Inside the convention center at NRG Stadium in Houston, roughly 2,000 rambunctious elementary school children pump their tiny fists into the air as they chant a name. Onstage, a woman dressed in a tinsel sweater leads them over the mic in their rhythmic frenzy. Anticipation hangs in the air as a garage door inside the hall creeps open. Sunlight blasts through the entry, revealing the silhouette of a man in a 1972 Cadillac El Dorado. The children have summoned a local legend: Pancho Claus.
Self-described as Santa Claus’ Mexican cousin from the South Pole, Pancho Claus lacks his relative’s trademark fluffy white hair and big belly. Instead, Pancho Claus is all about style. Dressed in a red and black zoot suit, sunglasses, and a fedora, he stands proud in his red, white, and green convertible. His cohort of men, also dressed like 1940s jazz musicians, navigates the car slowly through the hall as he waves at the sea of tiny fans.
It’s 11 a.m. on a Saturday in December 2022. I’m at an annual Christmas program hosted by Navidad en el Barrio, a nonprofit that provides food, entertainment, and gifts to disadvantaged kids from the Houston Independent School District. Pancho Claus starts chucking assorted stuffed animals into the crowd. As his car continues to do laps around the room, children—and even a few adults—clamber over each other to get their hands on a toy. Had I not known any better, I’d have guessed
