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SANTA IN A ZOOT SUIT
Pancho Claus spices season with distinct Hispanic flavor
By DALE LEZON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

Santa Claus needs more than toys to win over Houston children. The city's multicultural makeup means ol' Saint Nick has to speak Vietnamese, Filipino, Spanish and other languages to spread Christmas joy.

But no incarnation of the jolly gift-giver is more unique than Pancho Claus, a Latino cultural icon throughout South Texas. In some cities in the Rio Grande Valley, Pancho Claus adds a Hispanic flavor to Christmas spirit by wearing a sombrero and serape while giving gifts.

In Houston, where Hispanics make up 37.4 percent of the population, Pancho Claus gets an urban twist. Here, he wears a vibrant red zoot suit and a fedora and cruises in a low-rider.

Richard Reyes, a Houston actor, created the urban, zoot-suited Pancho Claus in 1981 for a stage play about Christmas Eve. The play blends English and Spanish words, low-rider cars, zoot suits and music. For more than 20 years, he has performed the play and portrayed the character in parades and at toy giveaways during the Christmas season.

"It's fun," Reyes said. "I love doing it. It's a Houston tradition."

Reyes' last toy giveaway this year will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Christmas Day in the East End, Northside and Heights neighborhoods. The Latin Fantasy Car Club and Pct. 6 deputy constables will escort Reyes through neighborhood streets, and he'll hand out presents to children who come out to the cars.

Reyes, 52, who has appeared in about a dozen films and portrays a San Antonio townsman in the upcoming film The Alamo, said he adapted the chestnut 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with a Latino theme because he wanted to appeal to Hispanic children. He said African-Americans celebrate Kwanzaa and an English-themed Dickens celebration is held on The Strand in Galveston during December.

Hispanics needed to express their vision of the Christmas season, he said.

"It's good to have something for our culture," Reyes said. "Diversity makes the community more enjoyable."

Other communities also adapt Santa Claus.

At Hong Kong Mall in southwest Houston, Andrew Tran played Santa Claus for children Sunday, speaking Vietnamese to those who didn't understand English. Many children were raised as Buddhists but still enjoyed receiving Christmas gifts, said Tran, 40, executive director of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce.

He said some children seemed confused because they thought Santa Claus was supposed to be a white man speaking English. But he said he told them that Santa Claus "can come in all forms."

"We say, `Ho-ho-ho is the universal language for every Santa Claus,' " Tran said.

Kim Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese Community of Houston, said it doesn't matter what language children speak, they love being with Santa Claus -- seeing his red suit, touching his beard and poking at his big belly. Santa has been visiting the mall for 10 years.

"Christmastime is a time to share with others," Nguyen said.

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