dusty lungs & desert sun: air quality thrift vibes in Mexicali

so i rolled into Mexicali last Tuesday hunting for deadstock denim and 70s leather belts, right? first thing that hit me wasn’t the racks at *Mercado de las Pulgas-it was the air. thick like someone left a pot of pinto beans boiling in a garage.

locals say the smog here’s a cocktail of maquiladora fumes, diesel trucks, and that gnarly desert wind hoovering up dirt from the Sea of Cortez.

overheard this gem at a taco stand:

> "compra un cubrebocas bueno, güey. last summer my cousin’s kid got asthma just walking to school. they shut down the soccer fields when the AQI hits 150, pero nobody shuts down the factories."

fun fact: Mexicali’s average rent is like 5,000 pesos a month ($300 USD) if you avoid the fresa zones near Plaza La Cachanilla. but good luck finding vintage Levi’s without coughing up a lung-40% of days here have ‘moderate’ or worse air quality according to IQAir.

drunk advice from a mechanic at Bar El Sahuaro:

> "don’t hang your laundry outside unless you want free seasoning. that calcium dust from the Cerro Prieto plants? yeah, it’ll turn your white shirts into parchment paper."

i checked out r/Mexicali-someone posted that the water near Laguna Salada smells like burnt tires. still better than Tijuana’s sewage spills, though. shoutout to Café Sahuaro for having AC strong enough to freeze your horchata. pro tip: most ‘eco-friendly’ gigs here are temp factory jobs inspecting solar panels for $12/day. meanwhile, Calexico*’s just 30 minutes north selling bottled oxygen. we love border town hustle.

oh, and San Diego’s two hours west if you need to breathe without tasting metal. bring goggles.

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