participating in the ...
By Veronica Martinez/La Verdad and Lauren Villagran/El Paso Times ENSENADA, Mexico — Kurt Turgasen took a swig from a cold Pacifico at a beachside bar lined with tourists speaking English, watching replays of NFL games. Pandemic ...
The United States will lift pandemic travel restrictions at border crossings with Mexico next month, reopening the border to fully vaccinated individuals and ending a virtual shutdown that separated families and hurt businesses that relied ...
The days of dialing seven digits to call your fellow El Pasoans are coming to an end. Beginning Oct. 25, all local calls in El Paso will require 10 digits — the 915 area code, ...
By Sara Sanchez/El Paso Inc. TRINIDAD, Colorado – When Shawn Tatum was first on his way to Trinidad five years ago, he realized he made a mistake. He meant to travel from Virginia to the ...
Growing up in El Paso in the 1980s, Cristina Ibarra couldn’t wait to get somewhere else. After graduating from Hanks High School, she made her way to the University of Texas at Austin and then ...
Ten El Pasoans will be featured at this month’s Texas Tribune Festival, an annual gathering focused on politics, public policy and current events. The event, normally held in Austin, is being conducted virtually Sept. 20-25 ...
An El Paso-based Black-owned business is getting national recognition this week during the iconic New York Fashion Week. Owned by brother-and-sister duo Faith and Marcus Smith, Imperial Legacy Clothing is featured in the “Emerging Artist” ...
In 2004, August was nationally recognized as Black Business Month after historian John William Timpleton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr. led an effort to raise awareness about Black-owned businesses and their contributions to the ...
On Aug. 6, Erica Marin began work as director of the El Paso Museum of History, and in so doing, carved out her own space in the museum’s nearly 50-year history — becoming the first ...
The tiny store on Calle Ecuador in Ciudad Juárez reminds Sylvia Fernández-Quintanilla of her grandparents, who she would stay with after school while her parents worked. Writing about her trips to the store, she was ...
Texas carries out more executions than any other state — by a long shot. More than 570 people have been executed by the state of Texas since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated the death ...
El Paso Matters has received a $1 million grant from the American Journalism Project, the first news organization in Texas to win support from the nation’s largest journalism venture philanthropy organization. The American Journalism Project ...
El Paso native Abeni Merriweather has become the youngest composer for major music publishing company Carl Fischer Music Company. “Everyone that does music obviously knows who Carl Fischer is. … It’s one of the most ...
Until recently, the Figure 2 Ranch was best known as the site of the last Native American battle against the Texas Rangers. Mescalero Apaches fought under the banner of their recently deceased leader Victorio in ...
El Paso’s Cinco Puntos Press, which began as a home-based business in 1985 and became one of the nation’s most influential independent book publishers, is being sold, co-owners Bobby and Lee Byrd announced on Monday. ...
Binational News Partnership
A unique binational news collaboration publishing stories about significant issues facing El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.The Puente News Collaborative is: La Verdad in Ciudad Juárez; and ABC 7, El Paso Inc., El Paso Matters, El Paso Times, Univision 26, KTEP public radio and Borderzine.com as part of the multimedia journalism program at UT El Paso.
Migration at the border: Reporting that covers the complex reasons that people migrate, and how governments respond.
Pandemic at the border: In-depth reporting that looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the resulting restrictions on border crossings has affected life in our region this year.
Borderland Coronavirus Updates
Become a Supporting Member
El Paso needs a nonprofit, member-supported digital news organization that dives into the complex issues shaping our region – and serves as a catalyst for solutions-oriented conversations. You can help by becoming a member of El Paso Matters today.
To donate, go to epcf.org/epmatters.
Tips, Submissions
Do you have a story tip you’d like El Paso Matters to pursue? A press release you’d like to share? A commentary you’d like us to publish? Send your ideas or submissions to news@elpasomatters.org.
By Sergio Troncoso We at the Texas Institute of Letters — the officers, council members, and ex-presidents — stand with TIL Member Bryan Burrough, and co-authors Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford, of “Forget the Alamo: ...