ter Carla in 1973. In 1986, they
attended the Elko Nevada
Poetry Gathering, then in its sec-
ond year. Nelson recited some
cowboy poems that he had writ-
ten. They returned in February
1987 and afterward resolved to
start a poetry gathering in
Alpine. This took place one hec-
tic month later.
Nelson’s poetry evolved,
becoming shorter in length as he
learned the art and understood
how poetry distills and condens-
es to produce it special effect. In
1999, he was awarded a poetry
residency scholarship by the
Northumberland Art Council in
Northern England. His CD,
Breaker in the Pen, was nominated
for a Grammy the same year. In
2009, he was awarded a presti-
gious
National
Heritage
Foundation Fellowship, the first
cowboy poet so honored.
Joel and Barney Nelson
divorced in 1991. In 2004, while
escorting some visiting tourists
over 06 Ranch trails, Nelson met
the group’s organizer, Sylvia
Super, and one of the clients,
Arnold Witte. Two years later he
and Sylvia married. They now
live south of Alpine, running cor-
riente cattle on various local prop-
erties. And Arnold Witte is part-
ner and investor in this operation.
Trim at 145 pounds, and
meticulously dressed as always
in his trademark black hat, this
cowboy/horse trainer/mystic
poet reflects a quiet and
thoughtful manner, which
belies a stellar reputation. At
the end of our meeting, he dis-
cusses some books he’s been
reading, shakes my hand and
goes on his way.
HECTOR
ACOSTA-FLORES
When newly appointed
Mexican Consul Hector Acosta
first visited Presidio in 2006, the
first thing he did was to add
flowering shrubs outside the
consulate building. Six years
later, the consul, due to retire in
December 2012, is credited with
achieving much more than sim-
ply sprucing up Presidio’s
Mexican Consulate.
Hector Acosta was born in
Juarez in December 1947, one
of four children of Raul and
Maria Acosta Matamoros. At
home in the suburb of El
Barreal, Juarez, where his
father worked for Mexican rail-
roads, he enjoyed a good family
life
with
three
sisters.
Graduating from high school in
1968, he moved on briefly to
the University of Guadalajara
to study international relations.
In 1970 he moved again, to the
National Autonomous Univer -
sity of Mexico in the capital.
Reading a local newspaper
one day in his dorm room, he
noticed an advertisement from
the Mexican government
Foreign Service soliciting
recruits. He applied, took the
entrance test in September 1971
and finished third out of a total
of 1,000 applicants.
Graduating was forgotten.
Acosta never married. His
first posting in 1972 was to the
Dominican Republic, which was
then experiencing political ten-
sion. He passed “seven wonder-
ful years” getting to know the
country and learning the ropes
of the international diplomatic
community. Five years later, he
was sent to help reopen the
Mexican Embassy in Madrid,
Spain following Franco’s death.
After Madrid, he was assigned
to Nairobi from 1981 to 1991;
today, looking back, he says
those 10 years in Africa influ-
enced him profoundly.
Returning to Mexico in
1991, he first worked in Juarez in
the Mexican government’s
Northern Border Office, then in
1995 transferred to the adjacent
International Boundary and
Water Commission. In 1996 he
moved to the huge Mexican
Consulate in El Paso. Ten years
later he was named consul in
Presidio.
In spring 2006, Presidio area
residents were surprised to be
invited to a cross-border Mardi
Gras procession, followed in
May by a concert in Ojinaga by
the symphony orchestra of the
University of Chihuahua. Over
the next few years, Acosta
organized an increasing num-
ber of events locally: a visit by a
Mexico City art professor who
conducted classes for children;
a conference on drugs; a
tourism workshop; folkloric
dances; and commemorations
of historic events in Mexico’s
history. This little-known
Mexican consular outpost was
bursting with creative energy.
Tours have been started to
Copper Canyon at Easter and
seasonally to Casas Grandes,
Oaxaca and Yucatan.
A man who likes to keep
busy, Acosta radiates conviction
and passion. He firmly believes
that national governments do
not understand border issues.
His ambition is to develop
cross-border initiatives in com-
merce and culture. He intends,
from his retirement in Juarez, to
keep
firmly
involved.
Meanwhile, he said he was due
in Mexico City shortly to talk
with the Mexican foreign minis-
ter and later would address the
annual conference of border
mayors in San Diego.
Big Bend residents on both
sides of the border have been
well served by Consul Hector
Acosta-Flores.
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2012
11