S1: For many people in the United States , crossing into Mexico can sound intimidating , even a little scary , especially given how the border has been portrayed in traditional media over the years and recently.
S2: Headlines haven't helped.
S3: In Mexico , the army has confirmed the death of one of the country's most feared drug lords , known as El Manco , caught and killed in a dawn raid.
S1: Following reports of violence after the death of cartel leader Nemesio El Menchu Oseguera Cervantes.
S2: Including blockades in parts of Mexico and Baja California.
S1: International attention again focused on safety concerns along the border. The US State Department has also issued travel advisories for several Mexican states at levels three and four.
S2: Reconsider travel and do not travel.
S1: Raising new concerns about heading south of the border.
S2: But for those of us who grew up here crossing the border , whether people see it as dangerous or not is just part of everyday life.
S1: For us , it's just always been routine.
S2: In case you aren't aware , Alan and I. Split our time between Tijuana and San Diego.
S1: I crossed from Tijuana to San Diego pretty much every day for work. And when I lived in San Diego , I crossed almost every day into Tijuana for band practice and shows.
S2: And when I was 18 , I started crossing the border for work at Las Américas Premium Outlets next to the San Ysidro Port of Entry , and then commuted back to Tijuana for school. I still cross every few days for work at KPBS.
S1: But for many people coming from the US , it can also be something else entirely.
S2: An adventure.
S1: A chance to explore some of the best food , art and hidden gems the region has to offer a.
S2: Port of entry. We have spent years sharing stories about what it means to live in this border region , stories that connect two countries and offer a more complete picture of life beyond what the headlines often show. Today on Port of Entry , we are sitting down with Tijuana native cameras , host of the television show Crossing South.
S4: Revolution Avenue , striped donkeys and tacky souvenirs. It's all you know about Tijuana. You really don't know this city at all.
S5: What is crossing south ? It is a travel show on public television that features the leisure and cultural destinations in Mexico.
S1: For more than a decade , he's captured the colors , flavors and culture of the region , showing viewers what's possible when you move past fear and cross the border with curiosity.
S2: From KPBS. This is Port of Entry.
S1: Where we tell cross-border stories that connect us. I'm Alan Lilienthal.
S2: And I'm Natalia Gonzalez. You're listening to. Port of entry.
S5: This television show helps us.
S4: To experience the nature.
S5: The people , the sports , the culture , the music and the food of this diverse country.
S1: All right. For people who may not be familiar with crossing south.
S6: It changes conceptions of what what Baja truly is. People have sometimes preconceived ideas of Mexico and Baja. It's its own animal. Really , people are very different than in the rest of Mexico now. Even more so because now Baja is really a combination of people from all over Mexico. That was the case of me before that , before all the all the immigrants , Mexican immigrants who were trying to cross to the U.S. arrived and stayed when they failed to cross , stayed in Baja. That was the case already. So even now , with the combination of so many peoples and everything that they bring with them , when that happens , uh , behind is something to to experience. And the show , I think has tapped into that. And it did it at a at a very crucial point where Bahari had to reinvent itself because the American tourism died off after after nine over 11 and the college kids stopped going and and just getting drunk in Revolution Avenue , which is was a great source of income for , for for Baja for a long time. But when that tourism died off , they had to reinvent themselves for the local tourism , their local market. And in doing so , they created something amazing. And we arrived right when that hit , like ahead of the curve. Honestly , before it became a thing. Before. Before Vaya became a thing. Before. You know , Baja as a culinary destination became a thing. We were there before that , so it was pretty cool. So it's a travel show ? Short answer. It's a travel show about Baja.
S1: That's I mean , it seems like you arrived right at the right time and you've now dedicated , almost like touching on two decades on this.
S6: It's crazy , isn't it.
S1: On the show. I think it's more I mean , I think calling it a travel show , I get it , but it's I think it's more than that because you have been a huge pioneer in helping. You know , sing the praises of Baja and you've helped that wave grow of people coming here.
S6: I remember back in the back in the day , my my crossing card , the the actual visa on the photograph. It was my mom with two infants with me and my brother. So imagine an ID not for an individual , but for the mom and the two kids on the sides. And so I would cross the border with my family. Back and forth from infancy. And I learned English being in Tijuana. Growing up in the 80s , before globalization. Tijuana had the distinct feature of being the only non-English speaking city in the world border to a major U.S. city. So we got through the rabbit ears. All of us. Programming. Well , well. Mexico. Mexican kids in my age were growing up with El Chavo del Ocho and all these other series. I was growing up with Family Ties and Growing Pains and all American programming. I learned English watching KPBS. I was watching.
S1: Friends like that.
S6: I was watching Sesame Street. I mean , my mom taught me English , but my accent was done away with with PBS watching PBS kid. So , you know , whenever we go to the States. I was the family envoy. I was the one that made the exchanges. I'm the one that ordered , you know , at restaurants. You know , this this little punk kid , he was the one that represented the family. So even though both my parents spoke English , both with heavy accents , though. But that's that's that's how I , I grew up in , in Baja.
S1: So the border has always been a huge part of who you are. 100%.
S6: 100%. Friends. Family on both sides. By cultural , I mean for for people who were born here going. Going to San Diego was going to the mall in the weekend. I mean , it wasn't even an issue. It was part of daily life all throughout.
S7: So it was there like a moment in your childhood or teenage years where you realized that.
S2: That the.
S7: Border meant something different to people on each side ? Maybe.
S6: Yeah , I think when when I got scratched off my mom's visa and I had to , like , now work on my own , I think it was around 12 years old where that's that's kind of the limit. They had like ten year visas. And when when I turned 12 now I had to get my own. So I think that's that's the point where I realized that. But growing up for people in Baja , going San Diego was , was very easy. And back then the the border scrutiny wasn't as stringent as it , as it is today. So people if they had good English , they could just go like , hey , I'm a U.S. citizen. They would just cross nine over 11 , changed all of that. But from the 70s , I hear from all the time. It's from the 70s. 80s and 90s people would freely when they didn't have a visa. They'd just go to the movies , you know , in San Diego saying they were U.S. citizens at the border and they get across back and forth.
S1: Someone obviously you carry the border deep in your blood is and you've talked to people now for for many years about the border and crossing the border. What do you think is the thing people most get wrong about the border ? Who who maybe aren't as familiar with it ? Mhm.
S6: The border region. I think it's married to each other. I mean , both both populations are married to each other. People depend on each other more than people realize. I think , um , there is a , a , a line to a degree where people from San Diego that have never crossed or don't have the culture of crossing may have an idiosyncrasy of us and them , a very stark separation. I would never cross , right. But once they do. The ones that that venture and actually , you know , take that first step. They don't they don't they don't want to leave once they do. I mean , we've had letters from uh , and I remember one specific one that was an old lady and she emailed us for the show and she's like , before the show. I would have never crossed that border. I wouldn't even thought about it. Wow. Because of your show , I did , she says. And the first time I did. And I didn't go to to , like , the beach. I didn't go to Rosarito. I went to Tijuana. And and and the experience that I had was so good that now I forget the period. If I don't know if it's every month or every two months. But she's like , I think a group of my girlfriends down to , to to , you know , get to find a new restaurant , a new restaurant in Tijuana. A group of American ladies just to find a new restaurant. Each. Each. I forget the period of time , but those are the type of letters that you. When you're when you realize that it's something really good to hear because minds are opening and you see that. And I always tell people because people that are afraid think of it. It's the it's the most cross-border on the planet. Right. That means that Americans are crossing in the thousands every day without incident. So don't let preconceptions or preconceived idea paradigms stop you from enjoying an amazing experience with people who who want to show you their country , who want to show you their city , who want to show you their , you know , their culinary offer , whatever they want to treat. They Mexicans in general are very fond of foreigners who who arrived there , at least in Baja. And I've heard stories from Mexico City of gentrification complaints or whatnot. But people in Baja appreciate very much.
S1: Yeah , the spirit of Tijuana , Baja in general is right. Right.
S6: Right. And the Californian , like it's still the same. What I'm going to say right now , it's still the same with all the foreigners that came and I mean foreigners , Mexican foreigners who from other states who arrived to Baja and now made me part of it , made it better , to be honest. But people in bar have always been very irreverent. You should know that , like in other states in the South , the class system is sometimes very stark where someone can mistreat an employee , a gas station worker , then call them like derogatory terms or whatnot. And Bob , people , people have been very irreverent and they have been for a long time. Like someone wealthy will talk down to a gas station worker , he'll talk back , you know. So that's it's a different kind of culture. And I think all the older people from out of state who have arrived kind of adopted the same thing. So it's very different. And they're very they're very welcoming.
S1: I think that has something to do with like being semi divorced from tradition because people leave their worlds behind to arrive in Baja and Tijuana. That may be there's there's like less loyalty to tradition. Yeah , I think so. And I think that's that , for better or worse , that that creates a special kind of atmosphere.
S6: I've heard from from Mexicans , from South Americans that something they appreciate about people in Baja is that there's no hypocrisy. Like they'll you know , you know , I'm like in any culture , any any feature will be somewhat there. Right. But you'll know where you stand. Like , they won't be nice to you just to be nice to you. Sure , sure , sure. Like. And they will be rude to you or in your face , you know , and not hide it. You know , in general , like no characteristic can be.
S1: Yeah , yeah. You know , black and white. Just more. More direct , which I always appreciate. I think what you said , the story of that woman whose mind you open , that's when it becomes more than a travel show , right ? It's like the. I think people underestimate the ripples of doing that kind of work for the world. Like just being making people less afraid of of of the other side of , you know , like strengthening those ties of humanity , I think is. 100%.
S6: 100%.
S1: Is very , uh , important work.
S2: You're listening to. Port of entry.
S1: I'm curious if you have any other stories of people that have approached you , of how you change their perspective or lessen their their anxieties ? Has that happened a lot ? Yeah.
S6: It does. It does. People just we've heard people that were very much complainers about , you know , I'm never I'm never going there. And and then when they go , hey , can you help me find a place to , to buy , to live down here. And even me , like , right now , I'm at a place in Puerto Nuevo in that area in Rosarito , in front of the water. And it used to be a kind of like a flyover part for me. I would just , you know , on my way from TJ at Ensenada Drive. I miss that whole corridor of of of oceanfront. And it's amazing to , to be there. So even even me as a local , I'm just saying like I can only imagine someone from the States who now arrives and see that he can probably move there and live there for a fraction of the cost. You know of what he would live in the States for. That's another thing that I found. I found I have multiple friends from the States here who say , man in San Diego , I wouldn't able I wouldn't be able to even see the water from at my for my budget , let alone , you know , be in front of it. And they're living and they're living it down there , man. I mean , they're.
S1: Pretty wild contract.
S6: There in front of their in front of the water , you know , they surf. They have their own staircases. I mean , different ones , I mean different. Some of them are across the highway. They can it's still an amazing view. In fact , I've gone up to some of those communities up there across from the highway , have a better view than the ones on the on the water. I've had videos that I've sent to friends. I mean , look at this man. It's the water seems massive. You can only see the curvature of the Earth. So what I'm saying is that there's many , many , many Americans who have crossed south. And when when they do , they find that unfortunately , sometimes , you know , the media journalism focuses only on negative stories , and it's not the whole picture.
S1: And so we do what we do. Exactly right. But that still exists like that , that that that bias. Just a few weeks ago , we were wholly our producer and I were at this event , and obviously they were counting on a lot of American people to come for that event. And they were saying that last minute. A lot of a lot of people had cancelled their reservations because it was just the weekend that the stuff happened , and the fears were kind of like every couple of months or every couple of years , like something happens and that button is pressed and it was triggered again and everyone's like , oh no , we can't cross the border anymore. But but the media does very much , uh , hone in on these little moments.
S6:
S1: Because there was a real we saw the real tangible like like half the place didn't come because. Because of that. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. I've heard a lot of stories of people who are like , canceled the hotel reservations. Mhm. People who didn't come down and started calling me and friends of mine. How are you guys doing down there ? Like you don't know what happened. And this is something for just for the audience to to know you know what happened. I mean , I know it's the , the underlying issue of cartel violence and that afflicts Mexico. It's a reality that's there for sure. We're not going to address the minutia of that. But do you wonder what happened that weekend in Tijuana ? A car was burned in the middle of the highway. That's it. Yeah , that's.
S8: That's pretty much.
S6: A burned car. Just brought tourism to a screeching halt.
S1: Yeah , it's a wild thing.
S6: An entire state. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I have my parents. My friends , like a lot of people from this side were sending me articles , right ? Tijuana on fire. Don't cross the Tijuana. I'm like , I'm walking down the street talking to people like , hey , do you ? Like I was on , I went on Instagram Live just to show people how wild the contrast is. Not one person was.
S6: Of course , of course. And that's not to say that crime doesn't exist. Sure it does anyway.
S1: Sure , sure , sure. But let's be balanced about it.
S6: No , I always tell people this. Listen , common sense will keep you out of trouble anywhere you go. Yeah. I'm like , think of the safest city you want to mention on the planet. Like , give me your top five ironclad cities. Like , I don't know what you'll choose. Anyone will choose.
S1:
S8: Yeah , exactly.
S7: Switzerland or something. Right.
S6: Right. Exactly right. Okay. Go to the wrong neighborhood , and you're not coming out of there , right ? Do something stupid and you're not coming out of there. You do engage in crime in Europe. You're not coming out of there. So common sense will keep you out of trouble anywhere in the world , and lack of it will put you in trouble anywhere in the world. And it's the same thing with that free flow of traffic of hundreds of thousands of vehicles crossing every day without incident , you got to just , um , um , you know , have common sense and do what you wouldn't do anywhere. Sometimes , you know , people stop going to Baja because of something that happened somewhere in southern Mexico.
S1:
S6: The same thing sometimes. You know , you have no idea the the geographical distance between , you know , an incident or something that's happening and you just blanket a whole country and that would not be rational , and you would be depriving yourself of experiences that are just have been truly life changing for those that have made it permanent , who have gone for a weekend. And then you know what ? How can I stay here ? Hmm.
S1: As we start wrapping up , maybe you can tell us some.
S6: And I've always said on the show , uh , you know , the , the I've gone to southern Mexico to have tacos. And I think because Tijuana has now people from all over Mexico , they all brought their cuisine with them and they just made it. And I'll say it because of this , there's a there's a taco stand that is historic in TJ , which is called la madera. It's really cool. Good taco , solid taco. But there's so much now that that Tijuana style tacos have become their own thing.
S1: And and I love I love it , I love it too. But it's. But I hear you , but I hear you.
S6: Hey , man , it's a taco that I used to go to as a kid , you know ? So , like , as a teenager. Hey , let's go to sombreros. That was like a place to hit. Sure , sure.
S7:
S8: Yeah , it would be amazing. Yeah , let's do it. That'd be. That'd be awesome. I mean.
S7: I have my top five. I have these top five.
S8: I'm sure.
S6: Of course. And even the seafood tacos. You know , that's something that's also become. It's exceeded the original. Also classic taco of Ensenada. You'll see that this season. Like , I went to the classic , historic , maybe original seafood tacos of Ensenada , the shrimp and fish tacos on the street carts. And honestly , I mean , they are great. Like I said on the show , you'll see it on the episode. If you're an American that just crossed the border and this is your first time and your only reference is Rubio's in the States. It'll be the best fish tacos you've ever had. But compared to what now you know , bar has become in regards to seafood , you know , tacos and all the things that immigrants from Sinaloa who are the pioneers of seafood of the coast and the Pacific taught , you know , people in Baja to prepare and eat seafood. Japanese immigrants who taught , you know , how to use all the all the mollusks and different things that people would throw away as refuse before. Now you know , all these taco makers and chefs use these ingredients to make tacos. It'll just blow your mind. So the classic. The.
S8: The.
S6: Classic Ensenada taco is more nostalgia. Now , if you take into account everything that's going on in Baja , if you've never tried anything before , it'll be the best fish tacos you ever had.
S8: I'm hungry. Probably.
S1: Probably. We should probably go.
S7: Let's think of. Breaking.
S8: Breaking.
S7: A taco.
S1: Well , thank you so much for George. For for the great words. And always , you know , showing us your insights about Baja. And let's make this taco to happen. Fantastic.
S6: Fantastic.
S8: Let's do it.
S9: We know firsthand. Crossing the border into Tijuana and Baja is part of everyday life here.
S2: Beyond the region's reputation , the reality we live in is very different from what many people might expect.
S9: Something George has documented for years through crossing south.
S2: Just as we have with Port of Entry.
S9: In this reality. Far from what headlines suggest people enjoy incredible food.
S2: Experience theatre.
S9: Here live music.
S2: Visit family.
S9: Taken unique landscapes.
S2: And open themselves up to entirely different perspectives.
S9: This episode of Port of Entry was written and produced by Natalie Gonzalez Rodriguez.
S2: Adrian Villalobos is technical producer and sound designer.
S9: This episode was edited by Chrissy Wynne and Julio Cesar Ortiz Franco.
S2: Lisa morissette is director of audio programming and operations.
S9: Soy Alan Lilienthal.
S2: Yo soy Natalia Gonzalez. Nos vemos pronto.
