To those who were feeling a "little bit like Christmas"; the Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential candidate campaign rally held at the "The Don" on the UTEP campus did not disapoint. Clinton couldn't have stirred the crowd any more had she arrived via reindeers.

"The Don" is the Don Haskins Center, named after Texas Western College/UTEP's NCAA Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Don Haskins. And the "Don" was filled up to the rafters. This was the perfect venue for this realtime spectacular.

As soon as the word went out that Clinton would be making her first stop in Texas in the city that sits at the edge of Texas; the region was abuzz. And by all accounts those thousands of Democrats and Clinton supporters lined up for hours outside waiting to be allowed in, proved that this was THE E-V-E-N-T.

And to be sure, anyone in attendance had to have been swept up by the cavalcade of Mariachi and presenters... even before the dome erupted into a rock concert spectacular when Hillary Clinton finally made the stage.

The music and Mariachi got everyone in the mood. The dancers cast a spell of “fiesta” and this set the stage for a stream of Democratic and Hillary supporters to stir up this huge pot of emotion and hope. They worked the crowd as if they were the opening act for the Beathles, U2 or Rolling Stone who would follow.

First up was State Senator Eliot Shapleigh a native Westsider. Shapleigh, normally a very calm and reserved personality, transformed himself into a revivalist out to save souls. With his jacket off his white shirt just added to his hands-on approach to healing the mases.

Shapleigh, going between English and almost flawless Spanish, revved up the crowd bringing up issues that all Americans and to be sure all Texans want. When Shapleigh highlighted that this was a “women power” event... the roof almost spun into orbit. Women Power was evident everywhere as grandmothers and granddaughters alike waved “Viva Clinton” and “Clinton for President” banners in a united show of support.

Next up were two Vietnam veterans... two of the four El Paso brothers that had served in Vietnam at the same time. Luis and Victor Bolanos brought the image of real patriotism home.

Luis Bolanos made the point by indicating the Republican's mud throwing claims that Democrats aren't patriotic... are er, well let us just say that they must be mistaken. Luis then wove a persona of Clinton and her work along the border during her youth with red, white and blue thread. At that moment, Betsy Ross, herself, couldn't have seemed more American than H-I-L-L-A-R-Y to this crowd.

Then an Upper Valley native, Congressman Sylvestre Reyes took over and he kept the Clinton supporters fired up.

Finally, the moment that this crowd of 12,000 was waiting for, the headlights of the SUV’s were illuminating the tunnel which had a large curtain keeping the crowd in suspense. Shortly thereafter the lights went down and the blue glow of the cell phones provided an air of Star Wars tension in the arena as the music of U2 began to play. What happened next can only be described as transformational. The crowd was lifted onto their feet if not inches off ground.

When the lights came on, Clinton was in the spotlight and she and Reyes greeted the huge crowd. The banners and flags were bouncing and waving in the air. Reyes kept up the campaign rhetoric as Clinton smiling smiled and waved... she looked almost overwhelmed at times by the size of the crowd.

Everything Clinton said was what the crowd wanted to hear. Short term safety nets for those fearing foreclosures due to the Bush sub-prime mortgage debacle. Health care and educational opportunities for the youth of America. When she proclaimed that she would end Bush’s unfunded No Child Left Behind Act, the crowd went into orbit..

Much sooner that it began... it was over but the impact was felt all over the nation and indeed the world as this event was broadcast to millions of viewers globally.

Reyes said that this was an important event for El Paso. “She made her first stop in Texas right here in El Paso and that has put El Paso on the map.”

For these two UTEP volunteers who Shapleigh praised, along with the rest of the UTEP volunteers, this was a life changing experience.

Many of the massive crowd felt that they were experiencing "history" in the making.

One women Hillary fanatic, Guadalupe Gunido said of the event, "Wow. This was incredible. It was an incredible event. You’ve got the ex-First Lady of the nation and as a woman I have the sense that perhaps a woman can reach the presidency of the U.S. That is so important to me.

When asked how she thought Clinton was received here at Don Haskins Center, Gundo indicated, "The crowd was overwhelmingly supportive of her. Absolutely. I am sure of that".

  (Photos: Brax - Valley Publishing Company)

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