Volunteers fill in for ‘Pancho Claus’ after Tex-Mex Santa has heart attack

Richard Reyes has delivered Christmas gifts to low-income children in Houston area for decades in his red zoot suit

A heart attack and subsequent surgery are preventing the Mexican-American version of Santa known to generations of Texas children as Pancho Claus from suiting up this Christmas.

Yet members of Richard Reyes's community have taken it upon themselves to organize toy drives - and even don his iconic look - to keep his spirit alive for his scores of believers.