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PHS graduate is all-star rugby player

Alyssa Tavarez Corralez flies by defenders, showing off her natural rugby skills.

By ELVIRA LARA

PRESIDIO – Presidio High School doesn’t have a rugby team, but one of its former athletes is making great strides in the sport after graduation. Twenty-three-year-old Alyssa Corralez, daughter of councilman Alcee Tavarez and retired educator Justina Tavarez, has been selected to play in a national rugby tournament next month in Las Vegas.

Known as the largest rugby tournament in North America, the Las Vegas Invitational is an annual sporting event where the best players from all over the U.S. compete with their teams for the championship. Corralez made the Carolina’s Women’s All Stars team, a group of 12 women who will be representing the Carolinas Geographic Union for the first time ever.

The Carolinas Geographic Union (CGRU) is an organization that serves 25 rugby clubs in both North and South Carolina. Corralez is part of a small club that offered its players the opportunity to attend a developmental camp and try out for the invitational.

A lifelong athlete, Corralez played basketball and ran Cross Country in high school, earning multiple awards for her achievements. After graduation, she attended Angelo State University and later enlisted in the Air Force as a medic. She discovered rugby during her service in the military.

“I first became interested in rugby three years ago while I was still stationed in Mississippi. One of my friends who was attending Angelo State was on the rugby team and I kept seeing her pictures online,” Corralez told The International.

Corralez started attending rugby practices and later joined the CGRU when she transferred from the Air Force to the Navy Reserve. She said she was intimidated at first because of how physical the sport is, but gained more confidence as she kept playing.

A mere three years later, Corralez is making a name for herself in the world of amateur rugby. She was one of 50 girls who attended the developmental camp where she was selected to play in Las Vegas.

“I think the hardest part about making the team is you weren’t sure who was interested, who to try and out run, or who to try and out play,” said Corralez. “You had girls who had been playing rugby with bigger teams and had more experience, while our team struggles to have enough girls show up to practice.”

Two other girls from Camp Lejeune, where Corralez is stationed, also made the Carolina’s All Stars team. She said she’s excited about having “some pretty good representation.”

Corralez’s father Alcee told The International he’s extremely proud of his daughter but also worries about her playing a contact sport in which they wear no padding or helmets.

“It scares me a little bit to see her play, but I’ve seen her play enough to know that she is extra careful when she’s out there and she’s a scoring threat every time she gets the ball. I’m really proud of that,” said Tavarez.

Tavarez said his daughter is an “awesome player.” He’s watched her play and says she’s good at dodging tacklers, attributing her skills to all the years she played touch football with her older brother growing up.

Corralez was named co-MVP at a rugby tournament earlier this month. Her parents are planning to attend the Las Vegas invitational on March 1st to watch her in action. “A little girl from Presidio, Texas making a regional team like that, it’s fantastic,” said her father.

Corralez is preparing for the tournament by doing a lot of running and other conditioning exercises. She said, “This tournament is all about 14 minute games of just pure running up and down a field, so definitely a good amount of sprints and strength training. That is going to be key.”

Corralez currently lives in North Carolina where she’s a corpsman in the Navy Reserve. She comes from a big family of veterans with her grandfather, father and brother having served in the military.

Corralez wants to become a field medic with the Navy. She plans to return to college this summer to work on a bachelor’s in Kinesiology.

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Sul Ross BRI collaborates with TPWD, Tech, A&M-Kingsville on mule deer study

Feb

By STEVE LANG

News and Publications

BRI researcher Jacob Lampman (left), Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Laura Warner with captured mule deer. (Photo by Thomas Janke)

ALPINE – Graduate researchers from Sul Ross State University’s Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) are assisting with a five-year, collaborative mule deer study with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and two other state universities.

Researchers from TPWD, the BRI, Texas Tech University and the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M-Kingsville are participating in the extensive study on the effects agriculture has on mule deer in the Texas Panhandle.

“This project is really unique because of all of the collaboration between universities, agencies, and landowners,” Thomas Janke, BRI research associate, said.

TPWD recently released a video highlighting the research efforts. The video aired on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) in late December. Janke and Sul Ross graduate student researcher Jacob Lampman, Marion, are featured in the video along with other team members, which may be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU4-Hw-l_zY

Researchers hope to determine the effect of agriculture on mule deer movements, diets, body condition, reproduction, and survival in the Panhandle.

“Mule deer populations in the Panhandle have shown an increase, while populations are declining, or at best, remaining stable almost everywhere else,” Janke said. “We believe this localized increase may be due to agriculture. We are trying to determine if there is a difference in the nutritional value of the (cultivated and native) plants, or are the deer picking it just because it’s out here and they have a buffet.” Janke said that three habitat types – brush and cropland, sand dune, and the Canadian River breaks, all of which have varying degrees of agriculture production – are being studied.

“These areas mimic the overall topography of the Panhandle. All of the data collected, including deer movement and diet, will enable agency biologists and individual landowners to better understand what is happening, and to make the most informed management decisions.”

Lampman recently completed more than a year of field research, studying diet and nutrition through analyses of plant and fecal matter. Lampman analyzed deer consumption of native forage and agricultural crops at his study site near Turkey. Lampman tracked radio-collared deer to help collect samples.

Shawn Gray, TPWD Pronghorn and Mule Deer Project leader, is overseeing the study. He emphasized that research results will have a significant impact on mule deer management.

“There’s a high interest in this research project, not only from the department and our partners, but from private landowners as well,” he said.

For more information, contact Janke, tjanke@sulross.edu or Gray, shawn.gray@tpwd.texas.gov.

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Heart of the Arts most successful yet

Feb

p(hoto by JIM STREET)
Jim Glendinning with Pilar Pedersen, left, and Gwynne Jamieson toasted a new bench with Glendinning’s name in Alpine’s Railroad Park Saturday. The bench was dedicated to the “Footloose Scot” during the Alpine Downtown Association Heart of the Arts promotion. Glendinning has visited more than 136 countries around the world, written many travel books and offered tours of Mexico, including the scenic Copper Canyon between Chihuahua and the West Coast.

By JIM STREET

The Alpine Downtown Association said Monday that Saturday’s Heart of the Arts event in the downtown business district was its most successful promotion to date.

Partially funded by the city of Alpine Hotel Occupancy Tax, Porter’s Thriftway and West Texas National Bank, the event was advertised locally, as well as in out-of-town media, concentrating on the Midland-Odessa area.

Popular Alpine travel writer Jim Glendinning was honored as part of the event in Railroad Park. A teak bench donated to the park by Alpine Teak Store was named in his honor.

Glendinning sat on the new bench with friend Pilar Pedersen and ADA Railroad Committee Chair Gwynne Jamieson as others looked on, many snapping pictures on their cell phones.

Jamieson’s committee is working with other non-profits to upgrade the park in the heart of downtown Alpine.

Richard Hinkel, who described himself simply as a “volunteer,” read from prepared remarks about Glendinning’s contribution to the area.

A native of Scotland and a graduate of Oxford, Glendinning chose Alpine as a place to live after visiting many countries.

As of the writing of the remarks, he had visited more than 136 Countries. He currently is battling cancer.

“Jim needs no introduction to most of us,” Hinkel said. “He is a business operator and published author who has been calling Alpine home for 25 years now.

“His volunteer work with the Alpine Library and volunteer work with local organizations has insured that most know his name,” he said.

Hinkel said the Alpine bench is the U.S. version of another with Glendinning’s name on it in Batopilas, Chihuahua, in the scenic Copper Canyon.

Glendinning’s travel business, which went by the name of “the Footloose Scot,” offered tours of northern Mexico, including Copper Canyon on the train route from Chihuahua to the West Coast.

Hinkel said Glendinning “will always be most renowned for having made Mexico both more accessible and more enchanting.”

Glendinning poured shots from a bottle of Sotol and Hinkel led a toast, then splashed shots of the state drink of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila on the bench.

The ADA said many visitors to businesses told merchants they had heard about the event in Midland and other cities, mostly from friends and social media. Both the Midland Reporter-Telegram and the Odessa American published ads and stories and news releases and ads appeared in other papers including the Big Bend Sentinel.

Radio ads and stories were heard on National Public Radio and Alpine stations KFLF and KALP.

Other visitors said they were from Pecos and other cities in the area. The ADA said the fact that many said they heard about it from friends and social media indicated the ads and stories reached many beyond those that saw them in the papers or heard them on the radio.

The event featured Alpine’s artists, both performing and visual. Four musical venues plus strolling Mariachis may have contributed to the success of the evening.

Internationally-acclaimed jazz guitarist Gerhard Kraus of Dallas, accompanied by Ted Arbogast and Ron Steinmann of Terlingua, set up shop in the lobby of the Holland Hotel playing many jazz and standard compositions.

Alpine’s Rick Ruiz and his Grupo de la Paz entertained at the new Taste and See Bakery on 5^th Street while a block away, another Alpine favorite, the Swifts, played at the Whitlock Gallery on 6^th.

Artist Nancy Whitlock also offered a “kissing booth,” allowing significant others to smooch each other for $5 or hug a friend for $2. Proceeds will help ADA fund other activities.

On Murphy Street, artist Tom Curry presided over a jam session at his gallery and Mariachi Alegre, also of Alpine, strolled Murphy Street and Holland Avenue.

Two galleries, Catchlight and Gallery on the Square next door on Holland Avenue, had a joint reception and other galleries reported doing well.

ADA Vice President David Busey chaired the Art of the Arts Committee, working with the city to coordinate promotion of the event and lining up performances.

The ADA was created in 2016 to promote businesses and economic development in the central business district. It received its tax-exempt 501-C-3 status last year.

It created four Heart of Alpine events last year and is working with area taxing agencies for tax relief for people who repair old buildings and create new businesses.

NOTE: Jim Street is President of the ADA.

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Mexico’s gift to Presidio: “El Mac” begins work on mural

Feb

(photo by ELVIRA LARA)
The international art muralist, “El Can,” center, with Mexican Consuls Francisco Jacobi, left, and Sergio Salinas, right.

By ELVIRA LARA

PRESIDIO – Take one last look at the city’s water tank because pretty soon it’s going to look very different. International artist Miles MacGregor “El Mac” has started work on the water tank mural that was commissioned by the Mexican Consulate back in December. The mural is a gift from Mexico to depict the relationship between border communities.

City council members met with the artist last Friday to choose between two images for the mural. Also in attendance at the special meeting were head consul Sergio Salinas and deputy consul Francisco Jacobi, whom first presented the project to the council.

Consul Salinas stated that Presidio was chosen from 50 other consulates as the location for the mural. According to Jacobi, the project’s purpose is to strengthen the relationship on both sides by illustrating immigrant populations.

El Mac is known for his portraits of commonplace people representative of Mexican and Chicano cultures. He has painted murals of “campesinos”, ranchers, laborers, individuals he meets on the street – characters he refers to as “normal, everyday, working people.”

For the water tank mural, he came up with two designs for the council to choose from. He said he normally doesn’t show his mockups to people, but council members requested to see samples before approving the painting.

The portraits El Mac showed were of two women. He spent the last week talking to people in town and asking them whom they thought was a “good person” and whom they felt represents Presidio. He used those descriptions and his own observations of the community to inspire his designs.

He chose to paint a female to counterbalance what he referred to as harsh conditions. “It’s desert, it’s dry, it’s kind of a rough environment,” he said to the council. “I felt like something feminine, something maternal seemed more appropriate. An image that can hopefully convey a sense of optimism, hope.”

The women El Mac proposed painting are no one in particular. He explained that he paints his portraits in a way that anyone can relate to and feel a connection to the image.

“I work from the photographs that I take as a reference for what I paint. But the way that I paint, there’s a certain kind of stylization that happens where it’s not an exact copy of the photo, it’s painted in a way where – it becomes like a composite image so it really should look like a lot of people,” explained the artist.

Council members selected one of the images last Friday and granted El Mac permission to start working on the mural. The artist asked for discretion when disclosing details about the image, saying he wants it to be revealed over time as he paints it.

What can be said is that Mayor Pro Tem Alcee Tavarez thought the chosen image was very representative of Presidio. He used the words “perseverance” and “established” to describe it. Councilwoman Isela Nuñez echoed Tavarez’s sentiments.

On the other hand, councilman Samuel Carrasco was concerned that painting a person would leave people wondering who it is and create confusion. Councilman Antonio Manriquez said that could actually be a good thing, saying visitors would “go back home wondering and talking about it.”

What’s certain is that the mural will stand out and be visible from miles before entering Presidio. The water tank can be seen as you drive into Ojinaga, Mexico from Chihuahua city, when you drive into town on Highway 67 and from practically every vantage point in the city.

For years the water tank has been plain white with the word Presidio painted vertically in black letters. El Mac’s mural will offer a dramatic transformation, one welcomed by the burgeoning art scene.

Having an international artist come to Presidio is a big deal for the small community. El Mac has painted murals all over the world, from Europe to Asia. He told The International that Presidio is probably the smallest place he’s ever painted in.

Art teacher Laurie Holman is excited about the mural and is making plans to take her students to see the artist working. Holman is the founder of Presidio’s annual arts festival, a growing event that showcases the work of local artists.

El Mac is expected to start painting any day now. He estimates it will take him about three weeks to complete the mural, conditions permitting. He described painting murals as an “extreme sport” requiring a lot of time, energy and focus.

El Mac will be doing all the painting himself, with helpers only to get him food and others items. To get an idea of what the mural will look like, samples of his work can be seen on his website, www.elmac.net.

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Valentine student’s ‘Love Station’ stamp seen by thousands

Feb

By JIM STREET

The 2018 Valentine Love Station cancellation stamp

VALENTINE – A seventh grader at Valentine Junior High School designed this year’s “Love Station” special postmark stamp for the Valentine Post Office.

Isabel Guillory designed the stamp, which will be canceled and sent out to mail recipients literally around the world.

Valentine Postmaster Leslie Williams said Isabel’s design will be seen by several thousand mail customers. She added that at the end of the school year, she normally presents the winning designer with a plaque with the canceled stamp and saying how many countries the stamp reached.

She said last year, the post office canceled and sent out nearly 13,000 special canceled stamps and the number has been as high as 30,000.

The new stamp features a railroad track at the bottom with lettering proclaiming “Valentine 79854 February 14, 2018 Love Station.”

It includes mountains and the sun.

The Valentine Post Office has already received Valentine cards requesting the cancellation stamp, which has become world famous.

Thousands of customers each year send their cards to Valentine to get the special stamp and the Valentine cancellation and the Valentine City Council selects the stamp each year from entries designed by Valentine ISD junior high and high school students.

Isabel said she is “excited about winning the contest. I really am.”

The daughter of Veronica and Cruz Mendez, she said this is her first year in Valentine, having moved from Van Horn.

“I really like it here,” she said. “It is so much better than Van Horn.”

Beyond school, about the only thing Isabel has decided is that she will go to college.

“My mom didn’t give me a choice for that,” she said.

She was asked what it is like knowing her art work will be seen around the world.

“That’s what intrigues me the most,” she said.

To have the special stamp on your Valentine’s Day cards, mail your addressed and stamped card inside another envelope addressed to Valentine’s Day Postmark, Postmaster, 311 W. California Ave. Valentine, TX 79854-9998.

The Town of Valentine will also host the sixth annual Valentine’s in Valentine dance at the Old Mercantile Building, sponsored by Big Bend Brewing Company.

Its sponsor said Valentine’s Day in Valentine has become a new West Texas tradition. This year’s lineup includes all local musicians, including the Doug Moreland Band, The Doodlin’ Hogwallops and Beebe & Carrasco.

For more information and tickets, visit Bigbendbrewing.com/valentine.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. The party is held rain or shine, snow or swelter, and there are no refund on tickets.

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Learning broadcast journalism from the street

Dec

(staff photo by SARAH M. VASQUEZ)
Second from right, lead instructor Rob Rosenthal discusses audio production to ten students for the Transom Workshop at Marfa Public Radio.

By SARAH M. VASQUEZ

sarah@bigbendnow.com

MARFA – Seeing the full conference room at Marfa Public Radio, General Manager Elise Pepple is reminded of MTV’s realty show, The Real World.

“What happens when ten strangers show up…” Pepple joked.

The ten strangers are in Marfa as part a weeklong Transom workshop led by lead instructor Rob Rosenthal and Matt Largey, KUT managing news director in Austin.

The students will produce a four and a half minute radio feature on a West Texas resident using the classroom instruction and hands-on experience they receive from the workshop.

“In the process of doing that, they learn the best practices of making a radio story and hopefully they’ll come up with a system for repeating it, so when they leave here, they know how to do it well and they know how to do it again,” said Rosenthal.

Transom hosts a nine-week residential program in Woods Hole, Massachusetts on Cape Cod as well as weeklong workshops around the country including Michigan, California, Boston and Montana.

“I think it’s really exciting to have someone so respected in public radio here in West Texas and it’s an experiment in bringing the resources from beyond West Texas to West Texas,” said Pepple, who reached out to Rosenthal to host the workshop at the radio station.

“One of my goals for the station is that we can be a beacon for storytelling of and by West Texas,” said Pepple.

The participants were selected through an application process. Before the students arrived in Marfa, they had to have an idea for their story using online resources such as social media, blogs and the Big Bend Sentinel newspaper.

Traveling the farthest from Australia, Andrea Gibbs is the founder of “Barefaced Stories,” a storytelling series, but wanted to learn more about producing audio stories.

Researching for her topic was scary and challenging to her, but she found Russ Quiett through a post on the Cheshire Cat’s Facebook page seeking spur collectors. After spending Tuesday morning with Quiett, she made the room laugh when she returned muttering “what the f*ck happened this morning?”

(photo by and courtesy of MATT LARGEY)
Two students interview each other during the Transom workshop before hitting the street.

“At home, I’m used to being in a studio and I’m not usually doing face to face interviews,” said Gibbs. “I’m in my comfort zone and being out with a microphone in someone else’s face is scary for me.”

She always wanted to attend Transom’s nine-week course, but thought it was too long to be away from home. She instead decided to attend a traveling workshop. It was between Marfa and Nashville, Tennessee.

“I had no idea what (Marfa) was like until I started researching it,” said Gibbs. “This is amazing. Because I travel so far, it’s good to go to a place where I can check out a whole bunch of different things.”

Margot Wohl, from San Diego, followed Dr. Aaron Burbach from Big Bend Veterinary Services for her story. Hearing his enthusiasm about his job during their initial phone call persuaded her to pursue his story.

Wohl is getting her PhD in neuroscience from University of California San Diego and used her love of science and podcasts to start her own called Rad Scientist about science and scientists.

She taught herself what she could for her podcast, but she plans to use the experience from the workshop to develop it more.

“Maybe I came in without a lot of expectations, but I feel like even now I learned so much,” said Wohl. “I didn’t expect to learn as quickly.”

The ten students will play their final stories from 6pm to 8pm, Saturday, December 9, at The Lumberyard. They will also air the following week during West Texas Talk on Marfa Public Radio.

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Fullymaxxed releases new album today, Wednesday, November 22

Nov

By SARAH M. VASQUEZ

sarah@bigbendnow.com

FAR WEST TEXAS – FullyMaxxed’s new EP “Until Then” marks a new chapter in Max Ferguson’s music.

“This is for everybody that’s gone through anything that sucks,” said Ferguson.

The electronic musician has performed as FullyMaxxed before he was old enough to drive, first starting as a DJ dressed in costume. Removing the large cardboard mask, he started performing with a keytar in hand to divert from DJing, and now he’s ready to create music that he can perform live. Inspired from a breakup, “Until Then” tells a story with each short skit sandwiched between the four songs.

“It’s fairly different from what I usually make,” said Ferguson. “I sing on every song on there, which is very rare because I’m not a singer.”

The EP starts with two guys chatting and driving until they see their suicidal friend also named Max standing on train tracks. As the train approaches, they yell at Max to stop. The intense moment ends with the sound of a rushing train, but spoiler alert, Max lives.

Growing up in Presidio, music was always a part of Ferguson’s life. His parents, John and Lucy Ferguson, have taught music in Presidio ISD and his sister Molly recently won the Tejano Idol singing competition. The family also performs together with The Resonators and Mariachi Santa Cruz. It was his grandpa though that introduced Ferguson to electronic music.

Graduating from Presidio High School in May, Ferguson now studies music performance at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, but admits he spends more time in his dorm room creating music.

He says today’s EP release is the start to something special.

“It’s me pouring myself into music and I think a lot of people would enjoy it,” said Ferguson.

“Until Then” is available on fullymaxxed.com.

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Marfa featured in Hamilton Leithauser’s latest music video

Nov

Marfa resident Nancy Wood in the “Heartstruck (Wild Hunger)” music video.

By SARAH M. VASQUEZ

sarah@bigbendnow.com

MARFA – Marfa is the backdrop for indie rocker Hamilton Leithauser’s latest music video for his recording, “Heartstruck (Wild Hunger).”

Filmed by directors The Simonites and creative agency Preacher, based in Austin, the video opens with a fiery heart planted in the Marfa landscape as the musician walks away with a guitar case in hand.

As Leithauser ventures through Marfa, he’s haunted by various women who are unified by their wardrobe. Locals Emma Rogers, Jessica Lutz, Tina Rivera, Nancy Wood and Ashley Adams are among the locals to grace the screen. Other locals, including Moritz Langrebe, Jimi Ball and Marfa Film Festival’s Robin Lambaria worked behind the camera with production.

The concept, though, came from Leithauser. “I’ve had input over the years, but on the whole, I’d really just shown up and been told what to do,” he said.

Inspired by silent movies and shorts from foreign directors, he felt it would be fun to write something symbolic and to express emotion through film with the song. The Marfa setting became his first choice to set the scene after performing at the Crowley Theater last December after a week’s residency here.

He originally pictured a John-Waters-esque feel to the burning heart, but once he started working with the Simonites, the video became more of what he said was a visual spectacle.

“They are pros. Good God, they are pros,” said Leithauser. “Originally I’d imagine maybe an iPhone or two, an outfit change, a rusty old Honda Civic, a plastic red heart from Walmart and a can of gasoline, but these guys really brought out the big guns.”

The Simonites knew they would need to improvise and figure out what they needed when they arrived in Marfa to make the concept come to life. Being at least three hours from convenient big box stores, finding specific items can be difficult.

“It’s so great shooting in Marfa because everybody knows each other to organize something like that,” said Peter Simonite, one of the directors.

The Simonites consist of brothers Peter and Nick Simonite, who both work behind the camera. Peter has done cinematography internationally for films and commercials for clients such as Samsung and Apple, while his brother Nick has done photography all over the globe and has worked in Marfa for the Hotel Saint George and El Cosmico.

The Simonites previously filmed a music video in Far West Texas to indie rock band Whitney’s cover of Lion’s “You’ve Got a Woman.” The video features Rogers and Jon Coleman, most recognizable for giving out change in $2 bills at Food Shark.

Working with Leithauser was a great project, according to Peter, because he was a great sport. Even though the directors never met the musician prior to shooting, they left Leithauser in the middle of Pinto Canyon Road to film him walking in the distance and required early wake up calls to burn hearts in the desert.

“He really went 100 percent into what was put in front of him,” said Peter. “I thought he gave a great performance.”

“Once I’d arrived, it was clear very quickly that I should just shut up and listen to what they had planned,” said Leithauser.

It was fun for the directors to cast locally for the women who sang along to Angel Olsen’s vocals on “Heartstruck (Wild Hunger).”

Mrs. Wood was walking across the street from paying her car registration at the Presidio County Courthouse when she was approached to be in the video. She’s never done something like this before, but to her, it was fun. The crew wrapped a prominent pink scarf around her neck and gave her a bathrobe from wardrobe. Robin Lambaria held up cards with the lyrics for Wood to sing along as the video rolled.

“I thought it was really neat to be in something like that just out of the blue,” said Wood. “It was a surprise.”

“She was awesome,” said Peter. “She was one of our most favorite people to film. It was a fun operation to run around with these cue cards and put on a pink scarf.”

The brothers also featured their sister Francesca in a blink-and-you-miss cameo in front of the Big Bend Sentinel Marfa office, making it their first family production.

“Peter and I are close,” said Nick. “It’s just a fun opportunity to start collaborating and work together. We come from different backgrounds.”

“I’m really inspired by Nick’s photography,” said Peter. “I really feel like he does things I can’t do and I do things he can’t do. It was neat to add Francesca in the mix too.”

The music video debuted online in October and naturally, the Marfa community shared it on social media. The Simonites hope to find other projects to film in Marfa in the future.

“We really found a crew that we love,” said Peter. “It’s an inspiring landscape and town.”

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Cars are canvass for ArtWalk featured artist

Nov

(photo by JIM STREET)
Jon Sufficool posed recently with his creation, the “Meteor Motor Home,” so called because of a shooting star emblem on its hubcaps. Sufficool is the “Featured Artist for Alpine’s ArtWalk Friday and Saturday.

ALPINE – The Featured Artist for Alpine’s 24th Annual ArtWalk on Friday and Saturday is Jon Sufficool of Alpine, best known for his iconic art cars.

But other Sufficool works will be also shown at TransPecos Bank, 102 W. Avenue E and in a street exhibit on 5th Street between Avenue E and Holland Avenue.

That block of 5th will be closed for art exhibits and live music this weekend.

Sufficool has been working with cars since he was growing up on a ranch 60 miles from Palm Springs, California. He told the Big Bend Sentinel Marfa/Presidio International that his father was not mechanically inclined.

When a vehicle broke down, he would just leave it on the ranch and get another one. When Jon wanted a vehicle to drive, he got out his tools and fixed up an abandoned vehicle for his own use.

“He’s a jewel of the desert,” ArtWalk co-creator Keri Blackman said. “Nobody recognizes that and we wanted to bring awareness to the area.”

She said the ArtWalk Board voted unanimously to name him this year’s featured artist.

Blackman said the board first named all the artists in the Tri-County area, and Sufficool quickly rose to the top of the list.

“Jon’s art cars have been a staple of Big Bend celebrations for many years and we are very proud to feature him and his work,” she said.

Many of his mobile works of art are made of spare parts he found along the way. One of the best known is his “Meteor Motor Home,” a camper built on the back of a 1920s-era truck.

“I call it the “Meteor Motor Home,” he said. “The hubcaps have a shooting star on them. It was inspired by Carl Thain and I got parts from Bill Ivy and his father Rex in a junk yard in Terlingua.”

A four-wheel-drive vehicle also was made of spare parts he found in Terlingua and it took him through Northern Mexico.

“It was a real conversation starter,” he said. “A new one I’m still building is a five-passenger stretch limo.

“With a car, I can take it to where people are,” he said. “I’ll drive it for years and then sell it. They are all priced very high. I’ll drive it until I find someone who will pay that price. I’ve got to find people who have a lot of money because they are going to be expensive.”

A major feature of ArtWalk has been the annual parade of cars at noon on Saturday.

The 2017 Parade will be led by the “ArtRod,” a $1.2-million creation of artist Steven Vaughan. Several other visiting Art Cars will follow.

But cars are not Sufficool’s only canvas.

“I have done 10 to 14 sculptures of the Big Bend area,” he said. “I love the Big Bend Country.

“I have photographs of the Big Bend through car windows,” he said. “I acquired some windows and doors of very old cars and it looks a lot like you are looking out the window of a car at the Big Bend scene.”

Sufficool said Palm Springs used to be a place where the rich and famous came to get away from Hollywood, along with the people that served them like house servants.

“It was a good place to sell art,” he said. “I learned to work in iron wood which is harder than Mesquite. It’s similar to teak but it’s taken from above ground and is not as thick. When it is sand blasted and cleaned up, it is about the color of ebony. I’ve been self-employed all my life.

“One of my displays at ArtWalk will be what I call ‘In the Hood’ on 5th Street,” Sufficool said. “I’ve got a bunch of old car hoods and some 30 artists will use them as their canvas.

“I’ll also put out some fireplaces I’ve built in case it gets cold.”

ArtWalk grew out of Gallery Night, a modest open house for local art galleries starting in 1994.

Since then, it has grown into a city-wide celebration of art and music.

This year, 28 displays of original artwork will open all over downtown Alpine, many of them accompanied by live music.

Some will be in permanent galleries and some new exhibits will be shown just for the weekend.

In the evenings, the emphasis will be on live music with performances at the Granada Theatre, Railroad Blues and the recently-reopened Ole Crystal Bar.

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Leveling the playing field: two girls are Shorthorn football players

Nov

(staff photo by SARAH M. VASQUEZ)
Aundrea Garcia, left, and Alexis Gonzalez during football practice on Wednesday as the the Shorthorns prepare for Friday’s junior high game against the Fort Davis Indians.

By SARAH M. VASQUEZ

sarah@bigbendnow.com

MARFA – It was at a game against Rankin when a Red Devil noticed that a Shorthorn team captain was a female.

“One of the guys was like, ‘Wow, it’s a girl,’” said Coach Arturo Alferez.

It’s been awhile, at least eight years or longer, since a girl suited up in a Marfa Shorthorn football jersey and pads. But this year, Alexis Gonzalez and Aundrea Garcia, both seventh graders, joined the junior high football team.

They had a late start because they didn’t know football was even an option. When Alferez mentioned during a conversation that they could play, the girls signed up.

Gonzalez always wanted to play football. Growing up with two brothers, there was also a football to throw around. Gonzalez’s brother, Steven Granado, was a Shorthorn until he graduated last year. She saw how much he loved the sport and wanted to add to her list of sports.

“I play pretty much everything except for golf at this point,” said Gonzalez.

Unlike Gonzalez, Garcia said football was not a part of her life, but she loves sports and wanted to try every sport that was available to her. She also plays volleyball, basketball and softball and plans to join track when that season starts.

Gonzalez hits the field as a kicker, linebacker, and running back, while Garcia is on the special teams, the coach said.

They missed two-a-day practices, when the team trains twice a day during the summer, but they went through the acclimatization period, which is when they practiced without the shoulder pads.

Not only did the girls adapt to the sport quickly, the male teammates also adjusted to them.

“I told them we’re not going to treat them differently,” said Alferez. “We’re teaching them to block and tackle properly. That’s the way we’re going to treat it.”

He said the whole team embraced it. It was like each girl was just another football player on the field.

“Some of the boys were accepting, which was really nice to know that they wanted me on the team,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was the only girl until Garcia joined. At first, it was challenging for the girls, but they both said the sport is fun.

The last game of the season is against the Fort Davis Indians at 5pm on Friday, November 10, in Fort Davis. The Shorthorns currently have two wins, which is a big improvement to Alferez from last year.

“That’s the most we’ve had in a while,” said Alferez. “Hopefully, it’ll be a third win this Friday.”

The team started this year with eight team members, which didn’t meet the required 12 members. The coach then recruited sixth graders, which is allowed under UIL rules. More than half of the team consists of sixth graders.

Alferez shared some of the goals for the team this year was to go into every game having fun and to put points on every game, which they’ve accomplished. Even though the team is 2-4, Alferez said there were two of those losses where it could have gone either way.

“It’s been a good year for middle school,” said Alferez.

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