Everyone who worked with Zelene Blancas in El Paso knew her as a teacher whose goal was to spread compassion above all else.
Me. Blancas, who was born in Texas and lived in Mexico for much of her childhood, was a bilingual Spanish teacher of Dr. Sue A. Shook Elementary School, and she hoped to become a bilingual special education teacher.
She became popular online after posting a video in 2018 of her students which received more than 23 million views. It showed classmates embracing each other before a weekend break, spreading smiles across their faces as they said goodbye – a reminder of the human capacity for love and commitment.
Me. Blancas tested positive for the virus on Oct. 20 and was admitted to the hospital a few days later, her brother Mario Blancas said. After spending nearly two months at the ICU and paying off all of her available sick days and time, Mr. “Blancas set up a GoFundMe page on December 14 to help pay for his sister’s health care, as she will soon be ‘without income’ and will have to pay the full cost of her health insurance out of pocket,” according to the page.
But this week, at just 35 years old, me. Blancas died of complications from Covid-19. Her death devastated the city.
During her teaching career, Ms. Blancas often gets up to talk to her parents about her students by telephone. She presented a literacy program for parents in the evenings and when the classes switched to distance education during the pandemic, she delivered care packages, complete with handwritten notes, to her students. Even out of her hospital bed, Ms. Blancas asked about her work at school, her principal, Cristina Sanchez-Chavira, said.
“Her calling was just to spread kindness,” she said. Sanchez-Chavira said. ‘I think education was the vehicle she found, but it was she. She embodied kindness and made others feel special. And she did it in and out of the classroom. ‘
Me. Blancas was shocked to see how the 2018 video clip of her students is being shared so widely, Ms. Sanchez-Chavira said, adding that the encouragement of her students for Ms. Blancas have always been a priority.
“She was so humble about it,” she said. Sanchez-Chavira said about the video. “She just did everything for the kids, and I think that’s what made her such a phenomenal teacher – because she did everything from her heart.”
Blancas spent her 35th birthday in her hospital room, with no family by her side. The nurses all drew a birthday card for her, and her father sent her a photo of a cake and balloons.
The day before her death, Mr. Blancas said, he was able to visit his sister. According to him, it was painful to see his only sister in a hospital bed breathing through a tube and her face swollen from the treatments. He brought a gift he knew would make her happy: a blanket that featured photos of her two beloved dogs, Chico and Rocky.