Early Christmas

UTPA students sound off on Thanksgiving presence

Note: This article originally appeared in the Nov. 22, 2013 issue of The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

Yarely Rodriguez was grocery shopping during the first weekend of November at her local Wal-Mart on University Drive, when she came across a surprising sight.

In the middle of an aisle sat the store’s offering of Thanksgiving-themed items strewn about on a small table, such as pumpkins and pecan pies. Behind that table, however, was a plethora of Christmas-themed goodies, ranging from decorated sugar cookies to wreaths and more.

Upon further inspection, the English major also noticed Christmas music playing over the speakers store-wide and Wal-Mart customers receiving plastic bags for their groceries with the words “Happy Holidays” written on them in festive green and red letters.

The 25-year old junior said she was annoyed by the fact that stores were already displaying their Christmas items, and that customers were already shopping for a holiday not due to arrive for another five weeks.

“It’s insane. We haven’t even finished celebrating Thanksgiving,” she said. “It’s as if people are abandoning the one holiday that does not revolve around material possessions.”

The holiday is important for Rodriguez because two of her family members are corporate electricians whose jobs have them traveling the country for business purposes. Thanksgiving is the only holiday when they’re guaranteed to be able to visit.

“It’s an emotional holiday for me and my family,” Rodriguez explained. “We can truly be thankful for what we have. It’s enough to share food and spend time with family and friends without feeling an obligation of doing anything else, like buying gifts.”

However Karen Camacho, Rodriguez’s roommate, is enthusiastic when it comes to Christmas. She has her Pandora station set up to play nothing but Christmas music in order to “get into the holiday spirit.”

Camacho explained that she loves the Yuletide holiday so much that last year she adorned her room with stockings and didn’t take them down until mid-June.

“When you think of Thanksgiving, it’s all about family,” the 19-year-old biology major said. “You have to spend time with them, but not everyone likes their family. In Christmas, you can also spend it with friends and everything is so pretty. The holiday has so much stuff to offer, like themed movies, television specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas and some fabulous decorations.”

David Melow, a 23-year-old cashier at the Walmart on University Drive sees why stores would start selling Christmas items so early.

“There’s not really that much in terms of Thanksgiving decorations and music in the first place,” the marketing major said. “I can understand why stores would pump out so much Christmas at this time; it’s one of their biggest sources of revenue.”

According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales for 2012 totaled nearly $580 billion, an increase of more than four percent from the previous year. This represented nearly 20 percent of total industry sales for the year.

Melow plans to decorate his apartment for Christmas this weekend and is excited for the upcoming holiday.

“Everyone usually says it’s their favorite holiday, and what’s not to love?” he asked. “There’s gift-giving, the ambience is much friendlier and customers are less bitchy. Everyone’s in a generally better mood and the Christmas weather is great.”

Shelby Lynn Gonzalez, a junior majoring in rehabilitation, has also joined in on the Christmas cheer by setting up a pine tree in her apartment. For the Raymondville native, Thanksgiving isn’t a big deal, because she didn’t grow up with the holiday.

“My parents didn’t like to cook, so we rarely celebrated it,” the 22-year-old junior explained. “I’m currently living with my boyfriend, who grew up in Mexico, and he’s not familiar with it.”

For Gonzalez, Christmas decorations help liven up her apartment to make it feel homey, a mood that she wants to capture because she and her boyfriend only recently moved into their new place.

“I love the season. The lights, the colors, and the smells. It makes me feel happy,” she said. “Whenever I walk into a store and see all the Christmas stuff, I can’t help but be relieved and think ‘I’m not the only crazy person already celebrating it.’”

HECTIC SEASON

Elizabeth Song, owner of Confetti, a party and gift supply store located in McAllen on 5208 N. 10th St., believes that decorating early stems from people preparing themselves for the holiday rush.

“Most people want to get a head start on decorations so that the only thing they’ll have to worry about in December is buying gifts,” the San Juan native said.

Confetti offers a limited amount of Thanksgiving items, such as wreaths and baskets, but according to Song, those products don’t sell as well as Christmas-themed decorations.

“Thanksgiving is sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas; two of our biggest holidays,” Song explained. “Some people just don’t focus on it because they need a breathing room to warm up for how hectic Christmas is.”

Yarely Rodriguez said she understands how chaotic Christmas can be and offered advice for people starting to worry about the holiday.

“Stop. Take a deep breath and take a look at your calendar,” she said. “Cherish what you have that money can’t buy and realize that Christmas is still over a month away. There’s a time to worry about that, but that time is not right now.”

Just for laughs

UTPA student doubles as stand-up comedian

Note: This article originally appeared in our first ever issue of The Pan American magazine, published Aug. 27, 2013. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

Despite the popularity of female stand-up comedians, such as Kathy Griffin and Joan Rivers, Jessica Muchow believes that comedy is largely male-dominated, with women not as equally represented.

“It seems like a bunch of women in the business are more of a niche than anything else,” she said. “I’ve also noticed that a lot of them gain notoriety because of their raunchiness, but I try to keep my act as clean as possible.”

Muchow is a UTPA student and an award-winning comedian. The 24-year-old communication major burst to the local comedy scene a few years ago, but she has been involved in several big local shows. Among these performances was opening for comedian Pablo Francisco July 12 at the McAllen Civic Center.

Muchow won the opportunity to open for Francisco when she took part in the 2013 RGV Funniest Comedian Competition in April at Casa Havana in McAllen. The winner was selected by the audience and the top prize included, among other things, opening for comedian Dustin Diamond in April (Screech from the 1990’s TV sitcom Saved by the Bell) and then Pablo Francisco.

Muchow beat out 15 other comedians to win the top prize. She fondly recalled the experience with much elation.

“I was on Cloud Nine when it happened,” the 24-year-old UTPA BroncLine Call Center operator said. “I went in thinking that I’d be myself, but wasn’t thinking I’d win. I felt so wonderful when it happened. Opening for Screech was such a new experience for me.”

Muchow was nervous about the night leading up to the event, but was able to dissuade her anxiety.

“At first, I was scared of what would happen,” she said. “Then I remembered, I’d won the slot to do this. I deserved to be here tonight.”

Muchow’s shtick is composed of funny life experiences, which she talks about in a sarcastic, witty manner, often modeling her humor after her idols, Jerry Seinfeld and Roseanne Barr.

“Whenever I tell someone that I go to UTPA, they always ask me, ‘What are you taking?’” the communications major said during her performance. “I answer ‘Xanax and Zoloft.’ And then I realize that that’s not what they meant.”

After her performance, the Orange County, Calif. native admitted how much she thrives on performing on-stage.

“The laughter was overwhelming,” she said. “I couldn’t tell how many people were in the audience until I heard the laughter. I felt at home; the laughter was so disorienting, it excited me.”

Muchow admitted that she never saw herself as a stand-up comedian, but decided to try it to challenge herself.

“I can make my friends laugh, but no one told me, ‘You’re so funny, you should do stand-up,’” she said. “I decided to do it to see if I could make a bunch of strangers laugh.”

Muchow saw comedy as a way to express herself, also finding it a source of therapy.

“I needed an outlet, something to focus on to use as a release,” she said. “Musicians get lost in their music. I get lost in the lights, the energy that I feed off while performing.”

Another reason Muchow went into stand-up was the sudden death of her father, a victim of a heart attack in January 2011, which impacted her tremendously. She even has a tattoo of a clock with the time of his death on her left forearm.

Muchow first tried out as a comedian when she saw a flier for Cine El Rey’s weekly Wednesday Night Comedy in fall 2011. She decided to enter as a birthday surprise for her mother. She approached Cine El Rey Manager Bert Guerra, and begged him to allow her to perform.

“They took a leap of faith with me because I was an unknown, and the guy gave me five minutes to perform before the headliner,” she recalled. “I was so nervous, but the crowd liked me and I’ve gone from making guest spots to hosting local comedy shows.”

Geraldine Barrios, a close friend of Muchow who attends Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, described how Muchow’s love of stage led to her becoming a stand-up comedian.

“She’s loved being in front of people onstage since our high school One-Act Play and improv class," the McAllen native said. “She’s not afraid of being in front of a large crowd and she’s always so vivacious and hilarious.”

Muchow even includes her family in her routine, using a discussion between her parents in her routine.

“My parents used to always debate over who I used to like the most, as if I was going to get a prize or something,” she said. “Finally, my dad settled the debate by saying, ‘She looks nothing like me or her mother, she’s ugly.’”

She called her mother an inspiration and has a tattoo that serves as a tribute to her, of a microphone with a quote from the 1995 Tracy Chapman song “Give Me One Reason” on her left bicep.

Even if Muchow doesn’t reach mega-success, she said she’s still content with what she’s doing and will continue to entertain.

“I just want to keep doing this until it stops making me happy. And if that never happens, then I’ll gladly keep doing it,” she said.

Harvard bound

UTPA student to attend Harvard Divinity School

Note: This article originally appeared online May 7, 2013 in The Pan American website. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

According to Lourdes Servantes, the director of Career Placement Services, six UTPA graduates have attended an Ivy League school since 2005. These students went to either Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia or Brown University, and now Francisco Patiño joins them.

Patiño feels that there are not enough physicians in the Rio Grande Valley.

“I remember a few years back when my older sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and I saw how overworked the specialist was,” he said. “He was only of of two endocrinologists in the Valley.

To face this issue, the pre-med biology and general studies major decided to become a physician to open his own practice in the Valley. Patiño is one step closer to reaching his goal of attending Harvard Medical School, his dream university, after being accepted into Harvard Divinity School March 13.

Divinity is one of Harvard’s 13 constituent schools in Cambridge, Mass. At the university, students are taught in the study of religion.

For his graduate studies the 22 year old will pursue a master’s degree in science and religion, a field he said interested him.

“I’ve always wondered why a lot of people are into religion,” Patiño said. “I want to go (to Divinity) to understand more about it and see if I can maybe find a religion I can identify with.”

Aside from studying religion, Patiño plans on doing stem cell research at Divinity to fulfill a science background for his medical school application.

Patiño is a first generation college student - the first to attend and graduate from college in his family.

“We are so proud of him,” said his mother Martha Mendez. “I remember thinking that him attending Harvard was just a distant dream, but he accomplished it. He has worked hard for this, he deserves it. I know he can do anything he sets his mind to and wish him the best.”

Patiño was one of six UTPA students who were invited summer 2012 to visit Harvard Kennedy School of Government at Cambridge for a weeklong stay by the Latino Leadership Initiative. The LLI is a Harvard organization that promotes education among the Latino community.

David Carrasco, an LLI speaker and history of religions professor at Harvard, recommended that Patiño apply to the school. Carrasco would eventually write him a letter of recommendation.

The following November, Patiño visited Divinity School as part of the Diversity and Explorations program, a Harvard program geared toward minorities.

“After staying at the dorms for a week and meeting several faculty and staff members, I enjoyed my experience. The idea of studying religion interested me and I’ve always been curious about it. I thought that I could handle going to school there,” Patiño said.

Patiño decided to apply to graduate school to attend Divinity fall 2013, after he graduates from UTPA this semester.

“It felt like it was a now or never situation for me,” he said. “I had to do it immediately or risk losing the contacts I had made at Divinity.”

His mother explained why achieving an education in health is personal for her son.

“An aunt of his died of diabetes when he was young, it really affected him,” the Tamaulipas, Mexico native explained. “He wants to learn about medicine to help people so that other families don’t suffer like we did.”

For Patiño, his parents are another motivation.

“My parents are proud of me. They’ve worked so hard for me and my siblings and have made so many sacrifices for us,” he said. “They live in Reynosa while me and my siblings live here. I’ve been pushing myself to do the best I can because of them.”

Patiño is also active at UTPA, being an officer of three student organizations: Student Engagement Alliance, Tri-Beta Biological Honors Society and Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society and works as a mentor in the Sophomore Academic Mentoring Program.

Patiño also gave advice to students who aspire to attend an Ivy League school.

“The fact that I am a first generation college graduate and that I am going to Harvard shows that everything is possible when you work hard enough,” he said. “I don't think there is nothing special about me. In fact, anyone can go to Harvard (or any other Ivy League School) as long as they have the desire to learn and the determination to work hard enough.”

Deterring Islamophobia

Note: This article originally appeared in the April 11, 2013 issue of The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

Aarosa Sardar of Swat, Pakistan, wants to get one thing straight about Islam.

“A huge misconception is that suicide bombers and people like them are Muslims, but they’re not. The message of Islam is peace and love,” she said. “Extremists like that do not follow the word of Islam, and are therefore not Muslims.”

Sardar is vice president of The Muslim Students’ Association, an organization that interacts with UTPA students to represent the Muslim community. Their mission is to dissuade Islamophobia by educating students on Muslim people, their religion of Islam and how it affects everyday life.

According to the BBC, Muslims are followers of Islamic faith. Muslims are monotheistic and believe that Jesus is not the son of God, or Allah, but another prophet such as Abraham and Muhammad. Their holy book is the Qu’ran, which is believed to be the final record of the message that had already been given to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other earlier prophets by God.

Laraib Safeer is the current president of the organization.

“We’re currently working on getting more members and getting the word out about us,” said the biology major from Pakistan. “There’s about seven regular members here. We’re an open group, no one has to be Muslim to join us.”

One of MSA’s regular members is Muhammad Sulaiman Rashid, who sees the organization as a way for members to help them identify themselves.

“It’s practical for Muslims to come together to sort out issues in a culture unlike their own,” the 20-year-old biology major said in an email interview. “We can use MSA as a vehicle to educate the public about what Islam truly is, a valuable goal in a post 9/11 world.”

The Association holds events like Q&A tablings once a month where the organization discusses several MSA related topics with students. Before Safeer was elected president this semester, the MSA focused on holding big events, such as a speaker series whose guests came to events and discussed Islamic topics.

After seeing how much students interacted at the Q&A’s, Safeer came up with the idea to hold monthly tablings as a way to educate people about Islam.

“There’s a lot of media coverage about Muslims, but people don’t seem to have an idea about what being Muslim is,” Safeer said. “We get asked a lot of basic questions, ranging from why we wear hijabs (head scarves that Muslim women traditionally wear), to personal questions about our beliefs. We’re helping them understand what being a Muslim is.”

In meetings, the organization discusses fundraisers and events, such as an upcoming tabling that will be held April 16; at this, members will display hijabs and allow students to try them on and learn why they’re worn as a sign of modesty.

Aside from reaching out to UTPA students, the MSA also works with the Muslim community outside of UTPA with activities such as game or movie nights in the Edinburg mosque, or place of worship, located on Jackson Road.

The Muslim Students’ Association meets noon every Thursday in Room 3.212 in the Science Building.

Hollyweird

A comedy of misadventures 

Note: This article originally appeared in the April 11, 2013 issue of The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

Failure, according to Professor David Carren, is hilarious.

Again and again, audiences have responded to characters going through hell and back to resolve their various issues, such as the 1959 comedy Some Like it Hot where two struggling musicians disguise themselves as women after witnessing a mob related massacre.

This resulted in The American Film Institute voting Some Like it Hot as the greatest comedy ever back in 2000, and now Carren has written a play about that experience.

The communication professor wrote Hollyweird, a play based on his own experiences working in Hollywood in the ‘70s. It details the misadventures of Kelly Friedman, who represents Carren, a failed screenwriter in L.A., and her brother Bosco. Due to some comical circumstances, Brosco is blackmailed into committing several acts of murder, while a horrified Kelly must stop him.

According to Carren, his play was influenced by the many people working in the business who are starving for fame. However, he’s not referring to money.

“People in the business want recognition; there’s a hunger for it,” said Carren, who worked in Hollywood starting in 1978 and has been at UTPA since 2007. “Growing up, these people wanted to be part of the amazing process that is Hollywood and create a great story that will live on forever. It's the magic of a great story that makes Hollywood great.”

Several of the characters are portrayed as “highly fictionalized versions” of people Carren worked with. However, he stresses that the murders aren’t based on actual events and simply work as a plot device to move the story forward and dramatize how someone or something is always trying to “kill your dreams.”

According to Carren, the murders also represent how no one in the film business is safe from losing their livelihood.

“It’s chaotic, people lurch from one situation to the next, there’s no guarantee that people can keep their jobs,” Carren explained. “It’s quite scary. It makes the play closer to reality in some ways.”

Carren has experience working in Hollywood, having written for several TV shows such as Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, The Twilight Zone and Stargate SG-1 from 1997 until 1999. He reflected on how different writing for the stage was from writing for TV.

“In TV, one scene can’t be longer than three pages, but onstage, an entire scene can go on for dozens of pages,” he explained. “However, I still treated the dialogue as if I was writing for TV. Every single line had to count toward defining a character.”

Despite writing a play that deals with murder, Carren decided to adopt a comical tone to his stage and cited The LadyKillers, a 1955 British black comedy in which five men use an elderly woman to pull off a heist, as an influence.

“It’s hard to make a comedy out of murder, but The Ladykillers cracked it,” Carren said. “Like the movie, the crazier the murders become, the more absurd Hollyweird becomes. Even the cast is having a hard time keeping a straight face during practice.”

Heather Sanchez, who stars in the production as Kelly, explains the humor in the story.

“A lot of the victims are hateful characters that makes it easy for the audience to want to see them dead,” the 22-year-old theater performance major said. “The deaths themselves are bizarre accidents done so over the top that they’re almost cartoonish.”

Sanchez also adds that she sees the play as a warning to aspiring actors as to what Hollywood is like.

“The lesson is that the producers are the ones with with power in Hollywood and don’t appreciate the actual art of movies,” she said. “They’re number one priority is making the movie with the most money.”

The characters of Kelly and Brosco represent two sides of Carren. According to the University of Texas graduate, Brosco represents Carren if he'd stayed in Texas and not moved to L.A. or ever became a screenwriter. Kelly represents Carren if he'd failed in the business.

Kelly also represents a fractured relationship Carren has with his sister.

“We weren’t that close growing up, and I want to fix that,” he explained. “You can use fiction to correct things like this in your story. I wish that I had a sister who would do for me what Kelly does for Brosco.”

Despite being emotionally involved in the story, Carren decided to not be as involved with the making of the play, handing directorial and casting duties to communication professor Trey Mikolasky.

“I’m blessed to have him as a director. I’ve learned that writers and directors don’t mix well,” Carren said. ”We can get too bossy on the set if we don’t feel that the director is doing a good job with the script. It’s best to let the directors do their job, I have complete faith in Mikolasky’s vision.”

Even if Carren feels he has found that “one good story,” he isn’t done writing.

“I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, but I still feel like my best work is ahead of me," he explained. "Therefore, I will continue to write and I don’t think I can stop. I don’t feel complete unless I’m writing.”

Hollyweird opens April 23 and will run until April 28 in the Albert L. Jeffers Theater in the ARHU. UTPA students and faculty have free admission. General admission is eight dollars. UTPA students get in for free.

Chicharrones, chamoy, Cheetos & cheese

RGV's strong culinary tastes more than a blend of North and South

Note: This article originally appeared in the March 21, 2014 issue of The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

Shimin Cen knows a thing or two about different cultures.

Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, the general studies major has eaten a lot during her travels, and has nothing but positive comments about Valley food.

“I’ve traveled around the U.S., and I can honestly say that the food down here is the richest I’ve ever had,” the 26-year-old said. “The cultural mix allows for so many different possibilities in flavor that is able to combine two unique cultures through food.”

Cen, who arrived to UTPA from Bordeaux, France, in 2010, said that among her favorite Valley foods are raspas, chicharones preparados, and tacos, which she said are different from the tacos she’s eaten during her travels.

Cen has traveled around Mexico (Monterrey, Zacatecas, Guadalajara), and described the tacos there as “plain corn tortillas the size of a person’s palm.”

In the Valley, she was delighted to see flour and different-size tortillas, and said she was “amazed” at the possibility of adding condiments such as lettuce, cheese, and tomato to the tacos.

CULTURES COMBINED

Valley food describes American food products influenced by Mexican cuisine. The food ranges from small snacks like raspas - or snow cones, to meals like barbacoa, a dish made out of the flesh of a cow’s face.

Among the most popular of these snacks is Hot Cheetos covered in nacho cheese, which even local drive-in restaurant Stars has begun to feature on the menu.

According to UTPA anthropology professor Margaret Graham, the affordability and strong flavors of the local fare appeals to the people of the RGV.

She notes that Valley food could be influenced by Tex-Mex cuisine. Tex-Mex is a term used to describe food made popular in central Texas as a way to make Mexican food appealing to a wide audience. Tex-Mex is known for adding cheese to several spicy Mexican dishes such as enchiladas, beans and rice as a way to dilute their spiciness.

“A lot of the Valley food is derived from Tex-Mex, it’s a reflection of the development in Tex-Mex in southern Texas,” she said. “We see their influence in how Valley food combine regular dishes with spicy condiments, like chamoy or chili powder.”

Norma Beardwood, a dietetics professor at UTPA, isn’t surprised at a phenomena like this. She said she has also noted that some of the Valley food is high in calories. For example, a 12 ounce serving of a chamoyada, a raspa with chamoy, contains 390 empty calories.

“There may be some idiosyncrasies between American and Mexican culture that allow for some room for both types of food to mix,” she explained, referring to how a lot of Valley snacks add spicy chamoy syrup or chile powder. “The culture down here is that people are used to spicy food. If it’s not spicy, then they’re going to find a way to make it spicy."

Eddie Villalobos, owner of La Hormiga: El Original, a raspa stand located at 1414 N. 23rd St. in McAllen, said he sees Valley foods as a way to make the people feel at home north of the border.

“It’s like a local connection for them. Plus, people don’t have to cross to Mexico for food like this,” he explained.

Villalobos opened his business 20 years ago as a raspa stand, then slowly expanded to include snacks or munchies, as he calls them. He sees his stand as a way to bring people together.

“College students from across the Valley make up 30 percent of the customers," he said. "The rest are either families or seniors, and they’re all cozy in this environment with food that they crave.”

Bearwood, a native of Rhode Island, Mich., said that every region has a unique spin on food.

She recalled how, at a recent potluck, she brought Boston Baked Beans, a local favorite in her hometown known for being sweet. It wasn’t exactly a hit at the party.

“People were disappointed that it wasn’t salty like it normally is here, it’s not something they’re used to,” she said. “But it’s funny because I wasn’t used to their food when I first came here in 1985.”

As for Valley foods, Beardwood doesn’t find the idea of Hot Cheetos covered in cheese “appealing” because, according to her, the idea of adding cheese on top of spicy cheese doesn't make sense. She also adds that a lot of the popular food choices can contain health risks.

UNHEALTHY CRAVINGS

In a Gallup poll released March 2012, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area was found to be the metropolitan area with the highest obesity rate in the country. The results show that nearly 39 percent of people in all of Hidalgo County are obese.

Bearwood thinks that that Valley foods contribute to that problem.

“This food is adding a bunch of unnecessary sugar and empty calories that we don’t need, ” she explained. “Raspas are essentially drinkable sugar, and foods like gummi bears with chamoy aren’t healthy. Gummi bears cause cavities, and chamoy is an acidic paste that can get in the cavities, it's not a good combination.”

Among the other effects she listed was sodium retention, leading to swollen hands and fingers as well as heart problems.

Graham, a native of Indianapolis, recommends alternatives. Some substitutions she suggests include switching a raspa out in favor of a trolebus, which is similar to a raspa, but is made from real fruit rather than mixed with syrup.

Even though she finds it unhealthy, Graham finds some merit in Valley food, citing it as a possible feel-good food.

“Food gives people a lot of comfort,” she explained. “We’re wired to look for comfort in food, not just in eating it, but in the preparation of it and the atmosphere in which we eat it.”

“The food here represents tradition. I may not like the nutritional content, but the food here is unique to the culture and shows how it’s something that future generations will repeat.”