We’ve always covered South Bay people and places in the pages of San Diego Magazine, but we’ve never dedicated an entire issue to the area. That changes this month, with our first-ever South Bay issue. We love South Bay and are excited to be exploring its culture, food, and art in our pages and in person.

To get the skinny on the area, we talked to city governments, tourism boards, and chambers of commerce; South Bay chefs, like Claudia Sandoval, Claudette Zepeda, and Phillip Esteban; business owners, including Joann Cornejo of Machete Beer House; and creative types, like the musicians from Thee Sacred Souls, Moon, and stylist Linda Waisbord.

We’re also giving readers a sneak peek at the progress made at Chula Vista’s waterfront, which is getting a big hotel and lots of other walkable bells and whistles, and dropping by a budding tennis league in Chula Vista which aims to get Latino athletes into a traditionally white and wealthy sport. We visit the ranches near Border Field State Park to see middle and high school girls in colorful gowns perform a little known equestrian sport. We also have the the guide to the best spots to surf, hike, bike, and gawk, from the Silver Strand to Otay Lakes. Chief content officer and food critic Troy Johnson leads us down Chula Vista’s bustling Third Avenue, which has come into its own in recent years. Finally, we consider how the new border wall has changed Friendship Park.