Voices of the
BIG BEND
Jim Glendinning continues the tradition of his popular radio interviews from “Voices of the Big Bend,” an original production of KRTS,
Marfa Public Radio. The program continues to be broadcast occasionally throughout the region at 93.5 FM.
Story and photographs by Jim Glendinning
DR. BERONICA X. PEREZ
RAMIREZ
Beronica Perez was born on
February 3, 1958 in a small village near
Puerto Angel on Mexico’s Pacific Coast,
where her father, Eduardo Perez, was a
Mexican
Government
Customs
Inspector. Beronica was the eldest of
eight children brought up by their moth-
er, Paula Ramirez.
At age one the family moved when
her father was assigned to the port town
Topolobampo, which was later followed
by a move to Salina Cruz (Oaxaca),
another port city. There, at age six, she
went to a dentist, Dr. Mjiangos. She
loved the idea of a person who removed
pain and made people smile. The idea
of becoming a dentist herself was born.
In school in Salina Cruz she recalls:
“I think I was a good student.” This
pleased her father, who was very clear in
his belief in family, education and hard
work. He frequently reminded them of
the importance of education. The fami-
ly later could boast of two dentists, three
lawyers, one chemical engineer, one
machinery technician and one business
person.
Eduardo Perez’s job required a
change of location every five years, and
in the early 1970s the family moved
again, to the beautiful seaside resort of
La Paz in Baja California. In La Paz, the
family got to appreciate the natural
wonders of whales and sea lions, and
became familiar with more cosmopoli-
tan inhabitants. At school, Beronica’s
best subjects were science classes.
When Beronica was 14 years old, the
family moved to Ojinaga. The remote
desert township was chosen by their
father because Beronica, as a resident of
the State of Chihuahua, could enroll at
the University of Chihuahua Medical
16
DR. BERONICA X.
PEREZ RAMIREZ
Presidio/Ojinaga
School and later at the new Dental
School. Her free education required a
year’s work in a hospital in Jimenez,
where she enjoyed meeting a wider cir-
cle of people than previously and rel-
ished her busy work schedule. She then
returned to Chihuahua City and
obtained her Dental Surgeon’s license in
1981.
Getting to Ojinaga in those days took
seven to eight hours in a slow train from
Chihuahua City, arriving at Ojinaga’s
small, primitive station. Life in the town
was more simple and limited than in
previous places. But the boys were
delighted at being able to swim and fish
in the Rio Bravo and the family found
Ojinaga’s people were simple and easy
to get on with. Beronica grew to love
Ojinaga, although she noticed that the
town’s people, border folk, were closely
connected to kin in Texas and had little
Cenizo
Third Quarter 2013
JIM D. CASE, PHD
Alpine
knowledge of Mexico to the south.
In 1993, looking to learn English,
Beronica heard of an American who
was coming to Ojinaga to give English
lessons. This was Bryant Holman, an oil
field geologist, who had temporarily
joined Father Mel of the Episcopal
Church in Redford working on border
projects. Bryant took immediately to the
powerful heritage of Ojinaga: the music,
the rich history and folklore, such as the
curanderos (healers), who still practice
there.
Beronica and Bryant married in
Marfa in 1995. They lived in Presidio,
where Beronica commuted daily to her
dental practice, and Bryant resumed
working in the Midland-Odessa oil field.
In 1998, a son was born and named
Bryant. Tragically, her husband Bryant
died of complications from diabetes in
an Odessa hospital in 2007.
Beronica’s office in Ojinaga, where
she has practiced for 29 years, is on
Juarez Street just along from where
Bryant had a Mexican artifacts shop for
tourists. Music from a CD by the Italian
tenor Andrea Bocelli comforts patients
on arrival. Four armchairs and a desk fill
the small reception area; immediately
behind is the one-chair modern surgery.
Beronica lives in Presidio for her son
Bryant’s sake. There, aged 14, he
attends Presidio High School, which is
presently thriving. Beronica says he is a
good student, preferring science and his-
tory as subjects. She believes Presidio is
a good place for him to grow up,
although her family would prefer she
was living with them in Ojinaga. But she
often visits them after her work is fin-
ished.
Her work load started to drop five
years ago with the start of the global
recession and was further reduced by
fears of narco violence in the town. Still,
40 percent of her patients are from
Texas, and her assessment that Ojinaga
is a nice place and Texans should feel
safe seems to prove itself correct. Her
lovely smile and gentle touch (and low
prices) have gone a long way to gaining
the trust of Texans who take the day off
to cross the border for dental treatment.
JIM D. CASE, PHD
Room 108A in Ferguson Hall on
Sul Ross campus seems a modest space
for the office of Dr. Jim D. Case, Dean
of the College of Arts & Sciences of Sul
Ross State University and Professor of
Political Science. Books and papers lie
scattered around, a crowded corner
table displays personal photographs,
and a Dutch flag adorns one wall.
Behind the well-laden desk sits the
affable Jimmy Case, as he is known to