Why take a Cross Border Tour?

Border Community Alliance is dedicated to championing public literacy in current borderlands issues, anthropology, economics, history and geography - taking those subjects and learning in the field - rather than dusty libraries and classrooms.  This is in fulfillment of the nonprofit's mission of education and in affirmation that context is vital to understanding.

Since 2010 many people have learned first-hand about the dynamics of the borderlands by taking a BCA Cross Border Tour. After going on one of our tours, Dan Shearer, editor of the Green Valley News wrote, “…it changed my whole perspective on the border and our relationship with Mexico!” BCA’s cross border tour program has been also privileged to have been featured in the New York Times.

Consider joining us for one of our other cultural exchange excursions listed below. Check the schedule and register online through our secure website.  In recognizing BCA’s commitment to fostering international community, please know that part of the proceeds from your registration go directly to grassroots civil society projects in the BCA/FESAC network. Learn more. 

Please remember to bring your passport.

Nogales Cross Border Tour

BCA’s initial introductory tour is built around offering guests a chance to see for themselves what Nogales is really like - beyond the wall - and incorporating an overview of the region, historically and contextually. The tour begins on the US side with a brief orientation, followed by travel through the dynamic city of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Gain a sense of the astonishing economic development and the ascendant civil sector.

After a meal at a classic Sonoran lunch spot, the tour continues with a final stop at La Roca, the historic Nogales restaurant/institution for debriefing over flan and coffee. The tour is led by BCA staff and by Alma Cota de Yanez, Executive Director of FESAC, BCA’s Nogales, Sonora partner organization and community foundation.

Gastronomic Tour of Nogales

For the last thirty years people from all over Mexico have relocated to Nogales in economic pursuits while also contributing to making the community a gastronomic destination. They have brought their respective cuisines from throughout Latin America and with surprising variety of options to consider.

If you are curious to learn what exactly is Sonoran food and how it differs from wider Mexican cuisine, this gastronomic tour of Nogales will clarify the regional characteristics of our vibrant southern neighbor while providing a background in cultural heritage. Visitors to Nogales, Sonora are often geographically limited to walking distance in the main tourist zones for dining options while visiting south of the border. This tour takes you off that beaten path and deeper into Nogales to the modern gastronomic zone of local Nogalenses.  This tour is your chance to taste and see for yourself.

Magdalena de Kino

Nationally recognized Magdalena de Kino, Sonora lies only sixty miles south of Nogales, yet it embodies a remarkably different world of colonial buildings and a rustic feel of the traditional vaquero heartland.  The northern Sonoran community was awarded by the Mexican government with the the title of recognition of Pueblo Magico for the outstanding cultural heritage the Sonoran pilgrimage terminus expresses.

Located here is the crypt of Padre Eusebio Kino (1645-1711), the Jesuit explorer and missionary credited with founding churches throughout the Sonoran region like San Xavier del Bac near Tucson. Beginning at the border in Nogales, this tour includes an overview of the rich and complex history of the region with stops at Imuris and San Ignacio before reaching Magdalena. Magdalena’s beautiful plaza and memorial to Kino is surrounded by an artful promenade where shoppers stroll in the shaded walkway. The chapel and church are moving tributes to the faith of the region. After lunch, the tour continues with a visit to a local coffee house and roaster in a traditional historic Sonoran casona to dialogue about the local context.

Rio Sonora

A rural tourism opportunity offering a chance to immerse in traditional and regional agricultural life. The destination is the heritage-rich Sonora River valley which also bestowed its name to the northern Mexican state. Running north to south and framed by the mountains of the Sierra Madre, this river valley was also the route of the inital Spanish entradas into the region. This two-night tour is based out of the mid-valley town of Banamichi, where guests will stay at the hotel, La Posada del Rio Sonora. Tour highlights include an upriver trip to Arizpe with its outstanding Jesuit cathedral, Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, as a community that was once the capital of the entire north of colonial New Spain. Downriver communities of Huepac and Aconchi with their respective missions dating back to the seventeenth century and a visit to natural building homestead Los Paredones along the river to learn about traditional earthen architecture and the Sonoran Desert ecology are part of this itinerary. Guests will be surrounded by the local gastronomy, la cocina sonorense.

Hermosillo: Capital of Sonora

Travel with us to the burgeoning capital of our neighboring state of Sonora, Hermosillo to take part in the cultural and cosmopolitan opportunities the city has to offer. This two-night experience will provide guests with an overview of the city’s history and its significant sights, making the case that Hermosillo is a unique destination rather than just a stop on the way to Gulf  beaches. Guests will experience the Mexican muralist art tradition at the Palacio de Gobierno, the seat of the state of Sonora’s government as well as observe the Sonoran sunset from the top of the city’s emblematic Cerro de la Campana. Also included are visits the historic old quarter of town - Villa de Seris - world renown for its coyotas pastries and classic central marketplace. Hermosillo’s modern gastronomy will also be highlighted, one representative of the state’s famous ranching and Sea of Cortez fishing economies.

Alamos, Sonora

Alamos, Sonora is one of the most fascinating places to visit in northern Mexico due to its unique intersection of history, climate and geography. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental range, Alamos was originally founded as a silver mine in the late 17th century. The Sonoran community inhabits a remarkable but endangered biome known as the dry tropics.  Historically, Alamos represents the northern outpost of urban Spanish colonial centers with mining centered economies such as Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Durango. This 5 day tour includes an overnight in San Carlos on the way down and Hermosillo on the return north.

A Range of Offerings

The Borderlands Forum offers a variety of classes and forums on topics such as:

• History and culture of Mexico and of the region

• Social investment

• Art, photography, music, cinema

• Economics

• Cuisine

  Nature and environmental concerns

• Diplomacy and immigration

• Architecture

Class Locations

Classes are held in various locations in southern Arizona.

The location of your class is listed with the class description on the registration page.

Due to the Covid19 Pandemic, all classes are offered virtually via Zoom

Partners

The Borderlands Forum started with the help of a grant from the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation. Our gratitude goes to the Foundation for spurring us on!

We are fortunate to have had partners in hosting Borderlands Forum including:

the Mexican Consulate in Nogales (AZ); the US Consulate in Nogales Sonora (MX); Tumacacori National Historical Park; Tubac Presidio; Tubac Center for the Arts; Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans; Pimeria Alta Museum (Nogales, Arizona); the University of Arizona (Tucson); and others. We welcome others who share similar interests and perspectives.

Policies & Procedures

Class and workshop participants are encouraged to register online for classes and forums, even when they are free.

Logistically, this is important for organizers to know how many to plan for and whether a class meets the minimum requirement for enrollment requested by the instructors.

 Walk-up registrants are welcome, so long as space is available. If a fee is involved, please plan to pay with cash or check.

BCA members receive a discount for most classes; membership is a minimum of $50 per year for individuals or $75 for families (up to three persons). If you are not able to come to a class you registered for, we appreciate your letting us know; however, because the fees are so low, we do not refund registration fees for Borderlands Forum events.

Private Tours

Nonprofit Border Community Alliance is delighted to host private and/or customized group tours as well as borderlands immersion experiences and retreats as schedule allows.

Please feel free to contact us with your proposal at info@bordercommunityalliance.org or give us call at (520) 398-3229.