The Lure of Border Retail

One of the biggest draws for people from both sides of the border crossing into the other country is shopping and the chance to buy things that they can't get in their own country or things that are difficult to get in their own country. Generally, what people from the U.S. buy when they visit Mexico is very different from what people from Mexico buy when they visit the United States.

When Americans cross into Mexico, they are generally looking to buy the work of Mexican artisans. They look for pieces that reflect the crafts that Mexicans near the border are known for, like their leather or silver or weaving. They look for things that are decidedly Mexican, like the Mexican plates at left.

Two people who I work with, when they found out I go down to Mexico rather frequently, asked me to pick up a few things for them. One person asked me to pick up some 14-karat-gold hoop earrings because they are cheaper in Mexico than they are in the United States. Another co-worker asked me to get him some woven leather sandals called "huaraches" that you can't find in the U.S.

On the other hand, Mexican tourists are less likely to buy from local American artisans as they are to hit the major department stores and malls looking for brands that they can't find at home. Or, like gold can be a lot cheaper in Mexico than in it is the U.S., clothes on clearance can be a lot cheaper than clothing in Mexico, with the added bonus of getting name-brand, trendy clothing.

At the department store I work at, a lot of people from Mexico come up with shopping lists of clothing and shoes that they buy for themselves and friends and family back home. However, instead of buying gold hoops and huaraches, they are buying jeans and t-shirts. It is also people from Mexico that are more likely to ask me if we carry Lacoste or Levi's or some other well-known international brand.

Even the set ups of shopping in both places is different. In the United States, we have large, enclosed shopping malls anchored by large department stores and lined with individual stores, that are usually outlets for major brands or are smaller boutiques, like Tucson Mall (at left). Prices are non-negotiable since they are usually set by a corporation with transactions carefully tracked.

In border towns in Mexico, however, most transactions take place on the street, where a vendor has laid out their wares for people to see. Sometimes there are "centro commercials," or shopping centers, but even then, they are usually long corridors and alleys of open-front hole-in-the-wall places, not much different than the people sitting on the ground. Bargaining is a common sight when shopping Mexico, since so many of the vendors are independent, set their own prices, and don't track their transactions.

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Photos courtesy of http://www.radissontucson.com/summaryspanish.cfm, http://www.gamineral.org/tucson_bks.html, and http://www.joyridedaytours.com/cruz_the_valley.htm

Mexican Music on the Radio

Another sign of the influence of Mexican culture in America is through radio stations. Cable carriers generally carry the same television channels across the country, so everyone gets Univision and Telemundo, among others; however, there is a little more freedom with radio stations, which can change from one mile to the next.

Twelve Spanish-language radio stations broadcast in Southern Arizona, and that number is growing, according to ontheradio.net. The high number of Spanish-language stations in the region is indicative of the fact that it is close to the border, and people who travel across the border are tuning into stations that they can understand--much like Americans trying to find a station that plays their favorite music or talk radio shows when they travel across the country.

Spanish-language radio stations have even started taking over the radio signals of local radio. A few years ago, the Phoenix radio station The Edge, which had the signals 100.3 and 106.3, was bought out by a Spanish-language media company. The English-language Edge moved to a new signal on 103.9, but its two old signals became Spanish-language stations.

With the rise in Spanish radio has come a rise in the popularity of Spanish musicians, and they are not just attracting Spanish-speaking crowds. Huge numbers of people attend shows by performers such as Shakira, who sings in both English and Spanish, and Juanes, who only sings in Spanish. The language barriers have not hindered them, however, as people who don't even speak Spanish show up to the shows.

According to an article in AdWeek, despite the large number of Spanish-language radio stations in Southern Arizona, the signals do not transfer across the border into Mexico because the mountains and hills along the border interrupt the signal. In border cities like El Paso and San Diego, radio stations are able to broadcast from those cities and reach an audience in the areas on the opposite side of the border because they are surrounded by flat lands. As a result, the radio stations can make more money, with more stations reaching a larger audience and more advertisers trying to reach that audience.

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Information for this post was taken from http://www.ontheradio.net/metro/Tucson_AZ.aspx and http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003547252