For the second episode of Alt.Latino's regional Mexican music series, hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras interview the rising family band Yahritza y Su Esencia in its hometown of Yakima, Washington. The two discover that the U.S.-Mexico border looms large in this regional Mexican moment, especially for Yahritza y Su Esencia — not strictly because of the music's obvious Mexican roots, but also the ways in which the border can create an "us" and "them" dynamic. The band's struggles with musical and personal identity also reflect the real struggles that millions of US-born folks with Mexican heritage face. And what started as a musical journey for Ana and Felix, has now become a personal journey.

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler, with production support from Janice Llamoca, Shelby Hawkins, Suraya Mohamed and Natalia Fidelholtz. The editor for this episode is Jacob Ganz and our project manager is Grace Chung. Hazel Cills is the podcast editor and digital editor for Alt.Latino. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy