Friday, March 14, 2025 from 8 - 10 p.m. on KPBS 2 / Stream now with KPBS Passport!
LA FRONTERA WITH PATI JINICH highlights the fascinating, yet misunderstood, U.S.-Mexico border region, where countries and cultures come together to create a place all its own.
In this two-part special, audiences will follow host and executive producer Pati Jinich as she meets with artists, musicians, athletes and local legends, whose work reflects the blending of Mexican, American and other cultures, as well as the chefs and home cooks who bring all these people together around the table.
Along the journey, Pati, who received a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University, draws on her experience as a former political analyst at a policy research center and the current resident chef of the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. to conduct in-depth interviews.
“As a Mexican who now lives in the U.S., I have spent decades treading between these two countries I call home, and so the borderlands hold a special and personal meaning to me,” Jinich said. “While the U.S.-Mexico border has been narrowly labeled for so long, what I found when people opened their homes and lives to me was not a place where two countries clash, but a fascinating, rich and diverse universe with possibilities that cannot exist anywhere else. It's a true honor to work with PBS to share their stories, and I hope viewers will become as inspired by the region as I have been.”
Using food as a vehicle for exploration, LA FRONTERA WITH PATI JINICH takes audiences into the border cities of El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville, savoring the rich, diverse and unique cultures in each place.
EPISODE GUIDE:
EPISODE 1: “Miles from Nowhere” Friday, March 14, 2025 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Pati travels from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez to Big Bend National Park, where she learns how closely America and Mexico are connected through the cattle industry and visits the site where thousands of cattle cross the border every day. She cruises through downtown El Paso with low-riders, talks to muralists, and watches an all-female Mariachi band play their long-awaited comeback concert.
Pati discovers their extraordinary food, from burritos known as “Juarez’s gift to the world” to Menudo, BBQ in Marfa, Texas, and even Syrian-Lebanese food. Pati follows the age-old tradition of using El Paso and Juarez as a jumping-off point for exploring the region and witnesses the natural beauty of Big Bend National Park.
Recipes: Bean and Cheese Burrito, Red Menudo, Rolled Tacos con Salsa
EPISODE 2: “From Dos Laredos to Mars” Friday, March 14, 2025 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Pati travels from Laredo and Nuevo Laredo to Brownsville, Texas. She gets an up-close look at the major industries of the region — trucking, trade and ranching — and tastes a bit of the American Dream, spending time with the owners of Taco Palenque, a family-run, regional favorite that has grown to a fast-casual empire throughout South Texas.
Pati spends the afternoon with Sister Norma Pimentel to understand the motivational force behind migration and takes in a Tecos baseball game — the only bi-national baseball team in the world. She journeys all the way to the Gulf of Mexico to see how the border is grounds for yet another new frontier, as the launching pad for the SpaceX program to explore Mars.
Recipes: Queso Dip, Doña Linda’s Breakfast Tacos, Tacos Matamoros
Watch On Your Schedule: Both episodes are available to stream with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.
About the Chef: Pati Jinich is a James Beard Award-winning Mexican chef who has dedicated her career to building a shared understanding between her two home countries: Mexico, where she was born, and the United States, where she lives currently and is raising her family. Her long-running PBS daytime series, PATI’S MEXICAN TABLE, has brought Mexican flavors, colors and textures into American homes and kitchens, as viewers have watched Pati thoughtfully and enthusiastically guide them through the various diverse geographic regions of the country.
Named one of the “100 Greatest Cooks of All Time,” Pati has won a Gracie Award for her television work, is the resident chef of the Mexican Cultural Institute, has been named one of the “Top 5 Border Ambassadors” by The Council of Americas, and has authored two cookbooks highlighting Mexican cuisine. Pati's third cookbook, "Treasures of the Mexican Table," releases this November, and is the culmination of over a decade of travel across her birth country, as she showcases the diversity of Mexican cuisine and sheds light on some lesser-known dishes and recipes.
Credits: Produced by Mexican Table LLC and Frank Content in associate with PBS and WETA. Pati Jinich serves as executive producer with Dan Connell as producer and director. The executive in charge for PBS is Bill Gardner.
