By Martha Vera,
Honorary Consul of Spain in El Paso
You probably know Peter Svarzbein, but do you know all he has done for El Paso? He was El Paso City Council Representative, District 1, the former Mayor Pro Temp, chair emeritus of Sister Cities international, former president of the Rio Grande Council of Governments. the Anti-Defamation League Community Engagement Manager, Israel Country Representative for Sister Cities International, owner, founder of the Purple Pop-Up Gallery, founder and artist of the El Paso Transnational Trolley Project as well as Conversos y Tacos the gourmet truck established 1492.
Public Service
His life as a public servant began as a Graduate Student while completing his master’s degree in fine art at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He started his thesis project of a fictional ad campaign imagining a streetcar running once again, between El Paso, TX and Juarez. He put up black and white posters on walls in El Paso and Juarez from 2010 to 2011 at the height of the cartel war and violence. He stated, “The project was essentially a love letter to our border and trying to imagine a better future and make the border safe again.” In fact, the trolleys had run originally on both sides of the border. He added, “we are defined by how we cross (the border), our music, our food, our businesses, our schools. People are crossing each and every day.
The trolley, the streetcar, to me was the ultimate symbol of what those values are on the border. Those values are often misrepresented and misunderstood especially within a state, national, and international space.” The project brought him back to El Paso and evolved into a grassroots campaign to bring a $97 million dollar grant from the Texas Department of Transportation.
It brought many people together, including elected officials. There was a seat open on City Council and he decided to run. TSDOT approved the funding, and the project was brought to life. In the meantime, Peter knocked on every door in his District and was elected. “I did it because I love El Paso. I did it because I wanted to speak about El Paso and what it means to be from El Paso and represent and celebrate the culture through my camera. I tried to do this through the medium of public policy.” He is publishing his trolley book and is very proud of what was accomplished in his term such as, La Nube and the Mexican American Cultural Center. He is excited about future possibilities to help El Paso in different ways.
Mayor Pro Temp
Bringing the Streetcar back from his memories as a child to a living transportation medium has been one of Peter’s accomplishments. It brought together businesses and ten hotels from uptown to downtown with access to the Convention Center and the Southwest University Ball Park.
Another is the Lost Dog Trail, the single largest conservation easement to preserve open space covering 1000 acres, along Trans Mountain Road, in the history of El Paso. Voters overwhelmingly voted to approve it in 2019.
He initiated a binational presence at South by Southwest which is still attended today. What was happening there? Well, it is the largest tech and innovation conference in the world with over 400,000 people attending from around the world. It is Austin’s global draw. These international companies are looking for cities to invest in and open companies in, thus creating new jobs for the community. In our case, in El Paso and Cd. Juarez.
He became very active in Sister Cities International having El Paso become Sister Cities with Guadalajara, Cd. Juarez, and Chihuahua. He was voted Chairman of the board of Sister Cities International and took the organization to new heights. He drove important stakeholders to important positions in the city and other agencies such as the El Paso Community Foundation. “I wanted people to begin to think about our region’s binationality and how we really do not have a border. My heart and my head have never changed. The same perspective, the same voice I have as an artist from the border, has not changed, only the medium changes from a camera to ordinances, laws and public policy focusing on what we can do to highlight and promote the fact that we on the border understand that the border is not a threat but an opportunity economically and culturally. From the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor, we all have different reason for wanting to cross and that is something to celebrate.”
Peter is most proud of seeing El Paso’s response after the worst massacre against Latinos in the modern history of the Unites States with the Walmart August 3 attack. “I was proud to see how we came together as a community, how we mourned together, and how we had each other’s back during times of adversity. El Paso’s character came through in the days, weeks, months, and years after that incident. Peter feels fortunate to be able to see, support, and push back on the rhetoric. “Acts like the Holocaust and what we saw from Walmart doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It starts with racist remarks that spur hate. There were as many license plates from Chihuahua as there were from Texas and New Mexico on a Saturday, on a tax-free debut back to school sale. People don’t understand how that the two cities are connected.”
Sister City Agreements
Peter’s term in office helped him to find and dust off the old Sister City Agreements that El Paso has with Hadera, Israel and Jerez, Spain. He had El Paso sign agreements with cities in Mexico and created a project for Sister Cities International called Dale Dale, a cross-border game of catch which is being viewed by other border cities to celebrate binational relationships to show that cities and communities are intertwined. He spent close to 8 months getting permits from various federal, state, and local governments to make sure that they could throw a baseball over the border with youth teams.
Vision for the Future
“No matter what I do, I will always be representing El Paso whether it’s through a gallery, through my own practice of art, or elected office.” Peter feels that El Paso is well positioned to be globally competitive and attract large corporations to establish here and create new jobs and a better livelihood for all binationally. His goal is to retain and attract talented youth. He added, “Where else can you research and develop something in the United States and finish the design in Cd. Juarez and ship it back on the same day? The answer is El Paso.”
Peter’s view of El Paso is bright. His accomplishments have added so much to our community’s value.
Visit Peter’s Purple Pop-Up Gallery at 601 N. Oregon St., 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm Thursday through Saturday. And while you are at it, jump on the trolley to see how El Paso has developed. It will make you proud.s
