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Cut from report on internet http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/feb/14/hispanics-mourning-loss-of-longtime-copper/

Former Asarco workers and ex-Smeltertown residents ate breakfast burritos with coffee and reminisced at the Buena Vista Grocery, about a mile west of Asarco. Some displaced Smeltertown families resettled in Buena Vista, near Sunland Park.

"Some people are saying it's a shame Asarco is gone when the city needs jobs," said Salvador "Chava" Villalobos, the convenience store owner.

Jesus "Tore" Sarabia, 74, born and raised in Buena Vista, started working in 1966 at Asarco. He retired 10 years ago as a diesel mechanic.

"We made a good living. Many of us sent our kids to college. It was good for our community," he said. "With Asarco being in the middle of town now, it's something that probably had to happen."

Sarabia recalled drinking beer at Joe's Place in Smeltertown and playing baseball on a diamond the community helped build.

Roberto "El Pia" Zubia Jr., 65, was born and raised in Smeltertown. His family later owned Rosa's Cantina, a popular watering hole in the area made famous in Marty Robbin's Western ballad "El Paso."

Zubia's Smeltertown memories consist of playing basketball and checkers at a neighborhood YMCA, checking out the three pool halls and swimming in the nearby Rio Grande. He worked only three years at Asarco, but the smelter provided jobs for many of his relatives.

"Smeltertown was a place where you could leave your doors unlocked, all Mexican-Americans," Zubia said. "The community was always together, happy all the time."

Maria Saavedra, 88, a Buena Vista resident, lived 20 years in Smeltertown before her family moved out in 1942. Her father, two brothers and a string of nephews worked at Asarco for years.

"I can't say anything bad about Smeltertown. We had plenty to keep us entertained," Saavedra said. "I'm saddened that Asarco isn't coming back. Many people benefited from good wages and good benefits."

Viviano Villalobos clings to his memories on a hillside in "La Calavera," which still contains a wooden shed that Asarco technicians erected on his property long ago to house instruments that monitored air pollution.

"They checked every week but never detected anything," Villalobos said. "I guess the smokestacks blew all that stuff away."