(man speaking Spanish on radio) (vehicle engine roars) (cheerful music) [Roy] It's been a long time since I stepped foot in this place, and yet it's right next door.

It's a complicated city, full of broken promises for those betting on the finish line.

But it's also a city full of love, energy, rich history, and creativity.

Where people work hard and value food, family, and tradition.

Where strangers smile when you pass them on the street, and where the promise of good music, and even better food is around every corner.

This is Tijuana.

(indistinct chatter) (upbeat music) [Roy] I'm a street cook.

Even before I was a street cook, I was a street person.

I'm out there doing things, whether it's approved or not.

My whole existence in this world is to nourish and feed people.

I want this show to be about the power of us as humans to come together again.

Let's not make assumptions.

Let's not make stereotypes.

And from there, we can start to talk about these things, and maybe understand each other.

Whether your beliefs differ from mine, we're breaking bread.

(soft music) [Roy] Tijuana's border relationship with the US shapes so much of its existence.

Migrants waiting for asylum, deportations, those in transit who decide to stay, and the locals who are witness to the perpetual influx of people from all over the world.

This city is constantly building on an ever-changing landscape, and blending of cultures that is shaping the future of Tijuana.

(upbeat music) [Roy] To get a better understanding of this place, I'm meeting up with some locals.

I'm in the middle of - this is Friday night.

I'm about to go meet Ceci and Alex from one of my favorite bands, Tijuana No!

I was a big ska kid when I was in high school, so this is like crazy for me.

Ceci Bastida and Alex Zuniga grew up here, and were part of the punk rock ska band, Tijuana No!

back in the '90s.

Their songs covered government corruption, immigration, racism, and other social issues affecting Mexico and the United States.

How long have you guys known each other?

- All of our lives.

- Kids.

Just kids.

- No, not kids.

I was a kid.

He was already old.

- He's much older than you?

- Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah.

- But when I was like into the music, I was in high school and Ceci was in junior high, but she used to hang around with us.

- He knew I played piano, so he basically invited me to join them, and I just started playing with them.

- We were playing the ska, we were playing reggae, we were playing punk, we were playing rock.

We started like really listening to music in the new wave scene when we started early '80s.

- Walk me around, show me, show me what you wanna show me.

- Tijuana is like very, very welcome city.

They welcome you, it's very warm people.

Tijuana's a very cultural city, it's a border city.

We always support the migrants, it's something that we always talk about.

- This Tijuana that I'm feeling now, it feels a little bit like New York in the early '90s.

It's not corporatized yet all the way, and it's just like 24/7.

I don't know if you guys can feel what's going on, but there are like 42 different noises happening at the same time.

And it's just like, but it doesn't stop us from talking, it just all.

- You can listen to reggaeton, you can listen to 'cherita - 88.9 FM "La Rancherita" - it's all a mixture.

(upbeat music) (soft music) You ready to go to the tacos?

- I'm ready.

[Roy] Tijuana's known for its incredible taco scene.

The steam from carts and open air counters drift into the street all over town.

- Dos tacos asada por favor.

Con todo por favor.

[Roy] It's a who's who of street meat.

From carne asada, to tripa, chorizo or al pastor.

(speaking in Spanish) - It's so delicious.

- You now living in the US for over 20 years, what's your kind of relationship and interaction and perception of Tijuana?

- It's super interesting, because I haven't been here living for-- - As I've known you, sometimes I forget that you grew up here, 'cause I feel like you grew up over there.

- Yeah, I've been in the US for 15 years, before that I moved to Mexico city.

But Tijuana is just constantly changing, and my relationship to it is I come because my family is here, but every time I come, it's different.

Like there's so many things that keep changing.

The city keeps growing further East, we got different populations coming in from Central America, but at the same time, I know that it's a very welcoming city.

- Tijuana now, there's obviously a lot of migrants coming through.

And you mentioned that Tijuana is always changing every time you come, and now it's gonna be changing even more.

Because there's a whole new population.

It's not just Mexicans coming up to Tijuana, now it's Hondurans, Guatemalans, El Savadorians, Nicaraguans-- - Haitianos.

- Yeah, Haitians.

- Even from Africa.

- It's gonna definitely influenced the city.

You're talking about just in the last three to seven years, cuisine, you're talking about maybe seven different cultures at the least coming through, and really, really they're going to have to settle down in the city, one way or another.

- And they have.

Yeah, a lot of people decided to, you know - so a lot of the Haitians that came to the city were hoping to get to the US because of the temporary protective status that was gonna end in 2017.

And they came all the way here and once they got here, they weren't allowed to cross the US.

So a lot of them decided to stay.

So we're talking about a population that's over 4,000 patients here.

So I think inevitably the food will-- - Food will change, yeah.

- The food will change.

Culturally, it's gonna change, and I think the organizations here have been working really hard to make people understand these new cultures, and feel like they can accept them.

And I think they've done a great job.

I think people are generally welcoming.

Not always, but generally okay.

- What does that mean to you?

And what do you think that's gonna make Tijuana in the next five years?

- As long as we're still a border city, like all the borders in all of the world, we're all migrants.

No human is illegal.

And I hope it grows for our better, and it's growing for our better, I think.

(soulful music) [Roy] Tijuana's transforming itself from the inside out.

Locals are embracing the flavors and traditions that each new culture brings with them, as they plant their roots in the city.

One of those locals is Chef Jose Figuerola.

Chef Jose who goes by Joe, built a name for himself with his food truck.

Now he runs the kitchen at El Casimiro, the restaurant inside Insurgente on Revolución, one of the busiest streets in town.

Hello, oh I thought the kitchen was bigger-- - [Jose] No, no, no, no, it's so tiny here.

- I love it.

- Welcome to my humble kitchen, please, step inside.

- Oh, I love it.

This is as big as my kitchen is in - - I know, right?

- [Roy] in Alibi Room and the trucks, yeah.

- Yeah, so are you hungry?

- Yes I am.

- Yeah, good, good, good.

[Roy] He's pushing the envelope by giving Tijuana flavors and local ingredients a new complex dimension that people don't often associate with the cuisine of the area.

- Aha!

- [Jose] Chef!

There we are.

- Chef's table.

Look at this.

- [Jose] Okay, so some yellowtail crudo.

This is a black clam sope with a clam pâté on the bottom.

- [Roy] Look at this food-- - Then we have the-- I gotta take a picture of this.

- [Jose] Yeah, the yellowtail crudo, I'm gonna finish it with the leche de tigre, which we make with a sour beer, some beetroot.

- [Roy] Oh yeah, look at that.

- We have our version of the quesabirria, super traditional this year in Tijuana.

So it's a cheese birria, and it's covered in a powdered tortilla, and deep fried.

- Did you stage anywhere, train anywhere?

- Yeah I actually did a little bit more than a year in a two star Michelin restaurant in England.

- [Roy] In England.

- Yeah, about almost 10 years ago.

- English kitchens are brutal.

- Man, man.

- I heard those goons in the kitchen-- - Gordon Ramsay was nothing compared to what I lived.

But I learned a lot, and I always give thanks to all the things I lived over there.

Actually, this is made with one of the beers we have right now, I'm gonna give you a little taste.

The sauce is made with this sour beer, which has a little bit of raspberries from San Quintin, which is a little bit south from Ensenada.

Makes sense?

- You're making the beers too, or are you working with- - No, I collaborate with a brewery.

You can pick it up as a taco.

So it's cold and hot all at the same time.

And it's spicy, I didn't ask if you can handle your spice.

In my description this is what for me Tijuana cuisine is, it's a mix of everything.

This has Vietnamese and Thai, there's been a boom of pho in the last four years in Tijuana, so I took inspiration from that.

- Well, this is delicious.

- Gracias.

Whereas you have older regions like Oaxacan, Puebla, Veracruz, Guadalajara that have very distinctive, Michoacán, very distinctive styles of food that have been passed on for generations.

How is Baja treated in the realm of the larger land of Mexico?

Is it seen as a regional kind of-- - We are sometimes ignored, but you know the cool thing is we have a little bit of everything you just mentioned.

A little bit of Oaxacan, a little bit of Michoacán, a little bit of Xalisco, a little bit of Yucatán, a little bit of Mexico City.

We work with what little we got, there's no like a clear definition of what Baja cuisine really is, because of us being a really young state in the country, compared to the rest of the country.

So for me, this is Tijuana cuisine, my Tijuana cuisine.

- Tijuana can become one of the most cosmopolitan international cities in the world, if it just embraces its migrants and its community, and creates a whole new Tijuana based on the roots of the old Tijuana.

- And we're going there.

Give me-- - You're getting there?

- 10 more years, yeah, we're embracing.

- Broken Bread season 11, we're coming back to Tijuana.

- You wanna take a little walk over there?

- I wanna see everything we're talking about, I wanna see it.

- [Jose] Yeah sure, sure, sure.

(vehicle horn honking) (upbeat music) (speaking in Spanish) - Hey, Eddie!

This is your butcher shop?

- Yeah, this is a butcher shop.

- Oh, look at these cuts of meat.

So you do your shopping here.

- [Jose] Yeah, this is like my morning routine.

- And you just get it and walk back to the restaurant?

- Yeah, yeah.

- [Roy] Wow, you're living a chef's dream, man.

- Everything's so cool.

- This is a chef's dream.

Every chef in the world, come to Tijuana.

He walks to his butcher shop, he walks to his produce market, and he walks back to his restaurant every day, fresh.

- And then after work, I can walk-- - And then walk to the bar after work.

(upbeat music) (street noise) - So right now they got like pork skin, they got ham, they got tripe.

- [Roy] And you do it all mixed together?

- You can do it mixed.

(speaking in Spanish) Everything on it, right?

- [Roy] Yeah.

- [Jose] And it's hot, and spicy.

- It's okay.

Me gusta.

I say that before I take a bite.

Oh my God.

Oh my God, the silent portion of the tour.

Uno mas por favor.

- Okay, so welcome to Zona Norte, man.

- [Roy] So this definitely feels different than where we were earlier.

Where are we in relation?

We're close to the border, right?

- [Jose] Yeah the border is just four blocks away from where we are right now, this is called Zona Norte, North Zone.

- And this is where a lot of the migrants and immigrants end up settling within Tijuana?

- This is like the last stop.

- The last stop.

- The last stop.

- [Roy] And then even if you decide to stay in Tijuana, if I'm not Mexican, this is kind of where I start.

- [Jose] Yes, yes.

- [Roy] This is where I start.

Zona Norte is the last stop in Tijuana before the border.

For some, it's a liminal space between home and the place they're hoping to call home.

For Lilian Mejía, a Honduran immigrant who's been here for over a decade, it's the unofficial heart of the Honduran community.

Lilian and her husband, Jose Aguilar made their way to Tijuana in 2011.

They opened their first restaurant a few years later and now run three, including Honduras 504, a reference to their country code.

Since there isn't a Honduran console in Tijuana, newly arrived migrants often come to the restaurant for a home cooked meal, to make phone calls to loved ones back home.

When a caravan of displaced Hondurans arrived in 2018, Lilian shut down the restaurant and started cooking for the migrants.

The gesture of goodwill soon expanding, the Honduras 504 started feeding 1000 mouths a week with donations from friends and family in the US.

(speaking in Spanish) - It looks like a curry.

- Baleada - [Jose] Yeah, because of the coconut milk.

- This is a quesadillas?

- Baleada, its called.

I never tasted anything like this before.

It's like the best breakfast burrito I've had.

(speaking in Spanish) - Freshly made, that's the key.

- Is this seafood stew?

- [Jose] Yeah, yeah.

Seafood soup.

(speaking in Spanish) - This segment is just gonna be "mmm."

(both say "mmm") (laughing) - She said that it has a really garlicky sofrito, the coconut milk is essential, lots of bhaji, carrots.

- Hold up.

Hold on.

(speaking in Spanish) I'm just gonna torture you guys.

(both say "mmm") (Lilian laughs) We need to talk about Honduran food more, this is some of the most amazing food and the Honduran people I think need a boost.

Because I don't wanna assume, but that's kind of why he brought me here.

And this is a good segue into that.

There is a struggle amongst the Honduran people, am I correct in that?

Can you explain a little bit of what's going on?

- Yes, so like migration in Tijuana in general has always existed.

And just recently-- (speaking in Spanish) 2018, that's when the caravans came here.

(speaking in Spanish) - What does she think Tijuana is gonna be like for her children?

She started a new life and now has planted seeds.

(speaking in Spanish) [Roy] For Lilian, owning a restaurant is more than just serving customers, it's about giving back and paying it forward.

The same is true for Esther Morales, a name synonymous with generosity, especially for those just arriving here.

At her tamale restaurant La Antiguita, she serves migrants who have traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to reach the US-Mexico border.

Between 1989 and 2010, Esther was deported nine times.

The last time she was 50 years old.

After cooking for 20 years in the US, she started working at the shelter that took her in, and a year later opened her restaurant.

Today she has delivered more than 10,000 meals to 12 shelters around the city and employs other women whose stories mirror her own.

- Hi.

- Hi.

Hola.

- Ceci and I have been invited to help her make tamales that she'll be handing out to those in need later this afternoon.

(speaking in Spanish) (laughing) She made this for me.

(speaking in Spanish) - Yeah, people eat it during Christmas and New Years.

(speaking in Spanish) So it's kind of like nostalgia, it's just kind of.

- It can be relatable to not only Southern Mexicans that are coming but also Central Americans.

(speaking in Spanish) And this is a business too?

(speaking in Spanish) Like are people coming here to buy?

(speaking in Spanish) So can I eat now?

(speaking in Spanish) (women laughing) I have to do more work?

(speaking in Spanish) (Esther laughs) (speaking in Spanish) Esther wants to remind migrants and deportees that there are also dreams on this side of the border.

She's proved that despite life's obstacles, there's always a way forward.

But living in close proximity is such a strong demarcation line especially one that you can't cross, it's hard to imagine.

Joe lives within walking distance and I was curious what it really looked like and felt like to meet this line in real life.

So you live down here?

- Yeah, almost like eight blocks away from here.

- That's the border wall.

- Yeah, that's the whole thing about us, right?

We live next to the border.

Now, even though it's there physically, mentally, it's not, you know what I mean?

We've grown so accustomed to looking at that thing, those pieces of metal.

They're oxidized and then painted all over.

But I don't know, it's just not there.

We're breathing the same air, we're swimming on the same beach, we're stepping on the same sand, this is the beginning for a lot of people and the end for a lot of people.

- That is my week here in Tijuana seems to be a bit of the theme and the crossroads of a lot of the stories of Tijuana, you just put it succinctly into a sentence that it's the beginning and sometimes the end.

And the end sometimes becomes the new beginning.

(upbeat music) When I was growing up in Los Angeles, the stereotype of Tijuana was violence, poverty, despair, and a lawless escape for American teenagers.

But getting to know the city more intimately, there are aspects I wish I could take home with me.

It's a dynamic place of invention, perseverance and innovation.

It's not just a rest stop or a revolving turnstile on the border.

The stories it contains are vast and varied, and speak to the complexity of issues that its residents face.

It has so much to offer, and to reveal about how to live, how to connect with our neighbors, how to recognize each other on a human level.

(car horn honks) I can just stay here all day and they feed me, that's the whole episode.

That's it!

How great an episode would that be?

For 30 minutes, I'm just sitting with him and they just feed me, one taco after another.

(vehicle horn honks)