Name	City of El Paso
Settlement type	City
Nickname	The Sun City, The Star City of Texas, El Chuco
Motto
Image seal	Seal of El Paso, Texas.svg
Map caption	Location in the state of Texas
Pushpin map	USA2
Pushpin label	El Paso
Pushpin label position	bottom
Coordinates region	US-TX
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	Texas
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	El Paso
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	John Cook
Established date
Unit pref	Imperial
Area magnitude	1 E8
Area total sq mi	250.5
Area land sq mi	249.08
Area water sq mi	1.46
Area total km2	648.8
Area land km2	645.11
Area water km2	3.78
Population as of	2010
Population total	649,121 (19th)
Population metro	800,647
Population density sq mi	2,446.7
Population density km2	944.7
Timezone	MST
Utc offset	-7
Timezone dst	MDT
Utc offset dst	-6
Elevation ft	3740
Elevation m	1140
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates type	region:US_type:city
Postal code type	ZIP codes
Postal code	79900-79999,88500-88599 (PO Boxes)
Area code	915
Blank name	FIPS code
Blank info	48-24000
Blank1 name	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 info	1380946
Website	www.elpasotexas.gov
Footnotes	}}

El Paso, () is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States. Its metropolitan area covers all of El Paso County, whose population in the 2010 census was 800,647.

El Paso stands on the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte), across the border from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The image to the right shows Downtown El Paso and Juárez, with the Juárez Mountains in the background. The two cities form a combined international metropolitan area, sometimes called Juarez-El Paso, with Juárez being the significantly larger of the two in population. Together they have a combined population of 2 million, with Juárez accounting for 2/3 of the population. In 2010 El Paso was awarded an All-America City Award, the oldest community recognition program in the United States.

El Paso is home to the University of Texas at El Paso (founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy, and later, Texas Western College; its present name dates from 1967) and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso. Fort Bliss, one of the largest military complexes of the United States Army, lies to the east and northeast of the city, with training areas extending north into New Mexico, up to the White Sands Missile Range and neighboring Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo. The Franklin Mountains extend into El Paso from the north and nearly divide the city into two sections, the western half forming the beginnings of the Mesilla Valley and with the eastern slopes connecting in the central business district at the south end of the mountain range.

History

The El Paso region has had human settlement for thousands of years, as evidenced by Folsom points from hunter-gatherers found at Hueco Tanks. The earliest known cultures in the region were maize farmers. At the time of the arrival of the Spanish the Manso, Suma, and Jumano tribes populated the area and were subsequently incorporated into the Mestizo culture in the area, along with immigrants from central Mexico, captives from Comanchería, and genízaros of various ethnic groups. The Mescalero Apache roamed the region as well.

Spanish explorer Don Juan de Oñate was the first European explorer known to have arrived at the Rio Grande near El Paso, in 1598, celebrating Thanksgiving Mass there on April 30, 1598 (several decades before the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving). However, it is thought that the 4 survivors of the Narváez expedition passed through the area in the mid-1530s. El Paso del Norte (the present day Ciudad Juárez), was founded on the south bank of the Río Bravo del Norte, (Rio Grande) in 1659 by Spanish conquistadors. In 1680 the small village of El Paso became the base for Spanish governance of the territory of New Mexico, remaining the largest settlement in New Mexico until its cession to the US in 1848, when Texas took it in 1850.

Present day El Paso City largely remained undeveloped during most of Spanish control. Instead, Spanish settlement was centered on El Paso del Norte (the present day Ciudad Juárez). Although, the Spanish Crown and the local authorities of El Paso del Norte had made several land concessions to bring agricultural production to the northern bank of the river in present day El Paso City, continual Indian raids and warfare overwhelmed any attempts. The Apache Wars and subsequent Comanche Wars left northern Mexico, then including present day New Mexico, Texas, Coahuila, in a state of perpetual instability. Consequently, present day Juárez remained the northern-most villa with the Río Bravo del Norte, (Rio Grande) and Apache attacks dissuading settlement and development north. The water of the river, the sand dunes to the south (médanos) and the fortifications at Paso del Norte and El Real de San Lorenzo, provided a natural defense against further raids although in some decades several thousand strong Apache armies made raids deep into Mexico, slaughtering the male population and enslaving the women and children. As a result, the Rio Grande proved a boundary line of actual Hispanic presence.

Nonetheless, in the early years of Spanish power, several attempts were made which successfully colonized areas north for some decades. Being a grassland then, the Hispanic civilian and military population, and the small community of Spanish friars and their Amerindian wards ranched the area and developed small scale but successful agriculture consisting of vineyards and fruits. However, in 1680, after the successful Pueblo Revolt that decimated the Spanish colonies in northern New Mexico, Paso del Norte became the base for Spanish governance of the territory of New Mexico with the present-day El Paso remaining a neutral battle-ground. From El Paso, the Spaniards led by Diego de Vargas, grouped to recolonize the Spanish territory centered on Santa Fe stretching from Socorro to Taos. The Bourbon reforms of the eighteenth century affected the Paso del Norte region, as New Spain's enlightened bureaucrats deemed the region--with a thriving population of over 10,000 by mid-century--capable of self-defense. Viceregal troops garrisoned in the Presidio of Paso del Norte were redeployed elsewhere on New Spain's frontier. New policies of Indian gifting helped to stabilize relations with the Apaches and Comanches, providing a respite to El Paso's agriculturalist population.

With the Mexican Constitution of 1824, part of present-day El Paso became the southernmost locality of the Territorio de Nuevo Mexico (modern New Mexico) and part of the newly-established state of Chihuahua. It communicated with Santa Fe and Mexico City by the Royal Road (Camino Real de Tierra Adentro). American spies, traders and fur trappers visited the area since 1804 and some intermarried with the area's Hispanic elite, as occurred with fur trapper, miner, and merchant Hugh Stephenson (1798-1870). Although there was no combat in the region during the Mexican Independence, Paso del Norte experienced the negative effects it had on its wine trade.

The Texas Revolution (1836) was not felt in the region as the area was never considered part of Texas until 1848. As early as the mid 1840s, alongside long extant Hispanic settlements such as the Rancho de Juan María Ponce de León, Anglo settlers like Simeon Hart and Hugh Stephenson began to establish themselves. Stephenson, who had married into the local Hispanic aristocracy, established the Rancho de San José de la Concordia, which became the nucleus of Anglo and Hispanic settlement within the limits of modern-day El Paso, in 1844. Given the blurry reclamations of the Texas Republic that wanted a chunk of the Santa Fe trade, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo effectively made the settlements on the north bank of the river a formal American settlement, separate from Old El Paso del Norte on the Mexican side. The present Texas–New Mexico boundary placing El Paso on the Texas side was drawn in the Compromise of 1850.

El Paso County was established in March 1850, with San Elizario as the first county seat. The United States Senate fixed a boundary between Texas and New Mexico at the thirty-second parallel, thus largely ignoring history and topography. A military post called ''The Post opposite El Paso'' (meaning opposite El Paso del Norte, across the Rio Grande) was established in 1854. Further west, a settlement on Coons' Rancho called Franklin became the nucleus of the future El Paso, Texas. A year later pioneer Anson Mills completed his plan of the town, calling it El Paso.

During the Civil War, the Confederate cause was met with great support from Franklin residents until the city's capture by the Union California Column in 1862. It was then headquarters for the 5th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry until December 1864.

After the war was concluded, the town's population began to grow. El Paso was incorporated in 1873 and encompassed the small area communities that had developed along the river. With the arrival of the Southern Pacific, Texas and Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads in 1881, the population boomed to 10,000 by the 1890 census attracting newcomers ranging from businessmen and priests, to gunfighters and prostitutes. El Paso became a violent and wild boomtown known as the "Six Shooter Capital" because of its lawlessness. Prostitution and gambling flourished until World War I, when the Department of the Army pressured El Paso authorities to crack down on vice (thus benefitting vice in neighboring Ciudad Juárez). The city developed into the premier manufacturing, transportation, and retail center of the U.S. Southwest.

The Mexican Revolution greatly impacted the city, bringing an influx of refugees--and capital--to the bustling boom town. Spanish-language newspapers, theaters, movie houses, and schools were established, many supported by a thriving Mexican refugee middle class. Large numbers of clerics, intellectuals, and businessmen took refuge in the city, particularly between 1913 and 1915. The population exceeded 100,000. The Jesuit Order established a network of schools catering to the children of the Mexican community, and the large number of refugee floating population was attended by various philanthropic organizations, including the National Catholic Welfare Fund.

Mining and other industries gradually developed in the area. The El Paso and Northeastern Railway was chartered in 1897, in order to help exploit the natural resources of surrounding ares, especially in southeastern New Mexico Territory. The Arizona and Southeastern Railroad was slowly extended towards El Paso (owned by the Phelps Dodge company), in order to allow the construction of a second copper refinery in El Paso to refine copper ore being produced in Arizona and southwestern New Mexico by Phelps Dodge. In 1901, the Arizona and Southeastern was re-named the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad, and the tracks finally reached El Paso in 1902. The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of major business development in the city partially enabled by Prohibition era bootlegging. The Depression era hit the city hard and population declined through the end of World War II. Following the war, military expansion in the area as well as oil discoveries in the Permian Basin (North America) helped to cause rapid economic expansion in the mid 1900s. Copper smelting, oil refining, and the proliferation of low wage industries (particularly garment making) led the city's growth. The expansion slowed again in the 1960s but the city has continued to grow in large part because of the increased importance of trade with Mexico.

Geography

El Paso is located at (31.790208, -106.423242). It lies at the intersection of three states (Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua) and two countries (the USA and Mexico). It is the only major Texas city on Mountain Time. Ciudad Juárez used to be on Central Time, but both cities are now on Mountain Time.

The city's elevation is 3,800 feet (1,140 m) above sea level. North Franklin Mountain is the highest peak in the city at above sea level. The peak can be seen from in all directions. Additionally, this mountain range is home to the famous natural red-clay formation, the Thunderbird, from which the local Coronado High School gets its mascot's name. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 250.5 square miles (648.9 km²).

The Franklin Mountains State Park is the largest urban park in the United States and resides entirely in El Paso, extending from the north and dividing the city into several sections along with Fort Bliss and the El Paso International Airport.

The Rio Grande Rift, which passes around the southern end of the Franklin Mountains, is where the Rio Grande flows. The river defines the border between El Paso from Ciudad Juárez to the south and west until the river turns north of the border with Mexico, separating El Paso from Doña Ana County, New Mexico. Mt. Cristo Rey, a volcanic peak (an example of a pluton) rises within the Rio Grande Rift just to the west of El Paso on the New Mexico side of the Rio Grande. Other volcanic features include Kilbourne hole and Hunt's hole, which are Maar volcanic craters 30 miles (50 km) west of the Franklin Mountains.

El Paso is surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert, the easternmost section of the Basin and Range Region.

Being in the westernmost tip of Texas, and due to the huge size of the state, El Paso is closer to four other state capitals (US and Mexican) than it is to its own capital of Austin, Texas (the other capitals being, Phoenix (Arizona), Santa Fe (New Mexico), neighbouring Mexican city Chihuahua (Chihuahua), and Hermosillo (Sonora).

Areas

Central El Paso

* Downtown El Paso

* Sunset Heights

East El Paso

* Ysleta

Far East El Paso-Montana Vista

Mission Valley El Paso (Lower Valley and Ysleta, Texas)

Northwest El Paso (Commonly known as West El Paso or Upper Valley)

Northeast El Paso

West Central El Paso

With the city limits are traditional suburban areas that are located on the far eastern and western edges.

Texas suburbs outside the city

Anthony

Canutillo

Clint

Fabens

Homestead Meadows North

Homestead Meadows South

Horizon City

Montana Vista

San Elizario

Socorro

Sparks

Vinton

Tornillo

Westway

New Mexico suburbs

Although New Mexican areas of Anthony, Sunland Park, and Chaparral lie adjacent to El Paso County, they are considered to be part of the Las Cruces, New Mexico metropolitan area by the United States Census Bureau. Both metro areas do however, share a large commuter population, and also a media market.

Anthony

Sunland Park

Chaparral

Climate

El Paso has a warm, desert climate (Koppen ''BWh'') with very hot summers, usually with little or no humidity, and mild, dry winters. Rainfall averages per year, much of which occurs during the summer from July through September and is predominantly caused by the monsoon. During this period, southerly and southeasterly winds carry moisture from the Pacific, the Gulf of California, and the Gulf of Mexico into the region. When this moisture moves into the El Paso area and places to the southwest, orographic lift from the mountains, combined with strong daytime heating, causes thunderstorms, some severe enough to produce flash flooding and hail, across the region.

The sun shines 302 days per year on average in El Paso, 83 percent of daylight hours, according to the El Paso Weather Bureau. It is from this that the city is nicknamed "The Sun City." Due to its dry climate, El Paso often experiences wind and dust storms during the spring, usually starting in March and lasting to early May. With an average wind speed of up to with gusts that have been measured at over , these wind storms kick up large amounts of sand causing loss of visibility.

El Paso, at elevation, is also capable of receiving snow; weather systems have produced over a foot of snow on several occasions. In 1980, three major snowstorms produced over a foot of snow; one in February, another in April and the last one in December, producing a white Christmas for the city. A major snowstorm in December 1987 dumped over two feet (65 cm) of snow.

One example of El Paso's varying climate was the winter storm of early February 2011, which caused closures of schools, businesses, and City Hall. The snow stopped after about a day, but then because of below freezing temperatures El Paso utilities went into a crisis. Electric wires were broken, causing area blackouts; many water utility pipes froze, causing areas of the city to be without water for several days. When the pipes thawed, water was unsafe to drink due to filtration systems not working, therefore schools were closed again.

Monthly means range from in January to in July, but the warmest highs are typically in June. There are 60 nights below freezing, 109 days at or above and 20 days above each year. The city's record high is , and its record low is , with weather records for the area maintained by the National Weather Service since 1879.

Flooding

Although the average annual rainfall is only about 9 inches (225 mm), many parts of El Paso are subject to occasional flooding during intense summer monsoonal thunderstorms. In late July and early August 2006, over of rain fell in a week, overflowing all the flood-control reservoirs and causing major flooding city-wide. The city staff has estimated damage to public infrastructure as $21 million, and to private property (residential & commercial) as $77 million. Much of the damage was associated with development in recent decades in arroyos protected by flood-control dams and reservoirs, and the absence of any storm drain utility in the city to handle the flow of rain water.

Temperature statistics

Cityscape

10 Tallest Buildings in El Paso

! Rank !! Name !! Height !! Floors
1			21
2			20
3			19
4	Kayser Building		20
5	El Paso Natural Gas Company Building		18
6			17
7			17
8	O. T. Bassett Tower		15
9	El Paso County Courthouse		13
10	Anson Mills Building		12

El Paso's tallest building, the Wells Fargo Plaza, was built in the early-1970s as State National Plaza. The black-windowed, building is famous for its 13 white horizonal lights (18 lights per row on the east and west sides of the building, and 7 bulbs per row on the north and south sides) that were lit at night. The tower did use a design of the United States flag during the 4th of July holidays as well as the American hostage crisis of 1980, and was lit continuously following the September 11 attacks in 2001 until around 2006. During the Christmas holidays, a design of a Christmas tree was used, and at times, the letters "UTEP" was used to support University of Texas at El Paso athletics. The tower is now only lit during the holiday months, or when special events take place in the city.

Demographics

El Paso has historically been predominantly Hispanic. In the 1870s, a population of 23 Non-Hispanic whites and 150 Hispanics was reported. In 1916, the Census Bureau reported El Paso's population as 53% Hispanic and 44% non-Hispanic white.

According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of El Paso was as follows:

White: 77.8% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 15.0%)

Black or African American: 3.1%

Native American: 0.5%

Asian: 1.2%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%

Some other race: 15.1%

Two or more races: 2.2%

Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 80.0% (Mexican: 75.0%)

Source:

As of the census of 2000, there were 563,662 people, 182,063 households, and 141,098 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,263.0 people per square mile (873.7/km²). There were 193,663 housing units at an average density of 777.5 per square mile (300.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.6% White, 3.12% African American, 0.82% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 18.15% from other races, and 3.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 86.62% of the population.

There are 182,063 households, out of which 42.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.54.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,124, and the median income for a family was $35,432. Males had a median income of $28,989 versus $21,540 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,388. About 19.0% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

According to the 2006 United States Census Bureau population estimates, the El Paso metropolitan area had a population of 736,310. In 2010 CQ Press ranked El Paso safest city in the U.S. with a population over 500,000.

In 2010, many Mexicans fleeing drug violence in Ciudad Juarez settled in El Paso. Benjamin Sáenz, a novelist and a literature professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, said during that year that El Paso was "becoming a lot more Mexican and a lot less Chicano."

Government

Municipal

The city government is officially non-partisan; the county government is not. Mayors and City Council members may not serve for more than ten years in their respective offices.

The current mayor of El Paso is John Cook, who defeated Mayor Joe Wardy in 2005 and was reelected in 2009.

The current members of the El Paso City Council, who are elected every four years to staggered terms, are Emma Acosta, Susie Byrd, Steve Ortega, and Carl Robinson, whose terms will end in 2013, and Eddie Holguin, Cortney Niland, Ann Lilly, and Dr. Mike Noe, whose terms will end in 2015. Lilly, Byrd, Ortega, and Holguin, and have been on the council since 2005. Acosta has been on the council since 2008, Robinson since 2009, and Niland and Noe since 2011. Due to the term limits clause in the City Charter, several City Council members will not be eligible in the next election: Byrd, Holguin, Lilly, and Ortega, as well as Mayor Cook.

According to city charter amendments approved on February 7, 2004, the city of El Paso operates under a council-manager form of government. This system combines the strong political leadership of elected officials, in the form of eight Council Members, with the strong managerial experience of an appointed local government manager. All power is concentrated in the elected council, which hires a professionally trained manager to carry out its directives and oversee the delivery of public services. Joyce Wilson was selected by the city council in 2004 as El Paso's first City Manager.

El Paso County

The El Paso County Judge is Democrat Veronica Escobar, and the County Commissioners are Democrats Willie Gandara Jr., Sergio Lewis, Anna Perez, and Republican Dan Haggerty. Escobar and Lewis were first elected to their position in 2010, and have been in office since 2011. Perez and Gandara were first elected to their positions in 2008, and have been in office since 2009. Haggerty was first elected to his position in 1994, and has been in office since 1995. The El Paso County Sheriff is Democrat Richard Wiles, since 2009.

State

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the El Paso I District Parole Office in the city. The El Paso II District Parole Office is in an unincorporated area east of Horizon City.

Texas Legislature

El Paso City and County vote overwhelmingly Democratic, like most of the Texas–Mexico border area and urban Texas. The El Paso metropolitan area is represented in the Texas State House by Democrats Marisa Marquez, Chente Quintanilla, Naomi Gonzalez, and Joe Pickett, and Republican Dee Margo; and in the State Senate by José R. Rodríguez (D-El Paso).

Federal

The El Paso metropolitan area is represented by Silvestre Reyes (D-El Paso), former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Republican Quico Canseco (R-San Antonio) in the House of Representatives. The current U.S. Senators for Texas are Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), however the El Paso area has heavily voted against them in Senatorial elections.

Economy

El Paso is the Operational Headquarters of Helen of Troy Limited, a NASDAQ listed company that manufactures personal health care products under many labels such as OXO, Dr. Scholl's, Vidal Sassoon, Sunbeam, among others. Also headquartered in El Paso is Western Refining, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and Spira Footwear, and Fred Loya Insurance, an insurance company.

Until 1996, El Paso was home to El Paso Natural Gas Company. It is now in Houston, Texas under the name El Paso Corporation. Farah Clothing Company was also headquartered in El Paso until 1998 when Farah along with other clothing manufacturing companies such as Levi's, moved their plants in search of cheaper labor. In the 1980s El Paso was known as the blue jeans capital of the world because it produced over 2 million pairs of jeans every week from different jean companies in El Paso. As of 2006, the only remaining companies in the clothing industry are Wrangler and a smaller company by the name of Border Apparel.

More than 70 Fortune 500 companies have offices in El Paso, including The Hoover Company, Eureka, Boeing, and Delphi (auto parts).

El Paso is an important entry point to the U.S. from Mexico. Once a major copper refining area, chief manufacturing industries in El Paso now include food production, clothing, construction materials, electronic and medical equipment, and plastics. Cotton, fruit, vegetables, livestock, and pecans are produced in the area. With El Paso's attractive climate and natural beauty, tourism has become a booming industry as well as trade with neighboring Ciudad Juárez.

Education is also a driving force in El Paso's economy. El Paso's three large school districts are among the largest employers in the area, employing more than 19,000 people between them. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has an annual budget of nearly $250 million and employs nearly 3,600 people. A 2002 study by the university's Institute for Policy and Economic Development stated that the University's impact on local businesses has resulted in $349 million.

The military installation of Fort Bliss is a major contributor to El Paso's economy. Fort Bliss began as a Cavalry post in 1848. Today, Fort Bliss is the site of the United States Army's Air Defense Artillery Center and produces approximately $80 million in products and services annually, with about $60 million of those products and services purchased locally. Fort Bliss' total economic impact on the area has been estimated at more than $1 billion, with 12,000 soldiers currently stationed at the Fort. During the 2005 round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), Fort Bliss came out an enormous winner. By 2013, BRAC growth is expected to add almost 28,000 new troops, 16,000 new spouses, and 21,000 new children to the El Paso community. The growth is expected to create a strong economic ripple throughout the El Paso area. With the growth in Fort Bliss, the economy is expected to profit an additional $10 billion by 2012, and an additional $5 billion each year after that.

In addition to the military, the federal government has a strong presence in El Paso to manage its status and unique issues as a border region. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) all have agency operations in El Paso to regulate traffic and goods through ports of entry from Mexico. Including these agencies, government job growth in the area is expected to rise to 64,390 jobs by 2007. Many small businesses have been created with the growth of Fort Bliss. These companies support and provide many goods and services in areas as automotive, food and retail clothing. Another type of service provided by some companies are related directly to the Military itself such as Flags and Guidons, other areas that have flourished is the sewing and uniform companies

Call center operations make up 7 of the top 10 business employers in El Paso. With no signs of growth slowing in this industry, in 2005 the 14 largest call centers in El Paso employed more than 10,000 people. The largest of these in terms of employees are EchoStar, MCI/GC Services, and West Telemarketing.

Analysts in the area say that job growth in 2005 will be in the form of health care, business and trade services, international trade, and telecommunications.

Items and goods produced: petroleum, metals, medical devices, plastics, machinery, automotive parts, food, defense-related goods, tourism, boots

Largest city employers

El Paso Independent School District 8,663

Fort Bliss (civilian employees) 6,803

Ysleta Independent School District 6,500

City of El Paso 6,264

University of Texas at El Paso 4,871

Socorro Independent School District 3,995

Sierra Providence Health Network 3,761

El Paso Community College 3,728

Wal-Mart 3,706

El Paso County 2,700

Las Palmas and Del Sol Regional Health Care System 2,244

Echostar 2,012

All numbers are estimates as of 2006.

Sports

Major league teams

El Paso does not have any major league sports team. El Paso is the second largest city without a major sports team (Basketball, Baseball, Football, Hockey) in the continental United States. El Paso hosts the annual NCAA Hyundai Sun Bowl. El Paso is also the site of the Borderland Derby horse race held in the nearby suburb of Sunland Park.

Sports

!Club	!Sport	!League	!Stadium
El Paso Diablos	Baseball	American Association of Independent Professional Baseball (South Division)	Cohen Stadium
Chivas El Paso Patriots	Soccer	USL Premier Development League	Patriot Stadium
Indios USA	Soccer	National Premier Soccer League	Canutillo Stadium
El Paso Rhinos	Ice Hockey	Western States Hockey League	El Paso County Coliseum
El Paso Brawlers		Far West Football League	Sun Bowl Stadium
El Paso Generals			El Paso County Coliseum
UTEP Miners		Conference USA	Don Haskins Center

Arenas

UTEP owns the two largest stadiums in El Paso:

Sun Bowl Stadium has a capacity of 51,400 and is home to the UTEP Miners football team, coached by Mike Price. It is also home to the annual Sun Bowl, soccer games, and special events such as concerts.

Don Haskins Center has a capacity of 12,222 and is used for UTEP's basketball teams and special events such as concerts and boxing matches. It is also where the graduation ceremony takes place for UTEP students.

Other arenas in El Paso include:

Cohen Stadium has a capacity of 9,725 and is used primarily for the El Paso Diablos Independent baseball club. It also hosts concerts and boxing matches and is able to host soccer games as well.

El Paso County Coliseum has a capacity of 5,250. It is currently used primarily for special events such as concerts, wrestling matches, and others. It can also be utilized for hockey and arena football.

Memorial Gym is a 5,000 seat multi-purpose arena located on the UTEP campus. It was home to the Miners basketball teams until the Don Haskins Center, then known as the Special Events Center, opened in 1976.

Patriot Stadium has a capacity of around 3,000 and is solely used for the Chivas El Paso Patriots soccer club.

Education

Public school districts

The city of El Paso is served by:

Canutillo Independent School District

El Paso Independent School District

Socorro Independent School District

Ysleta Independent School District

Nearby areas are served by:

Anthony Independent School District

Clint Independent School District

Fabens Independent School District

Gadsden Independent School District (in New Mexico)

San Elizario Independent School District

Tornillo Independent School District

Colleges and universities

Two-year and vocational colleges

El Paso Community College

International Business College

Western Technical College

Doña Ana Branch Community College with campuses in the El Paso Suburbs of Sunland Park and Anthony, New Mexico, with a new campus in Chaparral, New Mexico. This college is a part of the New Mexico State University system.

Four-year colleges & satellite campuses

University of Texas at El Paso, or UTEP.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Campus

Texas Tech College of Architecture at El Paso

University of Phoenix-Santa Teresa, NM Campus

Park University

Webster University

Medical school

Texas Tech University-Paul L. Foster School of Medicine

Private and parochial schools

There are several parochial schools within the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso:

Primary schools:

* Father Yermo Primary School

* Loretto Academy Primary School

* Most Holy Trinity Catholic School

* Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School

* Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School

* St. Joseph's Catholic School

* St. Matthew's Catholic School

* St. Patrick Cathedral School

* St. Pius X Catholic School

* St. Raphael Catholic School

Secondary schools:

* Cathedral High School

* Father Yermo High School

* Loretto Academy

Other private schools include the following:

Bethel Christian School

Bridges Academy

Covenant Christian Academy

Community of Faith Christian School

El Paso Adventist Junior Academy

El Paso Country Day School

El Paso Jewish Academy

Faith Christian Academy

Jesus Chapel School

Immanuel Christian School

Journey Academy

Lydia Patterson Institute

Mount Franklin Christian Academy

Northeast Christian Academy

North Loop Christian Academy

Palm Tree Academy

Radford School

Rose of Sharon Academy

St. Clement's Parish School

Trinity Lutheran Church and School

Public libraries

El Paso Public Library operates public libraries in El Paso.

Hospitals

Del Sol Medical Center

Las Palmas – Del Sol Rehab. Hospital

Las Palmas Medical Center

Horizon Specialty Hospital

University Medical Center- The city's general hospital and the only Level I trauma center in the area

Rio Vista Rehab. Hospital

Sierra Medical Center

Southwestern General Hospital

William Beaumont Army Medical Center

Providence Memorial Hospital

Physicians Hospital

Highlands Regional Rehabilitation Hospital

Sierra Providence East Medical Center

Culture

Literature

El Paso has been home to literary figures such as:

Alicia Gaspar de Alba

Frank Ambriz

José Antonio Burciaga

Mario T. Garcia

Dagoberto Gilb

Arturo Islas

Tom Lea

Cormac McCarthy

Howard McCord

Pat Mora

John Rechy

Benjamin Alire Saenz

The Tigua Indians of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo

Located between the cities of El Paso and Socorro lies the sovereign Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation, with its own governing body. It is one of the three Federally-recognized Indian tribes in Texas.

The Tigua Indians have been at their present location since a successful Pueblo Revolt of 1680 that forced the Spaniards and New Spaniards (future Mexicans) to retreat south to present day Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and El Paso. The tribe is led by a governor and a tribal council. Elections for tribal governor and tribal council are held once annually. As of January 2011, the governor is Frank Paiz.

Very close to tribal lands is the sacred site of Hueco Tanks.

Points of interest

Area museums

The Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens is located on the grounds of UTEP, including a comprehensive collection of El Paso Brown, Native American pottery, as well as educational exhibits for students.

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology is located on the eastern slope of North Franklin Mountain. Its grounds include native plants of the American Southwest as well samples of Native American shelters, in an unspoiled location. The museum includes dioramas for schoolchildren which illustrate the culture and geology of the American Southwest, such as Hueco Tanks in El Paso County. One diorama (see image to the right) is of the Cueva de la Olla (cave of the pot) which is located in the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua, an example of the Paquimé culture.

The El Paso Museum of Art is located next to the Plaza Theater next to San Jacinto Plaza, the public square downtown. It contains works of southwestern artists such as Tom Lea.

El Paso Museum of History

Fort Bliss Museums & Study Center

Insights El Paso Science Museum

The Magoffin Homestead, dating from 1875, is now a State Historic Site.

The National Border Patrol Museum is located adjacent to the El Paso Museum of Archaeology.

Railroad & Transportation Museum of El Paso

War Eagles Air Museum, Santa Teresa, New Mexico

Gene Roddenberry Planetarium

El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center

Lynx Exhibits

Theaters

The Abraham Chavez Theatre is located adjacent to the El Paso Convention & Performing Arts Center, welcomes patrons with a three-story-high glass-windowed entry and unique sombrero-shaped architecture making it a distinct feature on El Paso's southwestern landscape.

The Plaza Theatre is a historic building located at 125 Pioneer Plaza in El Paso, Texas. The theater stands as one of the city's most well-known landmarks. It shows various Broadway productions, musical concerts, and individual performers. It has a seating capacity of 2,100.

McKelligon Canyon is a park, located in the Franklin Mountains, open to hikers and picnickers. In the canyon, McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre is surrounded on three sides by dramatic canyon walls; the 1,500-seat amphitheatre is used for concerts and special events, such as ''Viva El Paso!''

Sites within the city limits

Abraham Chavez Theatre

Chamizal National Memorial

El Paso Zoo

Fort Bliss

Franklin Mountains State Park

Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick

El Paso High School

Judson F. Williams Convention Center

McKelligon Canyon

Magoffin Home State Historic Site

Plaza Hotel

Plaza Theatre

Union Depot

University of Texas at El Paso

Ysleta Mission

The Tigua (Tiwa) of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation

Sites within the surrounding area

Big Bend National Park

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Hueco Tanks State Park

Lincoln National Forest

Maar volcanic craters: Kilbourne Hole and Hunt's Hole

The Mescalero Apache Nation

Socorro Mission

The Presidio at San Elizario, also known as the San Elizario Chapel

White Sands National Monument

Other sites of interest

The El Paso Comic Strip Comedy Club

Judson F. Williams Convention Center

Western Playland

Wet and Wild Water World

Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino

Rosa's Cantina

Chico's Tacos

Cielo Vista Mall

Sunland Park Mall

Bassett Center

Transportation

El Paso is served by El Paso International Airport, Amtrak via the historic Union Depot, Interstate 10, U.S. Highway 54 (known locally as "The Border Highway", "54", the "North-South Freeway" or officially as the Patriot Freeway), U.S. Highway 180 and U.S. Highway 62 (Montana Avenue), U.S. Highway 85 (Paisano Drive), Loop 375, Loop 478 (Copia Street-Pershing Drive-Dyer Street), numerous Texas Farm to Market Roads (a class of state highway commonly abbreviated to FM) and the city's original thoroughfare, State Highway 20, the eastern portion of which is known locally as Alameda Avenue (formerly U.S. Highway 80). Texas 20 also includes portions of Texas Avenue in Central El Paso, North Mesa Street from Downtown to the West Side, and Doniphan Drive on the West Side. Northeast El Paso is connected to West El Paso by Transmountain Road. The city also shares 4 international bridges and one railbridge with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. In 2009, El Paso was home to number 52, number 98 and number 100 of the 100 most congested roads in Texas, which are, respectively: North Zaragoza Road between Sun Fire Boulevard and Interstate 10; Lee Trevino Drive between Montana Avenue and Interstate 10; and Interstate 10 between the Patriot Freeway and Loop 375.

Airports

El Paso International Airport

Horizon Airport

Passenger rail

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, serves El Paso at the historic Union Depot, operating its Sunset Limited three times weekly between New Orleans and Los Angeles.

Major highways

20px Interstate 10 The primary thoroughfare through the city, connecting the city with other major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, Gulfport,& Mobile, with the east end located in Jacksonville, Florida. I-10 is also a connector to Interstate 25, which connects with the cities of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Cheyenne, Casper, and north to the junction with I-90, located in Buffalo, Wyoming.

20px U.S. Highway 54 Officially called the Patriot Freeway; also known as the North-South Freeway. A business route runs along Dyer Street, the former US 54, from the freeway near Fort Bliss to the Texas–New Mexico border, where it again rejoins the expressway. The original U.S. 54 was a transcontinental route connecting El Paso with Chicago.

20px U.S. Highway 62 Santa Fe Street south of Paisano Drive concurrently with US 85, Paisano Drive east of Santa Fe Street to Montana Avenue, then Montana Avenue concurrently with US 180.

20px U.S. Highway 85 Santa Fe Street south of Paisano Drive concurrently with US 62 and Paisano Drive west of Santa Fe Street to I-10.

20px U.S. Highway 180 Montana Avenue, which is a bypass route to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to the east, and Flagstaff, Arizona to the west.

20px SH 20 Alameda Avenue (formerly US 80), Texas Avenue, Mesa Street and Doniphan Drive.

20px SH 178 Artcraft Road in Northwest El Paso extends from Interstate 10 west to the New Mexico state line, at which point it becomes New Mexico Highway 136, the Pete V. Domenici International Highway.

20px Loop 375 Texas Highway Loop 375 encircles the city of El Paso. Between Interstate 10 and Fort Bliss, including the stretch that crosses the Franklin Mountains via Smuggler's Pass, it is TransMountain Road. In the Ft. Bliss Military Reservation in between Northeast and East El Paso, it is officially the Purple Heart Memorial Highway. In East El Paso, the north- and southbound section is known as Joe Battle Boulevard, or simply as "the Loop". South of I-10, in the east and westbound portion, it is known as the Cesar Chavez Border Highway, a four-lane expressway which is located along the U.S.-Mexico border between Downtown El Paso and the Ysleta area.

20px Loop 478: Copia Street, Pershing Drive and Dyer Street.

20px Spur 601. Once known as the Inner Loop, it was officially named the Liberty Expressway by the El Paso City Council in April 2010 at the request of Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg, the commanding general of Fort Bliss. It was fully completed on April 27, 2011 ; it connects the Patriot Freeway (US 54) and Biggs Army Air Field to the Purple Heart Memorial Highway (Loop 375).

30px North Loop Road, as well as Delta Drive between North Loop Road and Alameda Avenue (Texas Highway 20).

30px Zaragoza Road, running more or less north from the Ysleta International Bridge to US 62-180 (Montana Avenue); it lies mostly in East El Paso.

30px A portion of Clark Drive from Alameda Avenue (Texas Highway 20) north to Trowbridge Drive in South-Central El Paso.

30px McRae Boulevard, running north from Interstate 10 to US 62-180 (Montana Avenue) in East El Paso.

30px Texas Farm Road 2529 includes Stan Roberts Avenue and McCombs Street between Dyer Street and Stan Roberts Avenue in Northeast El Paso.

30px Runs east from McCombs Street (Texas Farm Road 2529) in far Northeast El Paso; does not have a city street name.

30px Texas Farm Road 3255 runs north from US 54 to the New Mexico state line in Northeast El Paso and bears the city street name Martin Luther King Boulevard.

===Mass transit=== The Sun Metro Mass Transit System operates a system of medium to large capacity natural gas powered buses all around the city of El Paso.

El Paso County Transit makes trips with small capacity buses mainly in the Eastern El Paso area.

On September 1, 2009, NMDOT Park and Ride began operating commuter bus service to and from Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Historically, El Paso and Ciudad Juarez had a shared streetcar system with a peak electrified route mileage of in 1920. The first electrified line across the Rio Grande which opened on January 11, 1902 was preceded by a network that relied on animal labor. The system quickly spread into residential and industrial areas of El Paso. In 1913 a interurban line was built to Ysleta. At the close of 1943 the holding company of El Paso Electric sold its subsidiary the El Paso Electric Railway Company and its Mexican counterpart to one of National City Lines' subsidiaries. This resulted in the formation of El Paso City Lines whose domestic streetcar lines were replaced by buses in 1947. The international streetcar line which crossed the border via the Stanton Street Bridge continued to operate until 1973. In 1977 El Paso City Lines and two other bus companies were bought by the municipality and merged to form Sun City Area Transit (SCAT). In 1987 SCAT restyled itself Sun Metro.

In 2011, Sun Metro has been named the most Outstanding Public Transit System of the Year in all of North America for a mid-size transit system by the American Public Transportation Association.

Walkability

A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked El Paso 44th most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities.

International border crossings

The first bridge to cross the Rio Grande at El Paso del Norte was built in the time of Nueva España, over 250 years ago, from wood hauled in from Santa Fe. Today, this bridge is honored by the modern Santa Fe Street Bridge, and Santa Fe Street in downtown El Paso.

Four bridges serve the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez area. In addition to the Santa Fe Street Bridge, there is the Bridge of the Americas, Stanton Street Bridge, and the Zaragoza Bridge.

There is also a land crossing at nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and the Fabens-Caseta International Bridge in nearby Fabens, Texas.

Media

Newspapers

The main newspapers are the English language daily El Paso Times, founded in 1881; and the Spanish language daily El Diario de El Paso.

Radio stations

Radio stations from Las Cruces, New Mexico and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua can also be heard within the El Paso market.

Television

El Paso was the largest city in the United States without a PBS television station within the city limits until 1978. El Paso viewers had to watch channel 22, KRWG from Las Cruces until 1978. In fact, the city had only three English-speaking channels and two Spanish language channels (channel 2 and channel 5) from Juarez, and cable TV subscribers in the 1970s and 1980s could receive four Los Angeles independent channels: KTLA, KHJ, KTTV and KCOP. Over time, as more television stations signed on and more cable channels were added (and the internet expanded), the L.A. stations would disappear from the lineup. The last to be removed was KTLA in the Fall of 2006, when KVIA-TV opened its own CW station.

El Paso's current television stations are as shown in the table below:

Cellular phone coverage

KTSM TV reports that cellular phone users in El Paso are subject to International Calling fees (unless they disable roaming with their cellular phone providers).

Popular culture

"El Paso" by Marty Robbins was a popular Country ballad released in 1959. Robbins followed it up with a sequel, "El Paso City," in 1976.

Juan Gabriel started his singing career by singing for passengers on the electric trollies that connected El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.

Fleetwood Mac held their first concert that featured Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham in El Paso in 1975. Stevie Nicks attended Loretto Academy and Bassett Junior High in El Paso as a teenager.

In the 1975 movie ''The Stepford Wives,'' the fluoride content in El Paso's drinking water is mentioned as a possible method via which the women of Stepford were being "brainwashed."

"Take The Money and Run"- a hit song by the Steve Miller Band- tells the story of two bandits who "go down to old El Paso" and "get into a great big hassle."

The current ''Blue Beetle'' comic book series takes place in El Paso.

Radio La Chusma's song, ''Cruisin''' describes the city's streets in their pachuco style sound.

El Paso has become a favored destination for musicians of all stripes. See Vanity Fair's March 2009 article.

In one of the opening scenes in Call of Juarez, Ray mentions El Paso.

In Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, the penultimate mission is set in El Paso.

The Chinga Chavin song "Asshole From El Paso" (most famously recorded by Kinky Friedman), a parody of Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee", mentions El Paso in both the lyrics and the title.

The post-hardcore band At The Drive-In was formed in El Paso. One of the founding members, guitarist Jim Ward was born in El Paso.

American artist Tori Amos references El Paso in her song, "Mother Revolution," featured on 2005's The Beekeeper.

In the film 'For a Few Dollars More', a bank in El Paso is robbed.

In the 2010 movie, ''MacGruber'' Lead character MacGruber mentions that he played for The University of Texas El Paso as a tight end."

In the second season of "Breaking Bad", DEA Agent Hank Schrader is transferred from his office in Albuquerque to the headquarters in El Paso. This is a promotion, since El Paso's proximity to Ciudad Juárez gives way to frequent clashes between the DEA and the Mexican drug cartels. Hank's new post doesn't last long, however; he returns to Albuquerque after witnessing his colleagues being maimed and killed by a disturbing cartel attack (an explosive is concealed inside the decapitated head of a Mexican-drug-lord-turned-police-informant, which is riding atop a tortoise).

Filmed in El Paso

''The Burning Plain'' (2009) starring Charlize Theron. One scene was shot on 2nd floor at Southwest General Hospital.

''Stephen Fry In America'' (2008) documentary

''The Last Conquistador'' (2008), a PBS POV documentary about the Oñate statue controversy

''Glory Road'' (2006) starring Josh Lucas is set in El Paso.

''Beside You in Time'' (2006) Nine Inch Nails North American Tour 2006.

''Rx'' (2005) starring Colin Hanks, Eric Balfour and Alan Tudyk.

''Man on Fire'' (2004) starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning.

''The Day After Tomorrow'' (2004) starring Dennis Quaid and Sela Ward.

''Saving Jessica Lynch'' (2003) starring Laura Regan.

''Kingpin (NBC pilot)'' (2003) starring Yancey Arias and Brian Benben.

''The Original Latin Kings of Comedy'' (2002) featuring George Lopez, Cheech Marin, Joey Medina, Alex Reymundo and Paul Rodriguez was shot at the Abraham Chavez Theater.

''Traffic'' (2000) starring Benicio del Toro, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid and Don Cheadle.

''Committed'' (2000) starring Heather Graham.

''On the Border'' (1998) starring Casper Van Dien, Bryan Brown, Daniel Baldwin.

''Lolita'' (1997) starring Jeremy Irons and Melanie Griffith.

''Last Man Standing'' (1996) starring Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, Christopher Walken, Karina Lombard.

''Courage Under Fire'' (1996) starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan had all the Persian Gulf War scenes shot at the Indian Cliffs Ranch.

''Blue Sky'' (1994) starring Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones.

''Wild at Heart'' (1990) starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern.

''Extreme Prejudice'' (1987) starring Nick Nolte and Powers Boothe.

''Death of an Angel'' (1986) starring Bonnie Bedelia and Nick Mancuso.

''Lost in America'' (1985) starring Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty.

''Fandango'' (1985) starring Kevin Costner and Judd Nelson. Wedding scenes were filmed in front of Mission San Elizario in San Elizario, Texas (near El Paso).

''Paris, Texas'' (1984) starring Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell.

''Lone Wolf McQuade'' (1983) starring Chuck Norris and David Carradine.

''Wrong is Right'' (1982) starring Sean Connery.

''The Border'' (1982) starring Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel. All the border scenes, the refugee camp scene, and the U.S. Embassy scene were shot in and around El Paso.

''Second Hand Hearts'' (1981) starring Robert Blake and Barbara Harris.

''Resurrection'' (1980) starring Ellen Burstyn.

''When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?'' (1979) starring Hal Linden and Lee Grant.

''Big Wednesday'' (1978) starring Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey.

''I Thought It Was A Go'' (2007) starring Kaelo Makua James and Chris "Nyph" Ashness. A Deathcore music video featuring the Deathcore band The Odessa Trail.

''The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training'' (1977) starring William Devane.

''The Getaway'' (1972) starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw.

''Manos: The Hands of Fate'' (1966), which is reputed to be one of the worst films ever made, was shot in and around El Paso. It premiered in 1966 at the downtown Capri Theater.

''Take the High Ground!'' (1953), starring Richard Widmark and Karl Malden.

Sister cities

El Paso, Texas has the following sister cities:

– Chihuahua, México – Jerez de la Frontera, Spain – Mérida, Spain – Juárez, México – Torreón, México – Zacatecas, México

See also

List of people from El Paso, Texas

National Register of Historic Places listings in El Paso County, Texas

Notes

External links

City of El Paso Website

Chamber of Commerce Website

''Forty years at El Paso, 1858–1898; recollections of war, politics, adventure, events, narratives, sketches, etc.'', by W. W. Mills, hosted by the Portal to Texas History

El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization

El Paso - The Best Little Music City in Texas, from ''Vanity Fair'', March 2009.

Category:Cities in Texas Category:County seats in Texas Category:El Paso County, Texas Category:Populated places in Texas with Hispanic majority populations Category:Populated places established in 1659 Category:Mexico – United States border towns Category:Butterfield Overland Mail

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Name	Marty Robbins
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Martin David Robinson
Born	September 26, 1925Glendale, Arizona, United States
Died	December 08, 1982Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Instrument	Guitar, piano, dobrovocals
Genre	country, gospel, pop, rock and roll, rockabilly
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, actor, NASCAR driver
Years active	1948–1982
Label	Columbia, Decca
Notable instruments	}}

Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925–December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. One of the most popular and successful country and Western singers of his era, for most of his nearly four-decade career, Robbins was rarely far from the country music charts, and several of his songs also became pop hits.

Biography

Robbins was born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. He was reared in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family of ten children. His father's drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle. Robbins left the troubled home at the age of 17 to serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.

After his discharge from the military in 1945, he began to play at local venues in Phoenix, then moved on to host his own show on KTYL. He thereafter had his own television show on KPHO-TV in Phoenix. After Little Jimmy Dickens made a guest appearance on Robbins' TV show, Dickens got Robbins a record deal with Columbia Records. Robbins became known for his appearances at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in 35 career NASCAR races with six top 10 finishes, including the 1973 Daytona 500. In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film ''Hell on Wheels''. Robbins was partial to Dodges, and owned and raced Chargers and then a 1978 Dodge Magnum. His last race was in a Junior Johnson-built 1982 Buick Regal in the Atlanta Journal 500 on November 7, 1982, the month before he died. In 1983, NASCAR honored Robbins by naming the annual race at Nashville the Marty Robbins 420. He was also the driver of the 60th Indianapolis 500 Buick Century pace car in 1976.

He ran many of the big super speedway races including Talladega Superspeedway in 1972, when he stunned the competition by turning laps that were 15 mph faster than his qualifying time. Apparently, in his motel room, Robbins had knocked the NASCAR-mandated restrictors out of his carburetor. After the race, NASCAR tried to give him the Rookie of the Race award, but Robbins would not accept it, admitting he was illegal because he "just wanted to see what it was like to run up front for once."

Robbins was awarded an honorary degree by Northern Arizona University.

On Sept. 27,1948, Robbins married Marizona Baldwin (September 11, 1930–July 10, 2001) to whom he dedicated his song "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife". They had two children, a son Ronny (born 1949) and daughter Janet (born 1959), who also followed a singing career in Los Angeles, California.

Robbins later portrayed a musician in the 1982 Clint Eastwood film ''Honkytonk Man''. Robbins died a few weeks before the film's release in December 1982 of complications following cardiac surgery. At the time of his death, Robbins lived in Brentwood in Williamson County, outside Nashville. He was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville. The city of El Paso, Texas later honored Robbins by naming a park and a recreational center after him. Marty's twin sister Mamie Ellen Robinson Minotto died on March 14, 2004, when she was part way through writing a book about her brother "Some Memories: Growing up with Marty Robbins" as remembered by Mamie Minotto, as told to Andrew Means. It was published in Jan. 2007.

Music and honors

Robbins's 1957 recording of "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. His musical accomplishments include the Grammy Award for his 1959 hit and signature song "El Paso", taken from his album ''Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs''. "El Paso" was the first song to hit #1 on the pop chart in the 1960s. It was followed up, successfully, by "Don't Worry", which reached #3 on the pop chart in 1961, becoming his third, and last, Top 10 pop hit. "El Paso" was followed by two sequels: "Feleena" and "El Paso City", both of which continued the story featured in the original song. Also in 1961, Robbins wrote the words and music and recorded "I Told the Brook," a ballad later also recorded by Billy Thorpe.

He won the Grammy Award for the Best Country & Western Recording 1961, for his follow-up album ''More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs,'' and was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1970, for "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife". Robbins was named Artist of the Decade (1960–69) by the Academy of Country Music, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, and was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998 for his song "El Paso".

Robbins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. For his contribution to the recording industry, Robbins has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6666 Hollywood Blvd.

Robbins has been honored by many bands, including the Grateful Dead who covered "El Paso". The Who's 2006 album ''Endless Wire'' includes the song "God Speaks Of Marty Robbins". The song's composer, Pete Townshend, explained that the song is about God deciding to create the universe just so he can hear some music, "and most of all, one of his best creations, Marty Robbins." The Beasts of Bourbon released a song called "The Day Marty Robbins Died" on their 1984 debut album ''The Axeman's Jazz''. Johnny Cash recorded a version of "Big Iron" as part of his American Recordings series, which is included in the ''Cash Unearthed'' box set. Both Frankie Laine and Elvis Presley, among others, recorded versions of Robbins's song "You Gave Me a Mountain", with Laine's recording reaching the pop and adult contemporary charts in 1969.

Robbins performed and recorded several songs by longtime songwriter Coleman Harwell, most notably "Thanks but No Thanks" in 1964; Robbins and his producers employed the top sessions musicians and singers including the Jordanaires to record Harwell's songs. Harwell is the nephew of former ''Nashville Tennessean'' newspaper editor Coleman Harwell.

When Robbins was recording his 1961 hit "Don't Worry", session guitarist Grady Martin accidentally created a clicking effect, believed to be caused by a bad electical element in the recording equipment during the session. Marty heard the sound and decided to keep it in the final version. The sound was in sync with the tempo. The song reached #1 on the country chart, and #3 on the pop chart.

Robbins' song "Big Iron", originally released on his 1959 album ''Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs'', gained renewed popularity following its use in the video game ''Fallout: New Vegas''.

Discography

Notes

References

IMDb Bio Retrieved on 2008-01-25

Pruett, Barbara J. ''"Marty Robbins: Fast Cars and Country Music"''. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. 2007. ISBN 0-8108-6036-8

"Fallout: New Vegas" Big Iron is used on Radio New Vegas

External links

Official Marty Robbins Web site

Robbins page at Country Music Hall of Fame

Robbins page at Western Music Association

Robbins page at Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

Robbins bio by Hank Davis at ''Allmusic''

Robbins page by Gaylen Duskey at NASCAR

Category:American country guitarists Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American racecar drivers Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Deaths from surgical complications Category:NASCAR drivers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:People from Glendale, Arizona Category:1925 births Category:1982 deaths Category:Musicians from Arizona Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Columbia Records artists Category:United States Navy sailors

ar:مارتي روبينز cs:Marty Robbins de:Marty Robbins fr:Marty Robbins no:Marty Robbins ru:Марти Роббинс simple:Marty Robbins sv:Marty Robbins

name	Raul Malo
background	solo_singer
birth name	Raúl Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr.
birth date	August 07, 1965
origin	Miami, Florida, United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Country, salsa, Latin jazz
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	1989–present
label	New Door
associated acts	The Mavericks, Los Super Seven, K.T. Oslin }}

Raúl Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965, Miami, Florida), known professionally as Raúl Malo, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He was the lead singer of country music band The Mavericks and the co-writer of many of their singles, as well as Rick Trevino's 2003 single "In My Dreams". Since the disbanding of the Mavericks in the early 2000s, Malo has pursued a solo career. He has also participated from 2001 in the Los Super Seven supergroup.

Biography

Malo was born in Miami to middle-class Cuban parents. He is married to Betty and together they have three sons: Dino, Vincent and Max (who sang with him on ''Marshmallow World & Other Holiday Favorites'').

Solo discography

Albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"
''Today''		* Release date: October 23, 2001	* Label: Higher Octave	—	—	—	—
''You're Only Lonely''		* Release date: July 25, 2006	* Label: Sanctuary Records	—	50	38	—
''After Hours''		* Release date: July 17, 2007	* Label: New Door Records	43	12	—	—
''Marshmallow World &Other Holiday Favorites''		* Release date: September 25, 2007	* Label: New Door Records	—	24	—	11
''Lucky One''		* Release date: March 3, 2009	* Label: Fantasy Records	—	13	—	—
''Sinners and Saints''		* Release date: October 5, 2010	* Label: Fantasy Records	—	7	—	—

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		! width="65"
	"I Said I Love You"	57
"Today"	—
2006	"Feels Like Home"	—
2009	"Lucky One"	—
2010	"Moonlight Kiss"	—

Music videos

! Year	Video	! Director
2009	"Hello Again"	Matt Robertson

References

External links

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:American male singers Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American people of Cuban descent Category:People from Florida

name	Jamie Thomas
residence	Encinitas, California
birth date	October 11, 1974
birth place	Dothan, Alabama
occupation	Professional skateboarder }}

Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974), is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry magnate from Dothan, Alabama. He is the co-owner of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear.

Skateboarding career

Thomas started skateboarding at the age of eleven. He was first sponsored in 1992 by Deluxe (Thunder trucks, Spitfire wheels and as a flow rider for Real Skateboards). This prompted him to move to San Francisco with his friends Sean Young and Hurley. While living in San Francisco, Thomas turned pro for a short-lived company, Experience Skateboards. Thomas then went on to ride for the San Diego based Invisible Skateboards. After relocating to Southern California in 1994, Thomas was featured on the cover of Transworld Skateboard magazine and had video parts in the Spitfire and Invisible videos. In 1995 Thomas joined Ed Templeton's Toy Machine. He filmed and directed two Toy Machine videos, the second one being Welcome To Hell. His section in "Welcome To Hell" is arguably the biggest milestone of his career.

Business career

In 1996 Thomas started a small clothing company through Toy Machine's distributor Tum Yeto. This company later became Zero Skateboards. Thomas is the owner and president of Black Box Distribution, which was created in 2000 and is the parent company of Mystery Skateboards, $lave Skateboards, Zero Skateboards, Threat By Zero, Insight Clothing, and Fallen Footwear. In 2006 he won a regional "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from Ernst & Young.

Personal life

Thomas is married to Joanne and has three children (Julien Tiger born October 30, 2003, James Ruby born March 30, 2006, and Maximus Trey born June 11, 2008). They reside in Encinitas, California. Thomas is also a Christian, with several board graphics featuring Christian imagery and scripture.

Select videography

The Zero video ''Thrill Of It All'' featured Thomas' attempt at what would be coined "The Leap of Faith", an ollie melon down an 18-foot, 8-inch drop over a handrail at Point Loma High School in San Diego, California. Although Thomas never successfully landed the trick, his attempt garnered him notoriety.

Invisible Skateboards Invisible (1994)

Spitfire Wheels (1994)

Toy Machine Heavy Metal (1995)

Etnies High Five (1995)

Toy Machine Welcome to Hell (1996)

Emerica Yellow (1996)

Zero Thrill of it All (1997)

Zero Misled Youth (1999)

Landspeed:cKy (1999)

Transworld VideoRadio (2001)

Chomp on This (2002)

Zero Dying to Live (2002)

Zero New Blood (2005)

Reason to Believe (2005)

Thrasher King of the Road (2004)

Thrasher King of the Road (2005)

Thrasher King of the Road (2006)

Zero Promo Video (2007)

Fallen: Ride The Sky (2008)

Zero Strange World (2009)

Zero Cold War (2011) In progress

External links

Black Box Distribution

References

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSE/is_284/ai_n6095631

Category:American skateboarders Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:American Christians

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