Latest / The Lawtino™ / Cross-Border Power: Trade, Policy, and Opportunity in the San Diego–Tijuana Region

Transcript

Cross-Border Power: Trade, Policy, and Opportunity in the San Diego–Tijuana Region · The Lawtino™

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Latino Podcast, where we amplify the voices of Latino professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders coming together to educate, inspire, and connect across one of the most dynamic binational regions in the world.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Bicultural, premium, powerful.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, it's Sean Gomez.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to this episode of the La Tino, where we discuss the intersection between law and our Latino communities.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_03: We talk to lawyers, judges, elected officials, uh, community leaders, thought leaders, and especially those uh like our guests today that commit themselves to the betterment and development of our binational community and culture, you know, which we think that is super important and we're really proud to be part of.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_03: Today's episode, as always, is brought to you by uh your sponsor, Goldman's Trial Attorneys.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: Goldman's Trial Attorneys is a national consumer rights law firm.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, we practice in the areas of personal injury, employment law, mass torts, civil rights, and class actions.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, we pride ourselves on being um bi-national, bicultural, and best in class.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_03: And that is, you know, just like our guests we'll talk about today, we have um presence and we hope impact on both sides of our border.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we offer the very highest um legal representation in both the English and Spanish language with a cultural sensitivity.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_03: Um, David, uh, as you guys know, originally was a guest on this uh podcast, now is in-house running our um Mexico, California border uh region and practice, really involved in outreach to uh people like our guest today.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um he, like her, grew up in Tijuana and you know, now is one seamless community, you know, two communities and and groups of leaders working together.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_03: So, Davi, why don't you do the honor of introducing our desks, our guests, and we'll get going today.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, of course, and thank you, John, and thank you, Kenya, for being here.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_04: Like John said, uh Kenya and I, we share that background of uh being raised in Pijuana, which actually shapes your uh vision for this region.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and like her, I'm very passionate about cross-border work.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, but of course, I know she's got to be more knowledgeable about anything that has to do with policy, commerce, uh, and that's what we want to learn.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_04: Uh so without further ado, uh, here's Kanye.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: Hi, thanks for having me.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_03: Super excited to have you.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: So, what we like to do, um, you know, tell us who you are, kind of where you grew up, what your educational development has been, and what led you to this place.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, so I was born in LA, but that's it.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: Immediately exported to Tijuana.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so I've lived in Tijuana my whole life, went to school there all the way to university, and uh I did sort of my like working part of my life in San Diego, like your average outlet employee.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: Which one?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_04: Which one I did outlet work.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, like it it like it was flexible enough to work and go to school and get a car, and like without crossing the car over, you could just run across.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you know, like later on, it was just finding an opportunity for me to insert myself in like the office world, and we were talking about this.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: The universe just threw me into aquaculture first.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: It was the uh Icelandic firm that was here in San Diego and owned aquaculture like tuna farms in uh Croatia and one in Baja that was Baja Aqua Farms.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: They later went public and you know left San Diego, but then uh I that's how I then transitioned to my sport fishing life.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: And we talked about this.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: This is like the universe just showing you where to go.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I found a way to immerse myself in the industry, loved it, even though I got seasick.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, it's family-owned, like it really has that core San Diego and kind of like family values, and it's an industry that, you know, like gets passed over from generation to generation, a huge revenue for San Diego.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that we're members of the Chamber of Commerce.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: So whenever we had something, you know, to bring to be brought up to immigration authorities to promote tourism, you know, like we we like attracting tourism to this binational region and having the boats go down to Mexican waters, even though they departed from a San Diego port.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: Some of them went all the way down to Cabo or beyond or La Mazatlan.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's how I started working on this like policy-related, but tourism uh focused uh career.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, before I knew it, you know, I was joining the Chamber of Commerce on their trips to Mexico City and to like really elevate those industry-specific priorities, but cross-border priorities.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, there was an opportunity somewhere along the line to join the chamber, and it's been almost nine years.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_02: So it's been a very fruitful experience.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I've been growing from just managing binational affairs to like sound and after and public affairs.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: So also we're seeing a team of amazing experts that focus on local, county, state um issues, all of it to elevate San Diego and our binational community as a Calibaja region.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_03: Amazing.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_03: Do you like fish?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_03: Do you like to eat fish?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: I love fish.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: I that is the one thing I miss is that access to the fresh fish.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: Fresh fish.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: Oh man.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: And just going and walking around the docks like spare some tuna.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, wow.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_03: See, I'm I'm older than you.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_03: Like she is about maybe your age or whatever.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_03: You guys are young.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_03: When I grew up in San Diego, you know, we had one of the largest commercial tuna fleets in the world, I think.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so they would all be out here um in Point Loma, and you had the Portuguese guys, I think, from Point Loma, and you had like, yeah, right?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_03: Probably some of them are still in sports fishing, right?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and it was it was huge.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_03: You would go out there and and there would be boat after boat after boat after boat.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_03: What I think happened was um, you know, in those long lines, they would get like porpoise and stuff caught up, I think, and that was not consistent with our environmental stuff here, and so it kind of forced that industry, you know, to leave San Diego, to my understanding.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: And the other thing is really is that if you forget that we know we share an ocean, so there are international laws that dictate how much one either sport fishing or recreational fishing or commercial fishing can fish from a specific species.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, we're having conversations the US is having conversations with like Japan.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, how much can we fish for that particular species?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_02: And that organism is or like the organization is what dictates your limits.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_03: I see.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: Both for recreational and commercial.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: So it's not, you know, once you think about like the the top consumers for tuna, for example, that's Japan.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: I see.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: So you you can we can do our best here in California and in San Diego to keep the school, the schools like the species healthy, but you depend on the other countries doing their part too.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: For sure.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and it seemed like uh at the Sports Fishing Association, you were very involved with the permitting, right?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_04: From what I was reading.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_04: So that that's how you got involved with the whole binational relationships.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: So again, I guess uh it's promoting San Diego.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: The way the same way we do when we, you know, like promote San Diego.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: You can come here and make it a two-nation vacation, you stay here a few days, and then you can either grow cross through CBX and go um south of the border, well, like to Mexico City or other countries, or just take a car or walk across and explore the valley and what Tijuana has to offer.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the same with the boats, you know, some most of the owners of all those boats that you see on the port, they're really coming from Texas or Arizona.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: And then so we want them to continue to come here.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes, depending on the season, you know, there may be more opportunities to catch fish uh if those boats go into Mexican waters.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: So that is what the permanent comes in, you know, talking with immigration and with ecotourism authorities down there with fisheries, um, and having to help uh tourists navigate what they need and also the companies.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_04: What's the popular spot?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_04: Is that Islas Coronado down in Maha?
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_04: It depends.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_04: It's the closest one, right?
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's the closest one, yes.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_03: But you don't know your fishing spots if you come if you come up with that, she's like, yeah, no, not really.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_03: Just like your sound knowledge of all bond fishing.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: It also depends on like how much time you have to spare.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you could go all of the way down to Cabo and that takes three days just to get there on a belt, but then that's an opportunity to get like a hundred, two hundred pounds.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, wrong.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_03: People like going down there.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_03: I have a question.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_03: So you said that you know, you will as far as I understood, kind of, you know, recruit or promote, you know, folks to come here to San Diego as kind of their launching spot, and then maybe go south, you know, to Mexico or further down into Latin America.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, like so I had an experience recently.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know if you've been dealing with this.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_03: I went down to uh Tijuana for stem cell treatment.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_03: I have I was a medical tourist, so I was down there for like a week, and the company had all these people fly in from all over the world, and we all stayed or I didn't stay there, but the rest of them stayed at the harbor, and then they bring us across in a medical have have you like dealt with that?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of that happening.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: Medical tourism is huge for Tijuana or Baja.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think at one point we measured like up to 300 people crossing the border just for medical tourism, and that doesn't just include like you as yourself, like you can take your pet, yeah, it's a lot cheaper.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, it's out of pocket.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_03: My parents have taken the vet down vet and dentist.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_04: I think we spoke about this with Boaquin when he says, like, I want to do well enough that I can take my my pet to the vet in San Diego.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_03: But so like there's a lot of that cross-cultural or cross-border traffic for medical needs.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I mean you have uh health providers like Excel or CIMSA, you know, CIMSA has been really the leader and opening that world for the cross-border employer uh to be able to provide that service for people that like me live in Tijuana or that are more comfortable seeking that treatment in Tijuana and also looking at the availability of the service, right?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like trying to schedule a doctor's appointment here may take you a few weeks, months if it's a specialist.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: When in Mexico, you're very used to getting that almost you, you know, you can almost text your your physician right there and you know come in the next day or the night the next couple of days.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: And so, like in terms of your work um uh with um you know what you're doing now, the the what do they call it?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_04: The the San Diego Chamber.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_03: The chamber, yeah, yeah.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_03: And so have you what do you see in terms of the growth of the importance of this bi-national, you know, Baja Um California region?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: Finally embedded in people's brains, and not on everyone, I should say.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, even as a student trying to, you know, start a career right after graduating uh from university in Tijuana, you know, like coming in here and knocking on doors was really hard.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: And just getting that interview or someone to pick up the phone for someone that his whole like school background or education background was in Tijuana is was a lot harder than it is right now.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you see more and more recognition of the school system or certain universities, or how easy it is for certain careers, especially when they're like marketing, administration, et cetera, to be cross-border really.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um and um at the chamber really was Jerry Sanders that brought in that, you know, it's a Cali Baja region, you know, let's elevate that concept.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, he just retired last year, but that is something that it's still part of the legacy and that continues to be uh the recent or the focus for the chamber is understanding that whatever happens in San Diego, like it happens in Tijuana, and we much rather, for example, see companies come and set in Tijuana or in Baja because it'll be an economic, organic economic spillover, and we can benefit from that.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: So, yes, it's in our best interest to help Tijuana develop and you know, like in in and serve as that ally and a partner for them and then promoting investment because we can benefit from that and the other way around.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_02: And we have been able to create those communication channels across, you know, different business organizations.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we were talking about the Smart Border Coalition, for example, that members of the chamber and uh four years ago I want to say we signed a binational NOU with like the Tourism Authority, ourselves, the Sendio EDC, the South County EDC, the Smart World Coalition, and our counterparts in Tijuana.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, in order for us to, you know, set on a binational agenda and what our priorities are, and also understanding the specific role that each of our organizations play in making this region like a great place to live and work.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so by doing that, you know, not looking at us as competing organizations, but how we complement each other.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and for example, if there's a delegation that comes in, you know, like, you know what, EDCs, this is your territory.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: Go ahead, like, let's, you know, we can come in and I can talk about policy and how we make sure that San Diego is a business-friendly environment.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: And you can come in and talk about why San Diego.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: And you guys in Tijuana can come in, like, why Tijuana is a great place to invest.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: What are, you know, available industrial parks?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: What does Tijuana have to offer?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: And then explaining how our business community and community in general have leveraged those complementing resources on both sides of the border to make this region work.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, Exhibit One, San Diego and Baja together are the largest medical device cluster in the world.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: And yes, we have more RD on this side and we have more assembly and manufacturing on the other side, but together we made that work.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we have CBX.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know, obviously we have our major international airports.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: We know that San Diego's airport is a little limited because of the ocean and where it's located.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but Tijuana's airport was right there next to a bunch of land that can continue to work, and it was right next to the border.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: So we made that work through CBX so that we can connect both airports and then by doing so attract more tourists to the region.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the San Diego Tourism Authority and the Tijuana Tourism Authority Cotuco also had, I think this is a few years ago, like 2018, they they won this um international campaign on the two nation vacation uh promotion that they did back then, just by showing how they both could tackle the same market together instead of competing against each other.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: So again, the the definition of the border changes when we stop thinking about us being divided by the border rather than united by the border.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: And that's how we want to continue to push forward.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_04: I love the uh binational collaboration and efforts.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_04: But I'm gonna go back a little bit.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_04: So I know you said that when you got here, you were knocking on doors, uh trying to get a job.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it seems like you ended up where you're supposed to be, right?
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_04: Uh some of our prior guests, they've called the binational background as almost a superpower, right?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_04: Based on the knowledge that you have, the experiences that you have.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_04: Would you say that your position now and how you got there, it's also because of your unique background?
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and again, I think there's more of an acceptance of this being a skill.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, obviously, I, you know, when I came in over knocking on some doors, I thought, well, everyone's like me.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how many people have dual citizenship and can do make this work or have, you know, an understanding of both languages and both cultures?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: But that wasn't really understood as a a skill or a resource.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: And now more and more you see that it's almost a requirement.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: You'll see it on a position like being posted in a strongly preferred, um, or even actually requiring you to understand how to navigate.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: Because one thing is also, and this is funny because one of the reasons why I got that first um position at the sport footing association is they had someone that spoke Spanish, but the person, it was like a second language.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: And there were nuances between the Spanish that the person knew and what the knowledge, the cultural knowledge that I had of just, you know, going with my boss, like, you drink that beer.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_02: You will not bring money uh like uh or numbers up on this first conversation.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: You will have a beer, enjoy it, and then I'll follow up and ask that secretary for what we need.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, make the connection first over a few three.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, yes, the US is more straightforward, formal in the letter.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: A B C this is what we need, what we're asking for you, and that's how things work.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_02: But in Mexico is relationship-based.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: So a lot of it was, you know, you know, I was very also fortunate to have um a really great boss to believe than everything that I was proposing back then.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: Kim Frankie, he's still the Sports Fishing Association president.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: He's like, Well, what would you propose?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: How can we make this happen with Mexico?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know what?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: I'm doing my thesis, and the best thing that comes out of this brain right now is doing fam trips.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go to them, let's help them promote tourism in Mexico.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: And by doing that, it works for them that we're providing everything.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: We'll uh broadcast a radio show from like key ports.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: We went to Cabo, Ensenada, and Mazatlan, and we did Mazatlan because the Secretary of Fisheries was said there that we'll invite him on the show.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: He'll love this because as Americans coming and promoting tourism, we're bringing a boat with us.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: We brought the chief of police or the harbor police to make sure that he also met with the chief of police down there and it was all safe for tourists.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and after that, like that's how we started developing that relationship and trust for them, let them letting them know like we want to do business with you.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_02: We're just not this big business um from the US that comes one wants to do things our own way.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like, let's reach an agreement here and the requirements that you're asking for, so it's feasible for these boats to come here.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what ended up happening.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it took us a couple of years, and I think we were able to change a small piece of legislation that I was very proud of that allowed basically for all of that processing to be online.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_03: Oh wow, that's super smart the way you did that.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_04: I love that effort.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_04: Do you see the Latino doing some promotion down in Vallea?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna lie, it was very fun.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_03: I'm thinking, you know, like when she was speaking about, you know, the things that she's done, like, or hey, you know, don't talk numbers, have a beard, kick it first, go down there, meet, you know, um the the police chief.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_03: And so I was thinking, um, you know, there's a lot of businesses like ours that are interested in exactly that, you know, building these relationships with communities or um bot leaders or consumers down in Baja and south of the border.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but you know, I was thinking that uh probably there's gonna be this growing need for like consultants or people that you know work with these companies to do this sort of thing.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: You know, are there more and more of those people with your background that are basically now running companies to help other companies across the world?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's more and more.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: There's a need for it.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um I'm not sure about how much I can share about this, but UCSD is and the Institute of the Americas is looking at, you know, like funding a new leadership course that is precisely focused on the Kalibaha region.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: So how can we um create?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna call it Richard Kai, the president of his Institute of the Americas.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_02: He's like, women, more Kenya's.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: So we need a a program that, you know, like provides the background and the understanding, uh, a power mapping of the stakeholders, uh the local, state, federal level, or even community-based, so that the new generation of uh whether it's consultants or actually like attorneys, accountants, like lobbyists, etc., or just business people that are coming in in the next generations, have that embedded in their minds so that that can allow them to make more like to be more informed as they make decisions and business plans and have a better understanding of the binational region.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_03: We have uh, you know, at our firm, we have a lot of our intakes people that that work remotely in Tijuana.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_03: We have a lot of our employees that will cross um to come up here and work.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, I've always been very interested in the concept of having uh committed marketing people down there.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I feel like they're really smart and hardworking, very creative.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like, how much are you seeing American-based companies more and more kind of use talent from the other side of the border?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: I think we see it actually on both ends, like on the Mexican side, we see more people with exposure to the American culture and understanding as they seek, you know, partners or suppliers, or to insert themselves on a cross-border supply chain.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_02: And then more and more on this side to your point, not only on the binational region, meaning Mexico, but just you know, we have a huge Filipino community here in San Diego as well.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_02: So, like having more of an understanding of um how that language and cultural understanding becomes a resource through your employees for any firm.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think it's uh most certainly in the future.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it definitely is.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_04: And then, like you were saying, you know, based on on your background, like we we hear at the firm as well.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_04: I know we spoke about the you know, the people living down there and coming here to our office.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_04: But I Thing it also has to do with the language, like you said.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_04: Like Spanish should all be almost be a requirement in San Diego, right?
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_04: Most of the people you're talking to day to day, they speak Spanish.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, but also the bicultural side that you were talking about, the fact that you're supposed to have a beer before you actually close a deal, right?
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: But a little more flexible in time with Mexicans deal.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_04: No, it uh uh and no, I know you mentioned the Institute of the Americas.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_04: I was very curious about it because I met uh Richard last week at the forum that Kenya invited me.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_04: Uh I like these forums because another great one for this.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, exactly.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_04: Because I mean, what they're doing and what you're doing with that forum, for example, uh a little summary of what happened is you have Mexican politicians coming to the US to inform the US government of what about what's going on in Tijuana on the economic side.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_04: So it was fun to see that a lot of these people were actually looking at Kenya for like advice sometime or just for like leadership out during that conversation.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_04: So I think what you guys are doing on like bringing and bridging those people together, it's it's a great thing.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and that's the first of the series.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_02: What we are ambitioning for this year is to have, you know, we had the Secretary of Tijuana's Economic Development, um, Pedro Montejo, for that first one.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: We want to do the same with Ensenada, Tecate, and potentially Mexicali, if we can fit it all this year to really, you know, represent the Calibaja region.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_02: So more to come on that.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but we do also try to not just welcome them and host them at the chamber.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_02: We did a tour of the Calibaja region last year, too.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we went to visit both uh mayors or elected officials, businesses that have operations on both sides, um, and um just business representatives at each of these cities as well.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: And we learned a lot.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm sure we've talked about tariffs with other uh guests, but that is top of mind last year, this year as well.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, something that we learned, for example, on that tour that we did is that, you know, we visited a company that had one million worth of equipment that or finished product, and this is steel and aluminum for um car wash companies uh here in California.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so it was stuck there because of tariffs.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_02: That means that that company is losing space and production because they're holding on to that.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: And then the company here is not expanded.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_02: So, like their plans was to open several locations last year, hire more people, continue to invest in the community, and all of that is like on hold.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: And we learned that from multiple companies that we visited.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: So um, on that end, you know, the chamber's been very proactive, practically um loud on uh USMCA and the importance of that.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: We were supporters the first time around.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: It's shocking that it's the way it is this time around.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but elevating those specific anecdotes, you know, protecting the company by not saying their names, but at least showing that, you know, there's a business case of why uh tariffs are not paid by countries, but by the consumer and by companies.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: And we we plan to do the same on our upcoming trip to DC.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: We we do delegation trips to Mexico City, DC, and Sacramento.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: We just went to Sacramento a couple of weeks ago.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: We're going to DC in April, and then Mexico City again in October, that which will be our 20th annual.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's a mix of between 80 to 170 people, you know, mixed-up elected officials, um, community representatives, uh, business owners from San Diego, from Baja, that, you know, our point is just to elevate our regional priorities, make our case, the business case, and you know, work with officials at the state and federal level, um, you know, not confronting them, but just making sure that they make informed decisions and that they know how we're being impacted here in San Diego.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_03: I have um I have two case studies that I want to ask you about.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_03: Because, okay, so I grew up in San Diego, um, and back then I would go down to Baja or to I would go to TJ to go to clubs, I would go down to Baja to surf, maybe play golf.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_03: I never heard of Valle or or wine or anything like that.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_03: So that's one case study.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_03: So that's it, I feel like that's new in terms of its attractiveness to people here.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_03: And I wonder how that's influencing, you know, the border.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: It was a cat like a maybe a good kept secret.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I yeah I knew always I knew.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I think I was like 18 the first year I went.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's been growing for sure.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, as anything that is growing as its challenges.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, Baye has an amazing uh list of culinary experiences and like wine tasting or Hosbert writing and some uh machine like staycation places that you can uh go and experience for yourself, couple families.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: And uh with that, you know, there's additional stress on the resources available.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: So you'll hear a bun a lot about whether there's enough water at the valle.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that's something that the state wants to work on on the on the Mexican side, and they're looking at other resources or whether there's a diesel plan or you know, um pumping water that's been treated from Tijuana to the valleys and whatnot.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: So all of this continues to be a conversation.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then on the wine producers side of things and the locals, you know, there is a call to delimit what is too much.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: So um lately, I think the conversation is on that, like the ability of the valle to sustain large events or like major concerts, and what that means in terms of like the parking and where the people staying and the lights and all that.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um and you know, like if we want towers built for hotels, which is not the case.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so hopefully we can keep and retain that magic that is still there um and continue to visit in a very respectful way while enjoying a glass of wine.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: I like it.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, here's my other case study.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_03: Ready?
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay SDFC.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_03: So now we have a major league soccer team here, a complex that now the recruiting base includes uh Mex Baja, they get the kids from there, they'll they'll schedule a match against Solos.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_03: They just went down and and played in Mexico City.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what do we see in terms of the cross?
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: No, I mean we love it.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_02: I went to the friendly match, devastated because obviously you had to root for the cholos.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but it was amazing.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, even when the cholos first came around, I think Tijuana was in desperate need for some certain sense of like the identity.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Tijuana is also a city of like national immigration destination, I would say.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: There's a ton of people that are not born in Tijuana.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_02: So you would see that they're already rooting for whoever they rooted back home.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but once we got the Cholos, it was like now we have a sense of like belonging, yeah, and an identity.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: And obviously, you know, there's like the Dolos and the Sankeys, but soccer is embedded in like Mexican culture.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_04: We had we had uh Chivas Tijuana at one point when it was like a third division league, so people were not really, you know, feeling a sense of belonging with a team.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_04: Cholos comes out, and then you know, after a couple of years, they win the championship, and that just creates uh euphoria between the you know people of Tijuana, and now people are united on the Tijuana side.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and now of course now we have C UFC amazing season, and I think for us here that have sort of like one foot on each side, like this is perfect.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I was still happy because someone in the region won.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_02: So there was no way to lose that friendly match, all right.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but it it just gives you like another opportunity to share within the community.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, you'll see a lot of people from Tijuana that are here supporting Sandy UFC and the other way around.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_03: I I was reading um about Chuki.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, you know, so he's uh he's you know, uh with the team and the contract, you know, maybe things are so good.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_03: But they said he he and his family moved up here, they really like it, and so he's not in a rush to go anywhere.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_03: So he just kind of is on the side, you know, dribbling a little bit.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_03: Because apparently they moved up here, they really like it.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that's you blame.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_03: No, you can't blame him, right?
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, but you know, we have you know Canelo up here a lot, we have a lot of you know Mexican presence here and a lot of you know United States presence there, like it's all coming.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and those are really the two like soccer and box, boxing matches.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_04: They won't for Mexicans, and then we also like I recently learned, like, I kept seeing this guy on at the gym, and I think it's the uh one of the band members from Reik.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_04: Uh I kept thinking he's from Mexicali.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_04: He's from Mexicali, and I kept seeing him have the at the gym in Mission Valley.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_04: It seems like he is in La Jolla now.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_04: He just opened a restaurant, uh, and they're trying to promote and bring people to like that you know Mexican like seafood experience.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_04: Looks like a great spot.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_04: I should definitely stop by.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_04: But again, people stay here because it's so nice, right?
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's just become more and more seamless, and I think it will, you know, continue to um be more accessible.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_03: What are the big obstacles, you know, in terms of making that happen, you know, fluidly and efficiently today?
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh from the chambers perspective, the first thing that comes to mind is affordability.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that we see it on both sides.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the the lack of affordable housing in San Diego is bringing more and more San Diegans to look at Tijuana.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_02: And then what's that good?
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_02: Is that good for yeah?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say like what happens is like, yes, I mean, and I include myself in that even though I um I grew up in Tijuana because I have a US income.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_02: So, yes, I have a better chance of getting like being in a nicer place or closer to the border than Mexican income family.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_02: So we are pushing them south or east towards the cate.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_02: And then that's creating another trend because you know, there's a more of a demand of staying close to the border.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_02: So you're seeing the towers like condos, and that is new to Tijuana.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, I don't know, like growing up, there was nothing.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_04: Like where the I mean, that's where there were only two towers.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, but that's a hotel.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's different.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_04: There's a hotel.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and now there's more among condos being built, and they certainly have their eyes on the US income families, or at least the higher end.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so again, just pushing Mexican income families to the outskirts that creates you know a different need in terms of the grid, water, public transportation and infrastructure.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_02: So it's changing.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not saying it's good or bad, or just something that is changing.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: I mean Tijuana's looking, looking, looking more and more as a city than perhaps before.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then the the other part is on the affordability for the business side, you know, like we want to keep it affordable for investors and companies to do business here in San Diego.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_02: So we're looking at streamlining permits, um finding the balance between overregulation, sustainability, and other factors so that we can again not do that at the extent that we lose employers.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_02: So that that would be you know one thing like affordability, workforce, and employers.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we talked about it earlier, which is the borderweight times.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um those are those right now, horrible.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_02: I it took me two hours to get to work today.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_02: It was an hour century, yeah, because of the rain, because of the cops had not gotten to the century lane to keep others from cutting in.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_02: So that is not always the case.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's usually 15 minutes.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but between that and the freeway, you know, like your average worker that lives in Tijuana is powering through the mornings.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, so be nice to them.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but then that aside, you know, on the business side again from the chambers perspective, you know, people that are late to work because of that, that's costing the employer.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe I I my shipments were delayed because I didn't have enough personnel.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe you had to pay over time for the other worker before the replacement came in.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, for cargo, you know, there's it's an older estimate from CNDAR, but it's estimated that about$2 billion are lost in economic output for this Kalibaha region every year because of border wait times.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_02: And this is before COVID, so it must be wars.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, on the other, on the flip side, there's another study from the Atlantic Council that says that for every 10 minutes that we could save from uh border wait times, you know, this other, I don't know, it's like 60,000 jobs that would be created or supported.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and how many other towns of trucks could cross the border along the US Mexico border that is, that will contribute to the economic engine, that is integrated supply chains.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so there's a business case for that.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, we we are still waiting on the new land port of entry in LTA.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_02: We're very excited.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, Mexico's basically done.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_02: I got the opportunity to tour it myself.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then so we're happy that the US side is now moving forward and can wait to do that.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_02: And in the meantime, you know, working to secure that or ensure that we have the funding and the personnel to fully staff it once it's done.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_02: And and hopefully that can leverage the region can leverage that additional port of entry to, you know, give the community members more opportunities and businesses more opportunities, and we don't see that much of a wait anymore.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that is the one thing, you know, including what I mentioned through that MOU with other business organizations, and we all come together and supporting funding, expediting the processes and just making sure that the port of entry gets filled and then fully staffed and fully operational as soon as possible.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_03: For sure.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think uh, you know, again, other guests have discussed the the border crossing and the impact and how it affects the economy locally.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_04: Um, I think I also heard like at last week's forum at the chamber, uh, you mentioned the USMCA, right?
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_04: And I don't know how much you maybe at one point latte now with a terrorists, maybe that's an issue.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we we like USMCA, but it does we're what we're seeing right now is not what should happen once you have an active uh free trade agreement.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_04: And I think uh you basically the the the purpose of that conversation was on uh I believe tariffs.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_04: I heard from one company that I believe uh had to laid off 6,000 people down in Tijuana, and that was because of the tariffs, and that was one company, right?
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_04: Uh that I guess case study came up at the uh conversation.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_04: Uh how much are you guys seeing that that these tariffs are affecting the uh Tijuana businesses?
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh a lot.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, what we heard on that conversation was from the city of Tijuana, right?
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: So he was sharing, you know, the number of some companies that are also looking at or actually already leaving the region because they came here for the strategic geographic location because of free trade.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_02: And free trade, the free trade agreement gives companies predictability.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: They know how to plan for the budgets, and and it's reliable.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: And now that everything has been up in the air for the last year or so, um last year it was just the uncertainty was the buzzword, and it's we can do business in a state like this.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we need predictability, we need to get rid of tariffs.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's been so long that the shift nowadays has been just let me know how much it's gonna be.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_02: So at least I can plan for it.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_02: But not knowing again the uncertainty is what's hurting businesses the most.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_02: So what we're hearing actually on both sides, again, not just Tijuana, but also in San Diego.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_02: So it's important for our economy too, is companies are not giving promotions because you need to hold on through that money.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe they're not expanding.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mentioned the case of the car wash company.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, maybe this is not the region, so they're contemplating leaving, you know, and this is just adding up, right?
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's already expensive to business in California or the US, and the strategic geographic location is not no longer working that well, and then we have the the delays at the border, and so it adds up.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's when they're considering like, is Calibaja the place?
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_02: Am I should I redistribute my resources and go elsewhere?
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_03: So, what do you tell them?
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_03: That's hang in there, things uh things change all the time.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, well, the thing is like it's been a year.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: I know it feels like more, but it's been one year.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, one year.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so again, we're going to DC when and we of course we're dealing with a totally different Trump administration than before.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: So even our way to do things has been changing.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but we do believe that making the business case and talking numbers, and that's what we're asking.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_02: Like, if you don't want me to share your company name, your name, et cetera, at least tell me how you're being impacted.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_02: Because that's what we can elevate.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_02: Then we can talk about industry specifics, you know, like steel and aluminum and lumber at the time.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_02: All of that is impacting also housing.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_02: So not only impacting businesses, also impacting the cost of living across the US.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_02: So things like that we were able to start picking up, and that is what we want to elevate when we come back go back to DC this year.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_02: When we went last year, you know, it had been like two or three months.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_02: So a lot of those people were no longer there, uh, or are no longer there right now.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so we hope to have more productive conversations this time around and continue to push and work closely with our congressional legation who has been fantastic, great leaders for San Diego.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but again, we can only elevate what we know and as much research as we can do.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_02: There's nothing more than hearing from the community members and from business owners about how we can help and how we can elevate their voice.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_03: Do you have um colleagues along the like Arizona-Texas border that are dealing with the same things?
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so the chambers part of the Border Trade Alliance.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I serve as vice chair for the second year this year.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that is a business, I mean, the a business organization, nationwide organization, that focuses just on protecting and promoting trade within North America.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're SNCA, top of mind.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so there's members along the US-Mexico border, um, the other big uh group of members being from Texas.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_02: So we hear from their portal venture, which was the the busiest commercial port, and of course, their reality is different because they have bridges.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but we, you know, we to the point that we even have a WhatsApp group.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, are you seeing this today?
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_02: Is your um, you know, are your supply chains for your portal venture being impacted?
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when they heard what's happening on the with the drone and the air space, was it last week?
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_02: It was right there.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, what this is what we're hearing, this is what we impacted.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_02: This is not what's happening, this is just things that are like rumors or not.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_02: When there's portal entry closures, when there's an initiative that works, then let each other know.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um for example, this is a few years ago now.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but during COVID, um we saw two things.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_02: One is that the US and Mexico never sat together to think about what was essential.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_02: So we had to rediscover that here uh regionally and talk to our local and state uh electeds about how much our supply chains were interconnected, and so we could reopen the ones that are maybe were not essential on one side, but they were essential on the US side and whatnot.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_02: So that that was something that we learned that got replicated across the border.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_02: And the other thing is that um we had a um cross-border vaccination program for US companies whose employers were in Tijuana.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_02: And so if you recall, US had an excess, the US had San Diego had an excess of vaccines that were about to expire, Mexico had not enough.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_02: So we were able to make it happen in a way that the employers, employees didn't cross the border, they got vaccinated at the border by um US, I think it was from the county and UC Health uh nurses and healthcare uh workers that were able to facilitate all of that with uh the excess that we had, right?
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_02: But it was helping the cross-border community in a way that we had an access, make it work, and also understanding that these US companies had, you know, under their care employees in Mexico.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_02: And because that was so successful, I think we vaccinated like, well, we the region, like 26,000 people.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then that got replicated in Texas once they saw that it worked here.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_03: Good job.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_02: So we we tried to do that and be in communication.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_02: And when there's something major, such as you know, support for USMCA and whatnot, then we also reach out to partners at the US chamber um to make sure that there's you know uh uh no duplicative efforts and then coalition uh efforts that are much more stronger when they see much, much stronger when they see, you know, chambers, local chambers and greater area chambers from all the states versus just tiny chambers from the corner of the country.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_03: Now, if you um were to give advice, say like our company, you know, we're here at the border, you know, we want to serve the consumers of you know the entire region, you know.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_03: Um so what and and I'm sure there's all kinds of industries like that.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_03: You know, so what is your what would your best advice be to the leaders of, you know, I'm a a person, I have a business, I feel like my business serves consumers on both sides of the border.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_03: I want to get the the crossers, I want to get, you know, the families down there.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_03: What what is your best advice for how to do that?
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, well, it starts with having at least a notion of this as being this being a binational community.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, with my marketing background, I'll tell you to understand your market first and know who from the like who is your demographic.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but from the chambers point of view, and I again I'm not selling membership, but like.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like looking at whether it's business organizations, community-based organizations, or even events that you can involve yourself in, whether it's as a sponsor or being, you know, a keynote, on a conversation that's important to your business or to your market, or the where you can come in as an expert, but having that connection with community members with your market.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_02: So whether with, you know, through, you know, there's forums that you can partner with, whether it's like chambers or universities.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and it's it's just all about a connection.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: I have no other way to explain it.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like if in my market is more working class families, like where are they?
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_02: Which this community like community districts are they?
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_02: And how can I make myself available to them?
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_02: Am I providing a workshop in two languages?
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_02: Am I uh, you know, supporting this other foundation that's already uh working to benefit those families or that specific area in the community?
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um so again, I'm thinking as a marketing professional, um, but it's about understanding what your community is.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, San Diego Calibaja is like my greater community, but within that, where are you represented?
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_02: And how can you engage and and be part of that community so that there's a sense of belonging to your brand?
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_03: Love it.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_04: I love that, but two uh two languages, two cultures.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, we have that we have the firm, again, we are bi-national and bicultural, and we we say this from the heart because it's actually people from both sides of the border representing people here.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, and I love the whole marketing thing because, as you know, John, he's a good big branding, big marketing guy.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, and we've been good at marketing our community, but now you know we want to expand further.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, one of the reasons why we have all this background is to be able to assess these people that grew up in Tijuana or that cross the border every single day.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, me as a uh Tijuana uh native, uh coming to San Diego every day, I would see like billboards of maybe other attorneys from other areas from other uh cities that don't understand the culture.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_04: Uh so now, you know, from the marketing perspective, like you said, like study your market, study your community.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_04: We want to make sure that we target those people so that they come to a firm that has, you know, great, great track record.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_04: Uh so I hate to pick your brain on the marketing because it seems like you're pretty good at that, right?
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_04: Especially at that level.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_02: It's like I know I do policy, but my my my background is fully in marketing.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_02: So right now I just see that policy as my product.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_03: I like it.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_03: So, what advice would you give to say I'm a young professional growing up in Tijuana or growing up here, but I want to make a name for myself in your space.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what's what's important?
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_02: Start with um being strategic with your internships.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_02: That's something that I did not do.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_02: I honestly like I'm I mentioned I was working, so like my sole purpose was financial making your money.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_02: So I just found the first place that I could just go with minimum effort, kind of like just do this for me and I'll like find another job later, right?
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then when it came to opening those doors or knocking on those doors, you know, if I knew now then what I know now, I could have, you know, looked for a an internship uh opportunity in San Diego if I I already knew that I wanted to cross the border for work, right?
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: So that could have been an experience that could have opened that first door.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I do give back to that community and I I did my best.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_02: I usually have we all usually have entrants at the office, but uh for the for a solid like five years I kept grabbing from like CETI's or what is like just giving a chance to those students.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um and even when they finish at the chambers, like don't let that be the only thing.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like you still have time.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_02: You you don't know how much time you have when you're just a student.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like, find another internship, look at what you really like.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_02: Did you come here?
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_02: You didn't like it?
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, this, you know what, this is not the only thing.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_02: Go work for uh the city or the elected official.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_02: Look at the government side of things.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, are you more of a grassroots?
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_02: I want to be embedded in the community, look for a nonprofit, something that calls your name.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and for me, I learned that again, I was going through marketing school.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_02: I always thought I was gonna work at an ad agency or like Proctor and Gamble or something big like that.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_02: And it turned out that it took someone from um my office at the aquaculture firm.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_02: He was looking, he was helping me on my resume.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_02: He goes, You spent almost eight years of your life volunteering through Rotary.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's always been like international affairs, like you were doing PR and you're doing that for your club and for your district.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_02: And I think at the time I had like PR for Mexico, um, and it's volunteer work, right?
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_02: I was doing this on the weekends and like later at night, and that's when he said, like, you should add that to your resume because you're doing that for free.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_02: And that was the first time I thought, like, maybe I don't go to an ad agency, even though I ended up in sport fishing for three more years.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the universe still found a way to make that like national, international.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_02: And then I just said, like, this is my calling.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_02: But pay attention to that, you know, like those are the things that you learn when you're in school and volunteering.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I think uh this is a good place to pause.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, I want to thank you for spending your time with us.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for your insights, thank you for your leadership in the region.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the work that you do matters to a lot of businesses and employees and our economy and our shared culture and community.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you for the work that you're doing.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_03: Keep doing a great job for us.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_03: Get those wait times down, yeah, get those tariffs down.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_02: We're doing our best, but again, I'll do that shameless plug.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_02: But please reach out to me, reach out to the chamber.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_02: We're here for the community.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and we just want to make sure that we elevate every single story, understanding that most of our businesses are small businesses, and they also have a voice, you know, they're the backbone for the economy.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_02: They're 98% of San Diego businesses.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_03: When you say uh reach out to the chamber, how do how do they find you?
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_03: How do they find the chamber?
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, well, A, we're walking distance from here, but it's um our opposite's on um here in downtown or sorry, website.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like thinking in Spanish for what you've said.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_02: SBCamber.org.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_02: You click on team and you'll find all of our pretty pictures and a way to connect with each of us.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um and we'll do our best again to elevate that story, that need and those priorities.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_02: You can look at all of our policy priorities there as well, anything from affordability to you know mitigating transboundary pollution.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_02: Another big one we didn't get to touch, but a huge one for the chamber for this region.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, you can trust on us not letting go of each of those.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_03: Very good.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thanks for your work.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for your time.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for being here.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, David, as always.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you both for having me.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, of course.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_03: It is a treat.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_03: Nice to get to know you.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_03: Now we know you're right up the street, too, so we can have lunch.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and you can we can invite you to things, you can invite us to things, you know.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_03: We can uh do I we want to do all the things that you just said we should do.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_03: So we want to be out there and be active and connect.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so this uh concludes this episode of the Latino podcast.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_03: If you like what you heard, you know, please share, um, like, follow, you know, and and get the word out and help us um continue to build this amazing, dynamic, incredible community that we have, and we're so proud to be a part of.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_03: So thanks again.
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_03: Again, Gomez Trial Attorneys, bi national, bicultural, and best in class.