10 spots that capture the spirit of the American Southwest
Anyone who says the journey is the best part, not the destination, could have been talking about the American Southwest.
It has so much geographic, topographic and demographic diversity that you want to stop in almost every town, eat at every restaurant or sometimes just stop and admire the beautiful skies, the stunning mountains, the sturdy plants.
And then there are the people.
Latinos have lived there for over 425 years. Some can trace their heritage to the Spanish settlers who arrived in New Mexico before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Others are just putting down roots.
On my road trip to check in on Latinos during this election year, I wanted to see it all.
I couldn’t, of course. But through 3,000 miles across seven states in seven days, I found so much beauty that I frequently forgot my original mission. Here are some of my favorite spots.
Seven days. Seven states. Nearly 3,000 miles. Gustavo Arellano talks to Latinos across the Southwest about their hopes, fears and dreams in this election year.
Showing Places
Border Field State Park
Southern San Diego State historic park
The border wall begins here at the Pacific Ocean, cutting through the half-acre Friendship Park, which for decades was the site of binational gatherings. The park, which is part of Border Field State Park, has been closed since 2019 for what the federal government says is a border wall reconstruction project. Activists call it a deliberate attempt to dampen the communal atmosphere that had existed. Border Field State Park remains open, though it frequently shuts down because of pollution from the Tijuana River.
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The Little Frisco
Arizona Diner
This small cafe in the copper mining town of Clifton is a classic Mexican American diner in the Southwest serving country fried steak and hamburgers, tacos and huevos rancheros. In Arizona, burritos are traditionally called “burros.†What Southern Californians know as a wet burrito, Arizonans describe as an “enchilada-style†burrito. The table salsas are more relishy, hotter and taste fresher than just about anything you can find in SoCal, because of the cafe’s proximity to the region’s chile fields.
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The Grand Candela memorial at the southern edge of a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that was the site of a 2019 massacre that left 23 dead and 22 injured. Gustavo Arellano takes a roadtrip across the southwest. (Gustavo Arellano / Los Angeles Times)
(Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)
Grand Candela
Memorial
You’ll find the Grand Candela memorial on the southern edge of the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter in El Paso. In 2019, this Walmart was the site of the worst massacre targeting Latinos in modern U.S. history — 23 dead, 22 wounded. The memorial is a set of 30-foot-high gold-colored pockmarked cylinders with a giant plaque listing the names of the dead. By day, it looks like a group of 5G antenna towers. At night, it lights up in a beautiful display.
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(Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)
El Paso shooting victims memorial at Jim Crouch Park
Memorial
In August 2024, the city of El Paso unveiled a monument to the victims of the 2019 Walmart massacre in the southwestern corner of Jim Crouch Park — minutes away from where 23 were killed and 22 wounded. It’s a group of granite slabs meant to evoke a crown encircling another granite slab that reads,â€We Remember and Honor Them / Crowned with the love of our Ciudad Fronteriza.â€
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(Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)
Hatch Chile Sales
Mini Market
Hatch Chile Sales is a produce stand in the town of Hatch, famous for its namesake pepper — what we in Southern California might mistake as an Anaheim chile. (The Anaheim chile actually comes from New Mexico, but that’s another story.) The Atencio family grows the peppers and sells them nearly every day of the year in all sorts of forms: fresh, dried, powdered, pickled, preserved and more. From late August through about October — the harvest season — family members roast fresh peppers.
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The produce stand for Rosales produce in Escondida, New Mexico. Gustavo Arellano takes a roadtrip across the southwest.
(Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)
Rosales Produce
Farm Stand
Rosales Produce is a family-owned farm with a stand in the unincorporated community of Escondida. The Rosaleses grow and sell Lemitar chiles, a regional variety prized in New Mexico for a flavor that’s hotter than the more-famous Hatch chile originating two hours to the south. The family grows a variety of produce on 500 acres, with 60 of those acres devoted to chiles.
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(Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)
Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos Concilio Superior
Memorial
This is the headquarters of Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos — known as S.P.M.D.T.U., La Mutua or La Sociedad. The oldest Latino civil rights group in the U.S., it was founded in 1900 by “manitos†— residents of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado who can trace their heritage to Spanish settlers from the 16th and 17th centuries. The manitos formed a mutual aid society to combat discrimination and land grabs by whites. La Mutua recently reopened its headquarters, which will turn 100 next year and was recently refurbished with nearly $2 million in grants.
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(Gustavo Arellano/Los Angeles Times)
Atrevida Beer Co.
Craft Brewery
This brewery and tasting room is located at the corner of a strip mall with a stunning view of the Rockies. It’s owned by husband-and-wife team Jess and Rich Fierro, San Diego natives who settled in Colorado Springs. Jess makes beers with Latino flavors such as strawberries and cream, Mexican chocolate and tamarind. After Rich helped subdue the gunman in the 2022 Club Q massacre, the Fierros were thrust into the national spotlight.
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Lindo Michoacán
Restaurant and lounge
Lindo Michoacán is a chain of restaurants in Las Vegas known for delicious food — so delicious that President Biden visited in July 2024. It’s a huge spot — think El Torito with better food and drinks. At dinner with state Sen. Edgar Flores and former Clark County School District trustee Irene Cepeda — both alums of the Latino Youth Leadership Conference — we ate al pastor tacos, mole poblano and ceviche tostadas, washing them down with aguas frescas. Everything was delicious.
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(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Mitla Cafe
Restaurant and lounge
At 87 years old, Mitla Cafe is the oldest Mexican restaurant in the Inland Empire. Owners Michael Montaño and Steven Oquendo are the grandsons of the founders, who opened the restaurant on the old Route 66. Mitla has long been a gathering place in San Bernardino’s West Side barrio, for local civic groups and other fans of its delicious Cal-Mex cuisine. Glen Bell copied its freshly fried hard-shell tacos in a string of taco chains culminating in Taco Bell.
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