The border community of Nogales funnels an estimated $30 billion worth of produce and manufactured goods from Mexico into Arizona and the greater US annually. While this trade has historically supported thousands of jobs in both countries, the advent of NAFTA and the 9/11 attacks dealt blows to cross-border retail and local entrepreneurship that continue to linger. Many young people now leave Nogales after high school; if they return, they face limited opportunities. The Southwest Folklife Alliance (SFA) conducted a needs assessment in Nogales using “the tools of the folklorist: observing, listening, and interviewing” and found a number of existing business incubation programs, art curricula in schools, successful efforts to bring activity back downtown, and more. As executive director of SFA, the folklorist, curator, and anthropologist Dr. Maribel Alvarez is leading the charge to build on these initiatives-in-progress by transforming the former residence of Raul Castro, Arizona’s only Mexican-American governor to date, into VozFrontera: a center for youth engagement, leadership, and local arts incubation. Kimi Eisele of SFA says, “VozFrontera will celebrate the energy in Nogales and bring additional activities specifically for young people to create both workforce and economic development opportunities for youth in and around our community.”