Rate This City: Day 92 - El Paso Texas

[987654321]

How long did you live here? What was your experience like?

I’ve visited twice. First time as a kid for a few days. Second time as an adult for a few weeks. Met some cool black people there though, and I liked the mountain spot overlooking the city. I’m glad I never got stationed at ft. Bliss.

 

[Alvin]

After more than a month here, one of my lasting impressions are that this city is not a great travel destination if you aren't Mexican or a native to the area (and believe it or not there are some black and white folk who are FROM here). There's a black woman at work who is 42, moved back here this year to be close to her this year to be close to her aging mother. She was born and raised here, but had been in Florida since she was 19. She said she hates it here but had to come back for her mother, and brought her son (who is now 19) with her, he wanted to experience living here...

Most black people who live here are unsurprisingly from elsewhere. Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Mississippi, Virginia, San Diego, Philadelphia are some of the locations I can recall black folk telling me they came here from. Most are military-affiliated. Most the black folk here say you get used to the demographics and geology here, so they don't necessarily hate it here, but I haven't met a single black person who LOVES it here. I'm sure there are a few...

Most of us live up Northeast El Paso near Bliss, but there is no mostly black area anywhere. Most times when you see another black person in public we double take at each other, and I'm sure the black people who live here can tell those of us who don't...

Overall it's not a dirty city, the people are friendly, it's safe. Nearly everyone speaks English, I've been told multiple times most people in Juarez speak English too because it's a border city. The Downtown is somewhat interesting. But for me, this shyt is in the middle of a desert, and it's really far away from other interesting places in America. This shyt is isolated in its own bubble, away from everybody else. Wrnt to New Nexico a few times, the parts of NM closest to here are a fukking dump...

Different strokes for different folks, I'm not sure why anyone black would love it here, if you want desert living there are certainly better places further west to live that have more black culture...

a lot of military black and white folk.

 

[Alvin]

After more than a month here, one of my lasting impressions are that this city is not a great travel destination if you aren't Mexican or a native to the area (and believe it or not there are some black and white folk who are FROM here). There's a black woman at work who is 42, moved back here this year to be close to her this year to be close to her aging mother. She was born and raised here, but had been in Florida since she was 19. She said she hates it here but had to come back for her mother, and brought her son (who is now 19) with her, he wanted to experience living here...

Most black people who live here are unsurprisingly from elsewhere. Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Mississippi, Virginia, San Diego, Philadelphia are some of the locations I can recall black folk telling me they came here from. Most are military-affiliated. Most the black folk here say you get used to the demographics and geology here, so they don't necessarily hate it here, but I haven't met a single black person who LOVES it here. I'm sure there are a few...

Most of us live up Northeast El Paso near Bliss, but there is no mostly black area anywhere. Most times when you see another black person in public we double take at each other, and I'm sure the black people who live here can tell those of us who don't...

Overall it's not a dirty city, the people are friendly, it's safe. Nearly everyone speaks English, I've been told multiple times most people in Juarez speak English too because it's a border city. The Downtown is somewhat interesting. But for me, this shyt is in the middle of a desert, and it's really far away from other interesting places in America. This shyt is isolated in its own bubble, away from everybody else. Wrnt to New Nexico a few times, the parts of NM closest to here are a fukking dump...

Different strokes for different folks, I'm not sure why anyone black would love it here, if you want desert living there are certainly better places further west to live that have more black culture...

how receptive are the latina women?

 

[murksiderock]

a lot of military black and white folk.

how receptive are the latina women?

"A lot" is pushing it bro . El Paso is 3.3% black, 82.4% Latino...

The Latinas here are very into us, which doesn't surprise me. There aren't many of us here. One of my coworkers, who is from Atlanta, is out here slaying em. Bunch of em definitely choosing up on brothers...

 

[murksiderock]

60-year old brother who works here, is from OKC. He's lived here for 25 years, says he's experienced plenty of racism from Mexicans here. As a visitor I really haven't, one guy we work with definitely gives off that vibe, went outta his way to say how he doesn't date "outside my race" and really doesn't hang with black people at all. He definitely said it in a tone that seems like he's racist bit he toed the line...

Other than that I haven't encountered racism as a visitor, but he's said he's encountered it "many" times as a resident...

Even though I haven't experienced it here, I will say that you can tell these Mexicans here aren't used to seeing abd being around black people. You can tell that are used to being the dominant parties in any room. Just off body language, they sent like 34 people from my company, from across the country, here, 16 of us are black. The leads on this project, 3 outta the 4 of them are black. So outta like 38 total people who came here, 19 of us including three muhfukkas in charge, are black...

That's alota black people in one room on one assignment, in a place where it's rare you see 20 black people in a restaurant at one time. So you can definitely tell here, they not used to seeing many black people or black folk in charge, it's different for them. I don't know if saying they are intimidated is the right word, but so many of us in one group here, it's different and it's kinda like sensory overload for em...

 

[Alvin]

60-year old brother who works here, is from OKC. He's lived here for 25 years, says he's experienced plenty of racism from Mexicans here. As a visitor I really haven't, one guy we work with definitely gives off that vibe, went outta his way to say how he doesn't date "outside my race" and really doesn't hang with black people at all. He definitely said it in a tone that seems like he's racist bit he toed the line...

Other than that I haven't encountered racism as a visitor, but he's said he's encountered it "many" times as a resident...

Even though I haven't experienced it here, I will say that you can tell these Mexicans here aren't used to seeing abd being around black people. You can tell that are used to being the dominant parties in any room. Just off body language, they sent like 34 people from my company, from across the country, here, 16 of us are black. The leads on this project, 3 outta the 4 of them are black. So outta like 38 total people who came here, 19 of us including three muhfukkas in charge, are black...

That's alota black people in one room on one assignment, in a place where it's rare you see 20 black people in a restaurant at one time. So you can definitely tell here, they not used to seeing many black people or black folk in charge, it's different for them. I don't know if saying they are intimidated is the right word, but so many of us in one group here, it's different and it's kinda like sensory overload for em...

That's how it is in East LA and Northeast LA when those mexican gangs target black civilians or in the valley (Azusa 13) they don't have nor want smoke with any black gang because they aren't near them.

 

[Alvin]

"A lot" is pushing it bro . El Paso is 3.3% black, 82.4% Latino...

The Latinas here are very into us, which doesn't surprise me. There aren't many of us here. One of my coworkers, who is from Atlanta, is out here slaying em. Bunch of em definitely choosing up on brothers...

yeah but I mean the majority of those black people there are because of Bliss not from moving there for a better life.