Alyda Muela

TORNILLO - Sonic Ranch is a working farm on 1,700 acres in this small town hugging the Rio Grande and Texas-Mexico border some 40 miles east of El Paso. There’s open desert on all four sides, broken up by rows and rows of pecan orchards.Sonic Ranch’s true commodity is the prized music that has emerged from its quiet, no-pressure recording studios. The ranch's nearby homes have enough rooms to accommodate artists. The pool, basketball court, and well-stocked kitchen add to the capacity and create...

EL PASO, TX– Andrea Garcia, 18, and her mom gave each other a knowing glance when the car passed them on a busy street. Had they observed it for even a split-second less, they would not have deciphered that the inconspicuous car was fronted by ICE agents.“We shouldn't have come out today,” Garcia tells her mother. Giggles fill the air; the laughter breaks an uncomfortable silence cast by the passing vehicle. A bit of joy replaces nervousness.For Garcia, the comic relief has become routine: See a...

El Paso, Texas – Along the U.S.-Mexico border, menudo is more than a soup. The hearty red-chile tripe stew is a familiar Sunday staple, one that carries with it  family traditions, local flavor, and a deep sense of place.

Across most of Mexico, menudo usually comes with a warm stack of corn tortillas. But in El Paso and other border towns, one detail sets it apart from the rest of Mexico: el bolillo. This toasted, buttery bread is a small but telling sign of how families make the dish their own...

Nestled in the West Texas desert, surrounded by a pecan orchard and the quiet sounds of nature, is Sonic Ranch – the world’s largest residential recording studio. As technology changes the way music is made and shared, Sonic Ranch stands out by focusing on real human creativity. 
The rise of artificial intelligence has changed how songs are written, produced and heard. According to Forbes, “generative AI models are now creating songs indistinguishable from human compositions.” Recent advances in...

The economic effects are undermining executive confidence and potential job growth in both countries. Long-term planning has become nearly impossible, according to business leaders and expertsA growing wave of uncertainty is freezing investment plans in Mexico, the United States’ largest trading partner, rattling domestic and foreign business leaders alike. Investors are weighing President Donald Trump’s decision to impose on August 1 — as the the plan stands — tariffs on Mexican-made cars, stee...

Catholic parishioners rushed to deliver food boxes to immigrants too terrified to leave their homes in the California city of Coachella after federal immigration agents swept through Latino neighborhoods during the summer.Just south of Arizona’s border in Nogales, Mexico, Catholic nuns, laypeople and volunteers at the Kino Border Initiative, despite rising threats against aid workers, cook and serve two meals daily for immigrants who have been deported or lost their chances at US asylum in Donal...