This holiday season, we got some bad news. Richard Reyes, the Houstonian known as Pancho Claus, has been hospitalized and is awaiting open-heart surgery after a recent heart attack. This is devasting for the thousands who look forward to seeing the zoot suit-wearing, lowrider-driving local hero every year. He was even inducted into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame in December 2021.
“When I was 6/7 years old, he gave me my first bike,” a fan recently commented online. “I didn’t believe in Santa, but I believed in Pancho Claus.”
But, this year, he’s on the sidelines. However, despite his recent health challenges, the 73-year-old says he’s determined to keep the spirit of Pancho Claus alive this holiday season.
Richard Reyes Keeps the Holiday Spirit Alive
Reyes, who has brought joy to local Texas communities for over four decades, suffered his third heart attack just weeks ago. What began as a plan for a routine stent placement evolved into the need for a bypass surgery after doctors discovered two previously inserted stents had collapsed.
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“Blood is barely getting through them at all, like 95 percent or something,” Reyes told the University of Houston from his hospital bed. “So now they’re going to have to do open-heart surgery, like a turkey.”
Though facing an invasive procedure, Reyes’ resolve remains strong. “I feel great,” he shared. “I don’t know why, but I do.”
A Community Tradition at a Crossroads
For decades, Reyes has embodied Pancho Claus, a zoot-suited Tex-Mex Santa cruising lowrider sleighs to deliver toys to children in underserved communities. Each year, his nonprofit collects and distributes thousands of gifts while Reyes makes over 60 free appearances to spread holiday cheer.
“Lorenzo Cano, a Mexican-American studies scholar at the University of Houston, says Pancho was apparently conceived north of the border as Mexican-Americans looked to “build a place and a space for themselves” in the 1970s,” the Associated Press wrote in 2013. “His rise coincided with a growing interest in Mexican art, Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day and other cultural events.”
This year, Reyes has been advised not to drive or lift heavy objects during his recovery. This obviously presents a challenge for his usual hands-on involvement. Yet, he believes the true essence of Pancho Claus lies beyond him.
“Pancho Claus isn’t just me,” he said. “It’s the 100 store owners, bar owners, restaurant owners, the policemen with lowriders, and the volunteers who fill the toy boxes and make this possible. Pancho Claus is the community.”
Rallying the Community
Reyes is calling on the Houston community to step up to ensure the Pancho Claus tradition continues uninterrupted. “I think this is a good test for us, for my community, to prove we can pull this off and not let my condition stop the show,” he said.
Toy donations were dropped off at collection boxes throughout the city, and monetary contributions were being accepted through the Pancho Claus GoFundMe page.
As Reyes puts it: “The show must go on.”
