*The U.S.-Mexico border at sunset in 2018. Photo by Maritza L. Félix*

A human bridge of stories made into a podcast

Editor’s note: Click here for the Spanish version of this article.

Words by Maritza L. Félix, @maritzalfelix.

Most people think of the border as a dangerous place: the big wall separating Mexico and the United States; drugs, guns, human trafficking; and a constant battle between people trying to enter to the U.S. and those who want to keep them out.

Those of us who live here feel differently. Where others see shadows, we see light. To us, the border represents life, memories, and stories that were told to us and that we would like to tell — stories of a territory where two cultures intertwine despite the odds.

Now close your eyes for a moment and hear my words and my voice. Let me take you to the border that separates Arizona from Sonora, Mexico. If you have never been here, in this desert, imagine it. Summon everything that you know about it. What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it sound like? “Cruzando Líneas” (Crossing Lines), a new podcast from Conecta Arizona, will introduce you to the human bridges we have built while others insist on building walls. Get ready to discover a different perspective of a region where the wind knows no boundaries and families hug regardless of laws intended to keep them apart.

*Visit the “Cruzando Líneas” page to listen to the latest episodes. New episodes will be released every week.*

“Cruzando Líneas” is not just another podcast. It is an act of resilience, through which a group of independent, migrant, and Latino journalists tell stories about the good that happens along the U.S.-Mexico border. Our goal is to revolutionize the way people think about the border. Each one of us produced an episode en español, inspired by a memory, a person, a smell, a taste, or a social fight that represents our land, our communities, and our perspective of the border where we live.

For us, it is not only the story that matters, but also who tells it. Participating in this first season are Liliana López, Rubén Tapia, César Barrón and Jesús Ibarra, from Mexico; Valeria Fernández, from Uruguay; Julio Cisneros, from Guatemala; and Gustavo Guirado, from Argentina. Raised in Mexico and currently living in Arizona, I produced and host “Cruzando Líneas.” It is not just my passion project, it is a community dream come true.

(Top Left to Right) Liliana López, Jesús Ibarra, Daniel Robles, (Middle-Row Left to Right) Maritza L. Félix, Gustavo Guirado, César Barrón, (Bottom-Row Left to Right) Julio Cisneros, Rubén Tapia, Valeria Fernández

We are reporters from both sides of the border who want to change the narrative of our communities, in our language, with our accents and words.

Most of us had little or no experience in podcast production, but we know how to tell stories, and we wanted to challenge stereotypes and break silences, and explain to the world that there are many good things about the border that are worth memorializing. And we did it in Spanish, right in the middle of a pandemic.

The reporters and producers who work in Spanish on both sides of the border have helped colleagues from different parts of the world tell our stories. Oftentimes we are left thinking that we could have told them better, with a context that only locals have, with the complexity that daily life in this region has taught us. “Cruzando Líneas” became the platform to do it. For us, the border is not an exotic place to visit when there is a crisis. It is our home — by birth, adoption, or choice — and that is what we present, using our voices.

Sisters Dayami and Jimena Leyva with Randy Heiss when they met in Nogales, Sonora in December 2018. The story of how they came to know each other is told in the first episode of “Cruzando Líneas: El Globo.” Photo by César Barrón/Radio XENY

How it happened

In March 2020, when the global coronavirus health crisis began, border communities agonized. The U.S. federal government quickly imposed restrictions that severely limited non-essential travel between Mexico and the United States. My mom stayed in Mexico, while my family and I were on the other side of the wall.

That forced separation inspired Conecta Arizona, a news outlet that links people in two countries through text messages on WhatsApp, a radio show, live online and in-person events, and now the “Cruzando Líneas” podcast.

When I launched Conecta Arizona, I began to document what was happening on the border. I wanted to remember how we survived the Covid pandemic so I would be able to tell my kids the stories of the good that we found amid hardship.

The pandemic allowed us to rediscover the strength of the ties between Mexicans and Americans and the bridges that could be formed despite so much adversity. We flourished as the desert does: against all odds. And we flourished with this podcast.

*The twin cities on the border between Sonora, Mexico and Arizona, U.S. known as Ambos Nogales (Both Nogales) are the backdrop of some of the stories in the podcast series. Photo by Maritza L. Félix*

Where to listen

As part of Conecta Arizona’s innovative distribution system, “Cruzando Líneas” is available on WhatsApp, on the Conecta Arizona YouTube channel, at Cruzandolineas.com, on Simplecast, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and any other platform where you listen to podcasts.

In addition, our partners will feature episodes and additional material from the series. Partners include Radio Bilingüe, palabra by NAHJ, Feet in 2 Worlds (Fi2W), Conexión Migrante, La Onda 1190, Prensa Arizona, Enlace Latino NC, La Estrella de Tucson, La Esquina de Kentucky, Enfoque Latino, El Sol de Hermosillo, La Voz de la Frontera, La Tribuna de San Luis, and others.

The first season of “Cruzando Líneas” was made possible thanks to the support from the border narratives project of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Conecta Arizona, and a fellowship from The Carter Center.

We are also supported by Fi2W, The Listening Post Collective, NAHJ, JSK Stanford, and The Center for Community Media.

Maritza L. Félix es una galardonada periodista independiente, productora, y escritora en Arizona. Es la fundadora de Conecta Arizona, un servicio de noticias en español que conecta a las personas en Arizona y Sonora, México, principalmente a través de WhatsApp y las redes sociales. Es coproductora y copresentadora de Comadres al Aire. Es becaria senior del programa JSK Community Impact de Stanford, The Carter Center, EWA, Fi2W, Listening Post Collective, Poynter, y el programa de liderazgo e innovación en periodismo de CUNY.