Hey, folks.

We're coming here from Tijuana.

This episode of Crossing South, we have a very special treat for you.

We're going on a very interesting tour called Turista Libre, and it's headed by an American who brings them down here to Baja, Tijuana in particular, to get to see the Mexican experience.

So we hope you enjoy the show.

Stay with us, this is Crossing South.

(Crossing South theme music) How did you even come up with a tour on a Mexican, what is this, a calafia, or what is this?

>>This is a calafia.

This is a public bus that's usually used to get around the city, you know.

>>[Jorge] Uh huh.

>>It was an idea that I came up with after living in Tijuana for a year to kind of break down the stigma of what it is to experience Tijuana, you know.

It's a tourist trap, you know?

>>[Jorge] Right.

>>It has this terrible, bad reputation for being a tourist trap, and you know, I was living it like a local, and wanted to share that with other people who don't really know like a local, and so every element of this trip is meant to show people who don't live in Tijuana how to experience the city as if they have all their lives.

>>So for one year, you immersed yourself completely in TJ?

>>[Derrick] Yeah.

>>[Jorge] And now you use your experience to share it with others?

>>Exactly.

Coming for a place like Ohio, I grew up in Ohio, that idea of living on the border, and living in two countries, and using two languages on a daily basis was fascinating to me, like even before I got here.

>>That is fantastic, and you're not even Californian, then?

>>No.

>>You're from Ohio?

>>I'm corn bred.

>>Corn bred.

(laughs) >>Corn bred, corn fed.

You know I love it when people who have never come to Mexico before, they come and this is their first experience, you know?

They've never been to Mexico, they've never been to Latin America, they don't speak a word of Spanish, and obviously have never been to Tijuana, and they come and then instead of, because they're going to go home and tell people, oh I went to Tijuana, and people are going to say, oh my God.

>>Why on earth would you do that?

>>Why would you ever want to do something like that?

And the say, you know, like, well, I had a great time.

>>[Jorge] Right.

>>[Derrick] You know, so.

>>Well, folks, we're excited, and we're with the Turista Libre, so stay with us, and uh, let's see how this day turns out, all right?

Thank you, my friend.

Folks, this is a very unique and unorthodox tour.

It is very a-typical, and everyone aboard made a friendly atmosphere.

Now we're getting off the calafia, and we're gonna go into the Mercado Hidalgo, and it's a spice, vegetable, miscellaneous market, old school, old style market, so let's see how these folks interact with it, and let's see how we interact with it.

So come and join us, and see what we can find there, Mercado Hidalgo.

Okay, guys, although this tour welcomes all walks of life, people of all ages, all demographics, this is the prototype Turista Libre participants.

So what's your name?

>>Kristen.

>>Kristen.

>>Christina.

>>Christina, where are you from?

>>San Francisco.

>>San Francisco, and you are?

>>Andrew.

>>Andrew, from?

>>San Diego.

>>San Diego, and?

>>Aaron, from Encinitas >>From San Diego also.

>>Yeah, yeah.

>>Now the interesting part, I was listening to them talk, three of them speak perfect Spanish.

Can you guys tell me something in Spanish?

You're probably reading the subtitles that we're putting on right now, but let's get to know this place.

Thank you guys so much.

Let's have some fun.

You know, this is such a unique place to be visiting.

It could very well be a market in Pakistan, in Thailand, or India.

You know, I think most countries have a place that's the equivalent of this Mercado Hidalgo.

You have spices, vegetables, all different kinds of stuff, and I really want to know how to go about this place, and take full advantage of it.

What do you recommend that I do in this mercado?

>>Well, like Tijuana itself, at first it seems kind of overwhelming, right?

But once you get the hang of it, you know, it's hard not to fall in love.

>>Exactly.

>>There's about 80 vendors in total all together, and it's a mix of produce places, spices, cheeses, pinatas, some restaurants.

>>What stuff can Americans take back to the States that you can buy here?

Because I know vegetables, you can't cross.

>>Right.

Anything that didn't come off a tree or out of the ground usually is what, you know, but if it's a spice, spices and cheese are okay, as far as I know.

>>You won't have trouble in customs with that.

>>No, no, but I mean, you know.

>>Spices and cheese, that's good.

good enough.

>>I'm not gonna condone, you know, produce smuggling, but if it makes it across, it makes it across, you know?

(Jorge laughs) >>I'm not, disclaimer, can we put something over here?

Well, let's go get something to eat, all right?

Okay, so we're in a birrieria, the Rincon del Oso, the bear's corner, and birrieria basically is goat meat, but I ordered a gordita.

It says there gordita, which means a fatty.

Only seems appropriate.

He says it has cheese and butter, but I asked him to put some meat in it too, so we'll see how it looks.

Let's wait for it.

If you've never had handmade tortillas in Mexico, you are truly missing out.

This place smelled good, looked good, and by people's reactions, I assumed it also tasted great.

(guitar music) But I had to do my own research.

Okay, so they brought me this monster, which is the gordita.

I guess it's like a quesadilla.

You know, it's like a taco with cheese, but it's not a tortilla, it's thicker.

It's like the corn dough was thicker, and it's just a huge thing that I have no idea how I'm going to eat it, but I'll give it a try.

So first off, let's see if they have any salsa because you can't be in Mexico and not try things with salsa.

So, it looks like pasilla pepper, and then some onion.

Hopefully we'll be able to get a breath mint after this, but... (laughs) This is gigantic, okay.

Let's eat.

(growls) Okay.

So good.

It's really good.

Messy, good, messy, and I'm fighting with it.

We're in a battle right now.

(growls) I don't know who's biting who.

Take that, Taco Bell.

This is what you're supposed to do, all right?

It's falling apart, so we kind of folded it into this horrific mess of a thing, but it's going in.

It doesn't burn on the way in.

I'm gonna need a defibrillator.

(singing in Spanish) (cries) (singing in Spanish) All the things you can find here are very unique things to Mexico.

I mean, if it's not a wrapper candy kind of store, it's more things that are made in an artisan way.

These are milk Mexican candy.

There's not necessarily milk, a lot of fructose probably in these things.

Not the most healthy, but this is very typical Mexican candy.

How much is this?

>>Doce pesos.

>>Twelve pesos, so like a buck.

A buck.

A dollar.

You see it has some nuts in it, and it's very interesting, and this is as Mexican as it gets, folks.

(laughs) You know, on my iPad I have a little game called Angry Birds, you might have it.

(bird squawk) (laughs) >>It's pretty hardcore, too.

>>Yeah?

So they make basically what's ever in style at the moment.

>>[Derrick] Right.

>>They make pinatas all the way, right?

>>Yeah, one summer it's Toy Story, and then it's the Smurfs.

It revolves around whatever the movies are, you know, the kids movies that are coming out.

>>That's crazy.

>>Now it's Angry Birds.

I've never seen Angry Birds before.

>>And I can imagine they're not using autocad to like shape these things.

They're doing it a more rudimentary way, right?

>>Yeah.

(Jorge laughs) Thankfully.

At least for now.

>>Plagiarism, I guess, is slightly tolerated down here.

>>Just slightly.

>>Oh my goodness.

I just ran into a friend, and you're enjoying it here in Mexico, right?

>>Yup, love it here, lived here two years.

>>You see, folks, you just find them all over.

(laughs) What's in your bag?

What did you buy?

>>What's in my bag?

I bought ricotta cheese.

>>Ricotta cheese?

In a Mexican market?

>>Yeah, the cheese market over here has every kind of cheese you can imagine.

Goat cheese, every kind of cow cheese, they've got gorgonzola, and parmigiano reggiano.

You can have any cheese you want.

Some of them are made in the Valle de Guadalupe.

>>Really?

>>Yeah, local cheeses, organic local cheeses.

>>She knows more than me, folks, I had not idea.

>>This is an incredible market.

You can find almost anything here.

>>Okay, well following my fortuitous encounter with my friend and her advice, this is the place that she mentioned at the very end of this corner in this market.

All these different cheeses, Italian cheeses, and some of them with a Mexican touch, because this is a panela cheese, and it has chiltepin, which is a small, round, cylinder pepper.

Very spicy.

I've tasted that in Sonora, the next state adjacent to Baja.

Fresh cheese with habanero peppers in it, and then they have all the stuff that people know.

I like Dutch gouda.

I've never tasted Valle de Guadalupe gouda.

Gouda, rancho cortes, kind of like a Costco little try table.

Is this creamier?

Creamier stuff?

Oh, wow.

Mmmm, mmmm.

It's really good, it's really good.

Do you have some wine?

Vino?

(laughing) Just being a smart aleck.

Derrick, tell me about the history about this place.

I mean, how did this place even begin to exist?

>>So, it originally was downtown, right now we're in Zona Rio, but it was originally on first street in the '50's, and this is when there really weren't a lot of roads that connected Tijuana to the rest of Mexico.

>>Right, this was an isolated outpost.

>>Right.

>>Of Mexico, right?

>>Right.

So most of the produce that people ate, you know, that people consumed, came from the U.S., because back in the day, there weren't really so many regulations, so a lot of people's produce, most produce came from California or Arizona.

>>So, wait, are you saying Mercado Hidalgo began as a market to sell U.S.

produce?

>>U.S.

produce to Mexicans.

>>Wow.

(laughs) >>But now, over the years, that's turned around.

Of course, now the road system is more than efficient.

>>[Jorge] Right.

>>[Derrick] And now Americans... >>[Jorge] Friends can be sent with stuff from down south over here.

>>Exactly, and now Mexican Americans, and Americans come here to buy things they can't get in the U.S.

>>[Jorge] Interesting.

>>Or they can get cheaper here than in the U.S., and you know, the journey is the destination too.

There's more of an adventure of coming, you know.

It's just an excuse maybe to come.

>>Enjoy the ride.

>>Right?

>>Enjoy the ride.

>>Definitely, definitely.

>>Fantastic.

Well, Derrick, I know what this stuff is.

This is a molcajete, right?

>>Yup.

>>This is made out of, is it lava stone, or what?

>>I believe it is.

>>I don't know if you've seen these, folks, but can you get me one of those little?

>>[Derrick] These guys, right?

>>They use this to make the sauces in Mexico, the spicy salsas, you know.

They put the ingredients here, they just mash it, and this is what pre-Hispanic tribes in Mexico used to make their spices, their foods.

Have you ever tried a Mexican dish called mole?

I forget the amount of ingredients that has, but it's hundreds of ingredients, and they all mash them with this kind of stuff.

So if you want to try that at home, you can come into Mercado Hidalgo, and get one of these.

This is fascinating, this is fantastic.

You can make corn tortillas with these things.

So they put the corn dough, or the masa, and you mash it.

You put it on the fire, and you got your tortilla, so it's pretty cool stuff you have here.

>>I love these because they can't break.

These are my favorite mugs to use at home.

>>These are cowboy camping, right?

>>They are, but that's what I use at home, because you can't break them.

>>You know, they're bachelor proof, right?

>>They're bachelor proof.

(laughs) That's a good way to put it.

>>[Jorge] You have kids?

Okay, this is your cup forever.

>>[Derrick] Yeah, forever.

>>Until you're 18.

My daughter loves that game, so... Just throw it.

(Jorge laughs) It's crazy.

Remember my friend, el Xolo Mayor?

He's right here.

(laughs) This is called a matraca.

So they take them to soccer games, so if you wanna cheer on.

(cranking sound) I guess it's the Mexican equivalent of the vuvuzela.

If you know what that is, then you'll know what I'm talking about.

(funk music) What in the world did you guys get?

>>You like that?

It's a pinata.

>>What are you gonna do with this?

>>Fill it with candy.

You whack it with sticks.

>>You gotta beat the candy out of it?

>>Exactly, yeah.

See, you just fill it with candy, and then you hit it with sticks.

It's how it goes.

>>I decorate with pinatas, so... >>Yeah, I think they're great.

You can't beat it for $20.

>>[Jorge] It tastes really good with a glass of milk, but you don't have one right now.

That's like fudge, basically.

>>Yeah.

I love this stuff.

>>[Jorge] But four of those is guaranteed diabetes.

>>Can you feel the diabetes coming on?

(Jorge laughs) >>You should have been walking here with a big sombrero that you'll never use again.

>>I would have brought mine.

>>Except here.

>>We should keep it on the bus, just for anyone who wants to use it, right?

>>After we had all eaten, shopped, and simply got immersed in a very genuine Mexican experience, similar to the ones you can find down in southern Mexico, I could really see minds widening, and preconceptions shattering, certainly a sight to see.

However, the day was not over yet.

(electronic music) We're gonna go now to another place.

It's called Mundo Divertido, which like Derrick was saying, a nod to the Mall of America.

So we'll see how that goes.

Let's head over there.

Mundo Divertido is a shopping mall about a 15 minute drive from the U.S.

border, but we didn't come here to shop, we came here to have fun.

Inside this mall is an amusement park, and it has a very nice variety of rides, a good place to channel the inner child.

Okay folks, so we're at Mundo Divertido, or the Fun World here in Tijuana.

It's like a family fun center, and it has a very nifty things that are similar to those of a fair, rides, arcades, all that good stuff.

So let's go see what we can find, and we're gonna take a ride with the whole group on the pirate ship.

So come follow us along.

(carefree music) Oh boy.

(laughing) (screams) (clapping) Bravo.

Okay, the pirate ship was fun.

Now for the only looping roller coaster in TJ.

(tracks clattering) Well, at least this roller coast seems safer than the last one we did.

(screaming) I wanna thank Turista Libre for putting me through this, now again.

Oh my goodness.

I can't do these.

(screaming) Oh my.

(laughing) Oh my!

Oh, oh my!

Oh my goodness.

Get me off of this thing, now.

(laughing) (clapping) Wooo!

So we wanted now to downshift to a less aggressive ride.

Well, this is the lower level, you could say roller coaster.

It's made for kids, but we'll see what kind of G forces the kids are exposed to.

So, oh my goodness.

This is pretty high.

(laughs) So, it's a safety inspection, I think.

I'm nervous.

It's called the crazy mouse.

Now I know why.

It's because of the abrupt turns.

That may be it.

Oh boy.

Woah.

I know why it's called the crazy mouse.

(screaming) (laughing) Okay, so that last part was like being punched in the gut.

So, I don't think we'll be going on the crazy mouse any time soon.

Let's keep exploring this place.

I now moved on to something where I could control the speed and the direction of the ride.

(carefree music) (engine running) Pardon me, would you have any gray poupon?

That was fun.

Okay, so we're talking to one of our cotravelers here on the Turista Libre tour, and the reason I chose him right now is because you brought your daughter.

What's your name, my friend?

>>Jason, Jason Quinn.

It's good to meet you.

>>Jason, and your name?

>>Maddy.

>>Maddy.

Jason and Maddy from the States.

>>Rancho Bernardo.

>>Okay, Caifornia, near San Diego.

So tell me guys, what do you think about this tour, Turista Libre?

>>We love Turista Libre.

We love Mexico.

For me, it's almost like a video game, an old role playing game where I have adventures and I build skills whenever I have a conversation in Spanish with a merchant, that's a win for me.

>>You get a point, hey?

>>And I feel like I'm pushing things, yes.

>>And what do you think, Maddy, about Mexico?

>>I just love it down here.

It's like kind of like a second home country.

>>Really?

Like a second home country.

(laughs) Well, Maddy, it's very nice to meet you.

Thank you very much for talking to us, and Jason as well.

>>Thanks again.

>>We hope you continue enjoying the tour as we will.

Stay with us, folks.

So we caught up with the Turista Libre crowd, and found that they had assimilated perfectly to their environment.

Yeah, definitely did.

(uplifting music) We finally moved, as a group, to one last ride.

It proved to be a ride to remember.

Well there's another one of those crazy rides that NASA has exported to theme parks, and it'll do nothing but spin us around, (laughs) but folks from Turista Libre seem pretty psyched about it, so let's go for it.

(screaming) (laughing) (screaming) That maniacal dude is just like going to town with us.

(laughs) He's like, one's gotta throw up.

Is it over?

Not quite.

It's not over (laughs).

It's never over.

We lasted like 10 or 15 minutes on that ride.

I think he wanted someone to throw up.

(laughs) There's a point he literally walked away from the controls.

I thought he was going to go to the restroom or something.

>>Wooo.

>>Ah, just leave them spinning there.

How long did we last up there?

>>Like 20 minutes.

>>Wasn't it?

(laughing) (gentle guitar music) Okay, if this thing snaps, I die.

Well we hope you enjoyed the visit to Mundo Divertido.

We sure did, and we hope you guys enjoyed the show.

Stay with us, and come back, and cross out with us again.

Bye bye, folks.

You know, Turista Libre is something that should be available in all the cities of the world.

There is nothing like experiencing a town like locals do.

We had a blast with these guys, and hope to do it again.

We hope to see you again next time, the next time we cross south.

(rock music) >>[Announcer] Like to know more about the places you've just seen?

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