N.Y. Times series about the cities and towns along I-35

[cpzilliacus]

This is not so much about the road, per se, as it is about the places, cities and towns along I-35, so I am posting it in Off-Topic, and will add installments as they appear in the Times.

The Way North - Day 1 - A Shared Journey

[-NCX75-]

Wait? It's not about the roads?  (It sounded too good to be true) Anyway, I wonder what it'll say about Dallas and Ft. Worth...

[Scott5114]

Back when I used to stay up far too late watching television (as opposed to now, when I stay up far too late on the Internet), one of the syndicated ag-report programs used to have a "I-35 Field Tour" feature in the summer that would supposedly look at how the growing season was progressing along the route. The feature would inevitably have a stop or two in Texas and then immediately proceed to Kansas and/or Iowa, completely skipping over Oklahoma and Missouri.

I will be surprised if this feature does not do something similar.

[J N Winkler]

It seems focused on Hispanic immigration.

[cpzilliacus]

Day 3 - Shaping a President

The old tin ceilings remain and some of the classrooms still hold the lingering scent of chalk and time. But on Sunday mornings, the 108-year-old brick elementary school where Lyndon B. Johnson used to teach the children of Mexican immigrants comes alive with cheer and faith.

"Good morning, happy Sunday,"  said Maria Gonzalez, 59, greeting us as we walked into the building that now houses the Living Faith Family Worship Church. "God bless you, and welcome."

[cpzilliacus]

Day 4 - Life's Celebrations

On a recent weekend in Laredo,  the event started early – in the day and in a life – with the baptism of Divad Salas at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church downtown. Divad had just turned 1, and her parents, Jessica and David Salas, had just come through a difficult period. Divad had been ill for months, delaying the formal ceremony – and making it all the more satisfying when it finally occurred.

A smiling crowd of dozens gathered. There were two sets of godparents who surrounded Divad during the service, followed by her abuelas, or grandmothers. At the end, the entire crowd stood along the altar for a family photograph.

[cpzilliacus]

Day 5 - The 'Ambiente' of Equality

The Escalades and other luxury S.U.V.s lined up outside Rolling Hills Catholic School just after 3 p.m., and the Spanish chatter through rolled-down windows among mothers in designer sunglasses carried the formality of educated Mexico.

Half the children here are immigrants, but they are the sons and daughters of the elite:  executives, government officials and the born-rich who have moved north with visas, businesses and money.

"It's almost equal to northern Mexico,"  said Brenda Luna, 40, waiting in her workout clothes for her three children while talking to her sister.  "It feels very familiar."

[cpzilliacus]

Day 6 - Bouncing Back from the Slurs

Sebastien de la Cruz had just reached the high notes – "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air"  – when his voice cracked and he suddenly stopped.

"I'm sorry,"  he said. "I didn't warm up."

"Did you hurt yourself?"  his father asked. Sebastien shook his head. He paced around the living room of his middle-class home here, testing his voice, his Air Jordans barely making a sound on the wall-to-wall carpet. It wasn't a concert for thousands, but he wanted to be great. Perfect.

Sebastien is 12. The boy who sang the national anthem during last year's N.B.A. finals in a mariachi outfit, then calmly weathered the storm of ethnic slurs and complaints that followed, he has become something of a Latino celebrity – with all the praise and pressure that entails. Over the past year, he has done dozens of interviews, opened concerts for huge stars and won awards from Latino advocacy organizations nationwide.

[agentsteel53]

the baptism of Divad Salas at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church downtown. Divad had just turned 1, and her parents, Jessica and David Salas, had just come through a difficult period

good lord, it's not just wacky white people who give their kids novelty names.

(Nevaeh is still the worst; there was a Rehtaeh somewhere in the news a few years back too.)

[cpzilliacus]

Day 8 - Changes That Readers See Taking Root

After we asked for readers to submit suggestions for where to go on our journey up I-35, nearly 1,000 submissions poured in. For every state the highway crosses through, and some it doesn't, people offered up locations and insight about immigration in their communities.

We are extremely grateful. We have already visited some of the places you have recommended. But to give all of our readers a sense of the wide-ranging experiences along our route, we decided to feature a selection of descriptions from some of the readers who have taken the time to guide us.

[txstateends]

The pic of Cotulla, TX from Part 2 of the series; without having been there, I would guess this has to be the old US 81 into town.

[cpzilliacus]

Day 9 - Changing Images

When Roman Deluna and Jesús Jiménez opened Calavera Tattoos six years ago, many of the soldiers from Fort Hood struggled to pronounce the name.

"They called it Cavalier,"  Mr. Jiménez said.

At the time, the tattoo shops here in Killeen – an Army town with tens of thousands of soldiers and nearly as many strip malls – all had names like A-1 and Second to None while tattoo design skewed heavily toward bald eagles, flags or military insignia.

Slowly, though, local tastes have broadened alongside shifting demographics. With more Latinos joining the military and more non-Latinos interested in Mexican imagery like calaveras – skulls to memorialize the dead – Killeen now supports a handful of successful tattoo shops with Hispanic owners and obvious Chicano style.