EL PASO PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM
MAIN LIBRARY (DOWNTOWN)
501 North Oregon • 915 543-5433 • Call for hours
Photos of Tom Lea’s Southwest Mural, Then and Now
October 1–31, 2011 • Free
After the citizens of El Paso passed a municipal bond election in 1951 to build a new public library, Carroll and Daeuble were selected as local architects. The original design included The Southwest Room with bookcase ends carved by José Cisneros; a faithful copy of a Spanish table and chairs made by Stan Stoefen; and a mural painted by Tom Lea with his wife, Sarah, who acted as assistant. Southwest was conceived as “a luminous window” looking out on an elemental desert landscape, occupied only by the viewer’s mind. The mural was moved to the new entrance in 2006 when the library was expanded. This exhibit will show photos of the making of the mural and how it looked, then and now. The original paint chart with the artist’s colors will also be on display.
Screening of “The Brave Bulls” (1951)
in the Main Library Auditorium
Saturday, October 1, 2011 • 12 noon • Free
Written by Tom Lea and directed by two-time Oscar winner Robert Rosson of Columbia Pictures, this film stars Mel Ferrer, Miroslava and Anthony Quinn. Ferrer plays a matador who is an idol to the crowds, an image carefully cultivated by his manager. The world premier of the film took place at the Plaza Theatre in downtown El Paso on April 18, 1951.
Screening of “The Wonderful Country” (1959)
in the Main Library Auditorium
Saturday, October 22, 2011 • 12 noon • Free
Based on the novel by Tom Lea, the movie captures the spirit and history of the El Paso region following the Civil War. It was directed by Tom Lea’s friend, Robert Parrish, and starred Robert Mitchum and Julie London. Although Lea never received payment for the use of his novel, he was paid for appearing briefly on screen as Peebles, the barber. The film debuted at the Plaza Theatre in downtown El Paso on October 21, 1959.
Movie Poster from the Collection of Charles Horak.
Screening of “Tom Lea’s El Paso” by Capstone Productions (2010)
in the Main Library Auditorium
Saturday, October 29, 2011 • 2 p.m. • Free
This documentary is a rare conversation with native El Pasoan Tom Lea, recorded in January 2000 — a year before he died. He tells personal stories of growing up in El Paso during the turbulent years of the Mexican Revolution when his father was mayor. Pancho Villa put a price on his father’s head and threatened to kidnap his young sons. Lea recalls meeting General John Pershing, seeing cannon fire blocks from his home, and watching through a telescope as a man was shot in Juárez. Produced by Jackson H. Polk, introduced by Laura Bush, and hosted by Adair Margo, the documentary is illustrated with historic photos from the 1910s and 1920s.
Mayor Tom Lea, Dick Lea and Tom Lea, Jr., ca. 1935
Papers relating to Tom Lea’s The Wonderful Country, including a 23” x 25” map drawn during the writing of the book
RICHARD BURGES LIBRARY
October 1-31, 2011 • Free
9600 Dyer • 915 759-2400 • Call for hours
Tom Lea was known for extensive research in the writing of his novels, including developing a biography for each character based on history and drawing maps to situate the story. The Wonderful Country is set in “Puerto” on the U.S./Mexican border just after the Civil War. It became a bestseller in 1952 and was turned into a motion picture starring Robert Mitchum and Julie London.
Tom Lea – An Artist Emerges
DORRIS VAN DOREN BRANCH LIBRARY
Saturday, October 8, 2011 • 2:00 p.m. • Free
551 Redd Road • 915 875-0700 • Call for hours
RICHARD BURGES LIBRARY
Saturday, October 15, 2011 • 2:00 p.m. • Free
9600 Dyer • 915 759-2400 • Call for hours
Tom Lea knew from the time he was a little boy that he wanted to be an artist. It didn’t set him apart from other children; it was just that he loved to draw. Danny Gonzalez of the Border Heritage Center at the El Paso Public Library will share illustrations from Tom Lea’s days as the senior class editor of the El Paso High School yearbook, The Spur. The illustrations will transport visitors to the everyday life of young Tom Lea during a rich time in El Paso’s history.
Tom Lea, ca 1923, courtesy Tom Lea Institute
Tom Lea and José Cisneros, A Border Story
by Adair Margo
JOSE CISNEROS CIELO VISTA LIBRARY
Saturday, October 1, 2011 • 12 noon • Free
1300 Hawkins • 915 594-7680 • Call for hours
José Cisneros watched silently in 1938 as Tom Lea worked on his Pass of the North mural in the El Paso Federal Courthouse, gathering courage to interrupt his work. Cisneros showed Lea his drawings of historic figures of the Spanish borderlands, done in pen and ink on the backs of discarded signs. Cisneros later claimed that what happened changed the course of his life. Adair Margo, who recorded the oral histories of both men, will trace their boyhoods in Mexico and the United States and illuminate their first meeting in downtown El Paso.
Tom Lea, ca. 1920, courtesy Tom Lea Institute
Jose Cisneros, ca 1925 Courtesy Irene Cisneros and Tom Lea Institute
Stories for Children at the El Paso Public Library
Held at various branches throughout El Paso
During Tom Lea Month, librarians at El Paso Library branches will select books and crafts with Southwestern themes that children will enjoy. Visit the library’s web site at elpasotexas.gov/library/archive/2011/news100111.asp for a full schedule.