The border, as we know it, is a conceptual line drawn upon the map, either to the advantage or disadvantage of the sovereign states it divides.  In the case of the United States and Mexico, it mostly serves to accentuate and reinforce the differences between the two countries.  From a larger geographical perspective, no such line actually exists.

On the other hand there is the actual earth, with its waters and forests, flowers and crops, animals and humans that flow continuously from one side to the other without recognition of this man-made line.  It would seem that problems always arise when what is abstract is given greater importance than what is real.  When it comes to the border, in the interest of national security, this abstract line has taken on greater significance and importance than that which is life itself.  The net result is that everything suffers.

Despite the daily interruption and inconvenience caused by the political border within that geographical area, two languages, two cultures and two homelands meet.  Within that confluence of cultures and environment, even the most ordinary activities can be unexpectedly rich with new possibilities.

There is also a dark and sinister shadow world that exists as well. The American appetite for drugs has created the Mexican counterpart that feeds it.  Many communities have taken advantage of this economic opportunity, but, in the process, have placed themselves under the thumbs of the drug cartels.  The questions are many, the answers difficult. At the highest levels, it is a web of corruption, contradiction, violence, bargains with the devil, greed and insanity.  A large part of Mexico’s economy is now so dependent on drug trafficking that it would be in danger of collapse if stopped.

In our opinion, collaboration is more effective than separation.  One very simple example is seeing how the average American hot dog became integrated into the Mexican diet. A tasteless bun, hotdog inside, smeared with a bit of ketchup, mustard, and sometimes relish, became a hot dog wrapped in bacon with a warm bun and topped with mayonnaise, guacamole, chopped tomatoes, onions, and a variety of salsas.

One can’t simply build a border fence and pretend that Mexico doesn’t exist. That kind of denial is a luxury, or, better said, an illusion, adopted by those who live far from the border. Life in the bio-border region is very much alive, increasingly visible, and it isn’t going to disappear anytime in the near future. From our perspective, Mexico and the U.S. are on a path of eventual integration and will, in the long run, overcome the fear and paranoia that keep them apart.