Five years after mass shooting, El Paso dedicates a new memorial to the victims

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For Albert “Tino” Ortega, Aug. 3 will forever remain a solemn date on the calendar. It holds sobering significance for many El Pasoans as on that date in 2019, 23 people were killed in a terrorist attack at an El Paso Walmart, a tragedy fueled by racism that — with nearly 50 federal hate crime charges — became one of the country’s largest hate crime cases.

Nearly five years after the incident that also resulted in injuries to 22 people, Ortega hopes his efforts can contribute to his community’s collective healing and empowerment.

On Saturday, the city will unveil a new memorial created by Ortega at Jim Crouch Park, formerly known as Ponder Park, 7500 W.H. Burges Drive. It will be one of a slew of events held throughout the region this week to remember the victims of the Walmart tragedy.

When selecting an artist to produce a fitting tribute, Ben Fyffe, El Paso’s managing director of cultural affairs and recreation, who has overseen the project since it was proposed in 2019 said it was important to hire a local Latino artist to take on the project.

The city selected Ortega, an artist who has painted hyper-realistic balloon murals across El Paso, which depict words such as “Amor”, “Chuco” and “I (heart) El Paso.” Upon being selected to create the memorial, Ortega said he felt proud to take part in artwork that pays tribute to the victims of Aug. 3.

“(When the city chose me) I felt really honored, because, in the wake of the Aug. 3 tragedy, I found myself wanting to give back to my community,” Ortega said. “I saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community I love and grew up in.”

The memorial, meant to convey the shape of a crown, consists of seven angled granite pillars, each engraved with the names of the 23 victims. In the middle of the crown, sitting on top of a star, is a pillar with a poem engraved by local author Gris Muñoz. The crown is surrounded by greenery and 23 lights representing the number of those killed to give an immersive experience for visitors.

With the crown motif, Fyffe and Ortega hoped to achieve a message of empowerment that echoes the strength of the community coming together in the wake of that infamous day.

“To me, I always loved the idea that a crown represented power and nobility,” Ortega said. “When Aug. 3 happened, I saw that as a form of removing people’s power, and it’ll only seem fitting to have that power restored in a way. And so, to me, the symbol of a crown holding power made sense.”

In contrast to his spray-painted murals, which are often only available for a limited time before being covered up, Ortega said this memorial represents longevity, and how precious the time humans have on earth is.

“The main contrast from this piece compared to all my other murals, is the longevity of it. A lot of my murals have been covered up, or no longer there,” Ortega said. “So, the murals are important to me because it signifies how little time we have on this earth, and not everything’s guaranteed. But, this (memorial) is more permanent and long-lasting.”

After years of planning, Ortega said he is grateful for the opportunity to spread positivity through his artwork for the El Paso community.

“I feel really excited to give the community a space to grieve, and see the piece come together,” Ortega said. “I really believe in the idea of how we have a choice in this world to use our energy for good or for bad, and this is a reflection of using your energy for something positive.”

This memorial is the third to be created for the city, and each one has the common goal of helping the El Paso community grieve.

One memorial was commissioned by the Walmart corporation and is located at the Walmart property where the shooting took place. The second is the Healing Garden, located at Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta Drive, which was commissioned by El Paso County.

Construction for the third memorial started this March, and will be completed before the five-year anniversary date. Fyffe said the funding for the project was derived from the public art fund.

“The number that council approved is $250,000 for the artist contract and that is coming from the 2% of the public art fund,” Fyffe said. “The fund is derived from 2% of any capital project that the city issues debt for.”

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