Downtown Gets a Surge of Energy Sparked by Theatre & Club Events
by Rene Leon

Several large-scale events– three concerts and a magazine party– held in the Plaza Theatre area have brought a new energy Downtown, and attendees have been privy to what many in the community have called for in recent years– a revitalization of Downtown El Paso.

Most recently, on July 6, the Downtown area received a jolt of energy as Alltel Wireless hosted “Mi Circulo, Mi Musica,” a free concert featuring Mexican rock bands Reik and La 5a (La Quinta) Estacion.

Alltel pulled out all the stops for the show, hosting several pre-concert events for fans, including a “tech lounge” reception and a “meet-and-greet,” where fans were given an opportunity to be face-to-face with the band members. Alltel also provided an assortment of catered tacos, quesadillas and churros for concert-goers inside the Plaza Theatre lobbies.

It is estimated the entire promotion– band fees, location rentals, catering services and marketing campaigns– cost Alltel nearly $150,000.
“We received such a warm reception from the whole city of El Paso,” Regina Woziwodzki, director of multicultural marketing for Alltel Wireless, said in a written statement after the concert. “I truly think people were appreciative of the whole ‘Mi Circulo, Mi Musica’ experience.”

Woziwodzki added, “We didn’t just provide a free concert in El Paso, we welcomed El Paso into our ‘Circle’ through an event filled with regional food, new technology and new friends.”

The experience didn’t end when the curtains came down at the Plaza Theatre. From there, the bands went down the street to club Blu to play a private concert for a small number of fans.

Blu owner Keith Mahar says he was excited to have Alltel bring its party to the area. “To have a national company like Alltel choose Downtown El Paso and spend that kind of money is a good sign for El Paso,” Mahar says. [Editor’s note: Mahar is publisher of El Paso Media Group, the parent company of The El Pasoan.]

The amount spent at Blu was the kind of economic injection business owners have sought for some time. Alltel spent good money to rent Blu for the evening and have the event catered by Six Tapas & Bar. Mahar was also happy to see people turn out for El Paso Magazine’s annual Best of El Paso party, held on June 22 at the El Paso Museum of Art. The magazine, published by Mahar’s El Paso Media Group, threw the party to celebrate the people, places and services chosen as the best in the Sun City by the magazine’s readers.
“It has been a long time since anyone has seen the energy and life in Downtown El Paso as we saw on (June 22),” Mahar says.
Just outside the museum, the city put on Alfresco Fridays, a weekly summer concert series that invites the public to enjoy food and drinks in a casual, outdoor atmosphere.

Ben Fyffe, director of the Museum and Cultural Affairs department, says the free concert brought in more than 1,000 people, which was a significantly higher attendance than the series has had in its past five years of existence.

“We weren’t sure what to expect, if we were going to have huge numbers because of all the things going on Downtown or if that would actually hurt us,” Fyffe says.
But the number of attendees remained consistent, Fyffe says. “It just felt like there was this great synergy Downtown.”

Opposite from the art museum, on the other end of the plaza, was another concert by another jazz artist that drew even more people to the area.
Saxophonist David Koz played to a sold-out audience of 2,046 people inside the Plaza Theatre.

“It was extremely well received,” says Wendy Garrett, director of theatres for the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center. “It was a fun summer concert.”
When the events finished, patrons flocked to neighboring bars and restaurants – the Dome, inside the Camino Real Hotel, and Café Central, across the street from the Plaza Theatre.

Café Central owner Trae Apodaca says the activity that night was something his restaurant had been aiming to achieve for the area. “It was nice to see the energy and have everyone smiling and walking around,” he says.

Apodaca also says that the energy that night is what made the investment in his restaurant worth its cost. “We did very well before and after the (Koz) concert,” he says. The restaurant offered a pre-concert dinner, and many guests came to the eatery after the concert.