Historias: Stories of El Paso - Virtual Exhibtion
Historias: Stories of El Paso - Virtual Exhibtion

Historias: Stories of El Paso - Virtual Exhibtion

Historias: Stories of El Paso A virtual exhibition curated by our community Courtesy of: Rebecca Ann Muñoz. Title: Memories of Grandpa Schwartz at Passover Historia Type: Photograph Every Passover, my Grandpa Schwartz (Aaron J. Schwartz) would prepare countless matzoh balls, roast brisket, cucumber salad, sometimes fresh horseradish, and gefilte fish for the pesach Seder. He would buy dozens of boxes of matzohs, jellied candies, jams, macaroons for dessert. When you walked into my grandparents’ house in the lower valley, you were hit with all the delicious smells of Passover that you had waited to taste all year long. The rich chicken soup broth filled the air - teasing that it would cure whatever ailed you (whether you were sick, misbehaving, or didn’t call your grandparents that often during the year). Sometimes the air was tense because my Grandma Schwartz would visit the next-door neighbor’s house and bring in non-Pesach food that she shouldn’t have. My mom, Jay, and aunt Debbie would help peel the hard-boiled eggs that we would eat when it was time for dinner, if my grandpa was running out of time. When all the food was ready, it was time to sit down at the Passover table. All the grandkids would grab a seat, waiting to see if we would be poured Mogen David wine or grape juice. We’d flip through our illustrated Haggadah that grandpa purchased just for us, measuring how many pages it would be until we could eat. Even if she had snuck a bite to eat beforehand, my grandma made sure that everyone knew she had to eat before everyone else and the blessings because she had “the diabetes”. This old polaroid photo shows my grandpa in action. I look back at this photo and I remember him explaining the different elements of the Seder plate, his finger pointing at each element - a story following each gesture. I remember my grandpa’s gravelly voice, his Brooklyn accent tinged with a West Texas Chicano twang after years of living in El Paso, as he would begin to read the first prayers in the Haggadah in Yiddish and translate for us kids very quickly into English. He took such joy in explaining why we observed Passover, giving us a history lesson after every passage. I remember cousins, who will not be named, drinking too much wine, my mom and aunt making spritzers, my oldest sister microwaving a hardboiled egg to the point of exploding (which we laugh about to this day), and opening numerous cans of macaroons to try every flavor. My grandpa would always tell us that we didn’t need to worry about going to school the next day because we were Jewish, and he could give us a note! Sometimes after dinner, he would sing songs which I cannot remember now. But I will always remember the timbre of his voice and the love that he passed on in his cooking and traditions.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: Rebecca Ann Muñoz

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Celebrating Spain - Don Juan de Oñate Exhibit - 6

Small exhibit done in 2008 to celebrate Spain. The exhibition ...

Celebrating Spain - Don Juan de Oñate Exhibit - 7

Small exhibit done in 2008 to celebrate Spain. The exhibition ...

Celebrating Spain - Don Juan de Oñate Exhibit - 8

Small exhibit done in 2008 to celebrate Spain. The exhibition ...

Celebrating Spain - Don Juan de Oñate Exhibit - 9

Small exhibit done in 2008 to celebrate Spain. The exhibition ...

Celebrating Spain - Don Juan de Oñate Exhibit - 10

Small exhibit done in 2008 to celebrate Spain. The exhibition ...

Celebrating Spain - Don Juan de Oñate Exhibit - 11

Small exhibit done in 2008 to celebrate Spain. The exhibition ...

Little Conquistador

Felipe Ribas dressed as a Conquistador during the "El Hilo de la ...

To the Rescue!!

The Ribas Boys on a rescue mission in the Fire Truck Cab during ...

History Museum Grand Opening - El Paso, Texas

Felipe Ribas at the Leather Stamping workshop during the El Paso ...

History Museum Grand Opening - El Paso, Texas

David Eisenbeil and other visitors at the Leather Stamping ...

History Museum Grand Opening - El Paso, Texas

Felipe Ribas and Sebastian Ribas-Normand at the Leather Stamping ...

Y.O.U.N.G GHOSTBUSTERS ECTO

Y.O.U.N.G GHOSTBUSTERS ECTO

Y.O.U.N.G GHOSTBUSTERS WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES 2015

Y.O.U.N.G GHOSTBUSTERS WALK A MILE IN HERE SHOES 2015

Fire engine weel from the 1918 fire engine

A new type of art called old/new Picasa. The fire engine weel ...

Boy and the Boot old/new Picasa

The Boy and the Boot statue was placed in downtown El Paso in ...

Old and new Picasa

Old and new Picasa, neon wemons clock 1800's.

2015 Veteran's Day Parade-Downtown

2015 Veteran's Day Parade-Downtown

Juan Aragon - Veterans Day - 2015

Honored downtown El Paso, Texas for Veterans Day. He is with the ...

Victor Almanza - Veterans Day - 2015

Victor Almanza - Veterans Day - 2015

Richard Allbee - Veterans Day - 2015

Richard Allbee - Veterans Day - 2015

Theresa Canady

Theresa Canady - honored on Veterans Day - 2015. Theresa Canady ...

Irene Ovalle - El Paso, Texas

Irene Ovalle - Honored on Veterans Day - 2015 - Department of ...

St. Joseph Academy

Saint Joseph Academy - students sitting in front of the ...

home.search_collection