EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – More than 1,300 Juarez residents come across the border daily to attend classes at the University of Texas at El Paso. Some are U.S.-born and others come on student visas.
For those who join the Marching Miners student band, the opportunities for their relatives to see them perform live are often limited by immigration status.
That’s why Sunday’s invite for the UTEP band to march in a parade commemorating the 365th anniversary of the founding of Villa Paso del Norte – Juarez, or Ciudad Juarez – is special on many levels, university officials say.
“Many of our students in music come from Ciudad Juarez. So, this is the first time many of the families have the opportunity to see their relative – their son, their nephew – performing in an event that is so important for Ciudad Juarez,” UTEP Liberal Arts Dean Anadeli Bencomo said on Wednesday.
The invitation comes as the two cities on opposite sides of the Rio Grande international boundary seek to strengthen bonds even as issues like illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking often put their countries at odds.
“We always promote binational collaboration between Juarez and El Paso,” said Felix Herrera, deputy Mexican consul general in El Paso. “We share family, we share cultural bonds, and we are more than happy to collaborate and participate in all the activities that unite us.”
The parade starts at 12:30 p.m. Sunday along Juarez’s Boulevard Zaragoza.
UTEP Director of Athletic Bands Brandon Houghtalen said this will be the first time in 20 years that the Marching Miners perform in Mexico. The last time was at a Christmas parade in Mexico City.
“We are proud to confirm that over 100 members of the Marching Miners will return to Mexico on Sunday,” Houghtalen said. “Our participation and the repertoire signify our close ties and our unbreakable bond. We are passionate about these things, and we want to share this passion with the citizens of not just El Paso but also of Juarez.”
The band will play songs by iconic Mexican composer Juan Gabriel, traditional school songs and pop classics from Beyoncé and The Weeknd.
Houghtalen drew some gasps from Mexican guests present at Wednesday’s announcement at the Gordon Family Courtside Club in UTEP when he said the band also will play tunes by Peso Pluma.
The Mexican singer was threatened ahead of a concert in Tijuana for one of his narco-corridos –- ballads about contemporary drug traffickers. But he also is beloved by his more than 20 million Instagram and TikTok followers and 7 million YouTube subscribers in both countries.
Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar invited El Paso and New Mexico residents to Sunday’s parade and other events taking place this weekend to commemorate the city’s founding in 1659 by Fray Garcia de San Francisco. The Spanish priest had a church built for the 4,000 Indigenous people living near the river that cuts through two mountain ranges. He called it The Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Juarez Economic Development Director Tania Maldonado said the other big event is called Juarez por La Juarez. It’s a 13-hour street fest Saturday along Juarez Avenue, which feeds traffic to the Paso del Norte U.S. port of entry.
She said Juarez traffic police would be rerouting traffic through side streets north of Calle Tlaxcala so border commuters would not be prevented from using the port of entry.
“We invite El Paso residents to visit us. We have been remodeling Avenida Juarez from the (Our Lady of Guadalupe) Cathedral and the Old City Hall so visitors can enjoy culture, history, the restaurants and bars that have become iconic,” she said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it has been assured there will be access to the port of entry during the festivities and does not expect its operations to be affected. The agency encourages travelers to look for official information on border crossing times and possible contingencies at https://bwt.cbp.gov/
For more information on the festivities this weekend in Juarez, visit https://www.facebook.com/VoluntariosJuarez