Couple weeks back i made my first trip into Detroit, SW Detroit to be precise. Ever since I got to Michigan last August I couldn't help but draw parallels between the two border states that I have called my home. Of course bordering Canada and Mexico are extremely different but the cities on the southern borders felt very similar...Driving through seemingly empty/abandoned areas of Detroit felt eerily similar to Juarez even though I didn't know it at the time. Juarez was just like that at the height of the recent drug war. Whole blocks and guarded parking lots. Only thing missing was the Mexican Military on corners or converted trucks as caravans for soldiers.
Of course further providing familiarity, I was in SW Detroit aka Mexicantown. Stopped to eat and parked at funeral home. I've done that many times in Juarez. More than that there was an energy of the people in SWD that reminded me Juarez. Spent the afternoon in Clarke park with the Raiz Up talking about Gentrification. I coulda been in Parque Borunda, especially after hitting up a panaderia for churros, roca, and empanadas. No mas faltavan los Borunda Dogs...SW to SW, Rio Bravo to Great Lakes