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El Paso, TX Temperature is used a lot in describing El Paso, TX. Especially if it’s elevated. The people? Warm. The weather? Warm in the winter. Hot in the summer. But – all together now – “It’s a dry heat.” The food? Hot! Appropriate in a community of 700,000 that probably grows more chile than it has water. But thermometers only measure one thing, and in a city that takes pride in its multiculturalism, one of anything isn’t enough, even if it’s the city itself. El Paso is on the front line of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has paved the way for unprecedented exchange of manufactured goods, materials and natural resources between Mexico and the United States. El Paso has been a willing and able partner in the venture, too. Being a channel for commerce was one of the original reasons for the city’s existence as a major stop along the Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe. Today the transportation industry is still one of El Paso’s biggest employers, and either side of Interstate 10 – which runs parallel with the border – bristles with industrial parks, railroad tracks and tractor-trailers brimming with goods. As a matter of fact, to get the true feel of El Paso, you have to venture away from the bustling highways. There are beautiful turn-of-the-(19th) century houses and neighborhoods. A trip into the upper valley will yield a harvest of rolling chile and cotton farms and pecan orchards. There’s history – over 400 years of it, beginning with the first Thanksgiving celebrated on American soil in May of 1598, albeit by Spaniards led by the man who dubbed the place El Paso del Norte (Pass of the North), Don Juan de Oñate. From Spanish conquest, Westward Expansion and the Industrial Revolution to NAFTA and the home of America’s air defense artillery; from the Old – and certainly wild – West, to a modern, easy-going city that many residents view as an ideal of interracial harmony in an increasingly multicultural America, El Paso has seen it all. John Wesley Hardin, the infamous 19th-century gunslinger immortalized in the Time-Life “Old West” book series commercials as the man “so mean he once shot a man for snoring,” (which is true, incidentally) is buried in historic Concordia Cemetery which lies right off Interstate 10. The Mission Trail, which runs along the road used to connect Spanish missions in El Paso’s lower valley, is visited by thousands each year. There’s culture, too, and lots of it. El Paso is home to numerous well-known artists. The late Tom Lea, one of America’s greatest painters of Western art, called El Paso home, as does one of the biggest present-day names in American literature, Cormac McCarthy. And, of course, there’s the delicious Mexican food that seems to permeate the very fabric of life in El Paso – which is also why you shouldn’t wear white when you order the combo plate. Anybody who doubts the power of good Mexican food should rent the movie “Like Water for Chocolate.” If exploring history and culture isn’t necessarily your thing, check out Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, just over the state line in Sunland Park, NM. Video gambling, live pari-mutuel horse racing (November to March), and lots of simulcast wagering from the biggest tracks around the country are all part of the package 364 days a year. El Paso also offers great weather for golfers from all over the world with lots of quality golf courses across the city. For more information on local events, restaurants, museums and hot spots, visit the El Paso Convention & Visitors Bureau website at www.elpasocvb.com. And don’t forget to tuck in your napkin. El Paso Soccer While many other American communities might struggle to identify with the World’s Game, the nation’s largest border city has no such identity crisis. This is a city that openly loves, plays, follows and appreciates the game of soccer. Any walk through an exceptionally lively downtown or any shopping center will render sightings of “futbol” jerseys from around the world. Though 90 percent of the jerseys bear the colors of the giants of the Mexican First Division, it’s reassuring for any soccer fan to find the game has a real presence north of the Rio Grande. Soccer fans in El Paso don’t have to search far to find the game on the tube, either; nor do they require cable or DSS. Plenty over-the-air stations from Mexico carry top-level soccer action from all over the world. Despite being burdened with a spring season at the high school level, El Paso’s prep teams consistently produce quality soccer players, some of whom find their ways to college and professional rosters across the United States. Though UTEP has had a former college club champion (1989), soccer is not a varsity sport for men. As such, some El Paso men have had to pursue different opportunities in the game, such as the Patriots, El Paso’s second division professional soccer franchise. El Paso Patriots The Patriots, a member of the United Soccer League’s A-League, will participate in their 15th USL season in 2003 as the oldest continuously-existing franchise in the league. Founded in 1989 as the El Paso Six-Shooters, an original member of the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, the team was purchased in 1991 by El Paso entrepreneur Enrique Cervantes and renamed Patriots to honor the Scud-busting U.S. Army missile made famous in the Persian Gulf War, and headquartered at Fort Bliss in El Paso. The franchise’s proudest moment occurred in 1995, when the Patriots and the Richmond Kickers became the very first professional franchises to compete in the finals for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Then a third division side competing in the USISL, the Patriots defeated two second division A-League teams (Colorado and Seattle) to earn the right to face fellow USISL member Richmond for the Cup. Though El Paso hosted the championship at the Socorro Student Activities Complex, drawing a crowd of nearly 8,000 fans, the Patriots lost on penalty kicks after drawing, 1-1. However, perhaps the Patriots franchise’s greatest accomplishment is that Cervantes, himself a former professional soccer player in Mexico, has made it the team’s mission to field a side made up of mostly local talent. El Paso’s Kirk Wilson, an All-A-League player in the late 1990’s with the Patriots and a Texas state high school tournament champion, parlayed his success with the franchise into a Major League Soccer roster spot with the Dallas Burn and into MLS’ Project 40. El Pasoans have also had success in utilizing experience earned with the Patriots internationally. Patriot forwards Omar Mora and Jose Lomeli were two of the main scoring threats helping CD Zacatepéc earn promotion from the Mexican Second Division under former Patriots coach Carlos Bracamontes last season. Cervantes’ passion for the game is also evident in the Patriots home next to one of his businesses, as he took an empty, trash-strewn lot next to the team’s main office and built a small but immaculate soccer field. In a warehouse behind the Patriots’ main office, Cervantes constructed a training area complete with universal and free weights, exercise machines, showers and a locker room just for his team. The franchise has also established the Patriots Soccer Academy, looking to continue the tradition of cultivating local talent, with current Patriots players and coaches teaching the game to children from around the area. Colors: Red, White & Blue The Patriots have utilized a number of venues in their existence, but the team’s probable new home field may be the one that brings the recognition (and fans) for which the organization has been striving. The Sun Bowl Soccer-sized by UTEP in 2001 in the hopes of hosting quality exhibitions with recognized soccer names from around the globe, the Sun Bowl will be the Patriots’ new venue. Cervantes and UTEP have worked on an agreement that will be mutually beneficial to both parties, with the Patriots getting a much-needed dose of promotion from UTEP’s contacts in local media and standing advertising contracts. Also, in the Sun Bowl, the Patriots would play in a stadium immediately recognizable to all El Pasoans. During its expansion the university also put down the new AstroPlay artificial surface, which is as close to the real thing as plastic can get. Though immense in comparison to the Patriots former venues, the plentiful parking, accessibility and overall image of the stadium will be a huge plus. Directions to the Sun Bowl From I-10 East: Proceed east to Schuster Blvd./UT-El Paso exit…Make left turn at Schuster/Sun Bowl intersection. From US-54 South: Proceed south to I-10, keeping right as southbound US 54 splits in two to accommodate merging interstate highway traffic…See “From El Paso International Airport” above. Ample parking can be found on the south and north sides of the stadium. Dudley Field Dudley’s location near the border in south central El Paso was a good one for soccer fans from Cd. Juárez coming north, but thought to be an undesirable location for many El Pasoans looking for better parking, better facilities and a better part of town. But Patriots players prefer the beautiful natural grass surface, rated as one of the best in the league by opposing coaches and players, as well. Cervantes has poured a great deal of money into Dudley to dress the 80-plus-year-old facility up. The locker rooms were redone before last season and a mobile home was brought in and revamped to accommodate the press, which was previously relegated to a tiny, unventilated portable. Dudley Field has been home to many of the Patriots greatest successes, including the key 1-0 win over Seattle in the 1995 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals. Directions to Dudley Field From I-10 East: Proceed east to Raynolds Blvd. exit…At Raynolds intersection turn right…Proceed south to Paisano Blvd....At Paisano turn right and proceed to Dudley Field. From US 54 South: Proceed south through I-10 intersection toward international bridge…After I-10 intersection, take care to keep right to find Paisano exit, as US 54 south continues to the international bridge…At Paisano exit, turn left and proceed to Dudley Field. Restaurants Mexican Lucy’s Café (West) Lucy’s Kitchen (East) Forti’s Mexican Elder La Hacienda American Jaxon’s Jaxon’s Brewery Italian Accommodations The El Paso Marriott (Downtown) (Sun Bowl) Holiday Inn – Sunland Park |