EL PASO — It's Tom Lea month here in El Paso, so we honor a 20th century artist and native of the borderland.
For the 6th year in a row, the Tom Lea Institute hosts events throughout town, like lectures, tours, exhibits, concerts and movies meant to remember Tom Lea's contributions. He was a well known World War 2 artist turned writer. And today the institute hosted a showing of a film at the El Paso Public library main branch, based on one of his novels written in 1947, the wonderful country.
"It's a wonderful presentation of life here on the border, conversations on the border, people's adaptation of the language, of customs and they manage to create a life here on the border," said Elias Bonilla with the Tom Lea Institute.
Tom Lea worked for Life magazine during World War 2 as an artist. After the war, he returned to El Paso where he lived and did his research for " The Wonderful Country."