El Segundo Barrio

El Segundo Barrio also known as South El Paso is a historic Hispanic neighborhood in El Paso, Texas. The name, El Segundo Barrio, is Spanish for the Second Ward. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in El Paso. The neighborhood is also called the "other Ellis Island" because so many people immigrate through the area. It was one of the main "ports of entry" into the United States from Mexico for many years. Segundo Barrio is also well known for its murals and cultural character. In 2016, the area was placed on the Most Endangered Places in Texas list compiled by Preservation Texas. El Segundo Barrio shares much of its history with another southern neighborhood, Chihuahuita.

El Segundo Barrio has been the "starting point for thousands of families" coming from Mexico since the 1880s. It is the second historic neighborhood of El Paso, the first being Barrio Chihuahuita. The railroad arrived in El Paso in 1881, and afterwards, the population of El Paso grew quickly.

The first resident of Segundo Barrio was a campesino, or farm worker, named Santiago Alvarado, who received a Mexican land grant to farm the area in 1834.

During the Mexican Revolution, many people fled the country, immigrating into El Segundo Barrio. Wealthier migrants continued north, while the poor remained in the barrio. Revolutionaries, spies and journalists lived in Segundo Barrio during the revolution. Francisco Madero lived in different houses in the neighborhood while he was working on a plan to defeat Porfirio Díaz.Pancho Villa also visited El Segundo Barrio, eating ice cream at the local Elite Confectionary.

In the 1930s, the barrio was overcrowded, with residents living in presidios or tenements. Progress on upgrading housing had still not been improved by the 1950s. In the 1950s, it was recorded that there were still "more than 12,000 substandard dwelling units in the area, an average of seven families per toilet, with an average of ten persons per family."

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