El Paso: On Paisano From UTEP to Chamizal

On Paisano en route to the Chamizal, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

July 2017


Get in the car! Come for a drive with me. It won't take long; we're just going to the Chamizal from UTEP, near my place in Sunset Heights. Forget the highway. We'll take Paisano Drive.

From UTEP, take a left onto Paisano to get to the Chamizal. El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

Got your seat belt on? Good! Oh, forgot to tell you, Beau Jocque is coming, too, so just open a virtual arm vein and wait for his IV push directly into your bloodstream.  Let's go:

That tall, metal fence on your right? Yes, that's our Iron Curtain Wall. Yeah, I know, you can almost touch it from your passenger seat. But keep your hands inside, please.

And don't worry: The Wall is there to keep people from coming in. It's not there to keep us from going out. Not today, anyway.


My camera is clever. It enjoys surprising me with little gifts. Like this gritty, cinema verité sort of stop-action film of part of our trip:

The silence enhances the visual experience. The rainbow and clouds stand out. As does the man walking on the sidewalk - the slo-mo. Drama. Well done, camera!

We're here.

Arrival at the Chamizal via Paisano, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.