In Ciudad Juárez, Pati joins in with a group of Pachuco dancers, who are passionately preserving this distinctive Prohibition-era culture’s traditions. Together they head to the iconic Kentucky Bar, rumored to be the birthplace of the margarita. Later, she savors an icon of Juárez’s food scene, the burrito, at Burritos El Compa where the Olivares are keeping their family legacy alive.

For the indigenous Rarámuri people, long-distance running through Chihuahua’s majestic Copper Canyon is a way of life. Pati meets the Moreno brothers, who are famous for winning ultramarathons. In Huetosachi, community leader María Monarca teaches Pati about the art of cooking with corn in Rarámuri cuisine, from nixtamalization to a traditional dish known as “chacales.”

In Chihuahua’s capital, Chihuahua City, Pati meets the first member of the Rarámuri people to become a world-famous pianist, Romeyno Gutiérrez, who teaches her the basics of Rarámuri music before taking her to his favorite barbacoa spot. Pati’s also invited into the home of Chef Ana Rosa Beltrán del Río to cook a few ancient Chihuahuan recipes and learn the art of drying chiles.

Pati journeys to Casas Grandes to experience the preserved foods, or “conservas,” that sustained people during the Mexican Revolution. She meets a family that has lived for generations at Hacienda de San Diego, Mexico’s “White House” for a day after the battle of Casas Grandes, including Diana Acosta and her mother, Sara Ramírez, who still preserves food the way they did during the war.

Pati saddles up for an exhilarating ride into the heart of Chihuahua’s ranch and rodeo life. She gets a lesson in roping and riding from rodeo champion Ricardo “Bubba” Nevárez and his friends, then is invited to a post practice carne asada. She also meets Chihuahua’s most influential cattle rancher, Álvaro Bustillos, at his Rancho El Arroyo, where the ranch cook serves up some cowboy delicacies.

In Casas Grandes, Pati rides in style with local art curator Mayte Luján in her 1960s Cadillac. Mayte owns a bed and breakfast, Las Guacamayas, where she invites Pati into the kitchen to make chile con queso in impossibly soft flour tortillas. Later, Pati learns about another tasty export from Chihuahua, pecans, at Gustavo Vázquez’s farm, where his family has been growing them for generations.

Pati visits Mata Ortiz, a village known for its exquisite pottery, and learns its history from local potter Tavo Silveira, who is known worldwide and even made a piece for the pope. Then Pati gets her hands dirty with talented duo Laura Bugarini and Héctor Gallegos, who teach her the basics of Mata Ortiz pottery. Turns out, Tavo can also cook and makes an asado de puerco feast in the town square.

Pati explores the culture of mysterious Mennonites, a religious community who came to Chihuahua from Germany. Mostly, she’s after what they’re best known for around Mexico, their cheese! She sees their traditional cheese-making process at Pampas Cheese Factory, the holder of the Guinness World Record for largest Mennonite cheese. Then she tries another local culinary innovation, Mennonite pizza.

In one of Chihuahua’s most remote areas, Guachochi, Pati shares a traditional Rarámuri meal with community leaders Alejandro Hernández and Margarita González, who advocate for land rights, political representation, and cultural preservation. At Kokoyome, a sustainable ranch in the Sinforosa Canyon, she learns about organic farming practices in the region.