Imperfect Paradise: Trading in the American Dream for the Mexican Dream

Norco 80

LAist Studios

True Crime

4.2 • 887 Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For decades, there’s been a persistent story about Mexican immigrants crossing the border for a better life in the United States. But there’s a new trend emerging: Mexicans and Mexican Americans, disillusioned with American politics, moving to Mexico for a more fulfilling life. In the second episode of a three-part collaboration with Latino USA, Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido and Latino USA’s Maria Hinojosa sit down with a Mexican American creative who moved to Mexico, as well as a Mexico City native, to discuss the “Mexican Dream.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Jacob Margolis. I'd like you to stop what you're doing and ask yourself, where is my emergency kit?
0:05.9	If you don't have a good answer, then I highly recommend visiting preppy.com slash LAist for a free emergency kit with any purchase over $100.
0:15.7	That's preppy, P-R-E-P-P-I dot com slash LAist.
0:20.9	Support comes from Siklavia, catalyzing and celebrating car-free streets.
0:25.1	As pop-up parks for the day, sick-L-L-Via Sundays are free and open to all.
0:29.3	Details at C-I-C-L-A-V-I-A.org.
0:34.1	For decades now, there's been this persisting narrative from Mexican immigrants and even family members
0:40.0	that every opportunity for higher education, jobs, a better life, those things could only be found in the United States and not in Mexico.
0:49.5	My whole life I grew up, Mexico doesn't have any opportunities.
0:52.7	Mexico doesn't set you up to be successful. In Mexico, blah, blah, blah. But I grew up. Mexico doesn't have any opportunities. Mexico doesn't set you up to be successful.
0:55.3	And Mexico, blah, blah, blah. But I've noticed that that's been changing. People who have lived in the
1:02.0	United States for much of their lives are now talking about moving back to Mexico. And that's a big
1:07.5	shift from even 10 or 15 years ago. And oh my God, was I wrong?
1:12.8	I finished high school here.
1:14.5	I went to university here.
1:16.1	I got great jobs, great paying jobs.
1:18.9	I purchased a home last year.
1:21.5	I'm able to travel internationally.
1:23.1	I'm able to have a good life here.
1:25.5	That's from a TikTok video of a user named Annie Manzanaris.
1:29.2	Oh, I'm Annie, by the way.
1:30.5	She's talking about her family, how they moved back to Mexico a few years ago, after her
	...

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