El Paso – Wish Amigo Man A Happy Birthday

Nifty, nifty, look who's fifty ... that was lame, I know, best I could do - "shifty" would have probably insulted someone ... Amigo Man, El Paso's mascot, hits a major milestone this year.

In 1978, an El Paso city security officer named Ruben Carrasco teamed up with the director of the El Paso tourism office, (I guess that's what they called it, today it's Visit El Paso), Gene Stahan to take a drawing of El Paso's new mascot and make him real.

Little did Ruben know the statue he crafted in his backyard from thin metal and angle iron would be re-unveiled 5 decades later.

In 1978, City of El Paso Mayor Salazar honored Carrasco's contribution with a plaque recognizing his creation and construction of the Amigo Man. The statue was originally installed at the corner of San Antonio Street and Santa Fe, where it welcomed visitors and embodied the spirit of El Paso hospitality. - visitelpaso.com

Amigo Man Didn't Stay Long

The statue got moved around over the years but Ruben kept track of his boy. According to visitelpaso.com, Amigo Dude was shuffled from place to place over the years but "Dad" followed along.

READ MORE: Remember When The Chihuahuas Mascot Got A New Human?

Recently, he caught wind of the unveiling of a new Amigo Man statue. It wasn't new though, it was his Amigo but he somehow got left off the guest list. The city made that right real quick and Ruben got to see his boy shine, (literally), once again and it really hit home.

"I thought everything was going to be forgotten, and that was it." - visitelpaso.com

Happy Birthday Amigo Man

Far from it. To celebrate his big 5 - Oh, Amigo Dude now stands ... totally "lit", as you can see below ... outside the Downtown El Paso Visitor Center. Every little detail about him was very carefully restored to be exactly as he was created in the first place.

Granted, he's not a "real boy", (nod to Pinocchio), so to speak but Ruben is kind of El Paso's Geppetto. Congrats to him and Happy Birthday to every El Pasoans best "amigo".

I'm not sure if he's a silver or a Reposado kind of guy so, just to be safe, stick to a "high five" when you wish him a a happy birthday.