July 2, 1990 - El Paso Herald-Post

Will XII Travlers ever walk here again?

John S. Houser's voice was resonant as he spoke about the XII Travelers at Freddy's Cafe on a Sunday morning. There was passion in the words, a stirring commitment to art and what it can mean to our society.

Wanting to better understand that passion for art which moves one to think and conjure up images, we shared a meal the following evening and then wended our way for coffee and flan.

Houser was impassioned as he spoke about history and the arts intertwining in human events. Sparks of love for human accomplishments flared as he created images of Cabeza de Vaca, Estevanico the Moor, Lozen the Apache woman warrior/leader , and other renown mestizo and Anglo adventurers - a historical concatenation of events that became history with their first documentation in 1535 in this desert patch of earth.

I was given a most enjoyable tour of my homeland, and I was to spend the night conjuring up images of what it would be like to live in a monumental city which pays homage and respect to its heroic figures.

I could envision my grandchildren taking their children (someday in the distant future) to rest in the shadows of a monument to those early stalwarts who braved a heated desert without much water or protection from unknown elements so that a future urban oasis would arise from these desert sands.

Maybe my future progeny would learn about human will and courage that they might dare to visit distant planets and galaxies to leave their mark upon cosmic orbs.

The power of Lozen might become a beacon to a great-granddaughter. or-son, and the grouping of figures from cross-cultural and multi-racial milieux might further teach those future children that there is but one human race and it is blessed by different hues and accents.

As moved as I was by the possibility of such monumental works being emplaced in El Paso, I was also angered by the possibility that a vision-less city government might not want such works emplaced.

It is time that artists and real arts lovers begin empowering themselves, and that can only happen when solidarity becomes a substantial way of doing things. There is too much back-biting behind the scenes, too much lip service, and not enough concern for the arts in our city.

The pittance which will be paid to have these 12 monumental groupings is surely a pittance for works by a professional and highly regarded sculptor who can pull together talent from different corners of our society and continent.

The proposed sculptures speak out clearly to all segments of our society - not only locally, but nationally and internationally.

More than 400 years of history will be celebrated by Houser's works, and that is a marvelous feat one to be feted with gusto! Such celebration can also spell a wealth of information, education, and tourism if El Paso is ever to become serious about recouping its former status as an attractive city to visit.

Students might be moved to explore this area's history and take a greater pride in the hardy people who first passed through here and settled a burnished land.

More than academic exercises, such monuments might just inspire all of us to get out of our lithium doldrums and re-conquer our fears and indolence, and we might just make El Paso a with-it city which honors its past while charting out new venues and processions, into the 21st Century... we owe it to ourselves and to the futures of our progeny.