Rosa’s Cantina

From ‘Rosa’s Cantina’ to ‘the Road,’ El Paso Has Inspired Many a Twisting Tale

November 29, 2018 | By Clayton Maxwell

If you swing by Rosa’s Cantina on the western edge of El Paso, mere minutes from “the badlands of New Mexico,” you will not find Feleena, the girl who drove a lovesick cowboy to his doom in Marty Robbins’ famous ballad “El Paso.” But you will find friendly locals sitting at the bar with ice-cold Tecates. You will also find Robbins memorabilia adorning the walls—1970s album covers with the mustachioed musician in a denim shirt, for example, and a framed copy of the lyrics of “El Paso.”

The October 2023 issue of Texas Highways "Tastes Like Home"

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