Forget a Mall, Build an Industry in El Paso

By Joseph Villescas

October 22, 2008: My reflection on today’s discussions about the potential of El Paso has compelled me to reconsider an option for the future of El Paso.

I propose that we mass produce media in the place where we once created clothing en masse. It could be created, it is worthy of considerable investment, and it could profit our local economy long after our supply of fossil fuels have been exhausted. Essentially, we use a fraction of what it would cost to demolish Farah to convert those spaces into production and postproduction facilities, and through this configuration we export media to the rest of the globe. After all, media are our nation’s largest exports.

• We can position our community in better relation to statewide New Mexican initiatives to lure California studios to affordable locales in the same manner that the casino immediately outside of El Paso utilizes our state laws to their economic advantage.
• We already have the demand for the study of media production across massive sectors of our local population.
• We are an intrinsic test market due to our demographic profile and geographic positioning on an international border.
• We have an understanding of a full range of cultural identities and dispositions, and we could export English and Spanish language media of all forms.
• We have the facilities in the same way that Austin had an abandoned airport in the middle of their city to either destroy or utilize in a new way—even the University of Texas at Austin invested in it.
• El Paso has the crew, the talent, and understands the business of film, television, advertising, and multimedia development…even without resources and serious investment, our local media creators produce a multitude of advanced media forms regularly.
• I see the students weekly who have a calling for film and multimedia production, and, due to their access to affordable cameras and editing software, more and more have greater degrees of experience at earlier ages than ever before.

Forget a mall, we have one right there already. Build something completely new—something  that augments our economy, employees generations of El Paso families, positions our community strategically for the long term, utilizes our cultural and regional identity to our collective advantage, and builds off our local talent, creativity, and experience instead.

RSVP: Downtown Panel Discussion on Film in El Paso November 20th, 4-6:00 pm...mixer to follow.

READ: Panel Discussion on the Future of Film in El Paso, Overview

LISTEN: INTERVIEW "ON FILM" WITH VILLESCAS & SANDOVAL