About Us
Centro Cultural Mexicano Paso del Norte is a U.S. nonprofit organization, established in 1994. CCMPN has been created to stimulate and promote activities of a cultural nature, aimed at a better understanding of Mexican traditions and the creative development in the arts.
Creating a space of binational unity, encouraging the exchange of cultures on both sides of the border. To achieve quality of Mexican communities, through the appreciation of the cultural richness of Mexico.
CCMPN has two main goals: The first one is to maintain in contact the Mexican community with its own culture, due to the large amount of people from Mexico that reside in El Paso, Texas. In that sense, an important effect that we look for is to create a positive identity and cultural pride among Mexican and Mexican-American residents, so they can integrate themselves in a better way to this community.
The second goal is to promote a complete and comprehensive positive and accurate image of Mexico and its society, presenting the image of ancient cultures and at the same time new artistic expressions.
Meet Our Members
Tanny Berg
President
Mr. Tanny Berg has been an active commercial real estate developer and investor for over forty years.Mr. Berg received his Bachelor of Business Arts Degree with an emphasis in
Accounting from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1970 and immediately joined Jack Berg Sales Company, an international importer and distributor of electronics, founded by his father, the late Jack S. Berg, in 1952. Throughout the last over forty years, Mr. Berg owns or is a partner in Berg Properties, Berg Investment Company, Baruch Properties LP, B/W Joint Venture, Micropartners LP, Micropartners West LP, The Shalom Group LP, and EP Shalom LP, which entities control many shopping centers, office parks, hotels, industrial developments, and downtown redevelopment projects in El Paso, Texas.
In addition, Mr. Berg has been very active in various civic and not for profit associations. He was a founder and past chair for 16 years of the Central Business Association, as well as past chairman of the board of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the El Paso Child Crisis Center, Las Palmas Medical Center of El Paso and again of the now combined boards of Las Palmas and Del Sol Hospitals (the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) System in El Paso), and for three years at Unite El Paso - to name just a few organizations. Currently he is passionately and actively engaged in organizing and developing an El Paso based food bank, El Pasoans Fighting
Hunger, affiliated with Feeding America, the national consortium of food banks, to
address the profound crisis of hunger in the greater El Paso community. In addition,
Mr. Berg is serving or has served on the governing or advisory boards of KCOS Public Television, the El Paso International Airport, the El Paso Tax Increment Financing Board, the City of El Paso Industrial Bond Advisory Board, Wells Fargo Bank Advisory Board of El Paso, the El Paso/Juarez World Trade Center, the El Paso Downtown Management District, the El Paso Times Advisory Board, the Rio Grande Girl Scouts Council, the Children's Trust Fund of Texas, the UTEP Alumni Association, and IHS Hospital Corporation in El Paso as well as many others. He is also a proud member of LULAC Council 335. Mr. Berg has been interviewed on the "MacNeil/Lehrer Report" news program on PBS and has been quoted in the national publication "The Economist" on business issues relating to the border. Mr. Berg was also a founder and past chair of the El Paso Hebrew Day School, past president of Congregation B'nai Zion in El Paso, and has served on the National Board of Directors of the United Synagogue of America. In 2002, Mr. Berg was named the United States Small Business Association's Regional Small Business Advocate of the Year.
Ricardo A. Samaniego
Board Member
Ricardo A. Samaniego was swornin as the El Paso County Judge on January 1, 2019.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Judge Samaniego is a proud graduate from
Thomas Jefferson High School, and was recently named the 2019-2020 Thomas
Jefferson Outstanding Ex. Judge Samaniego has 3 graduate degrees from the
University of Texas at El Paso, and New Mexico State University, which includes
a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Public Policy from the
University of Norte Dame.
Before taking public office, Judge Samaniego worked in both the private and public
sector. His professional background is all-encompassing as he has experience as a
Human Resource’s Consultant, a clinical therapist, and as a teacher.
Judge Samaniego takes pride in his family’s roots as they have a long record of
public service to El Paso, Texas, the community they all love and call home.
As your County Judge, he is committed toward working on initiatives related to
mental health, veteran services, County infrastructure, economic development,
and most importantly community outreach.
Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de León
Board Member
Nombrado Cónsul General de México en El Paso, Texas, en marzo de 2019. Fue Director General para América del Norte de la SRE desde octubre de 2016 hasta enero de 2019, responsable de asuntos políticos, fronterizos y de seguridad con Estados Unidos y Canadá. De 2015 a 2016, fungió como Director General de Asuntos Especiales, encargado de temas relacionados con la procuración de justicia.
Se ha desempeñado como Cónsul de México en Albuquerque, Nuevo México, así como Titular de la Oficina para Asuntos Especiales en la Embajada de México en Estados Unidos y encargado de asuntos políticos en la Embajada de México en Canadá.
Es miembro del Servicio Exterior Mexicano desde 1998.
Cuenta con una licenciatura en Relaciones Internacionales por la Universidad Iberoamericana de México, así como con Maestrías en Asuntos Internacionales y Administración Pública por la Universidad de Columbia en Nueva York y en Seguridad y Defensa por el Colegio de Defensa Nacional de México. Fue becario Fulbright-García Robles y es miembro asociado del Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales (COMEXI) desde marzo de 2005.
Mario Porras
Board Member
Mario has in-depth experience working with U.S.-Mexico government affairs, border trade
relations, and nonprofit and for-profit organizations on both sides of the border. He has served
as the Director of Binational Affairs at the El Paso Community Foundation since 2016. He is
also the founder of Sierra Franklin LLC, a binational business development consultancy firm that
focuses on facilitating business relationships on both sides of the U.S.– Mexico border with an
emphasis on energy trade services. He previously worked for former Congressman Beto
O’Rourke (TX-16) as a Director of Special Projects working directly with the Departments of
Homeland Security, State, Commerce and Justice.
He currently serves as a Board Director with The Texas Lyceum, Vice Chair for the City of El
Paso’s Committee on Border Relations, Chair of the Binational Relations Committee with the El
Paso Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Centro Cultural Mexicano Paso del Norte,
Member of the City’s International Bridges Steering Committee, and a Board Member for
Progress321.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at El Paso
(UTEP) and is married to Mariela Diaz, M.Ed. who is a small business owner.
Lily Limón
Board Member
Lily Limón is a retired educator, community leader and volunteer. She served on the El Paso City Council from 2013-17. Limón is an El Paso native who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso. Limón served as a Spanish teacher, assistant principal, and principal in the Ysleta Independent School District, earning numerous awards for her distinguished service. Presently she is a political consultant with the Sun Circle Strategic Group in El Paso.
Limón's accolades and leadership roles include:
● Founding member of MACI - Mexican American Cultural Institute
● Serves as secretary for the MACI Board of Directors
● Credentials representative for El Paso Tejano Democrats at 2016 state convention
● Lifelong registered Democrat and active member of El Paso Democratic Party
● Former Member of the Council of Governments (COG)
● Past chairwoman, El Paso Commission for Women
● Former teacher of the year, Hanks High School
● Founding principal, César Chávez Academy
● Past vice president, El Paso Chapter UTEP Alumni Association
● Past chairwoman, Hispanic Leadership Institute
● FBI Leadership Award recipient
● KBNA Hidalgo Award recipient
● Leadership El Paso, Class IX
● Advisory member, Sin Fronteras Organizing Project
● Hispanos Triunfadores Award recipient
● ACTS member and past CORE director
● Officer and member of the Guadalupana Society at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church
Arturo Barrio
Board Member
Graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a degree in Business Administration and has Masters in Applied Public Policy from the Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Publicas de Madrid.
He currently serves as Director of Collaboration and Stakeholder Development at UTEP. Previously, he served as Senior Advisor to the President of UTEP on Mexico and Latin America. He joined UTEP in 2015, where he worked as the Executive Director of International Programs and Special Assistant to the President of UTEP on External Affairs.
From 2018 to January 2021, he was appointed by the Mayor of El Paso to serve in the City’s Committee on Border Relations, where he served as Chairman of this Committee.
Since 2016, he has served as a Board Member of the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC). He is also a member of the Advisory Board of The Archer Center since 2013.
He worked for the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2015 where he held different positions. His last post was at the Mexican Mission to the Organization of American States, where he oversaw Economic and Cooperation Affairs. He served as Director General of the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project (2009 – 2012), he was Deputy Director General of Social, Human and Sustainable Development of the Mesoamerica Project (2007-09), Director for Border Affairs (2005-07) and Advisor to the Undersecretary for North America (2003-05). He interned and worked at the Institute of Governance, Regulation and Finance of the World Bank in Washington, DC.
He is past president of the Camino Real Rotary Club of El Paso and currently serves as Public Image Chair for Rotary’s District 5520. This District oversees 68 Rotary Clubs in New Mexico and West Texas.
He has taken several courses and diplomas in public policy issues, democracy, and government, in academic institutions such as the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, CIDE and Columbia University; ITESM, Harvard University, among others.