Teacher whose class video made her a national sensation dies of Covid-19 at 35.

Anyone who had worked with Zelene Blancas in El Paso knew her as a teacher whose goal was to spread compassion above all else.

Ms. Blancas, who was born in Texas and lived in Mexico for much of her childhood, was a bilingual Spanish teacher at Dr. Sue A. Shook Elementary School, and she hoped to become a bilingual special education teacher.

She gained popularity online after posting a video in 2018 of his students which has collected over 23 million views. It showed classmates kissing before a weekend away, smiles spreading across their faces as they said goodbye – a reminder of the human capacity for love and connection.

Ms Blancas tested positive for the virus on October 20 and was hospitalized days later, her brother Mario Blancas said. After spending nearly two months in the intensive care unit and using up all his available sick days and paid time off, Mr Blancas set up a GoFundMe page on December 14 to help pay for his sister’s health care, because it would soon be. without income and will have to pay the full cost of his health insurance out of pocket, ”according to the page.

But this week, at just 35, Ms Blancas died of complications from Covid-19. His death devastated the city.

During her teaching career, Ms. Blancas often stayed up late talking on the phone with the parents of her students. She ran a parenting literacy program in the evenings, and when classes switched to distance learning during the pandemic, she delivered care kits, along with handwritten notes, to her students. Even from her hospital bed, Ms Blancas was asking questions about her work at school, her principal Cristina Sanchez-Chavira said.

“His call was simply to spread kindness,” Ms. Sanchez-Chavira said. “I think education was the vehicle she found, but it was her. She embodied kindness and made others feel special. And she did it in and outside the classroom.

Ms Blancas was shocked to see her students’ 2018 music video shared so widely, Ms Sanchez-Chavira said, adding that for Ms Blancas, fostering empathy among her students has always been a priority.

“She was so humble about it,” Ms. Sanchez-Chavira said of the video. “She did everything for the kids, and I think that’s what made her such a phenomenal teacher – because she did everything with her heart.

Ms Blancas spent her 35th birthday in her hospital room, with no family by her side, Mr Blancas said. The nurses all signed a birthday card for her, and her father sent her a picture of a cake and balloons.

The day before his death, Mr Blancas said, he was able to visit his sister. It was painful, he says, to see his only sister in a hospital bed, breathing through a tube, her face swollen from the treatments. He brought a gift he knew would make her happy: a blanket adorned with photos of his two beloved dogs, Chico and Rocky.