Every city has a handful of names that echo a little louder than the rest.
They’re the names on buildings, on scholarship banners, on donation plaques. The names your parents mention casually because “everybody knows them.” In El Paso, Loya is one of those names. And now, our community is mourning the loss of Fred Loya Sr., who passed away on February 21, 2026, surrounded by his family.
Fred Loya was more than a businessman. He was the founder of Fred Loya Insurance Group, a company he started in 1974 after finding success as a Farmers Insurance agent in the 1970s. His mission was clear from the beginning: serve underserved communities. What began as a local operation grew into the 18th-largest Hispanic Top 500 owned and operated company in the United States.
That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through vision, discipline, and an understanding of the people you’re serving.
But for many El Pasoans, Fred Loya’s impact wasn’t just measured in business rankings or economic influence. It glowed.
Since 2006, the Fred Loya Christmas Light Show became a holiday rite of passage on the East Side. Nearly 800,000 lights. Weeks of preparation. Traffic lines that wrapped around the neighborhood. For a while, when the display partnered with Lights on the Lake at Ascarate Park, people wondered if it would ever return home. When it finally did last year, it felt like a small holiday miracle. Even then, Loya was still involved, still invested, still thinking about the kids piling into backseats to see something magical.
READ MORE: FRED LOYA CHRISTMAS LIGHT SHOW RETURNS
In a statement, the company described him as a visionary, a mentor, and a pillar of the El Paso community. That word pillar feels right. Some people hold up industries. Others hold up traditions. The rare few do both.
Not everyone in El Paso knew Fred Loya personally. But almost everyone knew the name. And when a name carries that much weight in a city, its absence is felt just as strongly.
El Paso lost one of its pillars this week. And whether you ever drove through those Christmas lights or not, you likely felt the glow of his legacy.
Altars of El Paso: Honoring Life, Love, and Memory
Step into a visual celebration of tradition and love. Each altar featured in this gallery was created by El Pasoans to honor their loved ones during Día de los Muertos — a beautiful reminder that even in death, the memories we cherish keep our connections alive.
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lopez Family
Guns Down, Gloves Up: RT Fades Fighting Gun Violence With Boxing In El Paso
Local social media page, RT Fades, has been fighting gun violence by encouraging community members to box out their problems in the ring. After being negative and violent rumors spread across news sources in El Paso, Grizz and local photographer Christian Churches decided to see for themselves what the events were really like. Los Toreados was the host for this particular weekends RT Fades event.
Gallery Credit: Grizz