Americans’ view of the U.S.-Mexico border is pretty narrow these days — basically, drugs and illegal immigrants.
Of course, there’s more than that if you live there. There’s the area’s tasty food — Baja California fish tacos, Tex-Mex fajitas and the newest cross-border concoction: The Sonoran Hot Dog.
Sitting in the always noisy and crowded Tucson restaurant “El Guero Canelo,” food historian Gary Nabhan says the borderlands are the birthplace of many of the Mexican dishes we Americans love.
“Flour tortilla and the burrito, the chimichanga, carne asada and fajita, the margarita — all come from the borderlands and then spread out, not just through the rest of Mexico and the U.S., but to the world,” he says.
Nabhan heads Sabores Sin Fronteras , or Flavors Without Borders, a coalition dedicated to preserving the region’s food traditions.