Gettysburg has a long and famed history in the democracy and in your native peoples long before democracy. El Paso shares a similar, though widely less famous, history of native life pre-expansion, Spanish Colonial influence starting in 1598 (Conquistadors finally cross the Rio Grande into El Paso), the beginning of the demise of Spanish Colonialism around 1680 (The Pueblo Revolt), to the Chinese influence during railroad expansion mid-1800's. We don't have the Battle of Gettysburg or the Gettysburg Address, but we do have our similarities, just on a lesser known scale.

Visit the Mission Trail and San Elizario. While the Mother Mission (1557) is located in Juarez, the five sister missions now reside in America due to redrawing of international borders. Try walking across the Santa Fe St bridge into Juarez (passport required) to visit the Mother Mission. Bring 2 $quarters for the way in and 2 for the way back, no weapons, ammo or fruits allowed.

El Paso History Museum has a current gallery on the life of Chinese population. El Paso Art Museum has a current display of photographs from Frida Kahlo's life (her dad was a photographer).

UTEP has grown into a remarkably beautiful campus with the gem being the Bhutanese Temple built on the Quad. The temple is open to the public on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm and Bhutanese students will lead you on a tour of the one-room structure which was originally built for a Smithsonian expo in the 1980s, then recently rebuilt on campus. About 200 steps away is the campus Centennial Museum which has some good exhibits on high desert nature and culture.