On a hillside at Morley Avenue and Court Street in Nogales, Arizona,… perched high above the dome of the  1904 Historic Santa Cruz County Courthouse, Lady Justice watches over the populace. Recently, during repairs to the statue and dome, it was discovered that this Lady Justice is special—unlike many other Justiciasthroughout the world, she is not wearing a blindfold!

The historic courthouse—which housed detainees who marched from their jail cell up a stairway to the courtroom to learn their fate—is just one stop on our Renaissance of Nogales tour which highlights the city’s arts revival and fascinating border-town history. 

We designed this tour in response to a Santa Cruz Valley National HeritageArea Grant. One of our goals was to dispel the negative and often inaccurate narratives about the borderlands. Instead, we highlight its great natural beauty, dynamic cross border cultures, pivotal U.S. history, and critical economic importance. It’s a place of pride.

“Until I took this tour, I never knew or understood the complex cross-border history and cultures of a border town like Nogales. I love it here and cannot wait to come back,” said one attendee.

Other topics in our two-year Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Tours & Forumsprogram included a lecture on the history of the foods, diets, and ceremonial and sacred plants of the Santa Cruz Valley with ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan; tours of Barrio Viejo, Mission Garden, San Xavier Mission del Bac, San Xavier Co-op Farm, Tucson’s murals, Borderlands Restoration Network, ranches and vineyards in Sonoita/Elgin, and many others. 

At BCA, we work to connect cross-border communities through education, cultural exchange and social investment.

Photo: 1904 Historic SCC Courthouse

Six Tucson restaurants including one that has been open just over a year landed on Yelp’s 2025 Top 100 Places to Eat in America, a list that Tucson vegan Mexican restaurant Tumerico topped last year.

Tucson’s Baja Cafe at 7002 E. Broadway and 2970 N. Campbell Ave. was the first Tucson restaurant on the 2025 list, coming in at No. 34. Buendia Breakfast & Lunch Cafe, 2530 N. First Ave., landed at No. 38, followed by Tito & Pep, 4122 E. Speedway, at 56; Penelope Pizza, 800 N. Kolb Road, at 65; and The Parish, 6453 N. Oracle Road, at 69.

The big surprise on the list was Tucson’s innovative, upscale La Frida Mexican Grill & Seafood, which has only been open since December 2023, located at 7230 E. 22nd St.

La Frida broke the Top 50 at No. 41, likely driven by Yelp reviews that praised its unique twists on classic Mexican specialties including Aguachile de Ribeye, a dish normally centered on shrimp.

“A lot of the things we come up with is from our chef Saul Diaz, who’s from Mexico,” General Manager Jesus Arana said, describing a recent Diaz creation — cheese ceviche with cucumber, green tomato and onions — that was hit with diners.

Arana’s mother, Claudia Vindiola, opened La Frida, which draws inspiration from her family’s restaurant in her native Magdalena, Mexico, and from dishes she has experienced throughout Mexico. The molé Magdelena, a complex sauce that employs 37 ingredients, takes its cues from Oaxaca while seafood dishes are inspired by meals Vindiola had in Baja California.

Diaz plates every dish with precision and an emphasis on beauty, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by diners posting Yelp reviews.

“We try to put a lot of new innovative twists in our food as far as presentation and stepping out of the box,” said Arana, giving a lot of the menu’s credit to Chef Diaz, who he said “is the hands and my mom is the brains.”

La Frida’s marked its one-year anniversary by recently expanding, growing from 48 seats to 84 after knocking down a wall in the dining room. But Arana said there are still wait times.

“Sometimes people wait 45 minutes to three hours, and they don’t leave,” he said.

The six Tucson restaurants on this year’s Yelp list is two more than we had last year. Baja Cafe was No. 50 last year and Buendia was 39.