In the parched desert south of Tucson is an unexpected, startling sight – a gleaming white church with two sturdy towers that is considered the finest example of Spanish colonial architecture in the United States. It’s the Roman Catholic San Xavier del Bac Mission. Continue reading “Mission Splendor”
Month: October 2017
Managing the Border
A border is not just a border. It’s a place of interaction of two peoples, dissimilar, maybe hostile to one another. It involves a barrier of some kind, but also a degree of negotiation, diplomacy, conciliation. That’s what Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Ruben Padillo found when he was stationed at the El Paso-Juarez checkpoint separating the U.S. and Mexico. Unexpectedly, he became the first Border Patrol liaison with the city that was called the “murder capital of the world,” and his contact was a Mexican police commander with known ties to the infamous drug cartels. It was a challenge. Continue reading “Managing the Border”