'Hate will never overcome love': El Paso Walmart shooting memorials keep memory alive
El Paso has not forgotten, and likely will never forget, the racially-motivated massacre, which also impacted the greater Mexican American community nationwide. The Walmart mass shooting is considered the deadliest U.S. domestic terror attack on Latinos in modern times.
Annual remembrances and permanent public memorials at three locations continue the sentiment of "El Paso Strong" years after the tragedy.
The outpouring of sadness, unity and resiliency was indisputable from the first temporary makeshift memorial overflowing with flowers, religious candles, teddy bears, artwork and notes of condolences and community solidarity in English and Spanish covering nearly a block behind the Walmart store.
The makeshift memorial — featuring the flags of U.S., Mexico and Texas — was a hub of grieving. It was lined with white crosses built by Illinois carpenter Greg Zanis, who was known as "The Cross Man" for delivering over 26,000 personalized crosses to the sites of mass shootings and disasters across the United States. Zanis died of bladder cancer in 2020.
Thousands of cell phone lights shone like stars at the public memorial ceremony on Aug. 14, 2019, attended by residents and dignitaries, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Chihuahua Gov. Javier Corral, at Southwest University Park in Downtown El Paso.
"We reassure that hate will never overcome love. Hate will not overcome who we are," El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said at the ceremony.
Nearly 5,000 residents attended the baseball stadium ceremony while another 400 watched a simulcast on the Ponder Park Little League baseball field at the park about a block north of the Walmart store before people left early as a dust storm blew into the city.
The "Grand Candela," a 30-foot tall candle-like memorial made of 22 individual gold-colored perforated aluminum arcs (the 23rd victim of the shooting died later), was dedicated on Nov. 23, 2019, in the south part of the Walmart parking lot at 7101 Gateway West Blvd.
The Healing Garden memorial at Ascarate Park was dedicated in 2021 on the second anniversary of the Walmart massacre in a ceremony including Mexico's top diplomat, Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and comedian George Lopez.
The El Paso County memorial features plaques with the names of each of the 23 victims in an illuminated half circle, each with a beam of light rising into the night sky.
Ponder Park, located across Viscount Boulevard about a block north of the Walmart, has been the site of annual "El Paso Firme" processions against racism, remembrances and a memorial site since the attack.
"This was an attack against the heart of our community," Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights immigrant advocacy group said at a remembrance in 2023. "Let's not forget about it. It's racism, xenophobia and white supremacism."
In 2024, the permanent "August 3rd Memorial" by El Paso-based artist Albert "Tino" Ortega was unveiled on the anniversary. The granite memorial consists of seven pillars in a circle bearing the victims' names over a mandala design symbolizing harmony, interconnectivity and unity.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Walmart shooting memorials keep love alive
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