It was 20 years ago that artist John Houser suggested El Paso use art to celebrate its history and jumpstart tourism.
The "Twelve Travelers" Project was supposed to leave us with twelve statues throughout the city, each memorializing an important early El Pasoan.
But after all this time, we only have two.
So where are the other 10?
Within the next two years, expect to see a life-sized recreation of Susan Magoffin. And one or two years after that, a statue of Benito Juarez should take form.
Read more on this story, and view video, from our partners at ABC-7. [link]
Read these NPT commentaries on the subject:
-- Nov. 13, 2003: Letter from the Editor, by Emanuel Anthony Martínez; "Juan de Oñate. Previous discussions have focused on the man, the conquistador, and his statute. But this controversy has less to do with him and more to do with El Paso, the community -- who we have been and who we might become."
-- Dec. 7, 2003: Twelve Travelers, take a hike!, by Richard Baron; "Although I was an early detractor of the twelve travelers project, I removed myself from the debate about five or six years ago when the focus shifted from the project's inanities to Oñate's atrocities. Who was I -- Judaic descendant of the Caucasian Mountains -- to fiddle in ancient Ixtlanic-Iberian enmities?"
-- Nov. 27, 2006: Commentary: 'The European' is a Masterpiece", by Joe Olvera; "That John Houser. He’s such a sly old fox, sculpting his own face on his magnificent statue of what is to be known as The Equestrian, which at one time was going to be called the Juan de Oñate, but which I recommend that we call, The European. But, putting politics aside, let’s look at the 36-foot-high, 20-ton monument for what it is – a truly amazing work of art."
Ronald
July 25, 2008
I'm gald you guys partnered with Channel 7 so you could deliver inclomplete stories with no information or background.
What a waste of time.
Who is Houser?
what does he do?
where the hell is he?
why should i care?
as for the 12 travelers
who came up with the idea?
what was the original plan - both quantity of statues and timeline?
where were these statues originally suposed to be?
why haven't they been completed?
Does a guy with a GED have to tell you guys how to report?
I will no longer visit this site if you can't the simple things right. This could be a really good story, but you've dropped the ball now.
And no, I'm not going to the channel 7 site. there site is all f'ed up and makes my browser crash.
Mr. Slate
July 25, 2008
Ronald is right on. I shouldn't say "I told you so" -- but I told you so. I would hate for NPT to be known of lazy, incomplete reporting, but pieces like this don't help. If you guys told the real story of the 12 Travelers -- from Tom Diamond's lame book to the more-than-a-decade fleecing of El Paso taxpayers by Houser, that'd be a real story.
I think this is meant to be a teaser, but it doesn't come across that way because of formatting and organizational issues with the website -- and, ultimately, NPT's business plan.
Mervin Moore
July 25, 2008
I suggest that the sculptor and all related to the 12 Travellers be given a big hand for being able to get this far together in 20 years and let them off the hook for the next round. I, for one, do not relish the thought of Mr. Houser's face on a statue of Susan Magoffin.
sorjuana
July 25, 2008
Oñate was Jewish. Put a yarmulke on him.
vato
August 1, 2008
The NATIONALLY televised PBS documentary "The Last Conquistador" depicts El Paso as an impoverished dystopia with miss-set priorities, and its city officials as befuddled and bumbling if well-meaning dupes who just didn't grasp the bigger picture. Oñate brought a LOT of negative publicity and karma to El Paso. In the eyes of critics and cognoscenti it has set back El Paso to the stone age.
In related discussion programs aired after the film, participants suggested taking down the statue. Now THAT would catch a lot more attention than "Capital of the Border," and put El Paso on the map in a positive way, maybe redeem this town.
Imagine it -- "The Destruction of the World's Biggest Equestrian Stature" - a la condemned Las Vegas hotel -- fireworks an all.
Larry L. Harmon
August 5, 2008
The sculptures are appropriate, despite the controvery about Onate. Remember that Columbus wasn't a white dove, either. But he brought about an age in which many of our ancestors acted.