Skip to main content Turn off refresh

Photo of Elaine

Metro Columnist

Elaine Ayala

A newspaper journalist for almost 40 years, Elaine Ayala has held a variety of journalism jobs, including news reporter, features editor, blogger and editorial page editor. She covers San Antonio and Bexar County with special focus on communities of color, demographic change, Latino politics, migration, education and arts and culture.

Stories By Elaine Ayala

Mexican American institute to move into West Side ‘starter home’

“San Antonio is to Mexican American civil rights what Atlanta is to African American civil rights,” Cisneros has long said. By Elaine Ayala

Biden responds to xenophobes with an assault on asylum

Religious leaders, humanitarians, Democratic voters and many others voted for Biden to bring anti-immigrant policies to an end. By Elaine Ayala

The case of Dreamers remains open, unsettled

Famous Dreamer Benita Holguin looks back and settles on one word to describe herself then: naive. By Elaine Ayala

Ayala: Reform statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases

Groups hope to garner support for bills that will lift statutes of limitations so that victims can file civil lawsuits whenever they’re ready to pursue them. By Elaine Ayala

When an accessory is offensive

The first week in February marks the approximate time U.S. gun deaths surpass those of peer countries for the entire calendar year. By Elaine Ayala

College Board fails Black history

The College Board kicked off the first day of Black History Month not by celebrating it — but by becoming a pawn in a cultural war aimed at suppressing the nation’s history of racism and oppression. By Elaine Ayala

Could Memphis case amount to ‘contempt of cop’?

Too many of the details around the beating death of Tyre Nichols brim with the senselessness of wrongs that can’t ever be made right. By Elaine Ayala

San Antonio building compassion nationally

A six-part series of video shorts will be created in San Antonio to promote the teaching and practice of compassion in cities throughout the country. By Elaine Ayala

Ayala: Latinos not fairing well in federal jobs and Biden picks

‘It hurts to say this, but Latinos are invisible to institutions of power,’ said Irasema Garza, president and CEO of the Alliance of Latinx Leadership and Policy. By Elaine Ayala

50 years after her run, Castro should get a seat on council

Appointing Rosie Castro to City Council to serve out Ana Sandoval’s four-month term as District 7’s representative would be right in so many ways. By Elaine Ayala

Biden and Trump classified documents cases aren’t the same

Based on what we know so far, the Biden case is altogether different from the discovery of classified records at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. By Elaine Ayala

Biden bashed for border ‘photo op’

The president was wrapping up his visit to the border when Republicans began piling up on him again — for doing exactly as they demanded. By Elaine Ayala

Too much remains unpunished since the insurrection

On the second anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, so much still remains unresolved. By Elaine Ayala

When given a U.S. flag flown over the U.S. Capitol that day in his honor, he insisted on holding onto the triangular wooden box. By Elaine Ayala

Posada teaches a story about who we are and should strive to be

The nine days of posada, symbolic of Mary’s pregnancy, teach a story about who we are and should strive to be. By Elaine Ayala

Artist Esquivel called ‘artistic visionary’ dead at 87

On Monday, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a figure he executed with technical precision, he left us. By Elaine Ayala

Ayala: Emma Tenayuca’s story coming into better focus

Sometime next year, pending City Council approval, a brown sign will be erected on a stretch of Cevallos Street between Interstate 35 and Probandt Road in honor of Emma Tenayuca. By Elaine Ayala

Immigration law firm set on removing beloved San Antonio mural

The new owners of a West Side building, lawyers specializing in immigration cases, want to replace Adriana Garcia’s celebrated mural. By Elaine Ayala

Ayala: Enough already — time to ban assault rifles

After three recent mass shootings, it’s time for elected officials to do what a majority of Americans demand: ban assault-style rifles. By Elaine Ayala

Giving thanks this year with some humility

We lug regrets around as if they’ll become lighter. They usually don’t. By Elaine Ayala