A Day in the Life of Ambos Nogales

By Mark Flores in Nogales, Sonora 

The international line that separates present day Ambos Nogales (Nogales, AZ/Nogales, Sonora) was drawn in 1853, after the signing of the Gadsden Purchase (El tratado de la mesilla, as it is known in Mexico). The line came almost three decades before the community began to sprout up.

More than 163 years later, as many as 320,000 people live in Ambos Nogales. The increasingly militarized border that divides Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, has a daily impact on the lives of those on both sides, but the communities are also very connected in terms of their economy and culture. And, as Mark Flores shows us, folks on both sides are hopeful that life along this part of the 110th meridian will improve.