a cook's tour of mexico

• Rent or buy
• Categories Categories
• Getting Started

Anthony Bourdain A Cook's Tour

• Store Filled Season 1
• Store Filled Season 2
• Episode number
• Newest episodes
• Available to watch

Customers also watched

661 global ratings

How are ratings calculated? Toggle Expand Toggle Expand

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

• Cast & crew

Puebla, Where the Cooks Are From

• Episode aired Feb 12, 2002

Puebla, Mexico - According to Tony, the best line cooks in N.Y.C. come from Mexico, so he travels to the Puebla, and enjoys mole sauces, toasted ant eggs, fried worms, and the legendary pulq... Read all Puebla, Mexico - According to Tony, the best line cooks in N.Y.C. come from Mexico, so he travels to the Puebla, and enjoys mole sauces, toasted ant eggs, fried worms, and the legendary pulque (a slightly hallucinogenic drink made from cactus sap). Puebla, Mexico - According to Tony, the best line cooks in N.Y.C. come from Mexico, so he travels to the Puebla, and enjoys mole sauces, toasted ant eggs, fried worms, and the legendary pulque (a slightly hallucinogenic drink made from cactus sap).

• Matthew Barbato
• Anthony Bourdain
• Martin Vallejo

• Self - Host
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews

• February 12, 2002 (United States)
• Puebla, Mexico
• Food Network
• New York Times Television
• Zero Point Zero Production Inc.
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 22 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

Anthony Bourdain A Cook's Tour

The #1 food writer and television presenter in the world, Anthony Bourdain reinvented the food travel genre. In his groundbreaking first series, Bourdain travels around the world indulging his taste for local cuisine and eccentric characters.

Anthony Bourdain's: A Cook's Tour - Season 1

S1E1 - A Taste of Tokyo

S1E2 - Dining With Geishas

S1E3 - Cobra Heart-Food That Makes You Manly

S1E4 - Eating on the Mekong

S1E5 - Wild Delicacies

S1E6 - Eating on the Edge of Nowhere

S1E7 - Cod Crazy

S1E8 - San Sebastian: A Food Lover's Town

S1E9 - Childhood Flavors

S1E10 - Stuffed like a Pig

S1E11 - A Desert Feast

S1E12 - Traditional Tastes

S1E13 - The Cook Who Came in From the Cold

S1E14 - So Much Vodka, So Little Time

S1E15 - Tamales and Iguana, Oaxacan Style

S1E16 - Puebla, Where the Good Cooks Are From

S1E17 - Los Angeles, My Own Heart of Darkness

S1E18 - The French Laundry Experience

S1E19 - My Hometown Favorites

S1E20 - My Life as a Cook

S1E21 - Highland Grub

S1E22 - A Pleasing Palate

Anthony bourdain's: a cook's tour - season 2.

S2E1 - Food Tastes Better with Sand Between Your Toes

S2E2 - No Beads, No Babes, No Bourbon Street

S2E3 - A Mystical World

S2E4 - How to Be a Carioca

S2E5 - Elements of a Great Bar

S2E6 - The Struggle for the Soul of America

S2E7 - The BBQ Triangle

S2E8 - Mad Tony: The Food Warrior

S2E9 - Down Under: The Wild West of Cooking

S2E10 - Singapore: New York in Twenty Years

S2E11 - Lets Get Lost

S2E12 - My Friend Linh

S2E13 - Thailand: One Night in Bangkok

This site uses cookies to allow access to content. Please review our privacy policy before viewing content on this site. You may also decline cookies , with reduced functionality.

✖️ You have declined cookies, which means you cannot log in, or use other personalized features of this site. Review our privacy policy .

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Abigail Link to Abigail
• Civil War Link to Civil War
• Arcadian Link to Arcadian

New TV Tonight

• The Jinx: Season 2
• Knuckles: Season 1
• THEM: The Scare: Season 2
• Velma: Season 2
• The Big Door Prize: Season 2
• Secrets of the Octopus: Season 1
• Dead Boy Detectives: Season 1
• Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story: Season 1
• We're Here: Season 4

Most Popular TV on RT

• Fallout: Season 1
• Baby Reindeer: Season 1
• The Sympathizer: Season 1
• Ripley: Season 1
• Shōgun: Season 1
• 3 Body Problem: Season 1
• Under the Bridge: Season 1
• Sugar: Season 1
• A Gentleman in Moscow: Season 1
• Parasyte: The Grey: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• Under the Bridge Link to Under the Bridge
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

All Guy Ritchie Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

All A24 Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

Best Moments From The Migration Movie

• Trending on RT
• Video Game TV Ranked
• Most Anticipated Movies
• Play Movie Trivia
• MGM: 100 Years, 100 Essential Movies

A Cook's Tour

Where to watch.

Buy A Cook's Tour on Prime Video.

Cast & Crew

Anthony Bourdain

Maurizio Trombini

Christopher Collins

Lydia Tenaglia

Matthew Barbato

Internet Archive Audio

• This Just In
• Grateful Dead
• Old Time Radio
• 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
• Audio Books & Poetry
• Computers, Technology and Science
• Music, Arts & Culture
• News & Public Affairs
• Spirituality & Religion
• Radio News Archive

• Flickr Commons
• Occupy Wall Street Flickr
• NASA Images
• Solar System Collection
• Ames Research Center

• All Software
• Old School Emulation
• MS-DOS Games
• Historical Software
• Classic PC Games
• Software Library
• Kodi Archive and Support File
• Vintage Software
• CD-ROM Software
• CD-ROM Software Library
• Software Sites
• Tucows Software Library
• Shareware CD-ROMs
• Software Capsules Compilation
• CD-ROM Images
• ZX Spectrum
• DOOM Level CD

• Smithsonian Libraries
• FEDLINK (US)
• Lincoln Collection
• American Libraries
• Canadian Libraries
• Universal Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Children's Library
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Books by Language
• Additional Collections

• Prelinger Archives
• Democracy Now!
• Occupy Wall Street
• TV NSA Clip Library
• Animation & Cartoons
• Arts & Music
• Computers & Technology
• Cultural & Academic Films
• Ephemeral Films
• Sports Videos
• Videogame Videos
• Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

• Wayback Machine (iOS)
• Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

• Explore the Collections
• Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

• Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

A cook's tour of Mexico : authentic recipes from the country's best open-air markets, city fondas, and home kitchens

Bookreader item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

• Graphic Violence
• Explicit Sexual Content
• Hate Speech
• Misinformation/Disinformation
• Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
• Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

38 Previews

5 Favorites

Better World Books

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

No suitable files to display here.

PDF access not available for this item.

IN COLLECTIONS

Uploaded by station19.cebu on May 11, 2021

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

A gripping account of Captain Cook’s final voyage

‘the wide wide sea,’ by hampton sides, recounts cook’s search for the northwest passage.

I’m grateful to the Santa Fe bookseller who put Hampton Sides’s “Blood and Thunder” into my hands some years ago. With Kit Carson’s death-defying exploits at its center, the book revolutionized my concept of America’s westward expansion. Sides’s latest effort, “ The Wide Wide Sea ,” is a gripping account of Captain James Cook’s final voyage.

Cook is a controversial historical figure, especially in light of increasing consciousness about the evils of colonialism. Yet he continues to evoke curiosity and attention. As recently as last month, Popular Mechanics published an article about the rediscovery of his curated shell collection.

Sides does not skirt the rapacious appetites of the British and other European monarchies. The magic of this book, however, is in the details of the explorer’s life at sea. Sides relies on Cook’s writings as well those of other sailors on the voyage. Based on the selected bibliography he includes, Sides’s research was voluminous.

Cook had made two world voyages by the time the book opens. He was a celebrity, having “risen from virtually nothing.” At sea, he’d bucked the Royal Navy’s tradition of violence and cruelty. He’d figured out how to avoid scurvy and brought home information of incomparable value, had mastered new nautical instruments and served as an expert scientist, anthropologist and navigator. His mapmaking skills were superlative.

After only six months at home, he took off again, in search of the elusive Northwest Passage . His third expedition consisted of 180 people in two wooden ships, the Resolution and the Discovery. They left England in July 1776.

In addition to Cook’s story, other narratives weave through the book. One particularly fascinating account is that of Mai, a native of Raiatea, a volcanic island 130 miles northwest of present-day Tahiti. When Mai was a boy, warriors from Bora Bora invaded Raiatea, murdered his father, seized his family’s land and enslaved much of the population, forcing his family to take refuge in Tahiti. In 1767, a teenage Mai witnessed the English navy’s firepower when Samuel Wallis, a British navigator, arrived in the HMS Dolphin and fought the Tahitians. Vowing to avenge his people against Bora Bora, Mai concluded that English guns were the way to go. When Cook sailed in seven years later on his second Pacific voyage, Mai requested passage, becoming the first Polynesian to set foot on English soil.

Mai’s story reads as metaphor for colonialism. He learned English and was wined and dined as a celebrity. Although horrified by London’s grinding poverty, unthinkable in his homeland, he wore the local dress and adopted the manners of a foppish English gentleman. He met King George, who provided Mai and Cook with a large assortment of farm animals and domesticated birds, to cement the king’s footprint around the globe. No surprise — the animals were hell to care for. Mai had been in search of heavy artillery from King George, but for the voyage was given only an “arsenal of muskets [and] broadswords,” as well as gifts that would have been unimaginable to the Polynesians — cut-glass bows, laced hats, crockery and telescopes. If not the cache Mai hoped for, it does reflect the English royalty’s strategy for winning friends.

It isn’t possible in this short space to describe Sides’s hair-raising accounts of the journey, an itinerary that led from England to present-day South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, Hawaii, north to Alaska and beyond, and back to Hawaii. Just repairing and re-provisioning the ship required herculean efforts. The physical threats included days-long ocean storms, fog so thick it wasn’t possible to see from stern to bow and cold temperatures against which no garment could protect.

By the time Cook reached Polynesia in October 1777, the rat infestation was so great that “the vermin had all but taken over the holds, gangways, and lower decks.” At Moorea, 12 miles from Tahiti, Cook created a “swinging bridge” from ropes to lure the rats on land. A few made it to the beaches, introducing Polynesia to the European black rats, which remain a “scourge” today.

Cook understood that his men were vectors for infection. An ascetic, he occasionally stopped his men from going ashore to prevent the spread of venereal disease. At times he restrained his crew from violence; at other times, his temper was uncontrollable. After a series of petty thefts from the ship by Tongo natives, Cook ordered brutal floggings and had a villager’s ears cut off. In punishment for one Moorea person stealing a goat, Cook had the village and its cropland torched, along with its canoes. Sides suggests that over the course of this final voyage, Cook may have been suffering declining mental faculties.

By August 1778, the two ships were in the Arctic Ocean sailing toward Siberia. Cook was careful, “zagging outward if the pincers of ice began to close in on his vessels.” When he finally concluded there was no Northwest Passage, he decided to salvage his “defeat,” by doing “reconnaissance work in Hawai’i.” A man onboard wrote, “Those who have been amongst ice, in the dread of being enclosed in it, and in so late a season, can be the best judge of the general joy this news gave.”

People tend to know Cook was killed by native people in Hawaii. The events leading up to his death are gruesome and upsetting, including “cannibalism” made more explicable in Sides’s measured account.

This book captures a time when Europeans were finding unfathomable new worlds. Armed with extensive research and terrific writing, Sides re-creates the newness of the experience, the vast differences in and among Indigenous cultures, and natural phenomena that were as terrifying as they were wondrous.

Martha Anne Toll’s prizewinning debut novel, “Three Muses,” was published in 2022. Her second novel, “Duet for One,” is forthcoming in early 2025.

The Wide Wide Sea

Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook

By Hampton Sides

Doubleday. 432 pp. $35

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Immigration | After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago,…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Restaurants, Food and Drink
• Entertainment
• Immigration
• Sports Betting

Immigration | After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family

Claudia Perez’s children could count on one hand the number of times they had seen their father cry.

The day their mother left was one of them.

Perez had worked her whole life for a dream that did not come true: Save enough money to take her family back to Mexico and live together in the town where they were all born.

Instead, on a cold February day, she stepped onto a bus in Brighton Park and said goodbye. The day had come to make the difficult choice between her loved ones in Mexico and her family in Chicago.

“Don’t leave my love. No te vayas viejita ,” her husband yelled as she waved goodbye from inside the bus.

Battling health problems and a ticking clock, Perez, 63, chose to leave the life she’d built for herself and her family over the past 25 years. Though she was a successful street vendor in Little Village, she was in the country without legal permission. And she yearned to return to Mexico to hug her aging siblings, visit her parents’ graves and see the houses she’d built for her family using the money she’d earned selling tamales in Chicago.

Her husband, Seferino Arguelles, tried convincing her to wait so that the two could go back together. “Just a couple more years,” he would tell her, urging them to leave the business ready to be passed down. But Perez was afraid that if she waited any longer, she would never return. Not alive at least.

Claudia Perez waves to her family while on a bus, Feb. 19, 2024, as she leaves Chicago for her return to her native Mexico. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez says goodbye to her son Uriel as she prepares to depart Chicago by bus on Feb. 19, 2024, to return to Mexico. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez receives a last goodbye hug from her husband Seferino Arguelles as she prepares to board a bus for her return to her native Mexico. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez is helped by her daughter Elizeth and son Uriel as she arrives at the bus station in Chicago on Feb. 19, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Uriel Arguelles hugs his mother Claudia Perez as she prepares to board a bus in Chicago on Feb. 19, 2024, for her return to Mexico. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Never tiring from serving others, Claudia Perez cooks up food for several family members who came to visit her at her Chicago home on Feb. 18, 2024, before she returns to her native Mexico. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Several family members arrive at the home of Claudia Perez to wish her goodbye, Feb. 18, 2024, as she prepares to leave for Mexico. At right is her daughter Elizeth. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

Family members embrace Claudia Perez, Feb. 18, 2024, as she prepares to leave for Mexico. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

With the lights turned off, family and friends prepare to surprise Claudia Perez during a going away gathering at a local restaurant on Feb. 14, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Several family members arrive at the home of Claudia Perez to wish her farewell on Feb. 18, 2024, before she returns to Mexico. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez wipes away a tear during her going away party on Feb. 14, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez is presented with a rose from her brother Laurencio Perez, at a local restaurant during a going away gathering of family and friends, on Feb. 14, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez helps heat up tortillas with daughter Elizeth, during her going away party with family and friends on Feb. 14, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez sits with her husband Seferino Arguelles during a going away party on Feb. 14, 2024. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez and one of her employees, Juan Hernandez, pack belongings at her home in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Feb. 10, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez and her daughter Elizeth Arguelles pack her belongings for delivery to Mexico at her home in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Feb. 10, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Uriel Arguelles, left, Claudia Perez’s son, and Juan Hernandez, carry a box for delivery to Mexico, at Perez’s home on Feb. 10, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez, left, prepares over 1,000 tamales with Petra Ramirez, one of her two employees, at a rented kitchen space in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Feb. 9, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez, left, prepares to make over 1,000 tamales with Petra Ramirez at rented kitchen space on Feb. 9, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez, left, a beloved tamalera and daughter Elizeth Arguelles, recall memories at their home in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, Feb. 8, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez receives a goodbye hug and kiss from her son Emanuel as she prepares to go shopping ahead of her return to Mexico on Feb. 8, 2024. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez takes a look back at her home in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Feb. 8, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

It’s a dilemma that scores of families living in the U.S. illegally experience quietly as the community ages. Some are sick or unable to work, and many immigrants want to make the reverse migration to see their loved ones and homelands before they die. But in doing so, they may never be able to return to the U.S. and see the relatives they left behind.

Over the last several decades, reverse migration of immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission to Mexico has been a slow but steady trend, according to the Pew Research Center and other immigration researchers. The voluntary departures have, in part, kept the population of people in the U.S. illegally at a stagnant number of about 11 million, nearly the same as in 2017, according to Pew, despite the increased number of new migrants crossing the southern border, immigration experts say.

But with comprehensive immigration reform stalled in Congress, and a nation divided on how to resolve it, the choice to stay or go becomes inevitable for some.

Perez and Arguelles had been together for 30 years. In 2002, she and their children left their lives behind in Mexico to be with him in Chicago. “A whole life together,” he said. “Toda una vida juntos.”

When Perez finally returned to Coacoatzintla, Veracruz in February, she sat in one of the homes she had built for their family. Outside, the surrounding green hills turned dark and quiet as the day ended, the surroundings seemingly a world away from the bustling streets of Chicago.

Inside, the walls were freshly painted in bright coral, and the couch was still wrapped in plastic. The kitchen had more cabinets than the street vendor could ever dream of using. It was a house meant to be shared with family.

But her family, also in the U.S. without legal permission, chose to stay in Chicago. They said they weren’t ready to go back. They may never be. If they did, they wouldn’t be able to return to the life they’ve built in Chicago with their U.S.-born children and their careers.

In their minds, they were already home.

“I don’t know when I’ll see them again,” Perez said.

Tamales La Leona

She had named her tamales company La Leona because her husband always said she was strong and fearless, like a lion.

When Perez decided to start selling tamales a few years after arriving in Chicago, she only had about $1,000 saved up to begin the operation. And she didn’t know how to actually make them.

But the factory jobs she and Arguelles had were not enough to support their three children, much less to fufill Perez’s dream of building a home in Mexico.

So she learned to make them, she recalled as she made tamales for the last time in Chicago.

“My husband would tell me I was crazy; that (the business) wouldn’t work out,” Perez said, wrapping the dough in hundreds of corn husks. Still, he made her a wooden cart to sell the tamales.

She’d get up at 2:30 every morning to make the tamales, champurrado and arroz con leche from the small, old kitchen in their apartment. Then she’d be out by 5 a.m. to sell. The pork and green salsa tamales were the customers’ favorites, but she also made green pepper, cheese and red salsa tamales.

Some nights, she didn’t collapse into bed until 11 p.m.

“It was all worth it,” Perez said.

Around 2013, business was so good that Perez moved from making tamales in her apartment to renting a space with a commercial kitchen. She also hired employees to operate six carts across the city.

“It was a profitable business. It gave me everything I have and more to help my family in Chicago and in Mexico,” Perez said. “I loved my job.”

But there were obstacles. Though business took off, she struggled to keep operating because selling tamales on the streets of Chicago was not permitted. Police actively fined and arrested vendors until the City Council pushed for a move to relax the rules in 2015.

Perez became a member of the Asociacion de Vendedores Ambulantes, or the Street Vendors Association, a group of vendors that organized in 2010 to urge the city to pass the now active ordinance that allows vendors to get a license more easily and reduced the cost of the fines.

After she and her children were arrested on multiple occasions for selling tamales, Perez testified before the City Council and spearheaded protests advocating for the ordinance.

“I wasn’t scared to get deported because I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Those laws were absurd,” Perez said.

Her voice was essential to make those changes happen because Perez was “outspoken,” said Martin Unzueta, executive director of Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights.

Just last year Unzueta invited her to join the board of the Street Vendors Association to continue advocating for the rights of immigrant street vendors, but that’s when Perez told him that she planned on returning to Mexico.

“I’m happy she was able to go back,” Unzueta said. “Many of the vendors we work with have that same dream, but they can’t do it.” He said most can’t afford to save for retirement.

Despite Perez’s success, her heartstrings tugged her back to Mexico. She refused to buy a house in Chicago. And she did not cook with the stainless steel and copper bottom pots and pans she’d get on her birthdays because she wanted to save them to use in Mexico.

She’d send most of the money she made from the business almost weekly to invest in Coacoatzintla, Veracruz, taking a part of the more than $63 billion in remittances sent to Mexico in 2023, with most of the money arriving from the United States, according to Banxico, Mexico’s central bank.

In addition to building her family’s house, Perez built three storefronts on the main road of the small town that she now rents to local business owners. She also built three small apartments for her children and owns 2 acres that she loans to her sister to grow crops.

“She didn’t want anything that would tie her to Chicago,” said her daughter Elizeth Arguelles, 29. “But here we are.”

The days before Perez left, Elizeth’s eyes were red and swollen. She had been crying almost every night. Elizeth had helped her mother sell tamales since she was 9 years old, and the work paid for some of her tuition at Dominican University.

Even though Elizeth is the only one of her siblings with DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — and could maybe visit her mother if she gets approved for advanced parole, the future is all unknown.

“‘She’s not dying,’ I’d tell myself,” Elizeth said, though she added it certainly felt that way. “I’ll see her again one day.”

Time to leave

Over the past years, Perez pushed back the trip. She didn’t want to leave her children and grandchildren behind. Elizeth is the middle child and the only woman. The youngest son, Emmanuel Arguelles, 27, has a son Noah, 7 and her oldest son Uriel Arguelles, 30, has a daughter Melanie, 5.

“But it’s time. I’m tired,” Perez said as she packed the last of six 24×24 boxes to ship to Veracruz. The boxes were filled with mementoes that had decorated her apartment in Little Village: centerpieces from family parties, Elizeth’s soccer trophies, drawings from her grandchildren and photos in which her hair was still dark brown. She had stopped dying it when her oldest son told her that her gray hair made her look wise and powerful.

Arguelles agreed to support her decision to leave because of Perez’s deteriorating health. He could feel her pain at night when they’d lay in bed together. She would sometimes cry because her body ached. But despite her pain, Perez refused to stop working.

About a year ago, she fractured one of her legs, which left her bedridden for more than five months. Her diabetes was worsening and she was diagnosed with shingles.

“I was depressed and desperate because I thought I was going to die without seeing my siblings again,” Perez said. She promised her five siblings when she could walk again she would return to their hometown.

Her mother died before Perez moved to Chicago but she also never got to see her father again after she left. He died about 10 years ago. Perez wanted to visit their graves to let them know that she hadn’t forgotten them.

“I didn’t want her to leave, but I realized that if she stayed, she wouldn’t rest because she doesn’t know how to do that here,” her son Uriel said. He paused, trying to find the words to describe his mother. “We’ll have to embrace the memories that we have together and find strength in that. I know we’ll take care of each other from afar.”

Her husband and children promised Perez they would manage the tamale business after she left. Perez and her husband agreed to find a way to smoothly close it down or pass ownership to one of their children before her husband joined her in Mexico.

“I did a lot not to let it all go to waste. Hice mucho para dejarlo todo perder ,” Perez said.

Before leaving, Perez made each of her children their favorite dishes. Manjar for Emanuel, buñuelos for Eli, and mole for everyone. She also left thousands of tamales ready to heat up and sell.

“I want to make sure they’re OK without me,” Perez said about the mountains of tamales she left in the large commercial freezers at the warehouse.

Everyone loves Perez’s food. It’s turned into the family’s way of sharing their love.

“Don’t go, tia! ¡No se vaya tia! Who is going to make this food?” one of her nephews said at her farewell gathering a few days before she departed.

Perez sat around a table with a centerpiece of her favorite red roses, her loved ones surrounding her. Guests walked in carrying bouquets, which she carefully placed on a table with Polaroid photos of the family.

At the end of the night — nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles, friends who had turned into family — hugged her goodbye, one by one. Each had come to Chicago from Mexico over the years. Most are here without legal permission.

Perez said that part of the reason she did not legalize her status is because neither she nor her husband have family members to sponsor them to start the process, the most common way to “get in line” with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Without a family member who’s a citizen, an employer to sponsor their green card applications or a credible fear of persecution in Mexico that would qualify them for asylum, there was no viable pathway for Perez to apply.

“Why would I want documents now if I’m old? They should have given them to me 25 years ago,” Perez said about the remote possibility of getting a job permit to work in the United States. “ Ahorita ya para qué quiero papeles si ya estoy vieja. Me habían dado papeles hace 25 años .”

A bittersweet reunion

It took Perez three days to get to Veracruz from Chicago by bus.

On her way to Mexico, her husband would call her cellphone. “Get off the bus at the next stop it makes before reaching the border. I’ll go get you,” Arguelles would tell her. Her husband and children tracked her location through an app as she traveled south.

She was tired and nervous, but her heart beat faster as she approached the bus station in  Xalapa, Veracruz — the city closest to Coacoatzintla — where her older sister, Goya Perez, and her son, whom she calls “El Negrito,” were waiting. She hadn’t seen them in two decades.

As soon as the bus stopped, she got off and rushed toward Goya and hugged her. They were both gray and wrinkled, but their love hadn’t changed.

Samuel Rodriguez Perez embraces his aunt Claudia Perez on her return to her hometown in Coacoatzintla, Veracruz after 25 years of living in Chicago on Feb. 21, 2024, in Xalapa, Veracruz. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez walks with her family members who received her at the bus station in Xalapa, Veracruz, on Feb. 21, 2024. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Marcos Garcia Perez embraces his aunt Claudia Perez on Feb. 21, 2024, on her return to Mexico after 25 years of living in Chicago without legal permission. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez hugs her nephew Gamaliel Perez, as her family celebrates his arrival after living in Chicago for 25 years.(Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez, with her nephew Marcos Garcia Perez, walk in the streets of Coacuatzintla, Veracruz, on Feb. 21, 2024. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez buys wood-fired tamales to eat in Coacuatzintla, Veracruz on Feb. 21, 2024. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez's house and business premises were built with the remittances she sent during the years she worked in Chicago.(Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

With cake and food, Claudia Perez's family celebrates her arrival to Mexico after having lived in Chicago for 25 years. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez looks through the bedroom window of her new home in Coacoatzintla, Veracruz on Feb. 21, 2024. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez, along with her nephews Gamaliel and Marcos, enter the municipal pantheon in Coacoatzintla, Veracruz to visit the graves of their relatives. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez visits the grave of her mother Rosa Alarcon, who died on Nov. 15, 1993, in Coacoatzintla, Veracruz. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

Claudia Perez views the grave of her father Cruz Perez, who died on Dec. 27, 2005. (Victoria Razo/for the Chicago Tribune)

On the way to their hometown, they laughed as Goya pointed out the new brick homes with large balconies sprinkled among rows of abandoned houses. They’re mostly built with American money by immigrants toiling in U.S. jobs illegally.

When Perez finally arrived at the house she had paid for, her siblings, family, and friends were waiting.

“You are a wise woman who supports and blesses everyone who approaches you. Thank you for your exemplary role. Welcome,” read the message on a cake.

Her brother Goyo Perez, 82, wore a sombrero and walked with a cane. He didn’t leave her side.

“She was like a mother,” Goyo said. “She always takes care of us.”

He had been afraid that he’d die and never see his sister again. It’s not a baseless fear: An estimated 80% of families in their town have loved ones living in the U.S. without authorization. They rely on phone or video calls to celebrate birthdays or to watch funerals.

Most who left, never return. Those who’ve managed to come home, “come back to die,” Goyo said.

Indeed, the same week Perez celebrated her return, she attended the burial of 57-year-old Cupertino Hernandez, one of her nephews. When he died, he had been back in Mexico for only about five months after living in Little Village for more than 25 years, his elderly parents said.

“People don’t realize the cost of the American Dream,” said his mother, Lucia Cordoba Santiago, 78. “A few times it becomes a reality and it costs you a whole life away from those who you love and who love you.”

Amid her mourning, she was happy to see Perez back. It seemed the whole town was.

When Perez ran into people she knew, they would hug tightly. One woman caressed her face as she looked into her eyes as if she was not real: “I never thought I’d see you again.” It was a childhood friend.

Perez smiled and told her the same thing she told everyone: “I’ve been blessed to come back alive and still walking.”

Several weeks after she arrived in Mexico, Perez learned that her father-in-law died unexpectedly in Veracruz. Her husband, Arguelles, was still in Chicago.

After more than two decades apart, he watched the funeral and burial on a video call.

More in Immigration

Politics | Johnson’s ambitious $1.25B bond plan, $70M migrant proposal pass City Council

Immigration | Chicago’s response to migrant influx stirs longstanding frustrations among Black residents

Politics | Democratic Convention organizers leaning on locals to handle possible migrant surge in August

Politics | Cook County reallocates $70M for migrants from health care to food service in Chicago

Trending nationally.

• Jennifer Lopez ‘disappointed’ by ’embarrassing’ concert sales but vows to move on
• Disney, Universal report leg injuries, loss of consciousness on rides
• O.J. Simpson did not die surrounded by loved ones, says lawyer
• Aspen home sells for $108 million, making Colorado one of the few states with $100+ million houses
• DeSantis signs school chaplains bill opposed by pastors, Satanists, ACLU

Charli XCX Plots 2024 International ‘BRAT' Tour Dates

Charli XCX announced the international dates for her 2024 Brat tour on Monday (March 25), which will be a mix of live concerts and what she's dubbed "partygirl" events. The run will kick off with a set at Primavera Sound Barcelona on June 1, followed by shows in London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico City before winding down on June 22 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Just hours after announcing the dates, the singer noted on Instagram that all the shows were already sold out .

At press time Charli had not yet announced the release date for BRAT , her sixth full-length album, though she did recently reveal that it is out this summer, contains 15 songs and is 41:23 long. The follow-up to her 2022 album Crash has been advanced by the uptempo first single, "Von Dutch."

Speaking to Billboard at this year's 2024 Women in Music event, Charli said that BRAT is a club record meant to evoke the illegal London rave scene of the early 2000s where she started performing as a 14 and 15-year-old, produced from a tight collection of sounds to create "this unique minimalism that is very loud and bold."

She also said that the album is "very direct" eschewing "metaphor and flowery lyricism" for language that is closer to the way she talks to her friends in text messages. "This record is all the things I would talk about with my friends, said exactly how I would say them. It's in ways very aggressive and confrontational, but also very conversational and personal," she said. "And not in that boring way where artists are like, ‘This is my most personal record.' To me, it feels like listening to a conversation with a friend.

See the Brat tour announcement and dates below.

BRAT tour dates :

June 1 - Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Barcelona

June 7 - London, England @ Here at Outernet

June 11 - Queens, NY @ Knockdown Center

June 12 - Chicago, IL @ Radius

June 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall

June 19 - Mexico City, Mexico @ LooLoo Studio

June 22 - São Paulo, Brazil @ Zig Club

More from Billboard

• Golden Globes to Air on CBS for Next 5 Years

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

Tim Cook leaves Singapore after week-long Asia tour

Tim Cook in Singapore (Source: Apple)

Tim Cook began the week in Vietnam , then spent Wednesday in Indonesia , and rounded out the week with two last days in Singapore . While Apple does not release Cook's schedule, it appears that his tour has concluded, and he's posted a last few photos and videos from it.

Cook's last evening in Singapore consisted of his visiting the Apple Marina Bay Sands store. Musician Benjamin Kheng was performing a concert there.

Tonight's performance by artist @benjaminkheng and producer @evanturetime at Apple Marina Bay Sands was unforgettable! The energy was electric, and it was such an incredible moment for customers and the team at a beautiful spot in Singapore! pic.twitter.com/DntSnRhiUI — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 18, 2024

The following morning, Cook again breakfasted with users. In this case, it was food entrepreneurs Faz and Amiera.

It was great to experience Faz and Amiera's love of food and get a taste of their entrepreneurial spirit! They showed me how they use MacBook Air, iPad, and iPhone to bring their hot honey and sambal businesses to life. pic.twitter.com/aCwgWELDlX — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2024

Cook then visited the new Apple Developer Center in Singapore. He met with developers, students, and Apple Design Award winners.

From solving puzzles to training knights, Jakob, Tongyu, Chiny, and Yiwei shared demos of their games with me at the new Apple Developer Center in Singapore. I loved hearing about your journeys... as students, teachers, and Apple Design Award Winners! pic.twitter.com/x2T3PW04c7 — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2024

To round out his travelogue, Cook concluded with a message about Singapore being an amazing country. He ended his posts with a shot from what appears to be the Apple Marina Bay Sands store and the staff there.

Top Stories

Best Buy's MacBook Air sale drives prices down to $599

Apple's macOS 15 to get rare cognitive boost via Project GreyParrot

If you're expecting a Mac mini at WWDC, you're probably going to be disappointed

LeBron James leaks return of Beats Pill speaker

Everything you need to know about emulating retro games with Delta for iPhone

When to expect every Mac to get the AI-based M4 processor

Featured deals.

Limited supply: Apple's latest 14-inch MacBook Pro is $200 off

Latest comparisons.

M3 15-inch MacBook Air vs M3 14-inch MacBook Pro — Ultimate buyer's guide

M3 MacBook Air vs M1 MacBook Air — Compared

M3 MacBook Air vs M2 MacBook Air — Compared

Latest news.

NBA superstar LeBron James was spotted at Saturday's playoff game in Denver sporting what appears to be a unreleased Pill speaker from Apple's Beats subsidiary.

Apple appears to be planning to skip an M3 revision to the Mac mini in favor of a more significant update featuring the M4 chip.

Apple's FineWoven case and Apple Watch band lineup may have been cut short

A new rumor claims that Apple has shut down the FineWoven production lines for good, possibly spelling the doom of the controversial accessory material.

Apple's iOS 18 AI will be on-device preserving privacy, and not server-side

A new report on Sunday again reiterates that Apple's AI push in iOS 18 is rumored to focus on privacy with processing done directly on the iPhone, that won't connect to cloud services.

House passes bill saying ByteDance must sell or spin off TikTok or face a ban

The US House of Representatives has passed a combination bill related to sanctions on other countries, such as Russia that includes language that could force the sale or divestiture of TikTok.

April's MacBook Air sales are in full swing, with Best Buy having limited inventory of a Geek Squad Certified Refurbished M1 model for $599 and M2 models in new, factory sealed condition up to $400 off.

Apple TV+ hits #1 in streaming movies, Top 10 in streaming TV series

Despite an incredibly poor theatrical reception Apple's "Argylle" catapulted Apple TV+ to the top spot in streaming movies this past week with its debut on the service.

Apple Vision Pro is revolutionizing surgical procedures worldwide

As surgeons in other countries get a chance to work with the Apple Vision Pro, they are seeing it as a revolutionary tool — and a big improvement on previous headsets.

Apple Pay NFC tech in iPhone will likely get opened up soon in the EU

The European Commission is set to approve Apple's opening up of Apple's NFC platform to third-party mobile wallets as soon as May, which could help save the iPhone maker from a $40 billion fine.

EU's antitrust head is ignoring Spotify's dominance and wants to punish Apple instead

Antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager still wants to favor the dominant music streaming service in the EU, and says that Apple must allow Spotify's latest iOS antisteering update immediately.

Latest Videos

All of the specs of the iPhone SE 4 may have just been leaked

The best game controllers for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV

Latest reviews.

Ugreen DXP8800 Plus network attached storage review: Good hardware, beta software

Espresso 17 Pro review: Magnetic & modular portable Mac monitor

Journey Loc8 MagSafe Finder Wallet review: an all-in-one Find My wallet

{{ title }}

{{ summary }}

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.