Segundo Barrio

Segundo Barrio

The time is 6:52 am.
The sun hasn’t come up yet, and downtown El Paso already shows signs of life.

A man sits outside a second-hand store, a lit cigarette between his fingers throws ashes into the night.
A young mother scurries away to the bus station with a bundled up baby pressed at her chest.
On Oregon street, a mature woman makes the sign of the cross in front of the Virgen de Guadalupe’s effigy.

Sunlight kisses ever so gently the Sister Cities mural, and I make my way to the International Bridge.

Se hacen Manifiestos.
Aceptamos Pesos.Businesses wake up to bilingual signs and legends.

Downtown boils with life.
"Buenos días, Marta, ¿cómo amaneció?"
"¡Q'hubole, mi Pancho! ¿Cuándo me vas a pagar?"
The daily bustle marks the day’s start for early rising El Pasoans.

Segundo Barrio is where the heart comes to sings in Spanglish.
It is a city’s heritage and the first taste of El Paso’s unique flavor.
It is my personal definition of nostalgia.
And it was home.