There was a time when you could be driving down George Dieter and suddenly spot a man in black slacks, a crisp white shirt and tie, topped off with a captain’s hat, sweeping something beautiful into existence.
El Paso knew him as Alberto Avila, but most of us simply called him the Sandman.
For more than 15 years, Avila turned medians, parking lots and empty stretches of pavement into temporary works of art. Armed with nothing more than a broom, a rake, a dustpan, sand and a few rocks, he created intricate designs, Christian symbols, birthday messages and even proposals on request. His canvas was the city. His medium was whatever the desert left behind…