Posted in 2024 in Ballpark Facts
Baseball has been called “America’s National Pastime.” At Petco Park, this patriotic concept is on display in the truest sense, a vibrant mosaic of the best talent, flavor and spirit from all over the world.
Petco Park is located in the heart of San Diego, a city with a rich history of Mexican culture. San Diego is located just a 15-mile drive from the United States-Mexico border, and the region has a long history of cultural exchange and interaction between Mexican and American cultures. The vibrant, local Mexican-American community shapes the city’s culture and cuisine.
It should come as no surprise how much Mexican culture influenced the design and atmosphere radiating throughout Petco Park. An influence radiated by a Hispanic population of more than 1 million in San Diego County.
Petco Park signature venues like Puesto, Barrio Dogg, and Holy Paleta are all local but heavily Mexican-influenced, from blue corn tortillas to Marias con Leche paletas. New in 2023 is a Mexican street corn stand.
Petco Park has been the host venue for the annual Tequila & Tacos Festival and performances by some of the biggest names in the Hispanic music community, including Tijuana’s Grupo Firme, Bad Bunny (Puerto Rico), and bands like Los Tucanes de Tijuana.
Back to sports, Petco Park has hosted two of Mexico’s best international soccer clubs, Dorados de Sinaloa and Club Tijuana Xolos for a futbol match, as well as Mexican League Baseball between the Tijuana Toros and the Diablos Rojos del México from Mexico City.
In another handshake across the border, the Padres are the first MLB team to play a baseball game in Mexico City. In August 1996, the Padres played the first MLB game ever in Mexico, a series against the Mets approximately 100 miles south of Texas in Monterrey.
Fun Fact: Legend Ted Williams’ grandparents were born in Mexico, although he hid his Mexican heritage as a player. How far we’ve come, how far we still have to go…
Today, stars like Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. , representing the Dominican Republic but definitely celebrated in the Mexican community, are lifting the Padres organization to new heights, and turning a new generation into Padres fans. They proudly interweave their Hispanic heritage into these new pages of Padres history.
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