The Chihuahua Controversy

On Tuesday they finally announced the name of El Paso's new AAA baseball team. The announcement was made at The Plaza Theatre in front of an audience of local Little League players and media. The reaction on Facebook and Twitter was quick to follow and not positive at all. You see, El Pasoan's were invited to vote for the name of the new team and given a few options to choose from. Sun Dogs, Desert Gators, Chihuahuas, Buckaroos and Aardvarks were among the options. Not a whole lot to go on... I personally voted for the El Paso Sun Dogs, but I'm not a native, don't live in El Paso and I don't have much invested with the sports teams there, so who cares what I think, right?

The city was livid when they learned that the name of the new team would be the Chihuahuas... And I don't mean just some of the city, I mean out of the thousands of reactions I read on KVIA's Facebook page Tuesday night, I could count the positive comments on one hand.

But guess what? I'm irritated too. As much as everyone in El Paso. As much has the die hard baseball fans North of the Border. I am pissed off and I want to talk about it. I should warn you that this probably isn't going to be the same as the rant most El Pasoans are having on the subject.

El Paso may be disappointed with the name, but I'm more disappointed with the way so many people reacted. Call the name estupido, lame, vergonzoso, whatever. I mean, it is after all, a tiny little dog known for the fact that it is a yappy ankle-biter and shivers even if it's 100 degrees out. I get why some people would think it's the most stupid name ever. I get why people are irritated because the "voting process," was clearly a bunch of bullshit. First they said that the name was chosen because it represents El Paso's "spirit and fiercely loyal community," and then it was said that the name was submitted by Shae Vierra and chosen at random. Hmmm... Why did we vote again? I can understand the frustration.

It's not the best choice for the team name, I get it. But the following comments that I read on Facebook after the announcement was made absolutely blew me away. Say the following things? Then you're the lame one. El Estupido. Say these things and know that the only thing bringing shame to El Paso is yourself and your bigoted, back-woods, ignorant remarks. These people represented El Paso with their reaction. And it did not look good my friends.

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Desert Gators was the better one. Now we look like a beaner team.

Might as well named them the border jumpers or coyotes

That's it I'm not supporting no baseball team from El Paso named Chihuahuas. We r not from across the border. We r Americans!

They should have just called it the el paso wet backs or el paso mojados

I didn't know Juarez voted on this ... This is Texas not Mexico stupid ass ....

Might as well just name the team the "SPICS"

I know how about "Los Trafficantes" anybody ... anybody huh!? Lol

FUCK THAT NAME. good job pendejo owner, at least you'll get your dick sucked for this one. I'm pretty sure ur Chihuahua wife made you do it

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I decided to remove people's names from these comments because I would hope that there may be a sliver of a chance that these people are embarrassed. Maybe there is a slight chance that they just spout out these remarks behind the protection of your computer screen and that they would never have the audacity to speak these words in public. Racial slurs never sit well with me but I find it more bothersome when they are thrown about among those of the same race. It tends to give the ignorant permission to add the words into their own vocabulary. I can't claim to know what it's like to be a Native El Pasoan or Juarense, and I never will, but I'd like to think these comments do not represent these Sister Cities. Because, for lack of a better term, these people look like fucking idiots. And I think I speak on behalf of most people when I say that we would all like to move beyond the bullshit and racism so that we can take this world to where it was always meant to be.

On another note, we have to recognize that AAA Baseball is kind of known for some questionable names so we can't be too shocked. Some of the names are just plain laughable. Certainly more ridiculous than the El Paso Chihuahuas! You have the Louisville Bats, Albuquerque Isotopes, Toledo Mud Hens, Salt Lake Bees, Harrisburg Senators, Richmond Flying Squirrels, Montgomery Biscuits, Charlotte Stone Crabs, Lansing Lugnuts, Great Lakes Loons, Asheville Tourists, Savannah Sand Gnats... Should I go on? I don't know about you but biscuits and tourists and isotopes and senators don't seem any more intimidating than Chihuahuas to me. Well, maybe Senators do, but that's a whole other blog.

There were plenty of people who were more civil in their responses and felt that the name fed into negative stereotypes about the city. However, here's my question: Why does that fact that the name has a connection to Mexico and to the Spanish language automatically make it negative? The name isn't stupid because it's Spanish, the name is stupid because it's a God damned Chihuahua! The name isn't derogatory if El Paso doesn't make it derogatory. Is the San Diego Padres name derogatory? I don't find it to be. Doesn't mean that everyone in San Diego is Latino. What about the Cleaveland Indians and Atlanta Braves? Are all the people of Georgia and Ohio Native American? Texas Rangers? All Texans are cowboys? Let's get real.

And that's the weird thing. I spoke to a lot of El Pasoans about this subject this week. Several people threw out the race card, then immediately said they would have been happy with keeping the Padres or Diablos name. How does that make sense? The Chihuahuas make El Paso out to be nothing more than a bunch of Mexicans but the Padres or Diablos wouldn't? I just don't get it. Maybe it's because I'm a gringa who isn't from El Paso, but I honestly don't understand. Feel free to enlighten me.

Maybe instead of tearing each other down and denying the roots that most El Pasoans have with all these disgusting comments we could do the right thing. If they think it's so terrible, maybe baseball fans could direct their efforts to teaming up to petition a name that better represents El Paso? Or maybe they could give this name a chance?

If it makes anyone feel any better, there are a handful of articles floating around about the name that had relatively positive comments from people who said they would have chosen the name Chihuahuas if they had been given the same 5 options. None of those commenters were from El Paso. None of those people had anything derogatory to say about Mexicans. They just took the name for what most of America will take it for. A dog. Not a connection to Juarez, not racist, not anything more than another silly AAA Baseball League team name.

Just my two cents...

A Leap of Faith

I hear the stories all the time.

I used to go to Vertigo every Saturday night and party till dawn. My family used to go to Juarez every weekend and walk the tianguis and get burritos y raspas. I used to go see my Tia a few times a week, she makes the best tortillas in the world. I used to get my hair cut twice a month in El Centro for only 20 pesos. I used get my check-ups every 6 months at Washington Dental. Best dentist ever. Hell, I've even heard some "I used to" stories about the prostitutes that frequent the massage parlors on Hermanos Escobar. I've heard it all. And I have to say, I'm at my wits' end with the some of these stories. I used to. We used to. They used to. She used to.

And then there was the drug war.

I know there is so much history on the border. So much back story with the drug war and the violence. So many have been affected and so much blood has been shed. People tell me the "used to" stories but they also have their fair share of horror stories. He was shot, they were abducted, she was car jacked stories. But how do we move past this? How can everyone feel at home in Juarez once again? What will it take for the 20-somethings to flock across the downtown bridge again to bar-hop before happily stumbling back across the border at 2 am? What will it take for people to reunite with their hermanos and tios and abuelos who they haven't seen in years because they don't have the luxury of a Border Crossing Card? What will it take for all the restaurants downtown to have a full house of El Pasoans once again?

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Last weekend we went out for the first time in a long time. We watched the boxing match and had a few drinks with friends at Drink Team on 16 de Septiembre. After the fight we passed through the Pronaf district as we drove back to our neck of the woods. The streets were alive. The clubs were packed, people pouring onto the streets from the entrances of El Rudo and T'Kila. When we made it to our last stop, Shadow Davidson's, I was feeling so happy, so comfortable, so... normal. I wondered to myself, why can't everyone feel this way in Juarez?

I imagine this is what Juarez used to look like. Before the war. When do we start referring to the drug war as "the war?" What's the difference between a drug war and any other kind of war? Countries collide, people die, the military gets involved. What's the difference? I haven't quite figured that out yet. But regardless, things are finally starting to calm down and I'm curious what it will take for people to see that change. What will it take for things to get back to the way they used to be. What will it take for El Pasoans to come back to Juarez?

I honestly wish I could poll the citizens of El Paso because this is something that plagues me. I have invited my co-workers to birthday parties and barbecues at my house over and over. I know they won't come though. It's almost turned into a joke at this point. I'm not trying to get shot, they'll tell me. Over my dead body, they'll tell me. The tension between El Paso and Juarez is undeniable. When I truly began to understand how deeply connected the two cities are, this tension and animosity shocked me. Oh yeah, my tios and sister and abuelos live there but I won't go there. Por nada. Ni si me pagan.

Although some people just love to perpetuate unnecessary hatred towards Juarez (like when a DJ on 95.5 FM suggested painting a large middle finger on the Asarco tower pointing towards Juarez,) I think most people are just scared shitless of the what-ifs. Everyone knows someone or knows someone who knows someone who has been directly affected by the drug war. Everyone knows someone who was kidnapped or murdered or car-jacked. It's not something you can easily move past and certainly not something that can ever be forgotten. I understand that.

I won't ever be able to forget the things I've seen here. But at the same time, the world can't stop. We have to keep living. And above all else, we have to keep enjoying the lives that we live. What kind of life is a life plagued with fear? And if we don't make an effort to get back to normal, we'll be afraid forever. I don't know about you but I don't like to feel afraid. I am always looking for a way to move away from fear.

I've talked about this with my father at length. Living in San Salvador, he's no stranger to my situation. He knows exactly what it's like to live in and love a city that has a constant travel warning from the US Embassy. In a moment of frustration this week I cried out to him. I don't fucking get it! I don't know how to convince people that Juarez is okay, that a trip over the border doesn't automatically equate to a death sentence. I just wish I knew how to make this all go away! He responded so quickly and at first the words seemed too simple to be right. But they were.

Well honey, El Paso is just going to have to take a leap of faith.