Classical music remaking Tijuana

Tijuana has had a bustling a classical music and opera scene for many years now - ever since an orchestra of wayward Russians arrived in town, fresh from the collapse of the Soviet Union, and changed the place forever.

I wrote in my second book - Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream - about the city's amazing opera scene, which grew from the Russian's arrival.

Tijuana's Opera Street Festival, first weekend in July, is one of the great art events in Mexico - attracting thousands to the Libertad neighborhood, a couple hundred yards from the wall separating the two countries.

Here's a piece I did last week for the NPR affiliate, KCRW (89.5FM) about the Russians, the orchestra, and the new move to extend classical music to the city's vast working-class neighborhoods.

I love these stories about Tijuana - involving no narcos, coyotes, strip clubs, murder, or maquiladoras.