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In this Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, photo, Pancho Claus, Rudy Martinez, waves to children as he visits Knowlton Elementary School, in San Antonio. Pancho Claus, a Tex-Mex Santa borne from the Chicano civil rights movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is now an adored Christmas fixture in many Texas cities. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)![Pancho_Claus_12]()
- FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2008 file photo, Rudy Martinez of San Antonio poses as Pancho Claus. Martinez stands in front of Guadalupe Church, an area that's been renovated in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Nick de la Torre, File) MANDATORY CREDIT![Pancho_Claus_6]()
In this Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, photo, Pancho Claus, Rudy Martinez, prepares to hands out gifts in a class during a visit to Knowlton Elementary School, in San Antonio. Pancho Claus, a Tex-Mex Santa borne from the Chicano civil rights movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is now an adored Christmas fixture in many Texas cities. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)![Pancho_Claus_11]()
FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2008 file photo, Houston's Pancho Claus, Richard Reyes, poses with his helpers at Guadalupe Plaza on Houston's east side. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Nick de la Torre, File) MANDATORY CREDIT![Pancho_Claus_4]()
In this Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, photo, the sombrero of Pancho Claus, Rudy Martinez spins as he visits with students at Knowlton Elementary School, in San Antonio. Pancho Claus, a Tex-Mex Santa borne from the Chicano civil rights movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is now an adored Christmas fixture in many Texas cities. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)![Pancho_Claus_7]()
In this Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, photo, Pancho Claus, Rudy Martinez, right, visits with students at Knowlton Elementary School, in San Antonio. Pancho Claus, a Tex-Mex Santa borne from the Chicano civil rights movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is now an adored Christmas fixture in many Texas cities. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)![Pancho_Claus_5]()
In this Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, photo, Pancho Claus, Rudy Martinez visits with students at Knowlton Elementary School, in San Antonio. Pancho Claus, a Tex-Mex Santa borne from the Chicano civil rights movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is now an adored Christmas fixture in many Texas cities. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)![Pancho_Claus_2]()
In this Friday, Dec. 20, 2013, photo, Pancho Claus, Rudy Martinez, right, walks through the halls of Knowlton Elementary School as he visits students, in San Antonio. Pancho Claus, a Tex-Mex Santa borne from the Chicano civil rights movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is now an adored Christmas fixture in many Texas cities. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)![Pancho_Claus_10]()
FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2008 file photo, Pete Martinez of Odessa, Texas, dressed as Pancho Claus, stands with a lowrider in central Odessa. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Nick de la Torre) MANDATORY CREDIT![Pancho_Claus]()
In this Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, photo, Julian Perez stands in his Pancho Claus suit in Lubbock, Texas. The retired 71-year-old has donned the Pancho Claus suit for 30 years to hand out gifts for low-income and at-risk children. (AP Photo/Betsy Blaney)Meet 'Pancho Claus,' The Tex-Mex Santa Claus
He usually has black hair and a black beard, sometimes just a mustache. He wears a hat — though often it's a sombrero. He dons a serape or a poncho and, in one case, a red and black zoot suit. And he makes his grand entrance on lowriders or Harleys or led by a pack of burros instead of eight reindeer.
Move Forward
- Meet 'Pancho Claus,' The Tex-Mex Santa Claus
