Panorama 2012 by Panorama Magazine

P GROUND

ZERO A DECADE LATER

UNIQUELY UTPA CAMPUS, CULTURE &ONLYYES, CATS @ UTPANORAMA.COM

FEATURED

STUDENT ATHLETES

tweet from the Editor

Editor-in-chief Daniel Flores

Senior Editors David Alvarado Sara Hernandez

staff writer Sara Hernandez

Contributing Writers Laura Galvan Salvador Grajeda Reynaldo Leal Carla Reyes Nancy Salazar Tino Villareal

Designers David Alvarado Daniel Flores Erick Gonzalez Sara Hernandez Ana Perez

Photography Daniel Flores Alma Hernandez Reynaldo Leal

Copy editors

Cynthia Sosa Nadia Tamez Norma Gonzalez

Social Media/coffee girl

Sasha PeĂąa

Sales/ Advertising Lesly Torres

Advisor Donna Pazdera

Special Thanks Ashlin Savon Beltran Christopher De Leon Calvin Hissongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vascular arms Anita Reyes the Twitterverse WRSC

Tweets from the staff Disclaimer: The views presented in Panorama do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Texas-Pan American or its employees.

Corrections can be found at: www.UTpanorama.com

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Table of Contents 03

clowing around

FEATURED Athletes

tattoos

rec work out

Even clowns have trouble juggling school, life, and work. This theater arts student find a way to mix baffonery with business.

A back and forth between student entrepreneurs and Panorama staff. They talk about their diffusion campaign, and how it won them a national award.

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taboo in the workplace, but accepted everywhere else. What is it about ink that fascinated modern society?

The result of a motivated studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intensive fitness program at the WRSC and her journey to a healthier lifestyle.

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FEATURED STUDENTS

Panorama Magazine @UTPanorama

S#iT

UTPA says 4 RETWEETS

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FEATURED STUDENTS

( LEO) CARLA REYES

The three of them sat at a table at Chili’s Bar & Grill on a buzzing Sunday night. Cheng Zhang and his wife, Lianxia Shen, had never been to Chili’s Bar & Grill before, and since it was their first time at this American restaurant, they weren’t sure what they should order. This is where Qiang Ding came in with his recommendations. Qiang Ding, a 23-year-old student who has chosen the American name of Leo,

knew what to recommend to them and helped them explain to the waiter what they wanted. There they were in an American restaurant eating typical American food, such as BBQ ribs and French fries, but eating their food in a traditional Chinese way. Cheng Zhang has only lived in the U.S. for less than a year and only knows or understands a few basic English words such as “thank you” and “hello”. He has a calm demeanor, a warm smile, and one gets the impression that behind his eyes lays wisdom and

experience. He and his wife are from the city of Urumai in the Xinjiang province of China. “To experience different cultures is one of the most important things in a person’s life,” Zhang said. “A single culture is not beneficial for a single person or country.” Zhang speaks a few Chinese words to Leo, and Leo translates this to the waiter as a request for extra plates. By the time the waiter returns, Zhang has finished arranging everyone’s plates on the center of the table. He passes everyone a plate and proceeds to serve them a helping of each plate.

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#p12LEO Everyone else at this restaurant is helping themselves only to what they ordered, but this is not the Chinese custom. This trio is used to eating by having various dishes at the center of a table and everyone getting to pick pieces from each dish. Sharing the same dishes feels much more communal to them. Shen tells the story of how she and her husband met and fell in love. They went to the same university, but they weren’t friends and they didn’t know each other well. When Shen graduated, some mutual friends set her up with Zhang because they believed they would make a good match. Shen and Zhang hit it off and felt they were very compatible for each other. They’ve been married for 15 years with Zhang working as an art professor for 20 years and Shen working as a Chinese professor for 15 years in China. A year and a half ago, the Chinese government sent Shen to work as a Chinese professor in the U.S., landing her a position at the University of Texas-Pan American. Shen has one more semester to complete before returning to China.“I have a J-1 visa which means I am a visiting scholar, and my husband has a J-2 visa. This means he is a spouse of a visiting scholar,” she said. Lianxia, who teaches a level-two Chinese class at UTPA, says she struggles to communicate with others in English, but she can understand most things and can form full sentences. She’s probably no taller than 5 feet 3 inches with long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. On most days, Shen walks quietly alone to class from the apartment she shares with her husband a few blocks from the university. Someone with no understanding of the Chinese language would get lost in her class with all of the Chinese speaking and broken English. “What this mean? and “What’s mean? she questions her class while pointing to the projected Chinese symbol on the board. When speaking, she has grown accustomed to switching back and forth from Chinese to English. She and Leo have attended an informal English conversation class for a couple of semesters at the Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) which has helped her improve her English. When it comes to English, Leo does not need clarification, but he likes to

TO EXPERIENCE

DIFFERENT CULTURES help those who, like Shen, still do. Zhang doesn’t ask for clarification either, rather he needs a full translation for English. “To him, it is like we’re singing,” Leo translates what Zhang is thinking about when he hears two people talking around him in English. “Though he can’t understand what we’re saying, it sounds beautiful. He says it’s like listening to Mexican music. He may not understand what is being sung, but he can understand the beauty and feeling.” Leo is working toward getting a bachelor’s degree in accounting at UTPA. He decided to attend a college in the U.S. because he believes it is easier than getting accepted into a school in China. UTPA is known for having a student body mainly made up of Hispanic students, which could be attributed to its proximity to the Mexican border. As you walk through the university’s hallways, you may hear Spanish spoken often, but if you pay close attention, you might notice something else. There is a growing cluster of international students from Asian countries. This group is made up of individuals with different stories. According to the UTPA Online Fact Book, in 2001, there was a total of 283 international students pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree. That number nearly doubled in 2010 to a total of 502 international students pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree. Leo is a well-dressed guy with long, sleek, black hair who is from Hong Kong, China. He is an absolute city boy. We practically own the same sunglasses, although he would disagree. The frames look exactly the same except mine are bright pink and his are black

IS ONE OF THE MOST

IMPORTANT THINGS IN A PERSON’S

with a Ray Ban logo on the lens. My sunglasses cost $5 at an Austin thrift store. Leo’s sunglasses cost $95 more. So, apparently, we don’t own the same sunglasses after all. While attending UTPA, Leo became good friends with a fellow student, 22-year-old Irving Tapia. According to Tapia, Leo’s well aware that he enjoys finding interesting clothing pieces at thrift stores. One day this fall semester, Leo noticed (and probably liked) a cobalt blue vest Irving had on, so he asked where Irving had bought it. Irving responded he had found it at a thrift store, and Irving recalls Leo rolling his eyes in disapproval. “Why do you always buy everything at thrift stores?” Leo scoffed. One could say that Leo appreciates the finer things in life like the brand new iPhone 4s that answers back to him. He also enjoys spending more than $200 at a single store at the mall during Black Friday. Leo is a reserved college student who can communicate quite fluently in Chinese, English and sarcasm. Leo seems to be up for anything. He’s involved in various clubs and activities such as teaching a basic Chinese class at the BSM

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organization every week. Leo keeps to himself, but he wasn’t shy when traveling across the United States in a white Jeep with four other international students last summer. They went from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, from Las Vegas to California and much more. All the way through, Leo recorded their trip on video and made sure to post more than six videos on Facebook. While most students admit to Facebook addictions and procrastination due to this popular site, Leo takes it to a whole new level. You can know almost everything about Leo through Facebook because he has probably posted an online status, picture or video about it. Did you go eat sushi with Leo? Yes, it’s on Facebook. Were you with Leo at the park? Yes, he tagged you in his picture. Did you make a fool out of yourself by playing “Just Dance 2” with Leo? Yes, well, there’s a totally embarrassing video as proof on Facebook! Life is not very private when you’re living it with Leo. Once, he even posted a video in which he shows the viewer the kind of hair gel

I think it’s a

good thing that there’s more

diversity

and it could

he uses and he gave a demonstration of how he specifically applies it to his hair. “You always look like you’re dressed for a hip-hop music video,” Leo tells one of his close friends, Yuchieh Chou, outside of UTPA’s library. Yuchieh Chou, who goes by the American name Nick, is also an international student at UTPA, but he is from Taiwan. Nick is a 24-year-old graduate student working toward a Master of Science in Information Technology, but he will be the first to admit that he didn’t choose his major. “My parents think I have better opportunities if I study here in the U.S.,” as Nick explains how he ended up at UTPA. “I think, ‘Why not if it make them happy? Besides, I don’t know what I want to do with my life, so at least I make them happy.” English doesn’t come as fluent for Nick as it does for Leo. “Language kills me,” Nick says about English. “I don’t understand anything during the class.” He does try to do well in his classes even if it means asking his American friends and roommates for help. Nick does his best to manage his school work with his social life. It’s not unusual for Nick to take his class notes or a textbook with him while he goes out with friends. He will literally be sitting at a table playing a board game with friends at a coffee shop, such as Moonbeans, and switching to partially studying his notes. His friends tease him about it, but he stays adamant about making the most of his time for studying. Nick is known as the shy guy from Taiwan to most of his friends. On many occasions, girls have told Nick that he is “cute”, yet he remains bashful and embarrassed by it each

help to spread the culture,

Chinese culture

in the Valley

time. Once, at a friend’s apartment, an acquaintance told Nick that she thought he was just “adorable”. After a brief explanation on what the word adorable meant, Nick quickly denied his adorableness. He is very modest. “No! No! You Americans are just too encouraging,” Nick retorts. Girls think that Nick is cute in the same way that a 5-year-old is cute. Kids say the darndest things, and Nick similarly says things in a way that makes him sound innocent and endearing. For instance, Nick is absolutely afraid of approaching a girl who isn’t already a close friend of his. “Because girls are like princesses,” Nick says, justifying why he won’t approach a girl and talk to her. Most girls hear him say that he sees them as princesses and they will go “Aww!” and say it’s sweet. Nick denies being cute, denies having any social skills, and claims to not understand or speak English well. He’s a fan of the American television drama “Gossip Girl” and watches it with Chinese subtitles to improve his English. Living in a community that largely speaks Spanish has also taught Nick some Spanish phrases such as “Que onda?” (What’s up? ) and “Hola, guapa” (Hello, gorgeous). He knows what these phrases mean and will purposely tell one of his Spanish-speaking guy friends, “Hola, guapa,” as a joke. Nick has had the opportunity to learn about the Mexican culture first-hand due to the friendships he has made at UTPA. He also shares his Taiwanese culture by discussing cultural differences over lunch and bringing back gifts for friends from Taiwan at the start of every school year. Meanwhile, Leo is currently sharing some his cultural traditions by helping to integrate bubble tea to the BSM Global Coffee House menu every Wednesday and Thursday. The process has its challenges and misunderstandings at times, but the blending and exploration of different cultures can be an enjoyable and educational experience. “I think it’s a good thing that there’s more diversity, and it could help to spread the culture, the Chinese culture here in the Rio Grande Valley,” Leo said.

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FEATURED STUDENTS

NDEZ

HERNA SARA

lo o k mo s at e h s v Tee e n e ” , ll m g McA ns y The ent. tin le she r of the1 n i 4 an d tn o s l a The do o i i fo e n , 5 p h T e A h deta eens slow ce in w brus er p e ns . , o y a g e T g s f a u y b o e h ils ens sits ly th ked eral matt i ter with c o a y r b a v w rep h a n l c a d ev In a ldre inch Tee drew er th ack do , polk eats w s e w o ll t e y r i . e a e d n d a n w w e h r a e f t s h l n v p o c k o yC asn t he revi n an otb blac t s as s set a ll tab l of s. y vest, e ’ in t l h a s d o o g d k o l a c usly l on add a ut a wn nd fu face y sai t’s oon aint a rd d a bla d w m n a e to s s n s ts n w t s r n L s d o r h u s a h d ab e as b “ as ,r e bo raw whit peo ince dotted s a p on a e a h n thei Teen on th leeve tee d, e o n ple o y t r ,” m ut o d, k long-s oversize at b hen, s ut unt rn in ’s chee shap sai led o d the re we art o tle bit llipse ave t “ a hot pin s she puts on an I e i i e h l k t r . a t s t . e t e h he s rly like kind hda se a ha pul place s, the ensy’ ry a li own , you ter.” g hat. T h e h ou s ed wa ‘Oh, a star y part s acco umme 2009 b d ond t Te it d a br ow for bein ed clown a r n n o f lo s o a a e i ic r lt e ro y t e n m sl te d ut yo ate sa mu ing g ec le ov p t, ng dr a legitim ys. “I will be go of s ine to ave to rawi . “Bu it to nd m . costu ike ‘O u sho out a nd be anied f 2010, “ I h av e a s d n k r r n K l u a s w m V h e .” lo e o e l n m ’ C d a jo dc alle fit e e fr in You ishe ns y et er no o che his f hair wat y l k a v o so late,” Tee “ l this aft fin boy’s like t her c cess g off l o do a m th I wen own a e. It w ents. her with ’s funera e s s e e o iv n e e n h y c t x i p d r i d re s k ly l a t e o r to m m te a a a v e h e ia s n s o i u d nd o off - r he ri a me tha rty,” j n se ow e l d, ear p fr t an said ft stor boug d,’ an ust in and im The hou 6-y ke you od u king in th muse y walks le at the s d d e p n h o e e A e p T a t t . a e I p n her chuckle on of th sha he sto g sh itting kid, a e’s n ril Go d the a blue e attenti ty. S do lts s the o st me z y h i r catches th irl’s birthday par a u e . op s ld g on “It to d l i ke e w a d g h a 1-year-o ok i t f u a n ow… A ml roo

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#p12clown

Gomez, 21, is a theater major at UTPA. Although she describes herself as “nerdy and quiet” as a child, she has been an actress for nine years now. “I wasn’t very talkative at all,” she said. “I was quiet, and I always sat in the back of the class. I always listened… and here I am now.” During her senior year at Edinburg High School, Gomez was part of the group that college tutor at Edinburg High School. During the weekend, the student, tutor, and average 21-yeartook her school to the UIL state competition old turns into Teensy Clown for a few hours. for the first time ever with the play Marate/ Sade by Peter Weiss, which depicts class CLOWNING WAYS struggle and human suffering. There, the It’s a Saturday shortly after noon. Gomez leans towards the mirror as she applies powder makeup character of Teensy was born. on her face with a big brush. She then proceeds to smear pink eye shadow, pink lipstick, and a hint of Thomas Green, theater advisor at Edinburg pink blush on her cheeks. Pretty low-key for a clown, one would think. High School saw the evolution of April’s “I used to go all out with the fake eyelashes and everything but not anymore,” she says as she personality throughout her high school years. applies black mascara. “The show is not about the costume, it’s about you. I’m not about what I look “There was a big, big change,” he said. like. It’s about what I can do.” “She was shy but towards the middle of her Gomez added that she only does the white-clown face for special performances because many freshmen year all the way through senior children are scared of that. year she became a pretty good leader.” She gets in her car, transformed into Teensy already, and makes her way to a home in McAllen for During her senior year at Edinburg High a birthday party where she will perform in the afternoon. Before leaving, she mentions that people School, Gomez was part of the group that took tend to look at her weird as they look into their rear-view mirror and see a “crazy clown her school to the UIL state competition for the first time with the play Marate/Sade by Peter Weiss, which depicts class struggle and human suffering. There, the character of Teensy was born. “(April) was a very important because she as pretty much the foundation,” Green said. “She held the group together and everybody looked up to her.” After graduating high school, she enrolled at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. Being in a bigger city with a broader entertainment business gave Gomez the opportunity to expand her performance experience, as she got hired as a creeper clown at the Sea World amusement park at the same time she worked for a “mascoting” company. “I’ve been both. I’ve been the very happy, nice clown, and I’ve been the scary, rude, obnoxious one. jamming out to music.” I’d make fun of people. That’s what I was paid to do,” she said. “During the day, I would be a starfish Teensy usually gets hired to entertain in the children’s portion of the park and I would see all these wonderful, beautiful little kids coming young audiences at children’s parties and, through, and they wanted to take photos with me and I’d be so happy to see them, and at night, they’d every once in a while, participates in be leaving the park and they’d be passing by me and I had to scare them…I’d feel so awful about it, fundraising and volunteer events. but that’s what I had to do.” “I’m prone to do more children’s events; After a year and a half living in San Antonio, Gomez had to return to the Rio Grande Valley sometimes, the kids are not as receptive, because of financial reasons. depending on their age. If they’re three, they “I was on a scholarship, but the scholarship only covered so much, and there was a huge problem can be terrified of you, but if they’re a little with my registration for my sophomore year, and my scholarship ended up getting dropped,” she bit older, you know, 6 or 7, they’re more apt said. “But the payment was not worth it. All the work I had to do, doing the 40 hours at Sea World a to laugh at the things I say, at the humor that weekend, and then, I was working during the week, so my studies were suffering.” I do,” she said. “Sometimes, I find the adults Once in the Valley, she enrolled at UTPA and joined the theatre department, and she is now a laughing a little bit more than the kids do. I try to go for the kids. It just depends, I guess.” At the party in McAllen, a few adults accompany their children in the living room as Teensy creates balloon art for everyone in the celebration. She gives the boys, and a few men, swords and the little ones quickly begin fighting with them. “Attention everyone,” Teensy yelled as she pointed at a young teenager kneeling in front

THE SHOW IS NOT ABOUT THE COSTUME,

IT’S ABOUT YOU.

I’M NOT ABOUT WHAT I LOOK LIKE. IT’S ABOUT

WHAT YOU CAN DO.

cont’d on page 76

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FEATURED STUDENTS

A BRIGHT IDEA

HOW A UTPA STUDENT ORG. GAINED NATIONAL ATTENTION

n Fall 2011, UTPA’s Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) developed and executed the “And I am CEO” campaign in which UTPA students would take a picture holding a poster where they wrote down their major or interests before the statement “And I am CEO”. In October 2011, the group attended the CEO 2011 National Conference in Fort Worth, Texas and won the E-Diffusion first place award. We talked with Francisco Godinez and Mario Rodriguez, UTPA CEO president and public relations officer at the time, and they told us about their experiences with the organization.

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#p12ceo

What are some of the events that you have organized as the President of CEO? When did you first join CEO?

Francisco: I joined CEO back in the fall of 2010. I would go to the meetings, but I didn’t really participate a lot. I saw the potential of the organization, but I was very busy with some other organization that I had to volunteer for. Mario: It was during the summer of 2010. I was invited by another member. I started getting involved, and I really liked the topic of entrepreneurship. For me, it is a broad topic. As an entrepreneur, you need to know how to talk to people, how to build a business, and be a hard worker. Though I had many of those skills and talents, they were not developed. I saw CEO as the perfect organization to learn this.

So when did you really get involved with the organization?

F: In Spring 2011, I had more free time and CEO didn’t have a president anymore. They had an interim president, but that president was very busy with her schedule. I saw the potential to do a lot for this organization. I recommended that they should bring a speaker to a Speaker Night event at the Visitors Center, and we did it. After that, they told me, “Hey, Paco (Francisco), why don’t you be the president of the organization since you truly like it and you’re really involved in this?” The members voted and they elected me president of the organization. M: During that same summer, I helped Paco (Francisco) restructure the organization. When we came back in the fall of 2011, we started getting CEO ready for the coming year.

F: Right after I became the president, we started with Speaker Night. We brought Carlos Garza, the CEO and president of International Bank and of Banorte USA, and he was the first speaker for UTPA at the CEO Speaker Night event. It was a successful event. We had 35 to 40 people at the Visitors Center, and it was pretty interesting for the audience.

How did the “And I am CEO” campaign come about? F: The “And I am CEO” campaign basically started when we finished the spring semes-

M: We definitely knew we had to do something to provoke new thoughts like “Hey, hi students! We’re here. It’s very important for you to know CEO exists.” It started because we saw the opportunities that this campaign gave us. We had access to students; we were able to approach them. It was very accessible to people. You come out and interact with other students. That’s why we decided to do the “And I am CEO” campaign.

How did the students react to it?

F: We had a good reaction. We started the semester and we started with the campaign. After the first meeting, we went outside the library and started taking pictures of ourselves, the members, and then, we began asking the people passing by.

If we were going to take

the opportunity of being leaders

of the organization, we were going to

make a difference.

ter. We were having just a couple of meetings during every month of the summer; we had new CEO members and a new executive board. We were very excited about the organization. We saw the potential of the organization, and we decided to do something else. We decided that if we were going to take the opportunity of being leaders of the organization, we were going to make a difference. We got together on a Saturday morning, we had some breakfast, and then we discussed the organization and what we were going to do. We talked about how we were going to attract people to join us and be interested in being entrepreneurs.

People got to know us better, and when people saw us, they were like, “Oh, the ‘I am CEO’?” They easily identified us.

How important was it to have a network of friends to get the campaign going and for it to be successful?

M: It was very important because CEO is not about me. It’s not about how I want to do it, because of me, or because I want to learn. No. You do it for others, and with others, you will learn.

Did the campaign make a difference?

F: It did make a difference. Before this year, CEO was an active organization, but it wasn’t really out there. Something very important about entrepreneurship that we discussed on that Sat-

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urday retreat was that, to be an entrepreneur, you don’t have to study a particular area. You do have to have some skills. You have to have some values like integrity…but every person, studying any major, could be an entrepreneur. We wanted to reach out to all of the majors in UTPA to encourage every student that if he or she wants to be a doctor and own his or her own hospital, this individual can do that. If you’re a Communications major and you want your own advertising company, we wanted to encourage students to dream they can do it.

Were you afraid that it wasn’t going to work out?

M: Yes. The idea to start it was on my behalf, and I was worried that, maybe, it was not going to receive the support from the people around us. But that was when I discovered that we

of the awards. We competed with advisor of the year award, entrepreneur student of the year, and also the E-Diffusion. So, with the E-Diffusion award, we competed with the “And I am CEO” campaign as a way to diffuse among UTPA students, regarding CEO. That was the only award we won, and we were very proud of it because it was our first conference. We weren’t really there to win. We wanted to see what it was like to participate, and we came back very proud.

How did it feel to win when you didn’t really expect it?

F: It’s not that we didn’t expect to win. We

Everybody started interacting

and working with each other. we developed

not only an organization but

a group of friends.

had friends, and they were able to support us. I didn’t consider myself a leader, but it was just happening and I think everybody listened to me. After that, I had to listen to others because several people had other ideas that were implemented in the campaign. Everybody started interacting, meeting each other, and working with each other. That’s how we developed – not only an organization – but a group of friends.

In November, the group went to the conference. How was that experience? F: We took 14 members to the conference. We went out to the conference, and basically, there were leadership sessions, speaker sessions, awards, and competitions. We wanted to compete for any of the awards, but we just qualified for three

participated because we wanted to win, but we weren’t sure what the competition entailed, and then, when they announced that UTPA won, it was a surprise. We had the satisfaction of saying that there’s something we’re doing well. It was really worth it. It was like a boost, something that encourages us to keep going as the CEO organization. M: It was a surprise. At the last minute, be number one.” It was like, “Let’s inform others what is going on, and the results will show how good or bad our idea was.” Everybody was excited because everybody contributed. It was a communal effort. It was not only “me”. It was everybody.

What has CEO done for you that you would encourage other people to be part of the organization? M: An infinite number of things. I gained friends and skills. It helps you learn new things about yourself and to be less afraid of achievement. It gets you out of your comfort zone and you become more knowledgeable about how important it is to contact people and be with them. F: It has offered me a lot of opportunities. Personally, it has taught me to grow –to grow as a person and as a leader. This year, being the president of the organization, has been a learning experience. I’ve been learning a lot about time management, executing my plans, and trusting people–that’s really, really important in an organization. Also, networking opportunities arose. If I were just a regular student who only stayed in the classroom, then went back home to study or watch TV, I wouldn’t have this opportunity to network, know people, and be involved. I enjoy it. I enjoy it.

What do you think the future holds for CEO?

F: It’s going to be great. The new president is Jorge Vivanco. He’s doing an excellent job. All the other members, including the secretary, the president, public relations officer… They make a great team. I think it’s going to go very well. It is something that started in 2009, we innovated it last year, and I think they can continue doing much more than what we did.

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POLITICS & ISSUES

CA$H CROP TINO VALENZUELA

“

Ahí les viene otra polka!” screamed Tio Ralph from the door of his 1979 Ford pickup. “Súbele!” my family enthusiastically responded. The sun, music and back-breaking work seemed no match to distrub the simplicity of humble working families. We were in Toledo, Ohio, that summer of 1989, and the stiff “flecos” (bangs) shading my sister’s face from the sun, the California Raisins’ T-shirts and florescent shoe laces proved the era was legit. My family migrated to Ohio every season. That trip, like every other, started with an interruption from the school secretary. “Can Tino Valenzuela can please go to the office with all his belongings?” it said. Only this time, it wasn’t for talking too much or doing standup comedy in the back. No. Dad walked me off campus and into our truck loaded with my family, pots and pans, blankets and even some munchies.

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#p1crop Off we go, where, again? I’m guessing out of the Valley because we just passed our house and we’re now on the expressway. Just like that I was leaving, there was no time for me to gather my favorite toys, saying goodbye to my best friend, Joey Villarreal, or even declare my love to Brenda Del Toro, the most beautiful girl on the playground, the Winnie Cooper of my Wonder Years. There I was lying face up on a 2-foot by-4-foot bed in the back of the truck, trying to decipher the different images I could imagine from the liner stains of my dad’s camper. City after city and days at a time, we travelled across the states and often looked for lighted shopping centers to park and get some rest until reaching our destination. “Rest” meant the sounds of bugs zipping by, and my brother’s obsession with producing bodily noises. He seemed to get a kick out of it, but the rest of us didn’t share in his joy. We arrived at our destination, and that year we picked cucumbers in hopes of covering the costs of the trip and taking some dinero back to Texas. Our family took pride in working hard; we worked like ants through each row, picking crops and piling up bundles high enough for children to climb. We had power in numbers, and working as a family unit was our biggest advantage: tíos, tías, primos, primas, sisters, brothers; everyone got in on the picking. Well, almost everyone. I was 6 years old, and most of my work consisted of making casitas for my carritos (houses of dirt with imaginary trees made of weeds and roads constructed by my index and middle finger for my toy cars). But one day during a water break, my dad urged my siblings not to leave any good cucumbers behind, saying, “Están dejando el dinero tirado.” (You’re leaving the money behind.) You see, timing was everything; the idea was to pick a cucumber that was a certain size. It couldn’t be too small or too big, but sometimes, certain chubby cucumbers could throw things off. My sister Irma, who was 15, took the speech to heart. She called for my assistance making sure that no cucumbers would be left behind. She quickly showed me the targeted size and signaled a smile to confirm that I had it down. It seems I had proven worthy of working and ready to pick myself. “You see all these rows of crops?” she said. “It’s not just cucumbers but each pepino is full of money!” “Nuh uh, it’s only cucumbers,” I thought. Shortly after my sister’s comment, she scrambled her hands in her pockets and with a sarcastic tone said, “OK.” A few rows later, she began to leave behind cucumber after cucumber, and boy was I on it. I had one, two, three,

four already. When we stopped and she turned to me and asked, “Do you still think I’m joking?” I smiled as she pulled out her pocket knife and sliced the still warm dark green prickly cucumber, and then it happened! There it was: an actual quarter, then another cucumber and a dime, then another and a penny, and a nickel! Boy was I wrong! There truly was money inside each cucumber. “Can we keep it?” I asked, but before she could answer, my dad’s voice from afar said,

You see all these rows of crops?

It’s not just cucumbers

but each pepino is

Full of money! “Dale, dale, no paren!” (Go, go don’t stop!) Irma smiled and said, “Yes, but we have to keep picking, the more we pick the more money we’ll get. It’s hard work but it pays off at the end of the temporada” (picking season). It was indeed tiring, but more than that I knew why everyone, especially my parents were so committed and structured. More cucumbers meant more money, so more workers meant a lot more money! I often wondered why other families from back in my neighborhood didn’t pick in the fields like we did. Did they have enough money? I mean, we determined how much money we could take home. Pa said, “Este año vamos a hacer mas dinero que el año pasado” (This year, let’s make more money than the previous year). Well, I couldn’t explain why the whole city didn’t come pick with us, but what I really couldn’t believe was how much money I was running around in, and now that I knew where money really came from; that secret was gonna be safe with me.

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POLITICS & ISSUES

9/11 TEN YEARS LATER REYNALDO LEAL

A giant American flag covers the facade of the New York Stock Exchange building on Wall Street.

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The 9/11 Memorial site is closed off to the public during the 10th Anniversary ceremonies. This included FDNY firefighters.

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A young boy follows the lead of local firefighters during a memorial ceremony at the FDNY Museum, and salutes the American flag as the National Anthem plays.

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FDNY Lt. Michael Vindigni reads the firefighterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prayer to fellow Ladder 1 Engine 7 firefighters. The ceremony honored all the firefighters lost during the Sept. 11 attacks, ten years to the minute after the first tower collapsed.

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A woman stands in front of a makeshift memorial outside the FDNY Engine Company 10 on Greenwich Street. A note reading “We are all New Yorkers,” is placed at the gate of St. Paul’s Church. The gate was also covered with white ribbons symbolizing forgiveness.

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Cpl. Matthew Anderson stands in front of the ribbon covered gate of St. Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church with a photo of his Marine friend Robert Cottle. His friend joined the military soon after Sept. 11 and was killed in action while serving in Iraq.

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Outside the high gates of the 9/11 Memorial protesters and â&#x20AC;&#x153;truthersâ&#x20AC;? organize to wave their banners, which blame the American government for the attack on the World Trade Center.

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Firefighters and officers of Ladder 1 Engine 7 observe a moment of silence for all FDNY â&#x20AC;&#x153;brothersâ&#x20AC;? who were lost when the towers collapsed.

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A young man holds a sign on closed-off Vessey Street. The completely silent and almost motionless individual stood in the middle of the road ignoring all comments from onlookers.

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Protesters and activists take to the streets during the 10-year anniversary.

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SPORTS

ON THE ROAD ALMA HERNANDEZ

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Coach Ryan Marks calls a time-out during their game against Army, Dec. 18 in West Point, Ny.

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To prepare for games, Coach Marks shows the team scouting film of their opponents at the Thayer Hotel in West Point, NY.

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Ryan Marks, head coach of the Bronc basketball team, talks pre-game strategy in the locker room during against Army, in West Point, Ny on Dec. 18.

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Nick Weiermiller waiting for the subway in Queens. The Broncs took the train to Manhattan for a day of sightseeing, Dec. 19.

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Ruben Cabrera, forward for the Broncs, waits for the rest of the team after the game against Army Dec. 18.

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The Broncs prepare for their game against St. John’s University in Carnesecca Arena on the St. John’s campus in Queens, NY

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Jesus Delgado and Brandon Provost follow the rest of the Broncs in Times Square, Dec. 19.

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SPORTS

THE MANNY SWAG WORDS & IMAGES: REY LEAL

Before practice starts for the Bronc baseball team, players can be seen running to the third-base dugout at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium to wait for their daily instructions. They don’t walk or trot, they run the 100 yards from the right field entrance to the team’s meeting area where they will be sheltered from the strong Valley sun. At a distance the mass of green, grey and orange uniforms all look the same. Pitchers, infielders and outfielders are all one unit as they move across the empty field. Bits of grass and dirt fly up around them. Only when they approach the concrete steps of the dugout do their faces become recognizable from the deep shadows below their ball caps. “Let’s go!” one yells out to the few stragglers behind the main group.

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#p12swag As they settle onto worn-out wooden benches and wait patiently for their head coach to arrive, spit and sunflower seeds begin to accumulate at the players’ feet. Some joke around about classes, and one tries to make small talk about Miami Marlin manager Ozzie Guillen’s recent media gaffe. “Did you guys hear about what he said?” asks junior outfielder Derek Hagy. “Nah,” replies pitcher Preston Budziszewski. “He said he loved Castro,” Hagy announces as he kicked some seed shells around with his foot. “Crazy,” Budzisewski adds. The players and assistant coaches have already been waiting for 15 minutes when a figure appears from right field. His walk is deliberate and he takes his time to get where the rest of the team has gathered. After all, it’s 2:45 p.m., and he’s right on time. A player mumbles, “swagger,” under his breath as Manny Mantrana crosses the infield line. “OK, guys,” Mantrana starts, “I hope you all took my advice and had a good Easter and rested.” The fourth-year UTPA head coach moves his gaze from one end of the dugout to the other, going over plans for the team’s upcoming matchup against UTSA and the high points of the recent series sweep against the New York Institute of Technology. He transitions between good pitching and batting, being a tough out on long counts and what he calls “winning the freebie war,” all without raising his voice once. The dramatic effect and sense of urgency is conveyed to his audience by how calm he seems. In a sport where flying off the handle can be seen as a strength, it seems Mantrana has mastered the underrated art of staying cool and calm. Perhaps it’s his established coaching legacy that makes him this way; a history of winning does create a sense of certainty in people. Maybe it’s the time playing under great coaches and programs. However, if a person were to ask him, for Mantrana, it might be as easy as “the good Lord” making it so.

LEAVING CUBA

Mantrana, 47, can remember certain things about his native Cuba. He recalls

his family’s home in Havana, the backyard where he played with friends from the neighborhood. He was also old enough to remember the decision his parents made when he was just 7 years old, to escape the communist nation and emigrate to the United States. “They sat us down one day and said, ‘You can’t tell anyone that we’re leaving,’” Mantrana recalled. “It had to be hushhush. We couldn’t tell our friends or anybody ‘cause something might happen. The regime frowned on trying to leave.” Looking back at the choice that would change the course of his life forever, the coach assured himself that his parents, Enrique and Aurora Vasquezbello, did what they had to do. In 1970, Mantrana, his parents and siblings loaded onto a double-engine propeller plane in Havana and flew 230 miles to Miami, where they would start a new, American life. Although there was a sizable Cuban

PLAYING BALL

Although Cuba is considered a baseball nation, Mantrana didn’t develop his love and understanding of the game until his mother signed him up for Little League when he was 8. He quickly found that he had a knack for baseball and, although he never took a batting or fielding lesson, he developed into a good player at a young age. According to Mantrana, it was the good Lord at work in his life, again. “I always played because I loved the game,” Mantrana said. “But I didn’t realize I was good until maybe my senior year of high school.” The Jackson High School shortstop had two Little League national championships and a productive high school career under his belt by the time Major League Baseball came calling. The Atlanta Braves were the first professional team to show interest in the young athlete, picking him in the 10th round of the 1981 draft out of high school. “I wasn’t thinking about getting drafted

I thought, ‘Man, that guy has a pretty good job.

He’s getting paid to

coach baseball. That’s what I want to do.’ community in Miami when his family arrived, making the cultural and language barriers less painful, he could see the differences between the island where he was born and his new home. The buildings, cars, schools and even the toys were new and gleaming for a young Mantrana. “I remember my first pack of gum I got from my aunt,” he said. “It was a big deal.” “Everything was different from the island, and once we got a place to stay and my parents started to work, we started to get acclimated.” Part of that acclimation would come by playing baseball.

then,” he recalled. “I was happy to just be getting a scholarship to go to school then.” Mantrana describes getting the phone call from the Braves organization and setting up a meeting with them at his home in Miami. At that point, it dawned on him that maybe he was good enough to play professionally. His mother, however, thought it would be in her son’s best interest to get an education before committing to a pro contract. “She kept saying no and no and no,” Mantrana said. “She wanted me to finish school, or get close to it, and then I could do whatever I wanted.” He weighed his options between pro

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SPORTS

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ROGER

BERNAL Roger Bernal was ranked first in the NCAA in batting average for more than three weeks with his average peeking at .500. The senior remained in the top-10 for the majority of the season. “As long as I am helping the team win I am satisfied, but it feels good that the hard work and dedication pay off,” Bernal said. “It feels good to see an under dog on top beating the odds.” The UTPA baseball team was ranked among the top-10 in NCAA in batting average for most of the season.

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BRANDON

PROVOST UTPA forward Brandon Provost was recognized as a member of the Great West Conference All-First team for the 2011-2012 basketball season. The junior from Katy, Texas, was also selected for the GWC All-Tournament team for his performance at the championships in March. Provost scored a team-high 17 points in the team’s semifinals loss against North Dakota, including five three-pointers. He also recorded six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes as a starter. “It feels great. My coaches, my teammates and my family gave me the confidence I needed all season,” he said. “I hope I can repeat it next year.” Provost led the Broncs in scoring with 13.4 points per game and started 30 games this season.

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SPORTS

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SPORTS

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DMR TEAM

UTPA has won the indoor Distance Medley Relay conference title every year since the school joined the Great West Conference in 2009. This year’s team consisted of Martin Casse, Guillermo Martinez, Sebastian Benavidez and Andrew Lopez. They ran a time of 10:25.00 at the GWC Track and Field Indoor Championships hosted by Chicago State University in March. A month later, Lopez, Edgar Moreno, Benavides and Casse shattered the outdoor DMR school record at the 2012 Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a time of 9:55. The distance medley relay is an event that consists of four athletes running 1,200-meters, 400-meters, 800-meters and 1,600-meters, respectively. “We all feel great pride when it comes to running the DMR. It’s almost like winning this race is a tradition now,” Lopez said. “We aren’t trying to win for ourselves, we are trying to win for each other, not just the current guys on the team but for all the guys on the past teams as well. We can’t let them down either. The DMR really is all about pride and tradition.”

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BIANCA ROGER BERNAL TORRE Bianca Torre earned Great West Conference All-First Team honors for the 2011-2012 season. The junior from Harlingen stands two points away from breaking the school record that is currently held by Alex Garvel, who scored 1,227 points from 1998 to 2003. Torre has made the most free throws in UTPA history with 264. “Basketball has shaped me as a student, daughter, sister, and as a person. Being able to break some records here at UTPA has been a huge honor. Coming into this program, though, my goal was not trying to break records, but to be the very best that I can, and to help change the program.,” she said. “I’m honored and blessed to be able to see my name written in the books. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches. I give credit to them for being a part of my success at Pan Am.”

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SPORTS

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LIFESTYLE

ALL COVERED UP LAURA GALVAN

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#p12tattoos it’s just on yourself. Some people dig it, and other people don’t. Then again, other people have tattoos on them that I wouldn’t get. It all goes back to their tastes,” said Wheler. Perhaps the popularity of tattoos can be attributed to successful shows such as “LA Ink, Miami Ink” and “West Side Tattoo”, which help tell the inspirational stories behind some of the art people decide to display on their bodies. “People open up like a book,” said Wheler. “Most of the time, for clients, it’s therapeutical because a lot of them think they need a reason to get tattooed, so it’s usually because someone’s passed away or something like that.” Corporations have also slowly become more tolerant of tattoos than they were a decade ago. Fields like marketing, sales and technology have revised and made exceptions to their tattoo policies. “I would think that tattoos are becoming more accepted,” said the executive vice president at local nursing school. “We have to make allowances to that because what’s the alternative? Am I As she began to speak, a smile formed on her face, displaying the emotional actually going to get to the point where I can’t significance of the artwork. “It’s my two kids’ birth months, and my husband’s and my hire anybody but somebody with tattoos?” birth month.” She smiled as she described the careful process that was taken to select a comHowever, a 26 year Registerd Nurse (RN) memorative piece. “This is something I wanted to do, because it’s all of us united together.” and now assistant director at the same nursMari Garza is just one out of the millions of people in the world who has had a form of ing school expressed his concern with tatart tattooed on her body. According to a fall 2006 survey conducted by the Pew Research toos and the potential consequences they Center, 36 percent of those people ages 18 to 25, and 40 percent of those ages 26 to 40, have might have on professional careers, as had at least one tattoo. As tattoos continue to flourish in today’s culture, it has some em- there are certain professions which still ployers concerned about the future of the maintain a strict dress code. “There are corporate market. Employers are being people who like tattoos, but the older generation frowns on tattoos,” said the assistant diforced to reevaluate their company hir- rector. “There are a lot of variables involved as far as nurses and students are concerned. ing policy, in order to comply with chang- If your tattoos are considered offensive, we ask the student or employee to cover them up. ing society. However, first impressions play Our concern is the patient, and patients will be very vocal when it comes to appearance.” a major role in landing a potential job, and “We do a lot of judging in the workforce, and a tattoo allows a person to make an imaccording to industry experts you only have pression right away without even speaking,” said the assistant director. “It does jeopardize seven seconds to make a good impression. your opportunity for a potential job, but of course they are not going tell you that, but they “Tattoos used to be for the degenerates do judge you.” In a 2001 study done by Vault.com, almost 60 percent of employers said they but it’s not like that anymore, it’s more main would be less likely to hire someone with visible tattoos. Half of those surveyed said they stream. Back then, the only ones you ever saw would have a lower opinion of someone they work with or meet who has visible body art. tattooed were bikers or prisoners,” said GarGarza admires people who have visible tattoos, but is aware that having them could za, who has eight hidden tattoos. Years ago, interfere with employment opportunities. “I love (tattoo) sleeves but I would nevtattoos were popular among the rebels and er get one because I don’t want to stay where I’m at right now. I want to move to a prowere often subjects of taboo. Today’s society fessional office setting and I can’t really do that with a tattoo sleeve,” said Garza. rapidly embraces liberal values and prides itAccording to research done nationwide by Harris Poll of 2,302 U.S. adults surveyed self on freedom of expression such as artistry online 32 percent of those without a tattoo say people with tattoos are more likely to do and as a rite of passage. Additionally, tech- something most people would consider deviant , compared to 12 percent of those with a nological advances and disease prevention tattoo who say the same. Two-thirds or 67 percent of those without a tattoo say having a tathave helped improve the tattooing method. too makes no difference in whether someone would do something. “I don’t know what the “My tattoos are just like art,” said Josh stigma is necessarily because those that do have them are good people and it doesn’t make Wheler, a Valley tattoo artist. “They are similar to paintings in your house. If you walk into somebody’s house they have pictures on the walls. It’s basically the same thing;

“This one means a lot to me,” said Mari Garza, a 32 year old administrative assistant, as she

glanced down her left ribcage and described the

pink traditionaL cherry blossom tattoo embedded on her skin.

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HI. thanks for reading. for more go to

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K Thanks Bye!

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LIFESTYLE

SIX WEEKS

ONE STUDENT’S JOURNEY TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE NANCY SALAZAR

enjoyed a wonderful winter break full of delicious calories often followed by hours of hibernation. I hardly thought of the gym since finals week the semester before had taken so much energy out of me. Needless to say, I started off my spring semester with a depressing flab. The familiar feelings of guilt and regret sunk in and I just had no energy or motivation to go to the gym. When I did manage to get my overgrown rear off the couch and to the gym, I didn’t push myself as much as I knew I could; I gave myself zero accountability, frustrated with the lack of results my subpar workouts produced. And then I sort of stumbled upon Bronc Wellness. I jumped at the idea of undergoing a challenge and writing about the experience. I agreed to take on a “fitness challenge” and show the whole world (or just my campus) what I went through and how it turned out.

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#p12wellness I’ve never been overweight. The most I have ever weighed was 140 pounds and, being a senior in high school, it was traumatizing- even though it was a healthy weight for my 5-feet3-inch, medium frame. It was then that I made a conscious effort to change the way I looked. I admit, it was mostly for shallow reasons, but it did open my eyes to different things in life. For example, take my family’s genetic maladies: there’s a pattern of highly disadvantaged athletic genes coupled with obesity followed by diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. My grandmother died at the age of 60 when I was 12 because she had battled with all of these diseases for many years and had a negative reaction to a dialysis procedure she had done in Mexico. As you might know, the Mexican diet is not the healthiest around. We love everything from tacos to pan dulce and unfortunately, they are packed with grease, fat and carbs. As I researched, I noticed that the things we were eating at home were exactly the kinds of things we should be avoiding because of our family’s medical history. Rice, red meat of some sort, flour tortillas and soda were all common staples of our diet. I grew up with a loving mother who not only is a great cook, but also gets great satisfaction in knowing that we are well fed and provided for, so food portions were often pretty generous. When I became more aware of health and fitness, adjusting my unhealthy standards became a difficult task to take on. I thought it would be easy to not only change the way I was eating, but also change habits at home—wrong. I could almost see the horror in my mom’s eyes when I suggested that we modify our diet and start going to the park and exercise as a family. She agreed, but mostly just to shut me up. No real change happened to anyone but me. It was discouraging to be the only one at home actually caring about our adverse medical timeline. It felt like no one cared about being healthy or dreamt of enjoying the future and all that life has to offer. I didn’t want to live my life taking pills, injecting insulin or carrying extra weight that could easily be prevented. However, the more I thought about it, the more I obsessed about things in my body I didn’t like and subconsciously made a list of what I wanted to “improve.” Growing up in a Christian home, I was always taught that I was created in God’s image and therefore perfect the way I was. It was hard for me to believe that when all around me I would see other girls that were stick-skinny and didn’t even have to work for it. I became obsessed with trying to look like a model, only to engineer for myself a low self-esteem and self-consciousness which I battled with for just about four years. While I have struggled with body image and all that junk these past few years, I have learned so much about healthy living and have managed to be content with my body. I saw Bronc Wellness as an opportunity to learn more about how to care for my body and keep a healthy lifestyle. The first person I talked to was Deanna Schneyer, a UTPA alumni and marketing intern for the Wellness and Recreational Sports Complex (WRSC). She was so enthusiastic and ready to kick off this challenge. We talked about what the program would look like and what her vision for this project was. “We’re gonna get you a six-pack,” I remember her saying with a chuckle during one of our meetings as she went through the workout plan she had created for me. She also gave me really good tips on healthy snacks and meals to try and made the whole program seem very exciting.

When I met Colette Cabot it all became a little more real. Being the WRSC Fitness Coordinator, she helped put together the idea of Bronc Wellness. “Bronc Wellness is a comprehensive wellness program designed for those ready to make a healthy lifestyle change by adopting healthy eating practices, regular physical exercise and identification of realistic goals,” she explained. Along with Student Health Services, they renovated the program that was in place back then, “Healthy Broncs,” and combined nutrition, exercise and regular check-ups so that students participating could get the most out of their experience. “The idea came about from our department because we saw there were a lot of overweight students probably looking to make a change but didn’t really know where or how to start,” she further explained. Before I could start working out, I had to get a detailed fitness assessment. I was immediately nervous because I knew that the scale

I didn’t want to live my life

taking pills,, injecting insulin

or carrying extra weight that could easily be prevented. would remind me that I wasn’t in my best shape. The test consisted of weigh in, body fat calculator, body measurements, blood pressure check, push-up test, curl-up test, flexibility and balance. My numbers were depressing, but definitely what I expected. Colette encouraged me even when my performance was “below average”, like in the push-up test for example. I was only able to successfully complete three wimpy “girl” push-ups and was sore for days after (refer to the part about my “highly disadvantaged athletic genes”). I was given a roster where I was to write down every day’s workouts for the next six weeks. It seemed intimidating at first, but being the organize-freak that I am, it defi-

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LIFESTYLE

SALAVADOR GRAJEDA

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#p12arena

riday night. Inside a seemingly sleepy venue in suburban McAllen, the sounds of gunfire, punches and explosions are heard. Flashes of bright light illuminate an otherwise dim room. “Cover me, bro!” “You pussy!” When the flashes and taunts subside, you see a cluster of college-aged guys wearing headsets sitting in front of HD monitors. To the untrained eye, they may just appear to be nerds doing what nerds do: playing games on a Friday night – but if you ask them what they’re doing, they’ll simply say, “Training.” The Arena, at 1313 E. Hackberry, is a small office space filled with Xbox360s and Playstation3s that sit atop plastic folding tables. This once-ordinary office space has been transformed into a sort of haven for gamers to meet and convene in peace. For a $2 entry fee, they can sharpen their gaming skills, share tips and tricks with each other, compete for cash prizes at tournaments, or just play their favorite videogames for hours on end without judgment. For sustenance, there are sodas, energy drinks and all manner of salty and

anyone interested in mingling with others who have similar interests, said Lopez, 23. Lopez, aka DarkKalo, is originally from Nacadoches but was raised in México. He is also a co-founder of the South Texas Gaming League or STGL. On any given day, he can be found at a table playing a trading card-based game or sitting alongside other gamers. “We will do any game. Bring me nine friends-and I’ll make a tournament,” said Lopez. Midday Saturday is when The Arena gets into full swing. There are males and females still experiencing the joys of puberty who shuffle in steadily, clad in Tshirts and skinny-fit pants. Amongst the scattered energy drinks and Bieber-bangs are also a few children and parents. There is a lot of commotion: a tournament is about to begin. The tournament is for a trading cardbased game called, “Yu-Gi-Oh,” which is Japanese for “King of Games.” The game is extremely popular and has its players using a combination of monsters, spells and traps to defeat one another. The tables used for the event are draped

to enter the tournament. Getting the fee is important business here, even if you’re here on business. “It’s $5 to enter...,” he says. “Oh, I’m not here to play.” (I am approached several times about the venue fee.) I explain why I am there and then try to ask him about the event, all the while he is steadily scribbling, typing, and taking cash, and when I am in mid-sentence, he shouts, “OK! Round one! Everyone off the tables please!” It’s clear to both of us that he can only give me divided attention, so he says, “Sorry, uh, if you want to know about South Texas Gaming League, you should go talk to Chuy.” He points to another guy standing at the snack bar wearing the same STGL shirt. I venture further into this crowded gaming den where the air is thick with the aroma of hot nacho cheese. The sounds of dubstep music, automatic weapons firing, explosions, shouting and laughter are omnipresent.

To the average person, they may just appear to be nerds doing what nerds do:

playing games on a Friday night. but if you ask them what they’re doing,,

they’ll simply say, “Training.” sweet munchies at a back-room snack bar. “This place isn’t a hangout. If it was, there would be couches and big screens,” said a guy known as “Seprasquall.” This is his gamer tag, because he didn’t want to use his given name. He wore glasses, had dark, short curly hair, and wore a shirt that said “Eezymelon” on it. Seprasquall and UTPA biology student, Gilbert Lopez, are the men behind The Arena. The Arena isn’t about creating an exclusive club that shuns novice players or those who do not play, but rather to create an inviting and friendly atmosphere for

in cloth, and they’re filled with players warming-up at the moment. On the walls are STGL posters that read: “STGL 2012 CIRCUIT, JUMP IN!” The STGL logos are red, white and blue and resemble the NBA’s logo, but instead of a basketball player dribbling, it has the silhouette of a videogame controller. It is difficult to stand in one place for more than a few seconds as players continually pass back and forth through the corridor. Sitting at a table situated adjacent to the players against the wall is Jose Tellez (or JT956). JT is wearing an STGL shirt and seems to be coordinating the event. He has a laptop open and is hastily writing on a piece of paper while collecting the fee from players

Jesus “Chuy” Fuenlabrada also seems a little busy but is excited to tell me about STGL and The Arena. From behind the snack bar, he explains that STGL started in November 2011, and that they originally hosted Yu-Gi-Oh and Modern Warfare game tournaments at a now defunct venue called “Gamecrazy.” They also held fighting game events there on Fridays and called it “Friday Night Fights,” which featured popular games like “Marvel vs. Capcom” and “Streetfighter.” A loyal following began, and then, they moved to The Arena, which officially opened Dec. 17, 2011. “Just recently we sent a team of five to the Yu-Gi-Oh regionals in San Antonio for the first time. Our team took first place.” He went on to explain that on Wednesdays, The Arena hosts “workshops” for Modern

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#p12arena Warfare 3, which is a popular first-person shooting game that requires teams to work tactically against each other. The workshops consists of players who are put on randomized teams and then pitted against each other in trials to see how well they do when playing alongside unfamiliar teammates. “We want to see if they can adapt and how quickly they can create trust between the other players. We’re making an all-star team.” Just then, Seprasquall approached us. He led me into what appeared to be an office/store-room with a Dry-Erase board, a couch, stacks of fliers and a closet stocked with games and supplies. A chess board with large pieces sat prominently on the desk. The Arena is funded by a number of sponsors, including Taco Grill, Eezymelon, The Old Ice House, Hermes Music, Exotic Berry and Tai Tung. But, like any other businessman, Seprasquall faces scrutiny from these sponsors if The Arena doesn’t make enough money. “This sponsor’s gonna walk because he wants money now! But we told him, it’s not about the money... I want to add as much value to the membership as possible. That’s what the Eezymelon cards are about. I don’t want to rip them (the members) off! That’s the last thing I want to do!” The Eezymelon card is a discount card that can be used at certain businesses and restaurants. For instance, someone can use it at a sushi restaurant and get two rolls for the price of one or save 30 percent on their bill. Eezymelon cards cost $30. “Or if you use it to buy concert tickets, you can save 30 percent. I know the subscription is expensive, but this pays for it. I always want to give the gamers the opportunity to save cash.” He stopped pacing and sat at the desk near the chess board with over-sized pieces. Then, the topic changed to Se-

prasquall’s favorite game, which is considerably low-tech: chess. He said The Arena will soon host chess tournaments. “[Chess] is like a doorway to a person’s mind! It’s all about strategy and reading your opponent...It’s simple. If I can convince moms and dads that it’s OK to play chess here--to learn strategies and tactics, I can show them how [video] games and chess are the same!” Seprasquall pointed out their stock of games and how each game “pushes players to strategize” and to compete with one another, which he compared to chess.

be informative, but I want it to be quality. We’re advocates of quality... It will show people what’s going on. They can read it and see like, ‘Hey, that guy’s really good!’ It will have a section that shows champions, it will give credit to winners, and we can turn gaming into a spectator sport.” “The magazine will probably have a $40 membership subscription, which is kind of a lot –it’s a shitload, but it will also come with an Eezymelon.com card which will basically pay them back if they use it. But that’s nothing… We’re just gonna be breaking even. This isn’t for profit! It’s just our passion. It’s not about the money! We might have to start ‘the revolution’ earlier than we planned.” He paced around outlining his plans and pointed out strategic places he wanted to “hit” on an invisible map of the Rio Grande Valley that he pretended was on the wall. “We’re about to launch a huge marketing campaign! Concerts, ‘Never Say Never Fest,’ events, the mall, areas around schools –not in schools, but around them. We want to distribute 5,000 fliers and put up 100 posters.” He talked about doing radio spots with someone named Zach Cantu and also described plans to do a television commercial for The Arena that will intentionally mock local car dealership commercials. “I don’t want a regular commercial. Why keep catering to shitty advertisements? We know it’s risky, but if I lose everything, so be it. We’re going all in knowing our dream can end.” He also said he has plans to make testimonial videos to show that gaming isn’t just something for nerds or teenagers, but that gaming is something everyone does. “I want it to be like UNICEF, ya’ know, like show their name and their job title and show that everyone is a gamer and that it’s the future.”

We’re just gonna be breaking even. This isn’t for profit.

It’s just our passion.

It’s not about the money!

We might have to start

‘the revolution’ earlier than we planned.

But Seprasquall’s plans don’t end there. In fact, he considers what they’re doing a “revolution.” One of the next steps is to start a magazine called South Texas Gamer which he wants to use as a marketing tool to further expand the business. “Everyone gives out fliers, but people in the Valley always stop at fliers. I don’t want to just stop at fliers.” He seemed very concerned about also using the magazine as a way to add value to their “product,” as he kept referring to it. He became more animated and excited as he described his plans. “I not only want it to

cont’d on page 75

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THE MANNY SWAG WORDS & IMAGES: REY LEAL

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CONT’D FROM 50 ball and an education, meting his mother halfway by attending Miami-Dade North College the next year. A major league contract would have to wait. “She was, and still is to this point, the most influential person in my life,” Mantrana said of his mother, who often worked multiple jobs to help the family. “She spent her life working for her kids and I didn’t want to disappoint her. Even though I was drafted pretty high, and the money was good, she wanted me to go to school, so I did.” But the pros would continue to pursue him as his baseball career took him from Miami Dade (1981 to 1982) to Middle Georgia Junior College (1982 to 1983), where Mantrana and the Warriors would finish second in the Junior College World Series. Baltimore, Cleveland, Texas and Atlanta all wanted to sign the young shortstop as a prospect, but his mother kept trying to convince him to find value in an education and go to a four-year college. The opportunity to attend a premier program and an academic institution would come in the summer of 1983 when newly hired Louisiana State University head baseball coach Skip Bertman contacted Mantrana. “I had been recruited heavily by some big time schools when Skip Bertman called and asked if I would come play for him,” said Mantrana, pointing to a portrait of Bertman, hanging on his office wall across from his desk. “I knew him from his time at the University of Miami, tremendous guy, so I went to LSU to play.” LSU was far from being the baseball powerhouse it would become in the 1990s when Mantrana began with the Tigers in 1984. The program had suffered several years of mediocre, sub-500 ball before the Bertman

Era, and Mantrana relished the opportunity to help his new coach change the way baseball was perceived at the university. “I was part of his first recruiting class,” Mantrana said. “As that core group we worked hard to turn the losing ways around.” In his first year at LSU Mantrana had a .302 batting average with 52 hits, scored 42 runs and led the team in triples (6) and stolen bases (17). The next year he brought in 40 runs while scoring 43 of his own, stole 19 bases, and belted 11 home runs. The Tigers would win the SEC Western Division Championship and go 41-18 during the 1985 season. “Probably the best baseball decision I ever made was playing for LSU,” Mantrana mused as he sat back in his office chair. “I got to play two years for Skip Bertman and he taught me more about baseball in those years than the rest of my career combined to that point.” He would take that baseball know-how with him into the minor leagues and later, as a coach, to every squad he was charged with leading. THE COACH Mantrana played four years in the minor leagues after leaving LSU in 1986. He signed as a free agent with Detroit and played second base for the Gastonia Tigers (1986) and the Fayetteville Generals (1987). Halfway through the 1987 season he was traded to the New York Mets, who sent him to play for their Columbia, S.C., squad. In 1988 Mantrana was moved to one more team in the Mets farm system before retiring from professional baseball at the age of 23. He ended his pro career with 274 hits, 147 runs scored and a .277 batting average. Making good on the promise to his mother to finish his education, Mantrana decided to move back home to Miami, and completed his sports administration degree at St. Thomas University. Even though he knew he wanted to graduate, the future wasn’t clear until he drove by Miami Springs High School one day. “There was a high school baseball practice going on as I stopped my car,” Mantrana recalled. “And I thought, ‘Man, that guy has a pretty good job. He’s getting paid to coach baseball. You know what? That’s what I want to do.’” When he finished the degree he applied,

and landed, the vacant head coach position at his old high school. After five years of coaching the Miami Jackson High Generals, an assistant position became available at MiamiDade North, and Mantrana found himself coaching infielders and coordinating recruiting at another one of his former schools. The good Lord has a funny way of opening doors, Mantrana said. But there was a learning curve for the 27-year-old coach. Although the transition from player to coach wasn’t difficult for Mantrana, there was a realization that his new career would be different from the previous one. “The biggest thing was, you weren’t just worried about executing your job well,” Mantrana said. “You had to think about all nine players on the field executing theirs.” According to Mantrana he took what he learned from Bertman at LSU and used it to see and understand the big picture on the diamond. In 1996, when St. Thomas University began looking for a replacement for Al Avila, the young assistant coach took a chance and applied for the position. Mantrana would take the STU baseball program and the Sun Conference by storm and become the winningest coach in the baseball program’s history. By the time he left for his current job at UTPA, he had given St. Thomas 11 straight winning seasons (1997-2007), accumulated a .681 winning percentage (434-193-1), with five Florida Sun Conference championships and garnered three trips to the college World Series. CHANGE OF SCENERY When UTPA Athletic Director Chris King needed to fill the Broncs’ baseball head coaching position in September 2009, one of the people he called was Skip Bertman. “They called him,” said Mantrana nodding again to the portrait of his mentor. “He told them to call this guy, me, first and see what they thought.” Mantrana, the coach who had made a name for himself in Florida, had suddenly become part of the Bronc shortlist for coaches. “We started the process,” he said, “first with a phone interview and then I came down for a visit.”

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During that visit King offered him the job and Mantrana had to make a decision. He asked his wife and daughter first, but made sure to ask his mother Aurora what she thought too. “One of the biggest things for me, before making the move, was my mom,” the coach said, leaning forward in his chair. His mother, who had fought off breast cancer twice, was the main reason for Mantrana to second-guess the South Texas job. His mother would be 1,500 miles and he was worried about being by her side if she needed him. But she put her son’s mind at ease and convinced him that he wouldn’t be that far away if anything were to happen. “Being the person she is, she told me to make the best decision for me and my family,” he said. “She kind of pushed me to take the job.” For Mantrana, the good Lord may open the doors, but it was his mother, her dedication to her six children and her teachings, that pushed him through. “I’m very fortunate, I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for my mom,” he asserted. “I wouldn’t be coaching, to tell the truth.” THE BRONC The reason Mantrana took the UTPA job was quite simple to him. He thought he could win at the university. He knew it would be difficult to change the mentality and perception that the Broncs were a losing team, even though the team had been contenders in the 1970s and 1980s. But he saw promise in the school, location, weather and potential pool of players to choose from in Texas. However, he started off slowly in his first three seasons and was hit with his first string of losing outings since becoming a head coach. He credits the program’s slow start to having been hired late in 2009, hurting his first two recruiting campaigns and thus the prospects for winning. “It was tough because we had such a late start,” said the fourth-year Broncs skipper. “The first year we couldn’t do much and it affected the people we could recruit the next year too.” But now, as his first real recruiting class takes the field against the rest of the Great West Conference, Mantrana feels confident

the Broncs can turn the tide and add more games to the win column. “There is no doubt that we have to work harder than at other places,” he said, “but that’s part of the challenge of making something better. I feel that Pan Am baseball will get better and better because we have a great group of kids now.” Mantrana, who said he never had to be asked to hustle on the field, understands how important it is to get the right players, on the field and in the clubhouse. “We may not be able to compete with the LSU and Texas for the ‘best’ players, but we can do a lot with players that have a strong work ethic,” he claimed. “If we can get those players that want to win, we can do great things here at Pan Am.” One of the players he leans on to motivate the team and help cement a winning legacy at UTPA is senior outfielder Adrian de la Rosa. “As a team we’re up for any challenge,” de la Rosa said. “We respect everyone but we don’t fear anyone.” The El Paso Junior College transfer reminds Mantrana of himself when he used to play. He sees the same kind of hustle and work ethic that set him apart in junior college and LSU. “We’re no longer the Pan Am you’re just going to beat,” the head coach said. “Guys like Mike (McCarthy) and Adrian (de la Rosa) are a big reason why. They put in the time to get better and they love the game. They remind me of myself in that perspective.” De la Rosa said that the team has bought into the winning mentality wholeheartedly. Mantrana’s view that they represent the university, their families and their maker is seen by the senior standout as words to live both on the field and off. “I’ve learned so much from coach, about baseball and life in general,” he said. “We respect him and we don’t want to waste his time.” MOVING FORWARD Although some may look at Manny Mantrana and say his “swagger” and larger than life image are somehow self-fabricated, to his players he is the real deal; a man that has gone through the system and come out the other side strong and knowledgeable. His life may not have been charmed and per-

fect, but he has made something out of it and carved out a place in college baseball. According to Mantrana, life has thrown him many curve balls but faith and family have sustained him. He is grateful to have been born to his mother and that his parents made the decision to move to the United States. He’s glad to have had an opportunity to work in what he considers a great environment at UTPA. “The good Lord gave me the ability to play baseball and the chance to coach,” he added. “I have a beautiful wife and daughter. I’m very blessed and I’m thankful for everything. he does for me and continues to do for me on a daily basis.”

SIX WEEKS

ONE STUDENT’S JOURNEY TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE NANCY SALAZAR

enjoyed a wonderful winter break full of delicious calories often followed by hours of hibernation. I hardly thought of the gym since finals week the semester before had taken so much energy out of me. Needless to say, I started off my spring semester with a depressing flab. The familiar feelings of guilt and regret sunk in and I just had no energy or motivation to go to the gym. When I did manage to get my overgrown rear off the couch and to the gym, I didn’t push myself as much as I knew I could; I gave myself zero accountability, frustrated with the lack of results my subpar workouts produced. And then I sort of stumbled upon Bronc Wellness.I jumped at the idea of undergoing a challenge and writing about the experience. I agreed to take on a “fitness challenge” and show the whole world (or just my campus) what I went through and how it turned out.

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CONT’D FROM 66 nitely helped to have a visual plan and stay accountable. The program is designed so that students work out at least three times a week; they are to choose from Workout A, B or C each of which have different exercises ranging from “mountain climbers” to “push up+ row”, have small group personal training and go to a group exercise that the WRSC offers. When all this was explained to me, I thought it would all be a piece of cake. My first workout was Workout Plan A. It listed exercises such as alternating lunges with bicep curls, push-ups with in/out feet, bicycle abs and a few more. It was pretty challenging, but I wasn’t super tired when I finished, which honestly, I was used to. Needless to say, I was glad when I moved on to ending my workout with cardio. Since I have known running to work for me for weight loss, which was my main goal, I gave those 40 minutes my all, but finished feeling like I could have done more. Still, I walked out of those doors feeling more accom-

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plished and refreshed than I had in months. My second day, however, was one I won’t forget for a long time. Expecting a group of students I would be training with, I was surprised to find that it would be just me and the personal trainer that morning. Rick Mendez was my personal trainer that day and I would soon learn that he was tough. He had the demeanor of a Teddy bear, but his workout was probably something taken out of an Arnold Schwarzenegger video. The warm-up exercises he had me do were things I would normally base off my normal workout. It was intense, to say the least. I pushed myself beyond my limits nonstop for an hour, and I can say with confidence that that workout was one of the best workouts I’ve ever had. Rick was tough on me, allowing only short amounts of breaks in between sets, but he was always encouraging and motivating me, reminding me to not give up and that I could finish. Unfortunately, that was Rick’s last week at the WRSC, so the following week I would have another trainer, Jonathan Quezada. When I met Jonathan, I was immediately intimidated. Our session started at 8 am and I quickly noticed he was so full of energy and despite the great difference between his physical ability and mine, he was a nice, approachable individual. This time, another girl showed up for personal training, so I didn’t feel as apprehensive; we had a great session that day. Since I can be pretty competitive, I noticed myself trying to be better than the other girl, who wasn’t in her best shape to begin with. It was obvious that I would be faster in the exercises that had to do with cardio and speed, but she dominated when it came to lifting weights. Being the scrawny person that I am, I couldn’t lift more than 10 pound dumbbells and by the last set, I was dying while she kept lifting her 15’s like they were feathers all while holding a conversation with Jonathan. Small group personal training became the thing I most looked forward to throughout my week. Jonathan was very helpful and motivating all while pushing me to try harder than I had before. It was through being pushed and challenged in these sessions that I learned how strong and determined I really am. I have this mentality

now that my body can do whatever my mind sets itself to. I won’t lie and say it was always easy to wake up extra early for personal training and that I always wanted to be there, but in the end, when 9 am hit and we finished our session, I walked out of those doors feeling the greatest sense of accomplishment that I don’t think I’m able to explain. My planner quickly started looking a lot like a normal college student’s planner. Since I normally don’t have a heavy workload, I have been known to complain about being bored and wasting my idle time away. I began to fill in the specific time and workout or activity that I would do that day; I found it to be very helpful because since I am very visual, seeing it on paper helped me to establish the commitment to stop by the gym and to manage my time with the little schoolwork I had here and there. I looked forward to group exercises, specifically yoga. The first time I attended, I was a little nervous. Being a runner, I often feel like I constantly have to be on the move, so when Colette suggested yoga, I was hesitant. However, after the first class, I was hooked. We went over lower body stretches and since I had picked up running again, it really helped with the muscle tension I was feeling. By the end of the 50-minute class I was relaxed and feeling great about the new experience. Colette mentioned how one of the main goals of Bronc Wellness was to help students take the first steps toward being healthier. I quickly noticed that happening in my life. There were times when friends were going out to dinner or someplace else, and I made the conscious choice to not accompany them because I had not yet done my workout for the day. It became very important to me to not only follow through with my commitment to participate in Bronc Wellness, but to care for my body and prioritize my health. Over the weeks I also learned a lot about cooking healthier foods and shopping for better items. When I met with a dietetics intern as part of Bronc Wellness, she gave me a couple of handouts with examples of meal and snack ideas that would aid in both weight loss and helping my body recover from workouts. My favorite meals were crunchy ground turkey tacos, grilled chicken stirfry and baked tilapia with sautéed vegetables; they were made with

lean protein and included a generous portion of vegetables while staying low on carbohydrates. I learned to cook a lot on Sunday night and eat leftovers all week. I became a lover of Tupperware and leftovers and found they worked great for a college student on-the-go. One thing I know people use as an excuse to not eat healthy, and I fall victim to this too at times, is the fact that healthy food is expensive. I quivered at the sight of my grand total of $65 the first time I went grocery shopping with the handouts the dietitian intern had given me. It was the most I had ever spent on groceries at once and just as the stereotype indicates, I, like most college students, am not rich. Still, although I left the grocery store with an almost-empty wallet, I let the satisfying feeling of knowing that I would be caring well for my body override that. The six-week journey was coming to an end and I was seeing positive changes in my daily life, but not quite on the number on the scale. I have heard people say that the scale shouldn’t really mean too much if you’re exercising and eating well-balanced meals. Well, that’s not always the case- especially for us women. I wanted to see those extra pounds burn off and disintegrate into nothing and it just wasn’t happening. I became stressed that I would walk into another fitness assessment test and see no changes and that my story would not be credible or even worth reading. I was too busy worrying about the number of pounds I weighed, which in the end might always just be a number, and didn’t realize that my lifestyle had changed and I was feeling like a different person than at the start of the semester. Weigh-in came and I kept this mentality that my weight was only a number. Colette completed the same assessment I had done six weeks ago and it wasn’t until the whole thing was over and I had the first and last assessments in my hands to compare that I was shocked at the results. I hadn’t lost any weight or percent body fat like I had anticipated, but just about everything else improved so much. My blood pressure became better. My resting heart rate decreased a lot, and is at a number that is common to athletes (look at

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steps towards making vital changes to her diet. Most of my siblings are still not quite on the bandwagon, but I’ve learned that being pushy and giving unsolicited advice never helps. Instead, I hope that they can see the changes I’ve made and in their time, strive to care better for their health.

club that shuns novice players or those who do not play, but rather to create an inviting and friendly atmosphere for anyone interested to come and mingle with others who have similar interests, allowing them to become plugged into the gaming community.

#p12arena

that, genes!). Recovery heart rate improved a lot and I definitely noticed that when I would go out running. I felt like I spent less time panting for air when I’d sprint or even after finishing a regular run. I was amazed at the number of curl-ups and push-ups that I did the first time I took the test and how I improved. I am still working toward real pushups, but for now, I take pride in my “girl” push-ups. I dreaded the flexibility part of the test. I have never been flexible nor do I think I will ever be, but I believe that yoga and individual stretching helped in that area. As for balance, I remember asking Jonathan what the point of some exercises was because they seemed ridiculous and awkward. I couldn’t manage to do one-leg squats and frankly didn’t see the point in them; he explained that they were for balance. So I’m sure there were other ways in which I was unknowingly working on balance and, really, almost every other thing I improved on. It is obvious that this program has had positive effects in my life and I am so glad I had the opportunity to be a part of it. While there were negative things that turned me off, like not always feeling the Workout Plans A, B or C were challenging ( Colette later challenged me to challenge myself more with those exercises if what was on the sheet was not enough.) or asking employees to show me exercises and them not quite knowing how to show me. However, the good outweighs the bad and in the end, success is measured in how much effort one puts into something. I challenge those who are flirting with the idea of checking out the Rec Center or those trying to get in shape to go for Bronc Wellness… go and learn how you can start a healthy life or how you can get back in shape. Each student pays a fee for the gym, might as well use it. The WRSC has a lot to offer and they are willing and able to answer questions or help you through the hard process of getting off the couch and into the gym. Don’t think about it. Just go. If you are already active and intentional about maintain ing a healthy lifestyle, be intentional in helping those who are struggling. It hasn’t been easy for me to reach out to my family in this issue, but I do see my mom starting to take baby

riday night. Inside a seemingly sleepy venue in suburban McAllen, the sounds of gunfire, punches and explosions are heard. Flashes of bright light illuminate an otherwise dim room. “Cover me, bro!” “You pussy!” When the flashes and taunts subside, you see a cluster of college-aged guys wearing headsets sitting in front of HD monitors. To the untrained eye, they may just appear to be nerds doing what nerds do: playing games on a Friday night – but if you ask them what they’re doing, they’ll simply say, “Training.” The Arena, at 1313 E. Hackberry, is a small office space filled with Xbox360s and Playstation3s that sit atop plastic foldfold ing tables. This once-ordinary office space has been transformed into a sort of haven for gamers to meet and convene in peace. For a $2 entry fee, they can sharpen their gaming skills, share tips and tricks with each other, compete for cash prizes at tournaments, or just play their favorfavor ite videogames for hours on end without judgment. For sustenance, there are sodas, energy drinks and all manner of salty and

anyone interested in mingling with others who have similar interests, said Lopez, 23. Lopez, aka DarkKalo, is originally from Nacadoches but was raised in México. He is also a co-founder of the South Texas Gaming League or STGL. On any given day, he can be found at a table playing a trading card-based game or sitting alongside other gamers. “We will do any game. Bring me nine friends-and I’ll make a tournament,” said Lopez. Midday Saturday is when The Arena gets into full swing. There are males and females still experiencing the joys of pupu berty who shuffle in steadily, clad in Tshirts and skinny-fit pants. Amongst the scattered energy drinks and Bieber-bangs are also a few children and parents. There is a lot of commotion: a tournatourna ment is about to begin. The tournament is for a trading cardbased game called, “Yu-Gi-Oh,” which is Japanese for “King of Games.” The game is extremely popular and has its players using a combination of monsters, spells and traps to defeat one another. The tables used for the event are draped

SARA HERNANDEZ

To the average person, they may just appear to be nerds doing what nerds do:

playing games on a Friday night. but if you ask them what they’re doing doing,,

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they’ll simply say, “Training.” SALAVADOR GRAJEDA

sweet munchies at a back-room snack bar. “This place isn’t a hangout. If it was, there would be couches and big screens,” said a guy known as “Seprasquall.” This is his gamer tag, because he didn’t want to use his given name. He wore glasses, had dark, short curly hair, and wore a shirt that said “Eezymelon” on it. Seprasquall and UTPA biology student, Gilbert Lopez, are the men behind The Arena. The Arena isn’t about creating an exex clusive club that shuns novice players or those who do not play, but rather to create an inviting and friendly atmosphere for

in cloth, and they’re filled with players warming-up at the moment. On the walls are STGL posters that read: “STGL 2012 CIRCIR CUIT, JUMP IN!” The STGL logos are red, white and blue and resemble the NBA’s logo, but instead of a basketball player dribbling, it has the silhouette of a videogame controller. It is difficult to stand in one place for more than a few seconds as players continually pass back and forth through the corridor. Sitting at a table situated adjacent to the players against the wall is Jose Tellez (or JT956). JT is wearing an STGL shirt and seems to be coordinating the event. He has a laptop open and is hastily writing on a piece of paper while collecting the fee from players

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At this point, the door busted open and a flustered Chuy came in. “Sorry guys.” He goes straight to the cabinet and quickly starts grabbing fresh Yu-Gi-Oh decks. Then, Seprasquall calmly asks, “Did we just get an influx of Yu-Gi-Oh players?” “Yes, sir!” “Good...” He jumped up, and I followed him back out into the crowds. “We also want to give jobs to gamers, so they can work in something they can be passionate about,” he said. Then, he talked about how they are going to have a FIFA tournament onstage at a Vipers game in McAllen to which a bystanding gamer overheard and said, “Dude, epic!” “Yeah, FIFA is part of ‘the revolution,’ and there’s gonna be a $500 prize. And we’re gonna have a “Rockband” tournament at Hermes Music!” he said. “This place isn’t a hangout. If it was, there would be couches and big screens.” At this point, Seprasquall disappeared into the crowd, and a patron named Roma appeared. He seemed to be doing the work of an employee, so I asked if he worked there. “I’d like to work here. They pay me, but I don’t work here. I’m here every day. It’s like a second home.” The Arena isn’t about creating an exclusive

“Attention everyone,” Teensy yells as she points at a young teenager kneeling in front of her. “Sarah is being crowned this afternoon.” Teensy places the purple, green, and blue balloon crown on the girl’s head as she lifts her arms calling for applause. The 30-person crowd joins her in celebrating Sarah’s coronation. The girl, whose face had previously been painted with a purple eye mask, smiles with a mixture of joy and playful embarrassment. A few minutes later, Teensy asks the parents in the living room if they want to sing a song. They agree, and as she continues making balloon dogs and giraffes, she briefly explains the instructions and starts singing, “Teensy had four ducks.” the small audience responds, “quack, quack, quack, quack...” “It is very hard because you never know what kind of audience you’re gonna have,” Teensy said. “There have been events that I’ve attended where the people aren’t receptive, and I have to be as quick and out because the children are screaming. They’re afraid of clowns.” “It’s like in theatre when you get those bad crowds and they don’t laugh at any of the lines in the play. They don’t find any of the comedic moments funny. Every other audience has laughed hysterically, but every now and then, you come across those people that are just so hard to make smile. It’s challenging.” Luckily for Teensy, this time it worked out. Besides being a clown, Gomez is a theatre

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enthusiast. She has acted in various school plays and is always looking to attend theatre events in the area. Clowning and theatre range in the same field for Gomez, and some aspects of theatre help her with her clowning and some aspects of clowning help her with theatre. Gomez pointed out that studying and practicing theatre and clowning are not as simple as some might think because, besides acting, there’s a lot of effort invested in memorizing and remembering every line. “Clowning and theater…intertwine for me. People have a misconception of the theatre majors that we don’t do anything. We get up and we stand in front of the crowd and be silly, but it’s much more than that. You have to study lines. I have to memorize jokes,” she said. “It may sound silly, but it’s hard to remember the punch lines to some of these things…and to remember a whole one-hour act, it’s hard. “And you’re physical, you’re juggling, you’re uni-cycling, you’re sweating, you’re making balloons, all that stuff is very physical…I don’t think just anyone could do it.” Despite the difficulties, Gomez is passionate about acting, and although her real career aspiration is to become an English professor, she describes theatre as a drug. For her, learning the lines is like the first stage of addiction when a drug makes you sick; later in the process, knowing that things are coming together brings a gratifying feeling to the actor. Then comes show time, and that feeling makes her want to do it over and over again. “If I could be on that kind of adrenaline all the time, my life would be phenomenal. You know that you give back to the audience,” she said. “I always saying I’m going to get off these drugs and I don’t.” Gomez takes clowning seriously and plans to attend “clowning college” at the Chicago Physical Theater in Illinois to earn a certificate and learn “things that you could never learn from a YouTube video” from the best clowns in the world. Although she still considers clowning something she does in her spare time, and also strives to get a master’s degree in English, she reflects on the gifts that clowning has given her which would hardly be acquired if she didn’t clown around.

“It’s something I pride myself on so much, and every event and every volunteering opportunity I have… someone says something to me that teaches me and changes the way I think… maybe, not for the rest of my life, but for that week or for that day,” she said. “I always have that little goal in my head or I think about it. It’s just very rewarding, I think.” Real life goes on behind the scenes, behind heavy or no makeup and behind a smile. The truth is that although Teensy and April are two different characters, one real and one fictitious, one can notice her joy for life as she goes back and forth between the two personalities, often singing out sentences and perpetually carrying a jolly approach. “I feel everything the way everyone else feels,” she said. “Whatever is happening at the moment, I always remember that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and if there isn’t one, I’ll make one. I’ll light up a candle or something.”

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