Across New Mexico and into Arizona

I left El Paso on a beautiful Tuesday morning. I rode out Mesa Rd. until it turned into Hwy 2 and then into Hwy 478 heading north towards Los Cruces and then west on I-10 to Deming, New Mexico. The beautiful tree below was from a road just southwest of Los Cruces which can be seen in the background.


About 10 miles west of Los Cruces I went through a border patrol checkpoint on I-10. It was surreal to do so on a bike. They just waved me through.

It was a great day for riding with the air cool and the sun out but its heat muted by passing clouds. All day long I was happy that my tires were holding out, until about 5 miles from Deming my back tire went low on air. I decided to just add air and ride fast so i could wait to change it once I found my lodging for the night.

At the Motel 6 off the first exit in Deming, I ate, worked on some student grad school recommendations, then sat on the curb of a gas station so I could hitchhike on the La Quinta internet. When I finally got around to fixing the flat I noticed that my rear wheel was no longer true. it was wobbly and rubbing against the rear fender. I spent some time trying to adjust it but to no avail. A quick look on the internet revealed that there were not any bike shops for miles and miles around. I took off and discarded the rear fender and decided I had no choice but to try and ride it into Tucson--2 days away.

I had an ambitious day planned for Wednesday. My goal was to go 135 miles to Willcox, AZ. The wobbly wheel felt okay but my speed was decreased by this and the steady upwards climb as I once again passed over the Continental Divide. Ni modo, I thought. I'll just go slow and steady and get there by 8:00 or so. Oh, before I forget, about 15 mils from Deming I realized that I'd left my KamelBak in the motel. No way am I goin back, I thought. I didn't think it prudent to add 30 miles (2 to 2.5 hours or more) to my trip on an already long day. I made a note to drink and refill my water bottles at every stop. I actually felt lighter and cooler without this on my back.

And then it happened. I had my first flat of the day about 5 miles from the Tucson state line. No problem, I had three more tubes. Well, even though I'd added a new tire liner for flat protection the night before I started having a series of flats that made me adjust my goals for the day. By the time I go to San Simon, I'd used all my tubes and was riding and then adding air every 10-15 minutes. I ended up walking the bike in the last 5 miles to a truck stop on the far side of San Simon. Small town. Very small. No lodging. Ok, at least there was a 24 hour truck stop. After several hours of resting, eating, and piddling with the bike some more, I realized I was stuck for the night and went behind a vacated gas station and set up my tent in the desert brush. It was cool, but ultimately ok. I was more worried about getting hassled by some of the multitude of border patrol in the area than I was animal life--though the next day I was to learn that there are lots of wild javelina in the area. What you don't know can't scare you. I got up before seven the next morning, ate breakfast and showered at the truck stop and tried to look at my problem from a fresh perspective. The tire shop next door said there was nothing they could do for me so I set up a sign asking for a ride on my bike and called Sandy in Tucson to let her know that I might need a ride. One of the clerks told me that if I didn't get a ride by 2:00 when she got off work, she'd take me 35 miles up the road to Willcox. So that's what happened. It was rainy and very cool all day. I finished reading Running with Scissors while I waited for Sandy and Miranda to come get me after their classes--about 6:00. Once again, I ended up not making it all the way into the city on my own leg power--this time due to mechanical problems.

I'm in Tucson now. The rear wheel had to be replaced again. Turns out the one I got in San Antonio was only a single wall frame and it was warped beyond repair. Picked up a new rear tire for good measure and more tubes of course. I am tired and frustrated beyond belief with these ongoing problems. The only consolation I get is to learn that it's not something I'm doing that causing the problem. Met a young woman working at Ordinary Bicycle Shop here in Tucson who told me about a solo trip she took this summer from Columbus, Ohio to Tucson. I gave her my info and asked her to write me so I could link her MySpace page to the blog. This is where she kept the blog of her trip.

More on what I'm doing here next entry.
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(DRAFT) Struggles in the Borderlands: Working for Justice in El Paso

The many faces of El Paso: A scenic view, a view of the smelter that has been a source of environmental pollution for years, a rare November snow, and the Spanish-English newspapers (El Diario and El Paso Times) that offer two very different views of the city.

(Photo of Dr. Chavez-Leyva taken from http://www.elpasotexas.gov/library/archive/2007/news020707.asp)

My time in El Paso was short but intense at multiple levels. It was made particularly productive and easy by the presence of friends and family. I spent Friday evening and part of Saturday as guest of UTEP Chicana historian Yolanda Chavez Leyva and her artist- photographer friend Lucia. Over a wonderful home-cooked breakfast on Saturday morning I interviewed Yolanda about her work with Paso del Sur, an emergent organization founded to resist the urban renewal plans crafted by the city’s political and business elites who crafted a redevelopment plan for the downtown area and the historical segundo barrio adjacent that sits adjacent to it. The plan was developed and subsequently adopted by the city council without input from residents and has proven to be quite controversial because it involves the displacement of numerous people and re-design of the neighborhood that would destroy the barrio’s structural and historical integrity.

Paso del Sur website: http://www.pasodelsur.com/




Thanks to my father I had the wonderful opportunity to meet some 3rd cousins of mine for the first time while in El Paso. Lupe and Jesse Vega and their mother Paula (my paternal grandmother's sister) spent part of Saturday with me sharing familial history and their views on how El Paso has changed since they moved their in 1946 from Houston.

A view across the fence into Juarez along Paisano Rd. and a mural in Central El Paso off Piedras St.

Veronica Carbajal, a former student of mine who is now a lawyer with the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid office and chair of the local ACLU chapter also hosted me in El Paso and took lots of time from her busy schedule to give me a tour and set up meetings with people. Born in EP, Vero grew up in Juarez and attended schools in El Paso. She has returned to her hometown to provide leadership and advocacy in several areas, including Environmental Justice and Housing. More on my conversations with Veronica soon. Pictured above to her right is Kevin McCary, also a TRGLA lawyer specializing in immigration. Over lunch at Mujer Obrera he discussed some of the cases he has worked on in this area as he assists individuals struggling to work their way through the complex bureaucratic system.

In the photos below in segundo barrio and the downtown area one can see the vibrancy of the neighborhood and visible signs of resistance against the development plan.















I had an inspiring and informative discussion with Carlos Marentes at farm worker center and safe haven in Segundo barrio located near one of the bridges and next door to a border patrol office. See videos below for segments.


Carlos Marentes (Part I): Centro de Los Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos from Louis Mendoza on Vimeo.




A very full Monday ended with a fantastic discussion with the amazingly committed staff at the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project who took time to share their work, some of the legal and advocacy cases they pursue on behalf of individuals and policy reform and why they do this seemingly endless work. (Right to left: Brianna Stone, Gabby Garcia, Paulina Baca, and Valerie Noche, an intern with the Jesuit corps from N. California.) (More details soon.)



If you're interested in seeing more of my conversation with Carlos Marentes you can go here: http://www.vimeo.com/409602
It's a long video (15 minutes).

Across West Texas and News Bulletin from El Paso

A UFO? No, just the moon. Where's the snow I ask?

It's Thanksgiving and I spent my day riding a bus to El Paso and coming back in a car to get my bike. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were long days of 85, 100, and 108 miles each. As I worked my way west, I kept my eye on the weather because I had seen that a cold front was due on Thursday that would take temperatures down into the 40s. No problem, I thought. At least not until I saw that projections had changed to temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s with snow or freezing rain in Fort Stockton and Van Horn. Uh, uh. Not interested in riding in that all given that there is so little shelter, food, or resting places out here. Something very obvious to me each day. I decided I had to make a plan since my goal as to be in El Paso for the weekend and in Tucson by the end of next week. Now that I have an end date set, I feel some pressure to keep my schedule.

So I planned ahead and got a Motel 6 room for 2 nights and a bus ticket for T-day. No snow or rain today, but the cold wind was very present. In fact, my ride to Fort Stockton on Wednesday was slowed down considerably as I could only go about 6-7 mph for 6 hours as the road turned into the cool but not yet cold northern wind. As i rode on the bus I couldn't help but wonder if I should have tried riding. When we stopped in Van Horn and I felt the strong winds, I couldn't imagine how I would've made 120 miles today.

Some observations about W. Texas culture and sports
If you ever read the book, saw the movie or t.v. series, Friday Night Lights, you'll know what I mean when I say that high school football is where it's at in these small towns. As I sat in a small store and ate the other day I read the Fort Stockton Pioneer (newspaper) and marveled at how in a report on a local high school football game in the Permian Basin (between Fort Stockton and Odessa) 12 out of 13 athletes named as stars of the game were Spanish surnames. The rest of the newspaper was also full of news of the Mexican American community: reports from the docket of a Spanish surnamed judge, arrests, a profile of Leonor Villegas, a famous Mexicana living in Laredo at the turn of the century and active in supporting the Mexican Revolution from this side of the border (she was featured as a famous Texas pioneer woman).

As I surmised earlier, this is not the West Texas of old. Twice on my ride here, folks pulled over on the highway and offered me a bottle of water and inquired about my ride. On Tuesday, two sheep ran along the fence with me until they could go no more. Later that night, when I was still riding into the dark a bit as I approached Ozona, I looked to my left to see what was rustling in the grass next to me and I looked into the eyes of a deer. Startled, I stopped. He looked at me and then bounded off to the left into the dark.

Here's a video of my ride on Tuesday morning. Below this is a notice about the the ongoing land displacement of people in Juarez. You can refer back to the earlier posting on the valley where I posted an alert about the forced displacement of native peoples in the Lower Rio Grande Valley occurring to make way for the proposed fence.

Near Juncton TX from Louis Mendoza on Vimeo.


News from El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, and southern New Mexico

“It’s the same plan on both sides of the border” says Cristina Coronado, a member of La Otra Campaña in Ciudad Juárez. “It’s the same land speculators who sit on each others boards and who are carrying out large-scale displacement, land grabs and violation of human rights. If the powerful are organized at a binational level, then those of us at the bottom also need to join together. We need to form binational coalitions against el despojo—against the theft of our homes and our barrios—that is being carried out in the name of regional development.”

I know that people don’t like to read long emails. But so much is going on in our regional community (El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, and southern New Mexico) that deserves our attention and our action that I am sending out this information in the hopes that you will take a few minutes from your busy lives to read it. The people on this mailing list are people involved in healing, in recovering and maintaining the traditional ways of our ancestors, and in working for justice.

Our communities need us right now-- our work, our hope, our support, and our voices. Be a voice for justice.

We invite you to attend a forum on December 1 to be held outside the fence Lomas de Poleo in Ciudad Juárez at 10 a.m. The event will be a cultural political event in support of the residents of Lomas de Poleo who are fighting for their lives and their homes. We call the poets, the artists, the musicians, and all voices for humanity to join us. We want the world to know that the people of Lomas de Poleo are not alone.

For more information please see http://alertalomasdelpoleo.blogspot.com/

Last Monday night over 200 people attended a forum held at UTEP, “What side of the fence are you on? Lomas de Poleo and Segundo Barrio under Siege.” The gathering was historic, bringing together residents of both communities who find themselves threatened by the plans of wealthy developers and businessmen on both sides of the border.

Many of us are familiar with Lomas de Poleo because of the femicides. What many of us are not aware of is the fact that the powerful Zaragoza family continues to use violence, armed guards, arson, and murder to force the people out of their homes. They have put up a barbed wire fence around the community and posted guards. While residents are at work, men hired by the Zaragozas destroy their homes. There have been several deaths associated with these efforts to displace residents.

(See http://www.pasodelsur.com/news/thelomasplan.html and the Jornada article at

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/07/30/036n1est.php)

Monday night’s testimony of the residents, as well as two Catholic priests who have witnessed the on-going threats and harassment against our neighbors, was heart breaking. We learned that Monday morning, a university professor and his forty students, including a pregnant woman, who had assembled outside the fence at Lomas de Poleo were physically and verbally assaulted by Zaragoza ’s guards.

Why do the Zaragozas want the land at Lomas de Poleo? Because the land sits on the proposed site of a huge highway that will be built as part of an international crossing. Lomas de Poleo finds itself caught in between the bi-national development plans of Bill Sanders ( Santa Teresa , NM ) and the Zaragoza group ( San Jeronimo , Chihuahua ).

The links between developers on both sides of the border are striking. Bill Sanders, father-in-law of city representative Robert O’Rourke whose district includes el Segundo Barrio, is founder of the Verde Group as well as the Paso del Norte Group (PDNG). The PDNG is the force behind the “downtown plan” that includes the displacement of Segundo Barrio residents and the demolition of a large part of the barrio.

Sanders, working with powerful Mexican businessman Eloy Vallina, is also behind a bi-national development plan that runs the length of the U.S.-Mexico border. Sanders and Vallina both sit on the board of Verde. They are both members of the Paso del Norte Group.

Vallina, his family and their businesses are directly responsible for the extensive logging that has destroyed the environment of the Sierra Tarahumara. Illegal logging, often connected to narco-trafficking, has forced thousands of Raramuri people out of their homes in the Sierra and into Ciudad Chihuahua and Juárez where they struggle to maintain their language and their culture, in the face of poverty and unemployment. Raramuri activists have been jailed for organizing against the huge logging interests in la Sierra; others have been killed.

(See http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/apr-may03/feat2.html for a 2003 article on Tarahumara activists arrested for their anti-logging activities.)

The politicians and the wealthy developers try to tell us that there are no connections but we, as people of conscience, know that we are connected to our sisters and brothers on both sides of the border.

We hope to see on December 1 at 10:00 at Lomas de Poleo.

Spread the word—let all of us speak for justice.

Yoli Leyva c/s on behalf of the women of Zihuatekpahtzin

zihuatekpahtzin@yahoo.com

The Final Phase

I’ve a lot more to say about my time in San Antonio and the valley, and I hope to finalize my draft entry soon. For now, I feel compelled to share how I’m feeling as I began my trek across West Texas.

Having spent two weeks in Texas, leaving San Antonio was both exciting and daunting. Exciting because I sense that I’m going to finish what I’ve started here and I’m excited about that as well as just being done. Being on the road this long has been exciting but it’s taken its toll on me. I am tired and long for being in my own bed in my own house and in familiar surroundings. Seeing so many friends and family members in the last couple of weeks has been really good. Meeting new people and hearing their stories continues to energize and inspire me. I’m, not tired of that. I do feel that though my mind, eyes, heart and soul have been opened by all that I have seen, witnessed and experienced, I have to acknowledge that there’s so much I still don’t know, so many people I didn’t get to speak with, so many times when the urge and decision to move resulted in me missing out on something important. I have to come to terms with the limits of this.

Though I can practically see the end goal (I’ve bought a ticket home for Dec. 19^th from Oakland, one month from today), I also have to bear in mind that the ride from here to there is no cakewalk. If nothing else, my little accident in San Antonio should serve to remind me that I have to keep my guard up. Crossing the beautiful but barren hill country across Central and West Texas demands that I plan each day carefully because places to rest and refuel are few and far between. My plan is to reach El Paso by Saturday. If today was any indication, I’ll manage the hills just fine. As I get closer to El Paso, I’ll cross some mountain ranges. It’s been a while since I’ve driven this road, so I cannot recall if the road goes through or around the mountains, though I do remember the entry into the city is very steep.

Riding this road brings back childhood memories of “backwards” rural towns where Mexicans were not welcome and were confronted with a Jim Crow small-town culture as harsh as existed anywhere else in the South. But I also know that reality has changed. Mexicans now exist in substantially larger numbers in these small towns; social, cultural, economic, and political inroads have been made. Though I suspect that this hasn’t necessarily translated into real power or a progressive social order based on equity and respect, one could reasonably say that the quality and character of life is different, less tense, more bicultural if not multiethnic.

As I approach El Paso and continue traveling westward, I will have an opportunity to contrast border life with that along the Lower Rio Grande Valley. I look forward to sharing these observations with you.

Riding through the Texas Hill Country from Louis Mendoza on Vimeo.