Beneath the towering shadows of Southwest University Ballpark and the Abraham Chavez Theater in downtown El Paso on a late Thursday morning, a VIP tour was soon to be underway.
Inside Visit El Paso's bright new welcome center and gift boutique, the oaky aroma of quality coffee mingled with the sweet scent of fresh pastries. Tourism specialist Dania Bandas was meticulously preparing – not for visiting dignitaries or potential investors, but for a group whose connection to the city runs deeper: military spouses from nearby Fort Bliss.
Visit El Paso, the city government-backed team dedicated to showcasing the best of the Sun City – recognized as a Great American Defense Community by the national nonprofit Association of Defense Communities in 2023 – frequently hosts notable guests, but on April 24, the focus shifted.
Eight military spouses and one well-behaved young companion, armed with sun-shielding hats and comfortable walking shoes, arrived for a specially curated downtown experience: the City of El Paso’s Military Spouses Walking Tour, a monthly initiative offered by the city.
“The Downtown area is easy to navigate and is home to many of our museums and historic locations,” Bandas enthusiastically said, “so it's the perfect place for us to showcase a little bit of what El Paso has to offer.”
As the spouses arrived, Bandas greeted them with a natural ease, a connection forged by shared experience. She herself is an Army veteran who met her spouse, also a former Soldier recently retired from the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, and married in Clarksville, Tenn., near Fort Campbell, Ky.
“I had recently finished my time in the Army, and it took some adjusting to my new role as a military spouse,” she said. “But I've always been a social person, and I quickly realized the military spouse community is full of people looking for friendships.”
The former Fort Bliss Spouses Association member and president said she had “embraced being a military spouse, volunteering with each unit we've been part of, joining spouses' associations. It brought me great joy to be the person to welcome a new military spouse to a unit or an organization.
“Since my husband retired, we bought our forever home here in El Paso, and I was fortunate enough to find a position here at Visit El Paso where I get to not only be a friendly and welcoming presence for visitors and locals alike, but also have a strong role in supporting our military community,” she said.
Once the group was assembled, the hour-long exploration began. Bandas guided them through a selection of downtown's most noteworthy points of interest. They started on the popular El Paso Live pavilion, taking in views of the ballpark before winding their way through the city's vibrant core. The tour wasn't limited to the well-trodden path; it included stops at intriguing, lesser-known gems in Central El Paso, such as Pancho Villa’s Stash House on Leon Street, a burgeoning creative district, and the new La Nube STEAM Discovery Center, located just steps from the Chavez Theater, just off North Santa Fe Street.
A highlight was the opportunity to step inside the El Paso Museum of Art, one of the three publicly operated museums downtown offering free admission. The city boasts other accessible cultural assets, including the El Paso Museum of History and the Mexican-American Cultural Center.
While the April 24 VIP tour may not have involved the usual power brokers, the city recognizes the significant value military spouses bring.
As the tour concluded in San Jacinto Plaza, some spouses needed to attend to the demands of their day, while others lingered, taking the opportunity to explore the downtown lunch scene, perhaps with newfound friends from the tour.
Bandas expressed satisfaction with the outcome, hoping not only that she had effectively highlighted downtown El Paso's best features, but also that she had conveyed the city's genuine gratitude for the sacrifices military spouses make.
“I personally think it is absolutely crucial for military spouses to feel a sense of connection with their communities,” she said following the tour. “When a military family relocates, the servicemember immediately knows where they will work and who they will work with. Often those coworkers become friends and confidants. They have a built-in community. For a military spouse, it can take time to find a community of friends, people you can count on, jobs, volunteer opportunities, new favorite restaurants or parks. The faster you get to know your new location, the faster it starts to feel like home. When you're in a place that feels like home, you don't feel quite as alone in the hard times, such as during deployments and other separations from your spouse.”
Strengthening the bonds between the Sun City and its military residents through sustained community engagement and authentic gestures of welcome benefits not just the families involved or the local community.
Research shows that supporting the well-being of military families is linked to the readiness and retention of the armed forces. Initiatives like the downtown walking tour, therefore, represent small but deeply meaningful investments in the people who form the backbone of the nation's defense.
“We are one of those military families that chose to retire in El Paso,” Bandas exclaimed. “I feel El Paso is a very family-oriented city where people want to share the unique culture with others who aren't from here. It gives a real feeling of family and community. El Paso has so many free events, museums with free admission, free spray parks, free library programs, and even these free walking tours. These amazing opportunities at no cost make it feel like the city really wants you to be here, getting out and seeing everything El Paso has to offer. These are things I want to share with the military spouses who come on the tours.”
To learn more about Visit El Paso, a division of the City of El Paso, and inquire about future military spouse tours, visit www.visitelpaso.com.
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