Minero Magazine Fall 2022

Vol. 35, Fall 2022

The University of Texas at El Paso

Minero Magazine

Gavin Hardison Getting to know UTEP football’s quarterback Also in this issue: ¿Latino, Latina, Latine?

El lenguaje inclusivo y el objetivo de nombrar y no discriminar

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Minero Magazine Vol. 35

Fall 2022

Staff list

Editor-in-chief Brandy Ruiz

Writers Brandy Ruiz Brianne Williams Jorge Solis Juan Pablo De Anda De Alva Maria Guerrero Yoali Rodriguez

Art Director Hugo Hinojosa Photo Editor Jasmin Campoya

Photographers Juan Pablo De Anda De Alva Ethan Thomas

Web Editor & Copy Editor Maria L. Guerrero Duran

En Breves by Brandy Ruiz Director Veronica Gonzalez Assistant Director/ Editorial Adviser Tracy Roy Accounting Specialist Isabel Castillo Administrative Assistant Amy Bocanegra

Maria L. Guerrero Duran

Hugo Hinojosa

Jorge Solis

Ethan Thomas

Jasmin Campoya

Brandy Ruiz Brianne Williams Juan Pablo de Anda de Alva Minero Magazine is published by UTEP students through the department of Student Media and Publications. It is published once every fall and spring semester. The magazine is not responsible for any claims made by our advertisers. Additional policy information may be obtained by calling the Student Media and Publications at (915) 747-5161. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the University.

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Minero Magazine Vol. 35

Fall 2022

Table of contents

5 ¿Latino, Latina, Latine?

Lenguaje inclusivo y la inclusion

By Juan Pablo de Anda de Alva

10 Gavin Hardison

Getting to know UTEP football’s quarterback

By Jorge Solis

14 ‘The Dawn of a New Day’

The art exhibition that brought UTEP and local artistry together

By Yoali Rodriguez & Maria L. Guerrero Duran

16 Jordan Nieto

How Nieto’s Funko Pop collection increased his social media following

By Brianne Williams

20 The Pursuit of Cryptocurrency on the Border One UTEP student’s journey

By Brandy Ruiz

On the cover

GAVIN HARDISON, starting quarterback, stands mid-field at the UTEP Sunbowl Stadium.

PHOTO BY ETHAN THOMAS

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From the Editor

A

fter nearly 3 years of being stuck indoors, or at least 6 feet apart, Minero Magazine found that El Pasoans and students at the University of Texas at El Paso were eager to leave their marks and step out into what felt like a new world.

This issue of Minero Magazine celebrates the resiliency of UTEP Miners and El Pasoans as they continue to look toward the future no matter the circumstances, no matter such uncertain times.

Our community got just a taste of the improvement that the UTEP football team portrayed last fall. Through our story on the football team’s Quarterback Gavin Hardison, we can see the plans and future of UTEP Football shining through.

In “¿Latino, Latina, Latine?,” our writer and photographer Juan Pablo de Anda de Alva really dived deep into the history of lenguaje inclusivo in a time where it seems that inclusivity is on everyone’s minds.

At the same time, our most dedicated writer, Brianne Williams, was able to speak to one of El Paso’s own rising TikTok stars about how he started his endless collection of Funko Pops.

Our newest writer, Yoali Rodriguez worked together with our copy editor to highlight some UTEP and El Paso Community College artists after they exhibited their art for the very first time.

In another story, I explored the emergence of crypto-currency and its uses in the El Paso region.

I hope that in this issue, you – our readers – are able to get to learn a little bit more about how our ever-growing and diverse community as students, athletes, crypto-investors, artists and more step out into a new-world and try new things.

I’d like to thank the team behind the magazine. Designer Hugo Hinojosa worked on this magazine with us (even after he graduated) to make sure it looked its best. Maria Guerrero worked diligently by my side and supported me as this issue’s copy-editor. Tracy Roy, Veronica Gonzalez and everyone in the Student Media & Publications department, including The Prospector staff who supported the magazine and its endeavors: thank you for making this edition a success!

Brandy Ruiz Editor-In-Chief mineromagazine@utep.edu

¿Latino, Latina, Latine?

Historia por Juan Pablo De Anda De Alva

El lenguaje inclusivo en el español tiene como objetivo el poder incluir, nombrar, y no discriminar a personas al momento de comunicarnos. *Debido al propósito de esta historia en especial, el lenguaje inclusivo no se utilizará con el objetivo de poder ilustrar y explicar el cómo funciona y en qué consiste.

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a frontera entre México y Estados Unidos es un lugar único en donde chocan dos culturas, divisas, y los principales idiomas de la región: español e inglés.

Sofia Valenzuela, una estudiante originaria de El Paso, Texas, y Ciudad Juárez, de género fluido, de 22 años que estudia psicología con una concentración en estudios de la mujer y de género en la Universidad de Texas en El Paso, relata que apenas está empezando a aprender cómo funciona el lenguaje inclusivo en español.

Valenzuela cuenta que para ella este ha sido un proceso difícil ya que al pasar más tiempo en Estados Unidos que en México, para luego terminar mudándose a E.U.A., alcanzó un punto en el que se desconectó del español, al menos gramaticalmente.

Ella decidió dedicarle más empeño en aprender mejor el idioma inglés por su necesidad de tratar de perfeccionar su acento y para poder encajar mejor en El Paso. Es por eso por lo que se le complica entender el lenguaje inclusivo en español, pero ella afirma que no es imposible y que está dispuesta a hacerlo.

De acuerdo con el Doctor Kevin Nadal, un profesor de psicología de la Universidad de Justicia Criminal y Centro de Posgrado John Jay en Nueva York, la mayoría de las culturas en el mundo dividen y construyen sus sociedades con base al binarismo de género. Pero históricamente existen culturas como la Zapoteca en México en donde existe un tercer género

De acuerdo con el sitio web de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) los Muxes, son personas que nacen biológicamente hombres, pero conforme van creciendo, empiezan a adoptar el rol tradicional de una mujer dentro la cultura Zapoteca sin llegar a competir con ellas.

Cocinan, cuidan de sus familias, y se encargan de las festividades. Inclusive existen Muxes que se casan con hombres y otros con mujeres, pero sin nunca perder su identidad de Muxe.

En la cultura Zapoteca, así como en distintas culturas del mundo, el género no es binario.

La idea del género como la conocemos ahora en el continente fue impuesta por las potencias europeas que colonizaron el continente americano.

La académica Manuela Lavinas Picq explica que, en América, existían cientos de lenguajes con palabras para referirse a géneros no binarios, así como a comprensiones fluidas del género. La existencia de dichas palabras confirma la existencia de personas cuyas identidades de género existían fuera del binarismo de género.

Picq, también explica que los españoles categorizaban a las personas indígenas cuyas identidades de género y sexualidades fueran distintas al binarismo de género y al heterocentrismo (la idea que todos los seres humanos son naturalmente heterosexuales) practicado en Europa como sodomitas. Como consecuencia, dichos indígenas eran sujetos a castigos brutales sus

Sofia Valenzuela, estudiante de psicología con una especialidad en estudios de la mujer y de genero en UTEP.

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vidas.Un claro ejemplo de la brutal represión que dichos indígenas sufrían se puede ver ejemplificado en la masacre de sodomitas en donde cuarenta y un hombres indígenas fueron aventados a los perros por estar vestidos como mujeres en Panamá.

Esto resultó en la adopción del binarismo de género y la heterosexualidad como la norma, así como un mecanismo de supervivencia ante la corona española.

Como consecuencia, en América se ha tenido esta idea binaria sobre el género, aunque si ha habido avances en materia de derechos para la comunidad LGBTQ+ y la conversación sobre el género ha estado cada vez más presente, el binarismo de género ha logrado permanecer intacto por siglos.

De acuerdo con One World Nations Online, actualmente en el continente americano, el español es el lenguaje más hablado seguido por el inglés.

El español es un lenguaje con género gramatical, lo cual significa que palabras como sustantivos, artículos, pronombres, y adjetivos contienen morfemas específicos como la “a” o la “o” que hacen a las palabras tener género, ya sea masculino o femenino.

Recientemente, se ha empezado a cuestionar cada vez más el uso del género dentro del español en los sustantivos que se refieren a personas y a los pronombres que se utilizan para referirse a las mismas, puesto que no existen morfemas dentro de estos sustantivos, o pronombres específicos para las personas cuyas identidades existen parcial o completamente fuera de este binarismo de género.

Es por eso, que se han propuesto una nueva serie de modificaciones a dichas categorías dentro del español, mejor conocido como lenguaje inclusivo. ¿CÓMO FUNCIONA EL LENGUAJE INCLUSIVO? De acuerdo con el sitio web de las Naciones Unidas, este define al lenguaje inclusivo en su sección de Lenguaje Inclusivo en cuanto al género como, “la manera de expresarse oralmente y por escrito sin discriminar a un sexo, género social o identidad de género en particular y sin perpetuar estereotipos de género.”

La utilización de la letra “e”, los pronombres “elle/elles”, los artículos “le,” “es,” y “une” así como el esfuerzo por utilizar sustantivos epicenos, son los principales diferenciadores dentro del lenguaje inclusivo.

En el caso de la letra “e,” esta se utiliza para sustituir a la letra “a” y a la “o” en sustantivos y artículos que se refieren a personas, así como en pronombres. También 6

tienen la función de poder nombrar a personas sin asumir su género y/o para poder dar un pronombre y palabras que cumplan con aquellas identidades de género que existen completa o parcialmente fuera del binarismo de género.

El lenguaje inclusivo en el español tiene como objetivo el poder incluir, nombrar, y no discriminar a personas al momento de usar el lenguaje.

Cuando se habla de un grupo de personas, se recomienda usar la letra “e” para no asumir el género de las personas e incluir a personas cuya identidad de género vaya más allá usando palabras como “todes.” En el caso de personas individuales, es recomendado referirse a aquellas con los pronombres y artículos correspondientes de “elle/elles,” “le/les,” siempre y cuando así te lo indiquen o en caso de ya tener conocimiento previo de que esos sean sus pronombres.

David Montelongo García, coordinador de proyectos y representante legal del programa Compañeros, una asociación civil que se dedica a la prevención del VIH en Ciudad Juárez, dice que el lenguaje inclusivo es descriptivo. Algo que hace el lenguaje descriptivo antes de hablar de la característica, siempre pone en primer lugar a la persona. El decir “personas con capacidades especiales” a pesar de tener buena intención para referirse a este sector de la población está mal porque da atribuciones a personas que no tienen por el simple hecho de tener una discapacidad.

Montelongo dice que otra manera de utilizar el lenguaje inclusivo sería el referirse a las personas describiendo correctamente su condición. En lugar de decir “personas con capacidades especiales” decir “personas con dificultad auditiva,” o cualquiera que sea su condición, siempre y cuando sea correctamente descrita.

Los cambios dentro del lenguaje inclusivo en español, sirven para visibilizar su condición refiriéndose a las personas no binarias, haciéndolas visibles en el discurso diferenciándolas del binarismo de género. ¿DE DÓNDE VIENE? Se cree que el origen del lenguaje inclusivo es algo reciente, pero en realidad, no es así. En un reportaje para En Foco, Ciro Seisas explica que este monta sus orígenes a los años sesenta en los movimientos feministas que empezaron a cuestionar el lenguaje y su relación con el patriarcado. Mariángeles Camusso, una maestra e investigadora de la Universidad de Nevada en Reno (UNR) explica que estos movimientos aseguran que el lenguaje está ligado con las relaciones de poder con el orden patriarcal y el lenguaje,

en este caso el español, termina reflejando esta relación de poder de los hombres sobre las mujeres.

Razón por la cual, se empezó a buscar su modificación. Pero dentro de la población hispanohablante, el lenguaje inclusivo también ha sido motivo de críticas y rechazo.

En el 2020, 2800 personas fueron encuestadas de manera voluntaria en línea como parte de un estudio de opinión realizado por el Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Disciplinas Proyectuales (INSOD) de la Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE).

Cuando se les pregunto si consideraban el uso del lenguaje inclusivo como algo ridículo, el 56% se dijo estar completamente de acuerdo. Cuando se les preguntó si consideraban que el uso del lenguaje inclusivo debería estar prohibido a nivel institucional, el 47% dijo estar completamente de acuerdo.

Y cuando se les preguntó si consideraban que el lenguaje inclusivo debería de utilizarse siempre para referirse a cualquier individuo con el fin de no asumir su género, el 65% indico estar completamente en desacuerdo.

“Ay que ridículos,” “solo se nace mujer o hombre,” “yo no voy a respetar eso,” son algunas cosas que Rebeca Domínguez Quiñonez, una estudiante en UTEP, de 20 años que estudia una licenciatura en literatura inglesa y americana con una concentración en estudios de la mujer y que vive en El Paso, Texas, ha escuchado decir a las personas para referirse negativamente del lenguaje inclusivo.

“Siento como que la gente mexicana no lo toma muy enserio, o sea se lo toman muy a broma y no respeta,” dice Domínguez Quiñonez.

Domínguez compartió que no tiene conversaciones sobre el lenguaje inclusivo en algunos de sus círculos cercanos puesto que dice que no respetarían, y lo toman enserio porque son más conservadores.

Domínguez dice que, dentro de estos círculos suyos, no hay apertura para hablarlo y aunado a eso, sus integrantes se ponen a la defensiva con temas como este.

Ante la continua presencia, uso y viralización del lenguaje inclusivo en los últimos años, la Real Academia Española (una institución cultural dedicada a la preservación y mantenimiento del lenguaje español en los países hispanohablantes) ha manifestado un constante rechazo a las modificaciones que conlleva el lenguaje inclusivo.

Su postura respecto al tema se puede ver ejemplificado en su cuenta de Twitter donde una de sus publicaciones

dice lo siguiente: “Lo que comúnmente se ha dado en llamar ‘lenguaje inclusivo’ es un conjunto de estrategias que tienen por objeto evitar el uso genérico del masculino gramatical, mecanismo firmemente asentado en la lengua y que no supone discriminación sexista alguna.”

El director de la RAE, Santiago Muñoz Machado dijo en una declaración: “Tenemos una lengua hermosa y precisa, ¿por qué estropearla con el lenguaje inclusivo?”

La respuesta de la RAE es clara, están en desacuerdo con uso y la implementación del lenguaje inclusivo.

LA LUCHA PARA LA IMPLEMENTACIÓN DEL LENGUAJE INCLUSIVO, ¿VALE LA PENA? La intención de la creación, el uso, y la propagación del lenguaje inclusivo es aquella de poder incluir a todas las identidades y minorías que actualmente existen en la sociedad en conjunto con el resto de la población.

Sin embargo, las preguntas sobre si el lenguaje inclusivo verdaderamente logrará generar un cambio genuino en las sociedades en materia de inclusión, o si es un movimiento con poca relevancia significativa, también existen.

“La mayoría de las seis mil lenguas del mundo carecen de género y se hablan en sociedades machistas. En cuanto a la lengua española, tiene género masculino, género femenino, y género neutro, lo cual es una rareza, pero eso no significa que la sociedad mexicana no padezca igualmente un machismo que asusta y que se manifiesta mediante los feminicidios de todos los días, (...). La lengua no se relaciona necesariamente con el machismo,’’ dice Concepción Company, una investigadora del Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas de la UNAM. “Obviamente cambiar algunos usos lingüísticos no va llevar aparejados grandes cambios sociales,” dijo Susana Guerrero Salazar, una Doctora en Filología Hispánica de la Universidad de Málaga, en una entrevista para la Revista Igualdades.

“Sin embargo, no hacerlo sí que puede repercutir en ralentizarlos, pues supone no dar visibilidad a las mujeres e insistir en el androcentrismo.” Un punto de vista más positivo reconoce que, el lenguaje inclusivo si puede traer cambios sociales.

Otra opinión a favor del lenguaje inclusivo es el de la crítica literaria Karina Galperin. “El llamado ‘lenguaje inclusivo’ le da a la lengua una precisión que muchos valoran. Hoy hay un montón de gente que entiende que, por razones prácticas o

ideológicas de los otros, no es del todo cortés usar el masculino genérico. También es una cuestión de cortesía llamar al otro como el otro quiere ser llamado,” dice Galperin.

50% DE LOS ESTUDIANTES CONSIDERA QUE EL LENGUAJE INCLUSIVO ES IMPORTANTE.

19.2% DIJO QUE NO

30.8%

DIJO ESTAR INDECISO Basado en un cuestionario hecho por Minero Magazine donde se encuestaron 78 estudiantes de UTEP

¿CÓMO SE SIENTEN LOS ESTUDIANTES AL RESPECTO? Para poder indagar más sobre el lenguaje inclusivo, se llevó a cabo una encuesta en UTEP por la revista Minero en donde se encuestaron a estudiantes alrededor del campus.

De acuerdo con la encuesta, el 70.5% de los estudiantes dicen saber que es el lenguaje inclusivo, mientras que el 29.5% lo desconoce. El 46.2% dice conocer a alguien que use el lenguaje inclusivo, comparado con un 53.8% que dice no conocer a alguien que lo utilice.

Cuando se les preguntó sobre la frecuencia con la cual utilizaban el lenguaje inclusivo en español, el 34.6% dijo no usarlo nunca, el 20.5% dijo que raramente lo utiliza, el 23.1% dijo que a veces lo utiliza, el 11.5% dijo utilizarlo frecuente y finalmente el 10.3% dijo utilizarlo siempre.

Cuando se les preguntó sobre si consideraban importante el uso del lenguaje inclusivo, el 50.8% dijo que si, el 19.2% dijo que no, mientras que el 30.8% restante se dijo estar indeciso.

Para acabar con la encuesta se les preguntó si apoyaban el uso del lenguaje inclusivo a lo que el 62.7% de los estudiantes contestó que sí, mientras que el 16.9% dijo que no, y el 20.3% se dijo estar indeciso.

¿QUÉ SIGUE? El lenguaje inclusivo es utilizado cada vez con mayor frecuencia y en un mayor número de contextos en países hispanohablantes. Este es utilizado y tiene el objetivo de ser un reflejo más fiel a la sociedad que lo habla, puesto que históricamente más de dos géneros han existido y al menos dentro del español, no han existido los sustantivos personales ni los pronombres necesarios para incluir a personas no binarias, o personas cuyas identidades de género fluctúen parcial o totalmente fuera del binarismo de género que conocemos hoy en día.

El aprender los pronombres de las personas rompiendo con la idea binaria del género puede llegar a ser un proceso confuso para muchos, en especial para las generaciones mayores, y por lo mismo no es bien recibido por un gran sector de la población.

Esto, aunado a la LGBTQ+ fobia, y machismo que todavía permea en sociedades principalmente latinoamericanas, hace que su incorporación completa al lenguaje sea aún más complicada e incierta. ¿Logrará el lenguaje inclusivo consolidarse para convertirse en la principal manera de hablar en español? ¿Su uso por parte de personas hispanohablantes incrementará? ¿Algún día logrará ser aceptado por el sector de la población que actualmente lo rechaza?

UP NEXT, IN BRIEF

By Brandy Ruiz On the border between Mexico and the United States is a unique place where two cultures, currencies, and primary languages of the region collide: Spanish & English, creating a phenomenon where the rules of traditional language tend to dissipate. Except recently, where inclusive language and the suggestions of the practice have sparked complicated discussions in the region.

Continued on page 8

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Sofia Valenzuela, a 22-year-old gender-fluid from El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez who studies psychology with a concentration in women’s and gender studies at UTEP, says they are just beginning to learn how inclusive-Spanish language works.

Valenzuela says that for them, this has been a difficult process and they reached a point where they disconnected from Spanish, at least grammatically.

They decided to devote more effort to learning the English language better because of they need to try to perfect their accent and to be able to fit in. That’s why it’s hard for them to understand inclusive language in Spanish, but they says it’s not impossible and they are willing to do it.

Recently, the use of gender within Spanish in nouns that refer to people and the pronouns that are used to refer to them has begun to be increasingly questioned, since there are no morphemes within these nouns, or specific pronouns for people whose identities exist partially or completely outside this gender binary.

That is why a new series of modifications have been proposed to these categories within Spanish, better known as inclusive language.

When talking about a group of people, it is recommended to use the letter “e” so as not to assume the gender of people and to include people whose gender identity goes further using words like “todes.” In the case of individuals, it is recommended to refer to those with the pronouns and corresponding articles of “elle/elles,” “le/les,” as long as they tell you so or if you already have prior knowledge that these are their pronouns.

Learning people’s pronouns by breaking with the binary idea of gender can become a confusing process for many, especially older generations, and is therefore not well received by a large sector of the population. This, coupled with LGBTQ phobia, and machismo that still permeates mainly in Latin American societies, makes its full incorporation into language even more complicated and uncertain.

Will inclusive language be consolidated to become the main way of speaking in Spanish? Will its use by Spanish-speaking people increase? Will it ever be accepted by the sector of the population that currently rejects it?

Sofia Valenzuela, estudiante de psicología con una especialidad en estudios de la mujer y de genero en UTEP.

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K E E P O U R WAT E R C L E A N !

Only rain should go down the storm drain.

Properly dispose of hazardous wastes, pesticides, and fertilizers.

Call UTEP EH&S to schedule waste pickups.

Recycle oil, antifreeze, and other vehicle fluids, or dispose of them properly to prevent the pollution of stormwater, groundwater and the Rio Grande.

Leave natural vegetation in place where possible to prevent erosion.

Do not dump waste, chemicals, paint, custodial waste, and general rubbish items (tires, old car parts, shopping carts, etc.) into storm drains, channels, or ditches.

Storm drains are easily identified with “NO DUMPING” decals at stormwater inlets.

Keep material out of the stormwater conveyance system (curbs, gutters, sidewalks, streets, drains, culverts, and arroyos). Dispose of grass, leaves, yard waste, and construction debris properly.

El Paso Natural Gas Building, Room 10 (915) 747 - 7124 • EH&S@UTEP.EDU

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GAVIN HARDISON Story by Jorge Solis Photos by Ethan Thomas

His competitive spirit, work ethic and calm-yetdetermined attitude led coaches to put faith in him so he could lead the team to success.

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he sun glistened and beat down on the stadium at the University of Texas at El Paso, which was aptly named the “Sun Bowl.” The field turf, a perfect bright green, a stark contrast of the dark blue lettering, the orange and white outline of the UTEP logo in the middle, and the bright orange “MINERS” at each end zone in giant, bold letters.

The home crowd wailed and cheered in anticipation as the Miners lined up in a single back formation – one running back on the field, and typically lined up behind the quarterback. UTEP’s starting quarterback, sophomore Gavin Hardison, is lined up behind his offensive lineman, junior Robert Mervin. They are down 13-10 to the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) Lobos with about nine minutes and 30 seconds left in the third quarter, and even with a lot of time left, Hardison and the entire team can feel just how monumental a win would be for the school, as the city and the school have not experienced a winning record since the 2014 season, since the Jones brothers were last here.

Then, the ball is snapped.

Sophomore wide receiver Jacob Cowing explodes past the UNM cornerback, and after taking a second to look down the field at his receivers, Hardison launched the football for 55 yards towards Cowing for a touchdown to take a 17-13 lead early in the third quarter and send the crowd and UTEP’s sideline into a frenzy of celebratory cheers.

Holding on to the lead and not allowing UNM to score at all in the second half, UTEP scored one more field goal in the last three minutes of the game to make the final score 20-13, after a failed comeback attempt by the UNM offense.

This game was a turning point in UTEP’s football program and a milestone for the fall 2021 season, as they managed to improve to 3-1 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

The young quarterback proved to the team, his coach, and the city that he can handle the pressure.

He finished the game with a stat-line total of 293 yards and a touchdown (the touchdown which won the game.)

Officially, the team proved that UTEP really was something special, hidden away in the mountains surrounding the Sun Bowl stadium.

The bright lights and 120-yard field were always destined for UTEP’s starting quarterback.

The Beginning Born on May 15, 2000, to Chad and June Hardison, Gavin Hardison started his football journey, his goal to play for a Division I university in the small city of Hobbs, New Mexico.

His father, a retired firefighter who worked for the Hobbs Fire Department for 21 years, devoted two years to the Univer11

Gavin Hardison, starting quarterback, stands mid-field at the UTEP Sunbowl Stadium.

Photos by Ethan Thomas

sity of the Southwest, a small university in Hobbs, as a strength coach for all teams on campus. Despite being torn between his duties as a firefighter and a strength coach for college athletes, his father said he tried to put extra effort into helping his son follow his dream of being a football player.

“When he was 2 years old, he had this play helmet, (that) was (the) Dallas Cowboys and he put that on, and he wore it everywhere, like we got to where we didn’t even realize he had it on,” said Gavin’s mother, June. “Then he got a black helmet, that had the Hobbs Eagle, so from about the age of 2 to about 5 or 6, he had that thing on almost all the time…I mean that was what he wanted to do.”

Even if it followed a long 24-hour shift at the fire station, his father would be available to play catch with his son, setting the tone for the love of the sport to continue to grow within young Hardison.

Hardison only has one sibling, his younger brother Jason, with whom he has had a close relationship with and has had a profound impact on his development growing up. Although Jason is not into sports like his older brother, he is more interested in the tech industry, and works for his school as IT maintenance at Hobbs High School.

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“I just want to be an example and a role model for him, and he honestly is an example and a role model for me in the way he handles himself in his life, too,” Hardison said.

Hobbs is smaller than El Paso, with a tightly knit community where everyone knows everyone, and they treat each other like family. According to Gavin Hardinson, they have all known each other for most of their lives.

Gavin Hardison attended Hobbs High School, the only high school in the area. He was a quiet, unassuming, but devoted and a hardworking first-year student, according to his high school football coach, Charles Gleghorn. He competed every single day and went out of his way to ensure that varsity coaches knew his name, even if he could not start for them until his junior year. His competitive spirit, work ethic and his calm yet determined attitude led coaches to put faith in him, that he could lead the team to success.

He took over the team on offense in the first season of his junior year. But, due to injury, it was not until his senior year that Gavin Hardinson was able to display his athleticism.

He shattered five high school and state records: most passing yards in a career

(8,678, 2015-17), most touchdown passes within a season (58, 2017), total offense, which includes passing and rushing yards (5,498, 2017), passing yards in a game (529, vs. Onate. 2017), and finally, passing yards in a season (5,347, 2017).

“I mean, there’s a lot of things as a coach, you can draw up on the whiteboard and say ‘man, if we only [could] do this’, well that year, we could do that,” Gleghorn said.

“He was able to make all the throws possible, receivers could run the routes and they knew that he’d get the ball to [them] on time.”

As a team, he helped push them to a 9-3 record and take them to playoffs, and helped shatter multiple team records that had stood for years, including points in a single game (77 vs. Onate, 2017), touchdowns in a single game (11 vs. Onate, 2017), points in a season (575, 2017), average points per game (48.5, 2017), passing yards in a game (629 vs. Onate, 2017), passing yards in a season (5,347, 2017), total offense in a season (6,500, 2017), total offense in a single game (814 vs. Onate, 2017), and average yards per game (541.7, 2017).

“Some other people told me… they’d be out [at the] game and if we had the ball before halftime, with like 35 seconds left, we got the ball back and had 70 yards to go, and people would start to get up and go get their popcorn and stuff, and people would say, ‘no, no, no, you don’t want to leave yet’”, Gleghorn said. “I mean, he could take a team down and score very quickly at any time, so you’d never want to leave when the offense was on the field and Gavin was the quarterback; it [was] fun to watch.”

Hardison graduated from Hobbs High School in 2018, and went on to play for New Mexico Military Institute, a junior college from Roswell, New Mexico, for five games in the 2018 season. During his time at NMMI, there was a lot of internal struggle and conflict with Hardison and with his offensive coordinator at the program. He did not get as much free reign on offense as he did in high school, but he was able to grow and become much more disciplined. He improved his grades and although there were times when doubt came into mind, according to his parents, even considering returning home to play for the local junior college, before being convinced by his parents to keep going and not give up.

“He had goals on what he wanted to do and he just kind of stuck with it,” June said.

After a solid season as quarterback and performing well, despite the struggles of his relationship with the offensive coordinator, Hardison still had no serious contenders or offers to jump the any Division I university, which was his dream. As luck

would have it, UTEP’s Head Coach Dana Dimel had come to see another player from NMMI during workouts, before spotting the young quarterback. Soon after, Dimel invited Hardison to workouts with UTEP which was received graciously by him and his family. “(Dimel) is a really good guy, and I could tell he genuinely cared about me and my family, and my future, and it wasn’t just about football for him it was about growing into a good, young man,” Hardison said. “My choice was really easy because, I mean, I have all the respect in the world for coach Dana, and I’ve said that multiple times, not only for him, but his assistant coaches as well.”

Now, after Dimel took his chance on the small-town kid with a big-time arm and work-ethic, Hardison has made an almost immediate impact in his starting role, helping to lead UTEP to their first bowl game in seven years, after earning a winning record with seven wins and six losses overall. Hardison became the first UTEP quarterback since 2009 to break 3,000 throwing yards in a single season. He threw for 3,217 yards, which is the fifth highest tally in school history. He ranked third in the country in passing yards per completion. He has also thrown for 24 career touchdowns, which marks him at the 10th most in school history.

Like his story in each level, he has played at, his arduous work, his passion, his competitive drive, and his talent has made him something to behold in awe as he seems only to be getting started at the D-1 level, visibly becoming surer and more confident in himself with each game.

A CONTINUACIÓN, EN BREVE

By Brandy Ruiz Gavin Hardison es el quarterback del equipo de football de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso (UTEP).

Hardison asistió a Hobbs High School, la única escuela secundaria en el área. Era un estudiante de primer año tranquilo, modesto, pero devoto y trabajador, según su entrenador de fútbol de la escuela secundaria, Charles Gleghorn. Su espíritu competitivo, su ética de trabajo y su actitud tranquila pero decidida llevaron a los entrenadores a confiar en él, que podía llevar al equipo al éxito.

Hardison se graduó de Hobbs High School en 2018 y pasó a jugar para el Instituto Militar de Nuevo México, una universidad junior de Roswell, Nuevo México, durante cinco juegos en la temporada

June and Chad Hardison (left to right) holding a picture of their son, Gavin Hardison, as he pushes his father’s Jeep to work out.

“When he was 2 years old, he had this play helmet and he wore it everywhere. he had that thing on almost all the time… that was all he wanted to do.”

- June Hardison, mother of Gavin

2018. No obtuvo tanto reinado libre en la ofensiva como lo hizo en la escuela secundaria, pero pudo crecer y volverse mucho más disciplinado.

Luego, El entrenador titular de UTEP , Dana Dimel, descubrió al joven mariscal de campo en una de sus visitas de reclutamiento en NMMI. Poco después, Dimel, que fue recibido amablemente por Hardison y su familia, invitó a Hardison a entrenamientos con UTEP. Luego de que Dimel haya tomado la oportunidad con el niño de la pequeña ciudad con un gran brazo y ética de trabajo, Hardison ha tenido un impacto casi inmediato en su papel de titular, ayudando a llevar a UTEP a su primer juego de tazón en siete años, después de ganar un récord ganador

con siete victorias y seis derrotas en general.

Hardison se convirtió en el primer mariscal de campo de UTEP desde 2009 en romper 3,000 yardas de lanzamiento en una sola temporada. Lanzó para 3,217 yardas, que es la quinta cuenta más alta en la historia de la escuela. Ocupó el tercer lugar en el país en yardas de pase por finalización. También ha lanzado para 24 touchdowns en su carrera, lo que lo marca en el puesto 10 en la historia de la escuela.

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The art exhibition that brought UTEP and local artistry together Story by Yoali Rodriguez & Maria L. Guerrero Duran Photos courtesy of artists

Honoring the space dedicated to art, “The Dawn of a New Day” brought a fresh style to an El Paso gallery that deviated from the 20th century art style typically showcased

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s a way of sharing the uniqueness of the borderland area, many talented artists have been on the lookout to exhibit their art in local museums and beyond and found a home in a Victorian-style mansion located in El Paso’s Rio Grande district in early March.

On Montana Ave and less than two miles away from the heart of downtown, the International Museum of Art which formely belonged to the State Senator William Turner and his wife Iva, stands as the safe of artworks ranging in a wide variety of styles. The museum officially opened in 1947 and is the home of over 450 paintings and 25 sculptures.

With a vast collection of oil on canvas paintings, pencil and ink drawings, bronze sculptures, and artifact collections, the museum is home to more than two centuries of history from the El Paso-Juarez region, as well as the Turney family’s personal history. Visitors can travel through time while looking at old furniture that belonged to the Turney family, at masks used during African fertility rituals, and Mexican Revolution artifacts and art.

Even though the museum showcases mostly art from the 20th century, it is open to accepting new art in its changing galleries.

Putting their first exhibition together, a current University of Texas at El Paso student (UTEP) and a 2019 UTEP alumna, joined forces along with another local artist to showcase their art in the city of El Paso’s International Museum of Art. Three different generations of artists, three different perspectives with the common theme: El Paso sunset. In the exhibition titled: “The Dawn of a New Day,” each artist hoped to detail their different journeys through art and bring a different interpretation to life utilizing a color palette inspired by the El Paso sky GIA FLORES The current UTEP student, Gia Flores, 21, described her art as a reflection of a new chapter in her life, “my inspiration

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for the exhibition was to expand and change my artwork, as well as give it a new interpretation.”

Flores began her journey as an artist during her senior year of high school, where she created her brand and signature style as an artist: abstract versions of faces, mixing different colors, and textures.

“I use the personalities of the people I have crossed paths with as inspiration for my paintings,” Flores said. “Each face reveals a wide range of personalities as well as who or how the individual is.”

Today, Flores hopes to complete her bachelor’s degree in painting, along with a museum studies minor. She also plans on pursuing graduate school and becoming a future museum curator. Besides her future aspirations, Flores considers herself an entrepreneur by selling her original work in more forms than just art pieces; you can find her art and brand “ABISMO” stappled onto jewelry, t-shirts, and mugs.

PAMELA VIGO SANCHEZ UTEP alumna Pamela Vigo-Sanchez’s theme surrounded the motif of the horse. She said she was inspired by the Renaissance period and pieces from the museums of the Louvre and Versailles.

“Inspired by a trip to France, I created a series of drawings based on the dramatic depictions of horses in the monumental battle scene paintings,” Vigo-Sanchez said.

She said she asked horse owners if she could use their horses as models to reference for her drawings.

Vigo-Sanchez not only takes her inspiration from the fancy museums of France, but something closer to home, her horse Indy. Her business is fully based on Instagram, where Vigo-Sanchez shares with her followers her journey with her loyal companion and sells portraits of her biggest inspiration. She also sells personalized horse and animal portraits.

“I have plans to submit and be selected to showcase my work in equestrian

specific events and venues, including abroad in Europe,” said Vigo-Sanchez, mentioning how this collection inspired her to create her next pieces focusing solely on horses.

“Dawn of a New Day helped me create a complete collection of works and will be based off extensive research of the horse in culture,” said Vigo-Sanchez.

JOANNA OVERTON “I chose to capture how the rays of new day cast their light over the city,” Overton said.Overturn’s main piece for this exhibit did this by using the techniques of overpour art and resin.

“I usually go back and forth, between both techniques, but resin gave the piece the hazy, abstract, giving the audience a visual of a new day,” Overturn said.

Together, “the artist wanted to open up a new student gallery at the International Museum of Art,” Overturn said.

The exhibition took place March 4th to the 30th of 2022.

“One of my dreams was to have my artwork displayed in a museum, and that desire was fulfilled here at the International Museum of Art,” Flores said.

Now, Flores’ career goals shifted, she said she hopes to own her own museum and support artists flourish and gain the opportunities she has gotten as an intern.

Overturn’s journey as an artist has inspired her to expose distinct artistic techniques to her followers, “since pour art isn’t a common form of art seen here in the Borderland, I hope to encourage other fellows El Pasoans to express themselves through this technique,” Overturn said.

She teaches classes on Instagram Live every Sunday, answering any questions her audience has regarding each technique.

But, Overturn hopes to build a bigger and broader audience.

“I would like to get to know more local artists and get more opportunities to have my art exposed in more museums and local shops,” Overturn said.

These photos are sen by artists Gia Flores, Pamela Vigo Sanchez, and Joanna Overton found at the El Paso’s International Museum of Art.

She also plans to build a community outside of El Paso by building her own YouTube channel dedicated to the technique of pour art.

According to the museum’s website: “ ’Dawn of a New Day’ is curated to bring in a new light to the International Museum of Art and shepherd in the new youth art program set to allow young artists to be given an opportunity to display their art in a museum setting.”

“In total it took a little over a month and a half to prepare, from the artwork, marketing designs, scheduling, and booking musicians for the entertainment for the reception,” Vigo-Sanchez said, resulting in a successful show.

Having everything calculated, each artist got the chance to display their passion and hard work on the walls of the International Museum of Art and hope to have further exposure in the future.

The closing ceremony took place March 26th, not only did it showcase the visual art of Gia, Pamela and Joanna, it also gave musicians a space to share their music and be acknowledged within the community. Honoring Turney’s wishes of having the space to “always be used for the arts”, according to the museum’s website, “The Dawn of a New Day” brought a new sense of art to the galleries, as it deviated from the 20th century art style.

The exhibit not only allowed the museum to remain updated in the art movements and styles but gave Gia, Pamela and Joanna the opportunity to share their work in renowned local museums. This gives them the experience of what it means to be exhibited in a museum, which will allow the art-

ists to continue their journey of sharing the borderland lifestyle through their art.

As of press time, the exhibit has been removed from the galleries, but students are welcome to visit the museum as it exhibits local art throughout the year in their two changing galleries.

For more information on “The Dawn of a New Day” exhibit and the International Museum of Art visit: internationalmuseumofart.org To contact the artists, Gia Flores, @elabismodegia; Pamela Vigo-Sanchez, @silverpickstudios; Joanna Overturn, @jomarie_n_me

A CONTINUACIÓN, EN BREVE Por Brandy Ruiz Como una forma de compartir la singularidad de la zona fronteriza, muchos artistas talentosos han estado buscando exhibir su arte en museos locales y más allá.

Algunos encontraron un hogar en una mansión de estilo victoriano en el distrito de Río Grande de El Paso a principios de marzo.

En Montana Avenue y a menos de 2 millas del corazón del centro de la ciudad, el Museo Internacional de Arte, que anteriormente pertenecía al senador estatal de Texas William Turner y su esposa, Iva, se erige como la caja fuerte de obras de arte que varían en una amplia variedad de estilos.

El museo abrió sus puertas oficialmente en 1947 y es el hogar de más de 450 pinturas y 25 esculturas.

Con una vasta colección de pinturas al óleo sobre lienzo, dibujos a lápiz y tinta, esculturas de bronce y colecciones de artefactos, el museo alberga más de dos siglos de historia de la región de El Paso-Juárez, así como la historia personal de la familia Turney. Los visitantes pueden viajar a través del tiempo mientras observan muebles antiguos que pertenecieron a la familia Turney, máscaras utilizadas durante los rituales de fertilidad africanos y artefactos y arte de la Revolución Mexicana.

A pesar de que el museo exhibe principalmente arte del siglo 20, está abierto a aceptar arte nuevo en sus galerías temporales.

Organizando su primera exposición, un estudiante actual de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso (UTEP) y una ex alumna de la generacion 2019 de UTEP, unieron fuerzas junto con otro artista local para mostrar su arte en el Museo Internacional de Arte de la ciudad de El Paso.

Tres generaciones diferentes de artistas y tres perspectivas diferentes con el tema común: la puesta de sol de El Paso. En una exposición titulada: “El amanecer de un nuevo día”, cada artista plasmó a detalle sus diferentes viajes a través del arte y dar vida a una interpretación diferente mediante la utilización de una paleta de colores inspirada en el cielo de El Paso.

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Jordan Nieto Story by Brianne Williams Photos by Jasmine Campoya

Nieto began to post on TikTok three years ago to showcase his love for Funko Pops. Now, Nieto has more than 45K TikTok followers, with over 1M likes.

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t 20 years old, El Pasoan Jordan Nieto looked forward to going to Hot Topic every Sunday with his family. At the store, he remembered gazing at the large wall of tiny figurines with big, square heads styled as some of his favorite movies, television shows or comic book characters.

“I would tell my mom ‘I want these black-eye things,’ I didn’t know what they were called,” Nieto said.

Nonetheless, Nieto would often ask his mother for one – every time. The small, 3.75-inch caricatures with no pupils or mouths are a part of the Funko toy company’s “Pops” collection, Nieto would later realize.

Funko “Pops” were first created in 1998 by Mike Becker. Originally, it started out “as a small project to bring back various low-tech, nostalgia-themed toys in the hightech world of today.” The first bobble headed Funko “Pop” to be created was “Big Boy,” a burger-restaurant advertising icon. Then, in 2005, Funko introduced Brian Mariotti as president.

Since Mariotti’s appointment, Funko “Pops” have acquired many different licenses to sell Pop’s inspired by characters from Marvel, anime, bands and movies.

Rare Funko Pops can sell for upwards of $1,000, but on average, Funko Pops retail for $12.

Nieto’s first Funko “Pop” was the DC comic book character, “The Flash,” a gift from his mother for Christmas because he was “obsessed” with the show at the time.

“That one is my most treasured Pop ever,” Nieto said.

Then began his passion for the small figures. “We support all of our kids with whatever they want to do,” his mom, Yvanna Nieto, said. “If that’s what he wants, I back him up 100 percent.”

Nieto’s family shared that he started bringing home one Pop figure a week, and before they knew it, it became two. “It became an addiction,” Nieto said.

Nieto described his past self as a “school kid with no money,” but once he got a job, all his money went towards more Funko Pops, he said.

The world record for most Funko Pops collected is 7,095 by David Mebane from Knoxville, Tennessee. He is the reigning champion for 2021. Currently, Nieto has more than 250 Funko Pops in his collection.

“I really didn’t know how big his collection was until I went into his room,” his dad, David Nieto, said.

Jordan Nieto’s collection has grown into the 200s, though he no longer abides by the unwritten “don’t take them out of the box” rule, storage is still important.

Nieto currently stacks his Funko Pops in his room, stacking them from the floor to the ceiling. He is looking to expand since his collection is continuing to grow, and already takes up so much of his room.

He recently began using the “brick method” to stack his Funko Pops for better stability, after nearly his entire collection collapsed.

The brick method, Nieto explained, involves putting the Pop figures he does not mind getting damaged at the bottom. The bottom layer becomes the foundation, composed of an even number, and therefore holds the most weight. His stack continues, placing the next layer of Pop figures over the cracks, so that one is being held up evenly by two.

“It’s a little boost of happiness every time I buy [Funko Pops]. It’s cool to have a collection and see what’s worth what, what’s fun, what’s rare.”

- Jordan Nieto, TikTok creator & Funko Pop Collector

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His goal is to transition to all shelves and a desk to better hold his collection. “A couple of months ago, I was very strict about the boxes having to be perfect,” Nieto said.

He began taking certain ones that he felt looked better outside of their box and placing them on his shelf but the ones with the “really cool” art design, he said, stay in their original boxes.

Nieto is careful about his Funko Pops, and asks that no one touch them, but if they do, to put them back how they were.

“I go in there and touch them anyways,” said his brother, Jacob Nieto. “Usually when I remove one, he’s like ‘Bro, put that back and make sure it’s in place correctly.’ He had OCD with his Funko Pops.”

Nieto shared that his favorite Funko Pop from his entire collection is the black light Dr. Strange. “I was so hype when I got this one,” Nieto said. “These are rare.”

Nieto likes the back-light figure line because they have glow paint on them that lights up under an ultraviolet light.

In addition, Nieto is a Dr. Strange fan in general. Nieto said that his least favorite Funko pop is the robotic version of Dr. Strange called “Marvel Mech.”

“I don’t even have this one in my collection,” Nieto said. “It’s on every Walmart shelf, but no one seems to buy it.”

As of now, Nieto’s collection is worth approximately $5,000, he said. These collectors’ items are expected to increase in value in years to come. While there is no rule that says collectibles must be kept in their boxes to increase value, it is still encouraged to keep the box in perfect condition.

Nieto does not plan to sell his Funko Pops but rather plans to pass them down when he has kids of his own in the future.

All his life, Nieto has been a fan of toys, and loved seeing his favorite characters as Funko Pops. He is drawn to the details and the colors of each Pop figure, he said.

“It’s a little boost of happiness every time I buy them,” Nieto said. “It’s cool to have a collection and see what’s worth what, what’s fun, what’s rare.”

The growing collection of funko pops at Jordan’s room.

“I always tell him, ‘You’re gonna be big. I know it. You’re gonna grow and buy a little house behind your house for me, and we’re gonna be set.’”

- Yvanna Nieto, Jordan’s Mother

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Even though Nieto had been collecting for a while, he did not do so with such passion until he joined a Facebook page called “Funko Collectors Anonymous.” He admired everyone’s collections, and wanted to be like them.

Pop’ing off on TikTok Since he began collecting Funko Pops, he created an account on TikTok where he makes videos, exploring the world of Funko Pop collecting and all the while, recording the growth of his own collection. But his social media career did not start there.

Originally, Nieto uploaded videos to YouTube. His YouTube channel, named “jordantherookie,” resides at 334 subscribers and 148 videos as of March 2022. “I would get no views except my family and a couple of friends,” Nieto said of his YouTube channel.

So, he shifted to TikTok. When Nieto began to express his creativity more on his TikTok account and began to incorporate his love for Funko Pop and growing his collection, his videos began to go viral, and he started receiving thousands of views. “Just one video is all it took,” Nieto said.

Nieto’s TikTok account, @jordantherookie, consists of videos where he reveals the newest additions to his Funko Pop collection. As of March 2022, Nieto had 43.8K TikTok followers, with 1.3M likes. “It’s all we do now when we go out,” Paola Carrasco, Nieto’s girlfriend said. “Every time we go out, he’s like ‘we have to go to this store to look for this one.’”

Nieto’s parents believe that this Funko Pop collection is a good investment and will financially set him up for life.

“Eventually, down the line those Pops will go up,” David Nieto said. “It’s like collecting baseball cards.”

“I do think that maybe he will be one of those TikTok stars that they pay him a big amount of money,” Yvanna Nieto said. “I always tell him, ‘You’re gonna be big. I know it. You’re gonna grow and buy a little house behind your house for me, and we’re gonna be set.’”

Nieto’s brother said he was surprised and described his brother’s success and his brother’s ability to reach such a wide audience as “crazy.”

“There was one time where he was going live on TikTok, and there was a guy from England and it was like 4 o’clock in the morning for him and he was still watching Jordan talk about his Funko Pops,” Nieto’s

brother said. “There’s people all around the world that watch his videos.”

Now, Jordan Nieto uses his success on TikTok to promote his YouTube channel.

“When people click on my TikTok, they click on my YouTube,” Nieto said. “I’ve been getting a lot more followers.”

Nieto currently works as a substitute teacher for El Paso’s Ysleta Independent School District, and often gets recognized by high-school students.

“Kids comment on my posts ‘Hey, I started collecting and making videos because of you,’” Nieto said. “And every time someone says that I make sure to watch all of their videos.”

Being told that someone looks forward to his latest video or just seeing the number of views he gets makes him feel proud of his work on the video-sharing app.

“It’s always so nerve-wracking but surreal,” Nieto said. “It’s nice to know that I can inspire some kids to do what they love.”

The Process Nieto said that his overactive imagination is the key to making his TikToks. The videos, which usually remain under 30 seconds, feature fast cuts and text and images that pop onto the screen unexpectedly. He often films videos while out in public if he sees Funko Pops and his trademark?

A closing joke.

“The hard part is making the joke,” Nieto said. “I think of so many jokes. I film them, and whichever one I can watch over and over without getting bored is the one I put in.”

It takes Nieto an hour to film a 30-second video, and about an hour to edit it together. Nieto shared that he does sometimes feels pressured to upload videos. He balances this with his multiple jobs and his personal life.

“I get burnt out,” Nieto said. “I have to come to terms with taking a break every now and then.”

But Nieto fears that if he slows down, he will lose relevance. Instead, he tries to buy at least four Funko Pops a week while confessing that his hobby is expensive.

“I try not to buy everything I see,” Nieto said. “I only get the things that I actually want and can actually fit in my collection.”

When shopping online for Funko Pops, Jordan Nieto uses the Poppin’ Off Toys website, poppinofftoys.com. When in-person shopping, he buys his Funko Pops from Box Lunch, Hot Topic, and DOC’S Unique Collectibles.

“I love going in there,” Nieto said

Nieto holds a special edition, Ghost Rider Funko Pop, priced nearly $400 on eBay

of Hot Topic stores. “They’re always nice and super welcoming.”

One day, Nieto wants to create a Funko Pop of himself. Although the option to create a Pop look-alike is already made available on the website, Nieto wants to do it in person, in Hollywood.

“I really want to go,” Nieto said.

“You get to put your own box and name.”

It is on his bucket list to travel sometime in 2022 and experience it for himself. And it might happen sooner than expected, Nieto thinks.

In the early months of 2022, Nieto noticed an increase in followers and views.

In turn, Funko Pop vendors started to personally reach out to him. Nieto is currently affiliated with “Poppin’ Off Toys,” and has his own discount code where he receives 5 percent commission for every Funko Pop sold using his discount. Nieto had also started to do Pop giveaways on his TikTok account which resulted in around 50,000 views and 2,000 entries in February alone, he said.

The winner from his last giveaway was from California and received a T-shirt as well as a Pop figure. In addition, he followed the winner back on TikTok. He said that though the giveaways can be hard work, they motivate Nieto to one day have a charity of his own where he plans to give out toys to kids.

A CONTINUACIÓN, EN BREVE Por Brandy Ruiz A sus 20 años, Jordan Nieto esperaba ir a Hot Topic todos los domingos con su familia. En la tienda, recordó haber visto la gran pared de pequeñas estatuillas con cabezas grandes y cuadradas con el estilo de algunas de sus películas, programas de televisión o personajes de cómics favoritos.

“Le decía a mi madre ‘Quiero estas cosas de ojos negros’, no sabía cómo se llamaban”, dijo Nieto.

Sin embargo, Nieto a menudo le pedía una a su madre, cada vez. Las pequeñas caricaturas de 3,75 pulgadas sin pupilas ni bocas son parte de la colección “Pops” de la compañía de juguetes Funko. Actualmente, la colección de Jordan Nieto ha crecido de tal manera que ya tiene más de 200 figuras.

“Realmente no sabía cuán grande era su colección hasta que entré a su habitación”, dijo su padre, David Nieto.

Ahora, la colección de Jordan Nieto cuenta con más de 200 figuras. Desde que comenzó a coleccionar Funko Pops, creó una cuenta en TikTok donde hace videos, explorando el mundo del coleccionismo de Funko Pop y todo el tiempo, registrando el crecimiento de su propia colección.

A marzo de 2022, Nieto tenía 43.8K seguidores en TikTok, con 1.3M de me gusta.

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David Gámez, a computer science major at UTEP, discusses graphic design and NFT at his home office.

The pursuit of cryptocurrency on the border Story by Brandy Ruiz Photo by Juan Pablo De Anda De Alva

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n between gray rock walls and beneath the sweat-inducing glare of the noon El Paso sun in 2020, David Gámez, a student at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and leader of UTEP’s Blockchain Miner’s Club, trekked down a concrete pathway to a desert-toned door. He had been knocking on every door in an East El Paso neighborhood, a requirement of his day job prior to the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, Gámez worked for a local solar panel company as a sales representative selling solar panels. He would go knocking door to door to earn, at some times, $6,000 from commission.

“Those deals… they can treat you really nice or you can go a while without making (anything),” Gámez said.

He was good for a while, he said.

That is until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived to El Paso.

At the time, Gámez had been living on his own, in his own apartment with a former significant other who, at the time, had also lost her job.

Nearly 50,000 El Pasoans lost their jobs just a month after the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in the borderland, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

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In the beginning of the global pandemic, Gámez dived full force into the vast world of internet currency, inspired by his curiosity for the technology running Bitcoin.

Gámez was among those whose job had been lost to the pandemic. “I had to find something to do because I wasn’t (getting) any income,” Gámez said.

On top of his rent, he had tuition to pay for – a monthly payment of $500. It was his third year at UTEP, studying computer science, but, three years in, he found himself, unwillingly, without a job and at the time, a tuition to pay for, and a pandemic that felt as if it had no end. Gámez felt lost.

Then he started looking into cryptocurrency – more specifically blockchain technology.

A CRYPTO CRASH COURSE Blockchain technology, described as the “heart” of crypto-coins by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) is essentially a ledger: “In which contracts are embedded in digital code and stored in transparent, shared databases, where they are protected from deletion, tampering, and revision.”

Gámez was still in high school when he first heard about cryptocurrency.

It was not until 2020 that Gamez pulled the trigger, diving full force into the vast world of internet currency, inspired by his curiosity for the technology that runs Bitcoin.

Bitcoin, the first and most wellknown form of cryptocurrency (and Gamez’s first coin), was first specified and explained in a proof of concept published in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym for a person whose identity remains unknown.

Nakamoto’s concept, the concept behind the popularity of the crypto-coin: “a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash” which would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.

Cryptocurrency, the name of the now much larger world of internet-money, had been idealized far before in 1998 by Wei Dai, a member of the Cypherphunk mailing list, from the era of Web 1, a.k.a. the world wide web of the 1990s-2000s.

Dai described B-money, a crypto-coin that one might liken to Bitcoin, which would be, “an untraceable network, where senders and receivers are identified only by digital pseudonyms (i.e. public keys) and every message is signed by its sender and encrypted to its receiver.”

Adapting and re-applying that concept, Bitcoin, according to its website, would create a network sharing a public ledger that contained every transaction ever processed.

The goal: solving the issue of fraud, “double-spending” or in simple terms, a counterfeiting problem, and of course, the intermediate party.

Though Bitcoin had first appeared on Jan. 3, 2009, it was not until May 22, 2010 when the first Bitcoin purchase ever was made by a Florida man, Laslo Hayecz, who spent 10,000 Bitcoin on two Papa John’s pizzas.

From that point forward, Bitcoin’s value had increased significantly, its highest value reaching around $65,000 in 2021.

Gámez bought his first Bitcoin around March 14, 2020, just 10 months before the value of Bitcoin increased to nearly $40,000. At the time, the coin he was looking to buy was around $5,000, according to Coindesk which has been indexing the value of the coin since 2014.

“Luckily I had a little bit of savings by that point. And when the pandemic hit, all the markets dropped insane,” Gámez said.

“So I put it all in there and for the next three months, it started going up and up and up.”

By the end of 2020, Bitcoin was worth around $29,000. “It allowed me to survive those three months without a job or anything. Like, it literally put food on my table, you know,” Gámez said.

Ultimately, he said it was an investment – a good one. Through purchasing Bitcoin, seeing the return in value, feeling the excitement of an ever-increasing future-forward, electronic currency, Gámez felt exhilarated. But, he could not do it on his own.

He looked to someone special in his life, a person that ended up becoming key in Gámez’s journey traversing in virtual currency waters.: His mother.

“I was more in the mindset of like, let’s conserve and let’s keep stacking up. So I would throw in as much as I could and you know,” Gámez said. “At that point, it was like 100% return. And I started talking to my mom, and I convinced her to loan me some money, you know?”

His mother was an esthetician at the time. Though her business took a pause amidst COVID-19 shutdowns, she returned to face-to-face services almost immediately as they were lifted.

By the end of 2020, Gámez said his mother had given him a total of around $20,000. “By that point, we had a really good amount and my mom was like, you need to sell,” Gámez said.

So he did and with the return, he bought a car. Since 2020, Gámez has ventured into buying more coins besides Bitcoin. He said that stepping into the world of cryptocurrency was not a quick decision.

THE INVESTMENT “Ultimately, you got to look at the big scale, which, you know, when I buy bitcoin, I’m not buying it because I’m gonna take it out like tomorrow. I’m gonna take it out like in five years,” Gámez said.

Bitcoin’s organization website, Bitcoin.org, warns the public to take extra precaution before making a purchase.

Additionally, an extensive frequently asked questions (FAQ) page lists questions from who created the coin, who uses it, to why it is trusted and also a list of the advantages and disadvantages.

According to the site, some of the advantages include, no bank holidays, no borders, no bureaucracy and allowing its users to be in full control of their money.

And the disadvantages: volatile lows and highs in value, still not widely accepted, and ongoing development.

“I think for a lot of our own students and their families, irrespective of whether they come from the other side of the border or on the U.S. side – I think it’s very risky (for them),” said UTEP Professor of Finance and Associate Dean for Faculty, Research and Graduate Programs Doctor Erik Devos.

El Paso’s average income was $48,292, according to experiential data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey’s 5-year-estimate, which collected responses through internet, mail, telephone from only some segments of the population due to COVID-19.

“If you don’t have a lot of disposable wealth, and it’s tied up in something like (cryptocurrency) – for all you know, your whole wealth might be half tomorrow,” Devos said.

Devos is talking about something called volatility, the quality of cryptocurrency that describes the sudden change in value it can sometimes experience.

“It’s hard for a lot of people to kind of come to grips with how these values are sort of created,” Devos said.

That is because the value of the crypto-coin is not intrinsic, Devos said, like a piece of gold that one might sell in exchange for money or the dollar bill and quarters one might spend for a bag of Takis at school.

“Somehow you end up with a price, right? There’s price supply and demand for something. But what’s the actual underlying value of it? ” Devos said. “I think conceptually, it’s kind of hard to figure out what is the actual value.”

The non-intrinsic nature of it is just the first hurdle a new crypto owner might run into, as Bitcoin’s own website states: “It’s still not widely accepted in a large amount of stores. So actually spending the money is a whole other process.”

You first have to start something called a “wallet,” defined by Coinbase, an app created for the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies as a way to “store your private keys, keeping your crypto safe and accessible. They also allow you to send, receive and spend cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.”

THE FUTURE Since 2009, Bitcoin has increased significantly in value since its creation, increased public-awareness of cryptocurrency, led to the creation of other coins like Ethereum or Binance, fueled discussions about the coin’s impact on the environment, and has opened the doors for new forms of cryptocurrencies to exist like the Non-Fungible Token (NFT).

The NFT, which works under the same premise of person-to-person transactions, is different from the traditional crypto-coin.

“In NFTs you just have to write something, a picture or GIF, something. So at least there you know what you’re getting,” Devos said.

Yet, it seems, the same question still stands. “(NFT art) is not unlike, say, an actual physical painting. Is a Van Gogh really worth 80 million to someone?” Devos said.

Editors Note: As of May 2022, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin experienced a 50% drop since November 2021, where, according to Coindesk, at its peak, valued nearly $68k.

The drop did not worry Gámez who accredited the “crash” to the recession and big investors like Tesla selling off assets and causing dramatic movements in the market.

“These times bring uncertainty and despair and typically those are good times to buy,” Gámez said. “The best thing to do is to always diversify.”

A CONTINUACIÓN, EN BREVE Por Brandy Ruiz David Gámez, estudiante de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso (UTEP) y líder del Blockchain Miner’s Club de UTEP, invirtió en Bitcoin en medio de la pandemia.

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Bitcoin, la primera y más conocida forma de criptomoneda (y la primera moneda de Gámez), se especificó y explicó por primera vez en una prueba de concepto publicada en 2009 por Satoshi Nakamoto, un seudónimo para una persona cuya identidad sigue siendo desconocida.

El concepto de Nakamoto, detrás de la popularidad de la criptomoneda: “una versión puramente peer-to-peer del efectivo electrónico” que permitiría que los pagos en línea se envíen directamente de una parte a otra sin pasar por una institución financiera.

El objetivo: resolver el problema del fraude, el “doble gasto” o, en términos simples, un problema de falsificación y, por supuesto, la parte intermedia.

Gámez compró su primer Bitcoin alrededor del 14 de marzo de 2020, solo 10 meses antes de que el valor de Bitcoin aumentara a casi $ 40,000. En ese momento, la moneda que estaba buscando comprar era de alrededor de $ 5,000.

Al comprar Bitcoin, ver el retorno en valor, sentir la emoción de una moneda electrónica cada vez mayor para el futuro, Gámez se sintió eufórico. Pero, no podía hacerlo por su cuenta. Buscó a alguien especial en su vida, una persona que terminó convirtiéndose en clave en el viaje de Gámez atravesando en aguas de moneda virtual.

Su madre quien invirtió dinero para ayudar a Gámez a comprar Bitcoin.

“En última instancia, tienes que mirar la gran escala,” dijo Gámez. “Cuando compro bitcoin, no lo estoy comprando porque lo voy a sacar como mañana. Lo voy a sacar como en cinco años” El sitio web de la organización de Bitcoin, Bitcoin.org, advierte al público que tome precauciones adicionales antes de realizar una compra.

“Creo que para muchos de nuestros propios estudiantes y sus familias, independientemente de si vienen del otro lado de la frontera o del lado estadounidense, creo que es muy arriesgado (para ellos),” dijo el profesor de Finanzas de UTEP y decano asociado de Facultad, Investigación y Programas de Posgrado, el doctor Erik Devos.

“Si no tienes mucha riqueza desechable, y está atada a algo como (criptomoneda), por lo que sabes, toda tu riqueza podría ser la mitad mañana,” dijo Devos.

Devos está hablando de algo llamado volatilidad, la calidad de la criptomoneda que describe el cambio repentino en el valor que a veces puede experimentar.

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Gámez created “Crypto Loteria” an NFT collection based on a physical game.

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