CHECK THE WEBPlay written by UTPA professor hits the road || ‘Late Bloomers’ is a big hit with Winter Texans.

Mago en UTPAUn sueño hecho realidad. || Además de ser estudiante de mercadotectia, incursiona en la magia. PÁGINA 10

Changing Lanes

Athletic Department in transition PAGE 3

BRONCS AT THE CAPITOL� e 82nd Texas Legislature convened

in Austin Jan. 11 with vital topics looming over the 140-day session, including immigration and the budget de� cit the state is currently weathering.

A contingent from � e University of Texas-Pan American will be in attendance along with other legislators, bringing a little Bronc pride to the State Capitol on � ursday, Jan. 27, when UT-Pan American Day will be celebrated on the historic steps. It’s a joyous occasion but also a � rst step in reinforcing the university’s presence at the monumental session, one that will go along toward determining the future of UTPA.

“It’s a special time for UTPA to tell its story,” said Janice Odom, vice president for university advancement. “Including who we are, who our students are, and the value and impact we have on the region.”

� e idea was initially proposed by President Robert Nelsen and currently has already rallied close to 100 students to join the event with a bus caravan heading up the morning of Jan. 27. A possible second bus in the works.

“From day one when I arrived, we began planning Pan Am day,” Nelsen said. “I am excited to � y our � ag in Austin. We want legislators to know the magical that Pan Am is having on the Valley.”

Administrators will travel to Austin in hopes of gaining support for construction of the new science and business buildings as well as for the request by the City of McAllen to expand the McAllen’s Teaching Site. Most importantly, Nelsen continued, the University would like to ensure that Texas Grants are fully funded for students. � is in the wake of a huge shortfall that has entities statewide running scared as 2011 begins.

� e day’s agenda will kick o� with

a performance by Mariachi Aztlan, the award-winning group who played at the White House last fall and later at the Houston Grand Opera as well.

Afterward the UTPA delegation, Valley legislators, alumni and supporters will line up at the Capitol steps for a photo opportunity followed by a tour and planned visits to legislator o� ces. � ere, they will make the case that as an institution in a traditionally economically disadvantaged area, UTPA cannot undergo severe cuts in monies from the state and continue to do its job well.

“We will be passing out packets with information about Pan Am while also sharing success stories about our students,” Odom said.

While the state’s approximately $27 billion budget shortfall is the overwhelming issue facing the Texas Legislature during its new session, the 181-member group opened up with the � rst order of business, re-selecting State

Rep. Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) as Speaker of the House.

In keeping the � nancial situation in mind, the House voted Jan. 13 in favor of cutting budgets by an additional 10 percent with Housekeeping Resolution 3. To contribute to reduced government spending in the upcoming year, HR3 proposed decreasing each House member’s o� ce budget by 10 percent to help meet the challenge of the budget shortfall.

Sooner or later this spring, statewide businesses and schools will � nd out just what cutting duties will fall to them. � e caravan north is designed to make sure that the state’s politicians understand the unique nature of the Valley and its � agship educational entity.

“We’re a long way from legislators as they make decisions that ultimately a� ect us; we just want to show them who UTPA is,” Odom concluded.

Troxel burglaries

under review

By Belinda MunozThe Pan American

WWW.PANAMERICANONLINE.COMVolume 67, No. 14 January 18, 2011

Alma E. Hernandez / THE PAN AMERICAN

University supporters to travel to Austin Jan. 27 By Roxann GarciaThe Pan American

With the beginning of a new semester, residents at Troxel Hall will be starting with a new attitude about safety.

As stated by the UTPA Police Department’s Timely Warning Notifications, the apartment complex experienced four burglaries that resulted in a the loss of many personal items which in one case, included a wallet, vehicle keys, a debit card, make up bag and gift cards. This robbery took place on Dec. 7 anywhere from 2:48 to 6:30 a.m. and was reported at 7:28 p.m. the same day. It is believed that the burglar entered through an unlocked front door.

A second burglary within the hall happened between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Dec. 17 and was reported the following day at 1:18 pm. A gaming system was taken. It is unclear how the thief may have gained access to this particular room.

Roger Stearns, chief of police for UTPA, believes it is not unusual for students to overlook their safety once they are comfortable with living quarters.

“The number one safety precaution that students can take, regarding preventing themselves from being a victim from this type of crime is to make sure they are locking up their doors,” Stearns said. “It’s very common in a campus residential living situation, (that) students get too comfortable about where they live and they don’t bother to lock their doors…Bad guys know this...something as simple as just locking your door more consistently can go a long way to reducing crime.”

UTPA Police Department detective Diego Mata is conducting

SEE TROXEL || PAGE 3

The lyric ‘a new dawn, a new day, a new life’ is the first thing that pops into my head when I think of the new year (it could just be the constant replaying of the Jenifer Hudson Weight Watchers commercial and the fact I much prefer Michael Bublé’s version better) but either way, January brings new beginnings for most.

“Most” includes us here at The Pan American. With this lovely new year comes lovely new budget cuts that affect

everyone, including us. You may have noticed that the paper you currently hold in your hand is thinner than normal…or if you’ve never picked up our paper before, just take my word for it, it’s smaller.

We are now a 12-pager. Not to worry though, we still have all our sections; News, Opinion, Arts & Life, Spanish and Sports. Just condensed in quantity, not quality. This however doesn’t mean that is the only new news, entertainment and sports info you’ll get from us for the week. It’s just a teaser. The real productivity-assassin is online (like most are). The Pan American’s website panamericanonline.com will have more stories, polls, photos, video and blogs to fill in the rest of the paper-edition downtime as you, the reader, eagerly await the newest issue every Thursday at noon.

Along with our website, you can get the latest updates and

an electronic edition of the paper through our social media accounts to the right!

My point is that being put in a penny-pinching position helps the brain to think of new and creative solutions. For us it’s the ongoing worldwide migration to the Internet. Larger newspapers have done it and there are a significant amount of online-only newspapers as well—not that we are making that leap just yet—but in the far, far (and hopefully even farther) future it won’t be such a gigantic leap. Till then, enjoy the eye-catching photos, attention-grabbing videos and award-winning content we at The Pan American work hard to provide.

Sincerely,Kristen Cabrera

January 18, 20112

Size doesn’t always matter

The Pan American accepts letters of 300 words or less from students, staff and faculty regarding recent newspaper content, campus concerns or current events. We reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar and length. We cannot publish anonymous letters or submissions containing hate speech or gratuitous personal attacks. Please send all story ideas to thepanamerican@gmail.com.

Individuals with disabilities wishing to acquire this publication in an alternative format or needing assistance to attend any event listed can contact The Pan American for more details.

The Pan American is the offi cial student newspaper of The University of Texas-Pan American. Views presented are those of the writers and do not necessarily refl ect those of the paper or university.

Letters to the Editor

Delivery:Thursday at noon

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539Phone: (956) 381-2541

Fax: (956) 316-7122

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Kristen Cabrera kmcabrera22@gmail.com

NEWS EDITOR: Roxann Garcia roxx.gar11@gmail.com

ONLINE/SPANISH EDITOR: Denisse Salinas dns_145@hotmail.com

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR: Benny Salinas9_benny_9@live.com

SPORTS EDITOR: Sara Hernandez shernandez261@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Alma E. Hernandez alma.e.hdz@gmail.com

SENIOR DESIGNER: Jennifer Tate jen489@gmail.com

DESIGNER: Alexis Carranzaalexis091@aol.com

ADVISER: Dr. Greg Selberselberg@utpa.edu

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE: Anita Reyes areyes18@utpa.edu

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mariel Cantuspubs@utpa.edu

WEBMASTERS: Jose Villarreal josemvillarrealcs@gmail.com

Selvino Padillaselvinop3@gmail.com

THE PAN AMERICAN

Vol. 67, No. 14

Anthony Salinas/THE PAN AMERICAN

Kristen Cabrera Editor in Chief

Letter from the Editor

FOLLOW US:

f acebook@ThePanAmerican

issuu.com/

thepanamerican

.com/thepanamerican

� e University athletic department made some changes late in 2010, as Dec. 3 it was announced that volleyball coach Angela Hubbard would replace Sue Reinders as associate athletic director for student services/senior women’s administrator after Reinders announced her resignation.

After two and a half years in her position, Reinders relinquished her duties to the former women’s volleyball head coach.

Hubbard, head coach since 2007, led the team through for four seasons, and athletic director Chris King hopes to have a new head coach by the end of January. � e volleyball season begins in the late summer each year.

“Angela Hubbard is very well respected here as well as in athletics, which is a very important quality,” King said. “Someone who has been a coach understands the decision making. I also think her administrative skills and her ability to articulate what our direction is, is very important.”

In the new role, her responsibilities now include overseeing all aspects of student services, serving as a liaison to other departments, and involvement with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“Being a former collegiate athlete and coach will bene� t me in this position in many ways,” said the 29-year-old from Evadale in East Texas. “I have been through what both the student-athletes and coaches are experiencing and will be able to bring that knowledge and understanding

with me into this role.”Although she has admiration for

the sport, the new administrator admits that she always pictured herself in a di� erent role down the road.

“I have always known that I would eventually end up in administration at some point,” said Hubbard, who has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of West Georgia and a master’s in education from the University of Tennessee-Martin. “� e opportunity of athletics and the ability to have direct involvement in the change and growth of sports is something that I am very much looking forward to.”

� e transition into her position contains an aspect that Hubbard is familiar with. Her commitment to student-athletes is one that will remain intact o� the volleyball court, as she embraces the members of 13 other sports teams.

“I now have the opportunity to get to know all of our student-athletes and work to hopefully make their career here a memorable one,” she said.

For Reinders, leaving the position was a step she took to move on from a long career, she said.

“She’s been in this business for a long time. She was looking to relocate to another area,” King said. “It was just a point in her career where she wanted to go in a different direction. She was a very valuable part of my senior staff, I relied on her a tremendous amount.”

MORE MOVESAnother resignation in the

department came last week from

Rebecca Sweat, director of athletic marketing and promotion.

“I recently resigned so that I can turn my focus towards being a fulltime student and completing my master’s degree,” said Sweat, who had worked at UTPA for two years.

While her position is waiting to be � lled, UTPA grad Alex del Barrio takes

on the media relations task. “He has played a huge role in

our media relations e� orts since September and was just hired as the new director of athletic media relations,” Sweat said of del Barrio, who has worked in television locally and at several other media jobs since graduating from Pan Am.

� e department has a positive outlook for the year as a result of the changes within.

“We’re excited about the new additions and the future,” King said. “� ey want to be a part of the UTPA family and to take our vision and move it in a positive direction for our sports teams and student-athletes.

January 18, 2011 3

Hubbard transitions to administration

By Nicole JanuaryThe Pan American

Former volleyball coach assumes assistant AD role after four court seasons

TROXELcontinued from Page 1

follow-up investigations for the offenses and says that there is now a person of interest for the Troxel Hall burglaries.

“In one of the burglaries, one of the items that was taken was a lady’s purse along with her wallet,” Mata said. “One of the things we do when there is a theft with any type of debit card missing, we’ll have the victim contact their bank or credit card company and cancel the credit card and then secondly, see if they have been used or attempted. So we did that with one of the victims and she contacted her bank and we got information that it was used here locally in Edinburg at a business. We contacted that business and luckily the business had surveillance video and we narrowed down the time and the transaction. We were

able to get video surveillance of the person using that reported credit card. So he is a person of interest.”

The UTPA PD has also since compiled a “Be on the Lookout Flyer” (BOLO) with photos of the suspect using the stolen debit card. He is depicted as a Hispanic male who is a p p r o x i m a t e l y 6 feet in height, age 25 to 30, weighing 220 to

260 pounds. He has brown hair/facial hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a dark plaid shirt and khaki pants. Anyone with information on any of the Troxel Hall burglaries is asked to contact the UTPA Police Department at 665-7151.

Mata also advises the use of Operation ID, in order to register one’s belongings that are more traceable.

“If you

have anything of value like a laptop, digital camera, Xbox, any electronic items, bicycles also, anything that is trackable; model number, serial number, you can bring it into the police department and you can register it,” he explained. “That way if it ever comes up lost, missing or stolen we have something of record…that’s very important to an investigation.”

Stearns is confident that future burglaries will be greatly decreased or eliminated once Troxel Hall’s security measures have been updated.

“Before the holidays an order was placed to get the equipment and materials to put card-access readers in Heritage and Troxel Hall, as well as, security cameras,” the chief relayed. “Those materials

have arrived and work has begun to install that equipment for those two resident halls. Once that’s done, and everything should be completed by the end of the month, students will have to use their card assess to gain entry into the resident hall and there will be security cameras.”

The Hall is also set to accept a new Community Liaisons Officer Program. It will implement closer cooperation between students and the designated UTPA Police liaison officer assigned to each hall. According to Stearns, the officers will work closely with resident assistants and resident coordinators and are expected to address student concerns, provide programming, facilitate access to resources, and work to increase collaboration for crime prevention.

Alma E. Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN

SCORE! - Former head coach Angela Hubbard (right) is now an associate athletic director.

Roger SternsChief of Police for UTPA

“The number one safety

precaution that students

can take, regarding

preventing themselves

from being a victim from

this type of crime is to

make sure they are locking

up their doors.”

ADVERTISEMENTS January 18, 2011Page 4

AdvertisementsJanuary 18, 2011 Page 5

THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN January 18, 2011 January 18, 2011 Page 7Page 6

Jan. 18 2011, Tuesday1. First day of classes.

2. ASSIST late registration. Late fees of $90 will be as-sessed to new registrants beginning on this day,

Jan. 21, 2011, Friday1. Last day to register through ASSIST or by special permission.2. Deadline to � le Undergraduate Application for Degree Form with the O� ce of the Registrar and Graduate Ap-plication for Degree Form with the Graduate O� ce for August 2011 graduation.

Jan. 24, 2011, Monday1. Payment due for students who registered or made schedule changes Jan. 12-21.

Jan. 25, 2011, Tuesday1. Students dropped for non-payment.

Feb. 1, 2011 Tuesday1. Priority Admission Deadline for summer and

fall 2011 Semesters.

Feb. 2, 2011 Wednesday1. Twelfth class day (Offi cial Census Date).

2. Last day to receive 100 percent refund for “dropped” classes. The student must remain enrolled in one course in order to receive 100 percent refund for the dropped course(s).

Feb. 16, 2011, Wednesday1. Last day to change course to non-credit.

THE PAN AMERICAN

Intro:Even for the most seasoned students, the first week of the semester can be a hectic and stressful period. New classes, new professors, expensive books and an overcrowded Student Union often drive the normally level-headed to a state of frazzled confusion. We understand your pain and have thus created this easy-to-read, easy-to-follow manual for surviving the first shot of school. Hold this dearly and tread lightly to make it past the initial week alive and well.

Parking:Parking troubles at UTPA are legendary, and unless you have a 7:45 class don’t expect to fi nd a decent spot with any ease. Unless you enjoy long walks in cold rainy weather, try to make it to campus at least 30 minutes before class and be willing to park where you don’t normally. Also, get used to listening to your neighbor’s relationship problems as you take the shuttle to campus after not fi nding closer parking.

Test-Driving Class:The fi rst class meeting is often the easiest and most

tedious one of the semester. It is either a monotonous reading of the syllabus or a meandering and often

boastful autobiography of your professor’s life. How-ever, it is a great opportunity to decide whether or not to stay in a class you weren’t sure about. Things to consid-

er: Do you need this class? Is it offered often? Will you replace it with something else? How does this fi t in with

your degree plan?

Adding/Dropping Classes:This one may seem a little tricky to do after the fi rst day of class but it’s really not. The process is as simple as it was prior to the fi rst day of class. Simply log into AS-SIST and add or drop classes as you see fi t. But remem-ber, there is a $90 fee to add a class after the fi rst day. If you plan to drop, make sure to do so before Feb. 2 to get a refund, which will be mailed to you. If you add a class, do so before Jan. 21 and go to Payments and Collections to pay for the new class.

Using Financial Aid Wisely:Let’s face it: the government has paid for a signifi cant per-

centage of the rims and sound systems in the Valley. It’s such a common sight, it’s almost justifi ed to spend extra fi nancial aid on ludicrous and unnecessary goods you’ve

had your eyes on. But remember, there are still expensive books to pay for, rent to pay, and unexpected parking

tickets. So spend wisely and keep an emergency fund for when things come up.

Illustrations by Chris Ponce

THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN January 18, 2011 January 18, 2011 Page 7Page 6

Jan. 18 2011, Tuesday1. First day of classes.

2. ASSIST late registration. Late fees of $90 will be as-sessed to new registrants beginning on this day,

Jan. 21, 2011, Friday1. Last day to register through ASSIST or by special permission.2. Deadline to � le Undergraduate Application for Degree Form with the O� ce of the Registrar and Graduate Ap-plication for Degree Form with the Graduate O� ce for August 2011 graduation.

Jan. 24, 2011, Monday1. Payment due for students who registered or made schedule changes Jan. 12-21.

Jan. 25, 2011, Tuesday1. Students dropped for non-payment.

Feb. 1, 2011 Tuesday1. Priority Admission Deadline for summer and

fall 2011 Semesters.

Feb. 2, 2011 Wednesday1. Twelfth class day (Offi cial Census Date).

2. Last day to receive 100 percent refund for “dropped” classes. The student must remain enrolled in one course in order to receive 100 percent refund for the dropped course(s).

Feb. 16, 2011, Wednesday1. Last day to change course to non-credit.

THE PAN AMERICAN

Intro:Even for the most seasoned students, the first week of the semester can be a hectic and stressful period. New classes, new professors, expensive books and an overcrowded Student Union often drive the normally level-headed to a state of frazzled confusion. We understand your pain and have thus created this easy-to-read, easy-to-follow manual for surviving the first shot of school. Hold this dearly and tread lightly to make it past the initial week alive and well.

Parking:Parking troubles at UTPA are legendary, and unless you have a 7:45 class don’t expect to fi nd a decent spot with any ease. Unless you enjoy long walks in cold rainy weather, try to make it to campus at least 30 minutes before class and be willing to park where you don’t normally. Also, get used to listening to your neighbor’s relationship problems as you take the shuttle to campus after not fi nding closer parking.

Test-Driving Class:The fi rst class meeting is often the easiest and most

tedious one of the semester. It is either a monotonous reading of the syllabus or a meandering and often

boastful autobiography of your professor’s life. How-ever, it is a great opportunity to decide whether or not to stay in a class you weren’t sure about. Things to consid-

er: Do you need this class? Is it offered often? Will you replace it with something else? How does this fi t in with

your degree plan?

Adding/Dropping Classes:This one may seem a little tricky to do after the fi rst day of class but it’s really not. The process is as simple as it was prior to the fi rst day of class. Simply log into AS-SIST and add or drop classes as you see fi t. But remem-ber, there is a $90 fee to add a class after the fi rst day. If you plan to drop, make sure to do so before Feb. 2 to get a refund, which will be mailed to you. If you add a class, do so before Jan. 21 and go to Payments and Collections to pay for the new class.

Using Financial Aid Wisely:Let’s face it: the government has paid for a signifi cant per-

centage of the rims and sound systems in the Valley. It’s such a common sight, it’s almost justifi ed to spend extra fi nancial aid on ludicrous and unnecessary goods you’ve

had your eyes on. But remember, there are still expensive books to pay for, rent to pay, and unexpected parking

tickets. So spend wisely and keep an emergency fund for when things come up.

Illustrations by Chris Ponce

January 18, 20118

The line between friends and lovers is a hard one to balance on, as Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman demonstrate in their new movie, “No Strings Attached.” The film, to be released this Friday, was directed by Ivan Reitman.

Almost two years after releasing the most ambitious concept album of their career, The Decemberists are back with a stripped down, folk-inspired new sound. “The King is Dead” was produced by Tucker Martine and will be released today.

After holding up a South Carolina convenience store with a large stick, Randy New used a Craftsman lawnmower as his getaway vehicle. Unsurprisingly, the man didn’t get very far before being caught by police.

Mad House, the geniuses behind “Death Note” and “Summer Wars” have announced an animated version of Supernatural. The animated series will be released on DVD in Japan in late January and later in America.

Moving on up

Thumbing through the action-packed pages of Superman comic books inspired 8-year-old Edgar Sandoval to attempt what countless children before him had endeavored – don a towel around his neck and leap over something dangerous. In his case, it was the rose garden plant-ed in the backyard of his childhood Los Angeles home.

“I didn’t make it, so I fell halfway through,” said the now 36-year-old, laughing while retelling a story passed down from his mother. “I ended up all bloody with rose thorns.”

Though Sandoval was no match for the prickly flowerbed, the Uni-versity of Texas-Pan American alum knew early on that it was not the all-American hero whom he most ad-mired. It was Superman’s alter ego, the bespectacled reporter for The Daily Planet, Clark Kent.

“That kind of got me interested [in journalism]. This guy is a reporter, he came from a small town, he moved to the big city,” Sandoval said. “So that’s what got me interested at first – Super-man. As I grew up older, I realized that I liked his day job.”

Almost three decades after his unfortunate brush with the thorny foliage, Sandoval has fulfilled his own big-city dreams as a reporter for The New York Daily News and one-upped his mild-mannered role model by publishing a book based on his articles.

As one of five children from a work-ing-class family, Sandoval’s love of the printed word was not generally shared.

“My parents never liked news-papers in the house,” he recalled. “‘Why are you leaving these papers here? They’re dirtying the couches,’ or ‘They’re dirtying the kitchen.’ No one in my house was inclined for newspaper reading.”

Despite the lukewarm response from the other in his house, Sando-val continued to keep up with cur-rent events. His family eventually settled in Penitas when he was a se-nior in high school.

He enrolled at UTPA and wasted no time becoming a reporter for The Pan American. However, he soon had his sights on a bigger target.

“After a semester at Pan Am, I said, ‘You know what? I’m ready for The Monitor,’” he recalled. “They said, ‘You’re not ready for us,’ so they

gave me a year writing obituaries…By the end of the year, I started doing sto-ries little by little until they trusted me with bigger assignments.”

With his diploma and three years of experience at a daily news-paper, Sandoval earned one of eight spots at for a two-year journalism fellowship with the Tribune Com-pany at the LA Times.

After a year, Sandoval reluctant-ly set off to the small town in Penn-sylvania to cover the growing Latino population at the behest of his em-ployers, an experience that would become the basis for his book, “The New Face of Small Town America.”

He moved again to work as a re-porter at the South Florida Sun-Sentinal. While attending a New York City liter-ary conference, he met an agent interest-ed in the idea to turn his articles about the Hispanic community in Allentown into a book.

“I started reading a couple of books like that and I thought, ‘I have the same thing in my portfolio,’” he said. “I also thought they deserved a bigger audience, a bigger life, too. When you have them all in one spot, you can ap-preciate the collective consciousness of a group of people trying to make Penn-sylvania their home.”

Sandoval decided he was ready to make the move to the Big Apple. He left Florida and, and moved in with a friend back in Pennsylvania so that he could make the 90-minute commute to New York City every day.

“Usually I move to a place when I already had a job waiting for me, so that was easy,” he said. “But New York is a very competitive market, and I knew that if I waited for them to call me, I

was going to wait forever.” Nine months and countless job inter-

views went by. With no work offers and his savings gone, Sandoval resolved to give the dream one last shot. He packed his bags again and stayed with a friend in the city and began waiting tables.

He soon landed a job at a non-profit, but it would be a year before The New York Daily News, the very newspa-per used as a model for Clark Kent’s The Daily Planet, offered him a position as a staff writer.

“Of course I jumped on it,” he said.

“It was two years of just, ‘No, no, no.’ Actually, I got my book contract the same week as the job.”

Through all of the hard work and uncertainly, there was never really a doubt in Sandoval’s mind that he would make it to New York.

“I’d blame it on the comic books, but I think it was somehow already in me,” he suggested. “For me, I never wavered…It was simply a clear image in my mind. New York is a tough city. You don’t come here asking for chanc-es. You just need to take them.”

By Nadia Tamez-RobledoThe Pan American

>> Former alum fufills childhood dream, becomes The New York Daily News reporter, publishes book

AdvertisementsJanuary 18, 2011 Page 9

Misticismo y sobre todo di� cultad son las palabras que se nos vienen a la mente a la hora de pensar en magia. Quién no recuerda las � estas infantiles con magos que de un sombrero vacio podían aparecer una hermosa paloma blanca, o aquellos que confundían a nuestra vista al hacer maravillas con las cartas.

Cuántos magos internacionales no conocemos con carreras increíbles que han logrado obtener el reconocimiento y admiración de millones de personas alrededor del mundo, y que sin embargo vemos tan lejanos porque tendemos a pensar que lo lograron simplemente porque corrieron con mucha suerte. Suerte, tal vez, pero sobre todo mucho esfuerzo y dedicación, tal como el caso de Carlos Arteaga, estudiante mexicano de mercadotecnia y psicología en la Universidad de Texas-Pan Americana, quién ha obtenido un lugar dentro de los magos del norte de México y el sur de Texas.

Hace 22 años nace en la ciudad de Reynosa, Tamaulipas, un niño que al igual que la mayoría de los pequeños siente una gran fascinación por el arte de la magia. “Siempre me ha gustado mucho la magia, aunque creo que a cualquiera le gustaba tanto como a mí”, comentó Arteaga. A pesar de su notable asombro por el trabajo de los magos, no es sino hasta los 18 años de edad que Arteaga se topa con la oportunidad de llegar al enigmático mundo de los magos y convertirse en uno de ellos.

Estando en la universidad, Arteaga conoció a René Cuellar, un mago que llego a presentarse en una � esta a la que Arteaga fue invitado. “Desde ahí surgió el amor, enseguida le pedí que me tomara como su aprendiz a lo cual el respondió que muchas veces escuchaba gente que le pedía lo mismo pero que

si en realidad me interesaba, que la próxima vez que lo viera, le pidiera de nuevo que me enseñara a hacer magia”, dijo Arteaga. “Si aún lo recordaba es porque no había perdido el interés y entonces podría empezar a enseñarme, pues la magia es un arte de dedicación entrega ensayo y perfección”.

Así es como Arteaga vuelve a encontrarse con Cuellar y vuelve a pedirle que lo adentre en ese mundo mágico que tanto le interesaba.”La siguiente vez que lo vi ya tenía en la mano las cartas, las monedas y un montón de ideas de youtube de cómo hacer magia completamente erróneas pero que denotaban mi esfuerzo por aprender el arte”, expresó Arteaga.

Gracias a Cuellar, después de un año de aprendiz, Arteaga se unió al club de magia del Valle de Texas IBM, por sus siglas en inglés International Brotherhood of Magicians, el cuál es reconocido por ser uno de los clubes más exclusivos y de mayor nivel mundial. “Rodeándome de magos con un nivel admirable, fue fácil encontrar mi estilo y el tipo de magia que mas me caracteriza”, dijo Arteaga.

Debido al bajo nivel de popularidad que tiene la magia en el Valle de Texas y la frontera mexicana, fue fácil para Arteaga ganarse al público de las ciudades de Reynosa y Edinburg y adquirir fama. Desarrollar el papel de artista ha sido relativamente fácil para Arteaga, ya que aproximadamente después de 40 shows logró formar parte de una compañía de entretenimiento en Reynosa, en la cual lo promocionan y consiguen eventos.

El joven mago externó su descon-tento ante la actitud de la mayoría de las persona respecto a la magia, pues considera que la mayoría de las personas tratan de vencer al mago y desean saber cuáles son su secretos en vez de entreten-erse y disfrutar de su asombro. “La gente siempre me pregunta ¿cómo lo hiciste? y mi respuesta siempre es la misma: si vi-

eras a un pintor y le preguntaras ¿cómo pintaste eso?, te diría que con un pincel, mas no sabrías como hacerlo tú”, dijo Arteaga. “Con la magia es lo mismo, es la perfecta combinación de efectos e ilusiones para crear una reacción”. De acuerdo al artista, el silencio es un gran reconocimiento para cualquier mago, ya que expresa el asombro de los espectadores.

Como mago, psicólo-go y mercadólogo, Arteaga ha aprendido a interactuar con los cli-entes, al igual que a leer sus movimientos y reac-ciones. Según el mago es capaz de saber cuando una persona pasa por un mal día o cuando se topa con algún escéptico.

Arteaga finalizó el año 2010 haciendo su sueño realidad: viajó a Las Vegas, Nevada, realizó presen-taciones, conoció magos de primer nivel, presencio shows internaciona-les, y logró hacer conexiones que le servirán para sus planes futuros. A

pesar de que no tuvo oportunidad de presentarse en muchas ocasio-nes. Arteaga considera que fue suficiente para atraer los contac-tos necesarios que son de vital importancia en el mundo de la magia. Arteaga tiene a la magia no sólo como un hobbie, sino como

un trabajo que al-ternará y comple-mentará con la psicología y mer-cadotecnia, bus-cando crear su propio show de en-tretenimiento.

Con una carrera de cuatro años, el artista ha obtenido signi� cantes logros y piensa seguir su disciplina promov-iéndose dentro de la escena mexicana

y estadounidense agregando más seguidores a su lista.

Un sueño de la infancia hecho realidad

Por Karen VelázquezThe Pan American

El originario de Reynosa logró aprender los secretos de la magia y hoy busca seguir creciendo para poder formar su propio show de entretenimiento.

Alma E. Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN

Para ver el video y fotos visita PANAMERICANONLINE.COM

18 de enero del 201110

DEDICACIÓN, ENTREGA Y PERFECCIÓN – Arteaga demuestra su talento el lunes 17 de enero enfrente del COAS ante aproximádamente diez estudiantes.

Hector Gonzalez/THE PAN AMERICAN

SU ESPECIALIDAD – Magia con las cartas de póker, afi rma Arteaga es su especialidad al igual que interactuar con su audiencia.

Por Yngrid FuentesThe Pan American

Carlos Arteaga Estudiante de UTPA

“La magia es la

perfecta combinación

de efectos e ilusiones

para crear una

reacción”.

Juan Mendoza, músico y can-tante del mariachi Aztlán de la Uni-versidad de Texas-Pan Americana, encuentra en la música algo más que un pasatiempo. “La música es mi vida y es lo que me ha ayudado a escalar, es el medio que me ha dado Dios para llegar a mis metas”.

Mendoza explicó que su gusto por la música mexicana empezó gracias a la in� uencia de su padre, y su carrera musical a la edad de cu-atro años, cuando comenzó a cantar. Posteriormente, a los once años, se inició en la guitarra.

“Cuando era niño no pensaba dedicarme al mariachi pero siempre me ha gustado la música mexicana”, explicó. “Mi papa siempre ponía dis-cos y me hice a� cionado al mariachi, los tríos, la música jarocha y cosas así”.

Su carrera como mariachi comen-zó en la preparatoria y posteriormente en UTPA, primero como estudiante y luego como director asistente.

“Llevo dos años trabajando como mariachi en la escuela (UTPA), pero ya había estado dos años ante-riormente como estudiante, dejé de estudiar y me fui por alrededor de seis o siete años”, explicó Mendoza. “Regresé porque el maestro Loera (director del mariachi) y la doctora Guerra me dieron la oportunidad de darme una beca y trato de ayudar al programa con lo que pueda”.

“Me gusta mucho que hemos salido a representar primeramente a mi cultura, y enseñar lo bonito que son mis tradiciones y raíces”.

El mariachi de UTPA fue recon-ocido en 1999 por la casa de repre-sentativos de Texas y nuevamente en el 2003 por el senado de Texas por promover la música y tradiciones de la cultura hispana.

En conjunto con las presentacio-nes que ofrecen en UTPA, mariachi Aztlán se presenta cada semestre alrededor de Texas y del Valle del Rio Grande, además de las presen-taciones hechas en el extranjero en lugares como Canadá y México.

Una de sus presentaciones im-portantes más recientes es la que se llevó a cabo junto a la gran opera de Houston el pasado diciembre. “Fue algo increíble, lo distintivo de esta ópera fue que nosotros hicimos toda la parte de la orquesta”, explicó. “Nosotros estábamos en lugar de la orquesta y eso era lo difícil, dar un sonido clásico y lleno sin orquesta”.

Mendoza tiene como meta algún día trabajar en el gobierno o correr para un puesto político donde pu-eda tener la posibilidad de ayudar no solo a la raza latina o mexicana, sino a cualquiera que lo necesite.

Recompensa de la música

January 18, 2011 11

� e winter break was a challenge for the UTPA men’s basketball team as it wasn’t able to pick up a win in the sev-en games played during the four-week break; the record is now a woeful 3-19.

Although that skein includes two de-feats at the start of Great West Confer-ence play, against New Jersey Institute of Technology (79-60) and Chicago State (70-63) last week, second-year Coach Ryan Marks says there is still a way to make the season right.

“Last year at this time we had a similar record but I didn’t really feel we should’ve had any more wins, this year there’s four or � ve games on our schedule that we had good opportunities (to win),” he said. “� e negative is that we haven’t been able to quite put it all together for long enough stretches, and we haven’t made big plays at the end of each game.”

At this point last season, the Broncs stood 3-17, but had won their two ini-tial conference games against NJIT and Chicago State. � ese two teams are the leading squads in the league in 2011 with two wins each; North Dakota and Utah Valley follow with one win. South Da-kota, Houston Baptist and UTPA have earned none.

“� ere’s a lot of parity within the conference among all seven teams, any-one can win,” Marks said, adding that he knows the Broncs could’ve accomplished some victories but weren’t able to seal the deal. To him, the excitement of having the most important part of the season ahead keeps the men motivated.

“We’re frustrated that we haven’t had the opportunity to win a couple,” he ad-mitted. “But in general, we’re enthusias-tic and we’re trying to compete for the conference this year.”

� e team closed last week with the news that senior guard Petty Perry had been suspended “inde� nitely for con-duct detrimental to the team.” Marks explained that leading scorer Perry, who is by far the most e� ective member of the roster, is in good academic standing and that he didn’t break any UTPA or NCAA rules. His tardiness to team functions was the catalyst to the penalty.

“For teams to be successful, every-body has to be pulling in the same di-rection,” the coach explained. “Perry is a very talented player… he’s a good person and a good student, but he was having a di� cult time getting on the same page as the coaching sta� and everybody else on the team.”

� e Broncs play away Saturday against Houston Baptist.

Bronc basketball: Coping in hard timesBy Sara Hernandez The Pan American

the pan american January 18, 2011Page 12