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The Geographical Review July 1996, 86(3), pp. 356­369. Border-City Idée Fixe Daniel D. Arreola ABSTRACT: Images of Mexican border cities have become fixed in North American minds. Four particularly resilient perceptions persist: a Gemini complex which insists that Mexican border communities are "twins" of their American cohorts; a demographic mirage in which the populations of Mexican border towns are regularly inflated; a Cyprian supermarket reputation which exaggerates the unsavory adult-entertainment districts of these cities; and a faux-locus mentality which refuses to acknowledge that border towns are "the real Mexico." Latin American geographers can combat these myths and exaggerations and contribute to a richer understanding of cities in the region through field studies that interpret the personalities of urban places. Keywords: border cities, borderlands, Mexico Dr. ARREOLA is a professor of geography at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287. To contact the author: Prof. Daniel D. Arreola Department of Geography/COB 338 Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287 Phone: (602) 965-4794, (602) 965-8313 fax Email: atdda@asuvm.inre.asu.edu