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Tijuana

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Tijuana
Ciudad de Tijuana
Agua Caliente's towers, located on one of the city's main avenues, Boulevard Agua Caliente.
Agua Caliente's towers, located on one of the city's main avenues, Boulevard Agua Caliente.
Motto(s): 
Aquí empieza la patria, "The Homeland Starts Here". The government translates the phrase as "Gateway to Mexico"
Location of Tijuana
Location of Tijuana
CountryMexico
StateBaja California
FoundedJuly 11, 1889
Government
 • Municipal presidentKurt Honold (PRI)
Elevation
20 m (65 ft)
Population
 (2005)
 • City
1,410,700
 • Metro
Incl. San Diego: 4,922,723
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific Standard Time)
Websitehttp://www.tijuana.gob.mx
1 INEGI, Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

Tijuana (Spanish [ti'xwana], English usually [ˌtiːəˈwɑnə]), is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California and the seat of the municipality of Tijuana. As of February 20, 2007 the current president of the surrounding municipality is businessman Kurt Honold of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Tijuana is the westernmost city in Latin America as well as the third northernmost (Tecate and Mexicali are slightly farther north). The city is situated on the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to San Diego County, California, United States to the north.

The city's motto is "Aquí Empieza La Patria". The Mexican government's English translation is "Gateway to Mexico," though the motto's literal English translation is "Here The Fatherland Begins."

History

Caesar Hotel on Avenida Revolución where Caesar salad was invented

The city of Tijuana is situated in a region once inhabited by the Kumeyaay Indians, a tribe of Yuman-speaking hunter-gatherers. Europeans first arrived in 1542, when the Portuguese explorer João Rodrigues Cabrilho toured the coastline of the area, which was later mapped in 1602 by Sebastián Vizcaíno. In 1769, Father Juan Crespí documented more detailed information about the area that would one day be called the Valley of Tijuana and Father Junípero Serra founded the first mission of Alta California in San Diego.

More settlement of the area took place near the end of the mission era when José María Echendía, governor of the Baja California and Alta California, awarded a large land grant to Santiago Argüello in 1829. This large cattle ranch, Rancho Tía Juana ("Aunt Jane Ranch"), covered 100 km².

In 1848, as a result of the Mexican-American War with the United States, Mexico lost all of Alta California. Tijuana acquired a new and distinct character and purpose on the international border. The city began to shed its cattle ranching origins and began to play in a new role, forming a socio-economic structure for the city.

The year 1889 marked the beginning of the urban settlement, when descendants of Santiago Argüello and Agustín Olvera entered an agreement to begin development of the city of Tijuana. The agreement was dated July 11 of that year. Decades later, during the second Symposium of History held in 1975, this date was recognized as the date the city was founded.

Tijuana saw its future in tourism from its inception. From the end of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th, the city attracted large numbers of Californians crossing over the border, coming to Mexico for trade and entertainment.

During the Mexican Revolution, Tijuana was also a small stage for revolutionaries loyal to Ricardo Flores Magón, who took over the city in 1911. Shortly, thereafter, federal troops arrived and routed the rebels. Being so close to the action, San Diegans could watch the battle from the safety of the international border.

In 1915, the Panama-California Exposition brought a great number of visitors to the neighboring American city to the north. Tijuana took the opportunity to attract these tourists to the other side of the border with Feria Típica Mexicana. The fair included curio shops, regional foods, thermal baths, horse racing and boxing matches. With this event, the city became universally known as a tourist destination.

The 1920s changed Tijuana forever when the enactment of prohibition in the US sent droves of Americans across the border to partake in legal drinking and gambling. Large and impressive casinos opened, like Agua Caliente in Tijuana. The Caesar Salad was invented during this period in the city in a hotel named Cesar on the now renowned Avenida Revolucion.

The international events of the following years had profound repercussions on the city. Tourism increased significantly as innumerable Americans came to Tijuana to enjoy the nightlife. In addition, the large number of Mexican citizens from all over the country began to relocate to Tijuana, tripling the population. Between 1940 and 1950 the city grew from 21,971 to 65,364 inhabitants.

In the 1950s, when nightlife and tourism began to decline, the city started to restructure its tourist industry, by promoting a more family oriented scene. Tijuana began to develop a greater variety of attractions and activities to offer its visitors.

In 1994, PRI presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio was assassinated in Tijuana while making an appearance in the plaza of Lomas Taurinas, a neighborhood nestled in a valley near Centro. The shooter was caught and imprisoned, but doubts remain about who the mastermind might have been.

Today, the Tijuana-San Ysidro border crossing is the most crossed international land border in the world. Although tourism constitutes a large part of this movement, Tijuana and its surrounding area has become a major player in NAFTA with new maquiladoras and industrial plants.

Origin of name

There is some difference of opinion on this question. Historians have investigated the origins of the name of the city of Tijuana. It was the name of a ranch in the area, one version being spelled: "Tía Juana". In early documents - primarily mission records (baptisms, marriages, deaths) - there are mentions of "La Tia Juana", "Tiguana", "Tiuana", "Teguana", "Tiwana", "Tijuan", "Ticuan", "Tijuana".

It is believed by some that name comes from the Yuman Indian language from the aboriginal Kumeyaay (Kumiai) inhabitants. They spoke a Yuman language, in which some have claimed "Tijuana" originated from "Tiwan", meaning close to the sea. Others say this is not certain, that there is no such word in Kumayaay, and that the name cames from another location of similar appearance (and name) in the south of the peninsula, and the name was brought north by Spanish/Mexican soldiers and mule-drivers.

The people of the city themselves widely believe in yet another "foundation myth" - that in the beginning there was an old Indian woman named "tia Juana" (aunt Jane) who provided travelers with good food and place to rest. In spite of scholarly denunciation, this story continues to be very popular with the residents of the city. It has particular resonance in a town known for its touristic hospitality.

The proper pronunciation is "Tee-who-ana" since the Spanish "j" sounds similar to an English "h" and "u" to the English sound "oo." Nevertheless, many English-speaking Americans pronounce the name of the city Tia wanna, though it is commonly called "TJ" in Southern California and "Tiyei" (matching the sound of the English initials "TJ") in Spanglish or "Tijuas" .

Geography

Playas de Tijuana
Tijuana seen from the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area.

Tijuana is at 32°31′N 117°01′W / 32.517°N 117.017°W / 32.517; -117.017. This US-Mexico border city just south of San Diego, California. The adjacent city and former borough of Tijuana is Playas de Rosarito. The municipality of Tijuana is divided into dministrative boroughs (delegaciones, in Spanish) of which the city of Tijuana occupies nine, which are in turn divided into colonias. These boroughs offer administrative services such as urban planning, civil registry, inspection, verification, public works and community development and are served by a delegado.

The boroughs are:

Rosarito was a delegation of Tijuana until it became its own municipality in 1995.

Demographics

Because of the vast area and diverse population from all continents, Tijuana's population counts are contested, and the locals often vastly exaggerate. However, including Tecate, greater Tijuana is home to some 1.6 million people as of census 2005. If one were to consider San Diego-Tijuana as one metropolitan area, as some demographers do, the population swells to nearly 4.5 million. Officially, the 2005 census numbers were 1,286,187 persons in the city, and 1,410,700 in the municipality, which includes nearby communities such as Portico de San Antonio and La Joya. It is the sixth largest metropolitan area in Mexico.

Culture

File:CECUT Tijuana night.jpg
The spheric building that displays IMAX films at CECUT by night

The Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT) is comprised of a theater, lecture rooms, video rooms, a library, an exhibition hall, Museum of the Californias, a futuristic planetary movie theater that displays IMAX films, and a restaurant. Since 1992, the CECUT has hosted the Orchestra of Baja California (OBC), it headquarters the Center of Scenic Arts of the Northwest (CAEN) and the Hispanic-American Center for Guitar (CHG). Since 2001, the CECUT receives about a million visitors per year, making it Baja California's most important cultural center. Another important culture center is La Casa de la Cultura, comprising of a school, a theater, and a public library. Dance, painting, music, plastic arts, photography and languages are taught there. The city also has the Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura (Municipal Institute of Art and Culture), the Tijuana Wax Museum, and the Museo El Trompo (The Trompo Museum).

Tijuana also has a very active and independent artist community whose internationally recognized work has earned Tijuana the title of "one of the most important new cultural meccas", according to Newsweek. The film Tijuana Makes Me Happy celebrates Tijuana, its inhabitants and their way of life. An anthology of Tijuana's art scene, as part of the Strange New World exhibition, is being curated by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and will travel extensively across the USA in 2006. Art collectives like bulbo explores the use of media like television bulbo TV [1] and print "bulbo PRESS", to show different realities of Tijuana out of Mexico. The music of The Nortec Collective and other electronic music artists, such as Murcof, have placed Tijuana in the international eye of specialized magazines and forums in recent years.

Entertainment

Avenida Revolución has many open bars, pharmacies, and curio shops, that attract many tourists. The majority of these businesses accept the US dollar and use both English and Spanish to conduct everyday business transactions

Tijuana's most prestigious entertainment center is the Club Campestre de Tijuana, but the Agua Caliente Racetrack would be the most notable that is open to the general public. Parque Morelos has a small zoo and and park space; Parque de la Amistad has a small pond, and a running and dirt-bike track. Parque Teniente Guerrero is a small park located downtown with a public library and weekend entertainment by clowns.

The most popular tourist attraction is Avenida Revolución. Many foreigners travel there to drink and dance, buy prescription drugs, bootleg brand-name clothing and accessories as well as local curiosities. There are many night clubs, including several gay clubs but locals and regular tourists avoid touristic hassle over at the clubs at Plaza Fiesta or other areas of the Zona Río without the sleaziness found on the Revolución strip.

Avenida Revolución is also famous for its nearby red-light district Zona Norte (referred to La Coahuila as it is one of the main streets in it) which boasts a large number of street prostitutes, which is legal in Mexico, as well as a selection of strip clubs. The strip clubs are typically full-contact, in which the dancers will allow patrons to fondle them. The dancers also solicit their services which typically tend to be more pricier than those of the street prostitutes. About 1,200 prostitutes from all over Mexico work in La Coahuila street, making it a sex tourist destination that ranks in popularity with Amsterdam and Bangkok, according to Melissa Farley, a researcher with Prostitution Research and Education, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization.

Tijuana possesses a diversity of shopping malls, the most visited being Plaza Río, located just a few minutes away from the US border. The mall hosts a Cinépolis and a Cinépolis VIP movie theaters, a Sanborns restaurant and a variety of shops, which sell a wide array of things, ranging from cheap national curiosities to expensive imports.

Sports

Club Sport Founded League Venue Logo Tijuana Galgos Basketball ? Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional Auditorio Municipal Tijuana Galgos Logo Tijuana Dragons Basketball 2003 American Basketball Association Auditorio Municipal Tijuana Drag Logo Tijuana Potros Baseball ? Mexican League Calimax Stadium Tijuana Potros Logo Club Tijuana Gallos de Caliente Football 2006 Primera División A CREAD Stadium Gallos Tijuana Logo

There are also two professional basketball teams. The Tijuana Dragons play in the American Basketball Association against teams from the US. The team is comprised mostly of American players. Their season is during the winter months. The Galgos de Tijuana (Tijuana Greyhounds) play in the LNBP (Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional) during the summer months. The team is comprised mostly of players from Mexico. Both teams play in the Auditorio Municipal.

Former super featherweight boxing champion Erik Morales calls Tijuana his home.

Pro Wrestler Rey Mysterio was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2006,after he and his tag team parteners Triple H and Shawn Michaels defeated Chavo Guerrero, Jr., Edge and Randy Orton in a 3 on 3 tag match at La Plaza Monumental in Playas de Tijuana at the DX Reunion Tour.

Education

Tijuana is home to many primary schools as well as several colleges and universities.

Notable primary, secondary and preparatory schools

Colleges and universities

Economy

Manufacturing

Due to Tijuana's proximity to Southern California and the US border and its large, skilled, diverse and relatively inexpensive workforce it is an attractive city for foreign companies to establish extensive industrial parks comprised of assembly plants that are called maquiladoras, even more so than other cities in the US-Mexican border zone, taking advantage of NAFTA to export products. At its peak, in 2001 Tijuana had roughly 820 of these 'maquiladoras' (today the number is closer to 550).[citation needed]. Foreign and domestic companies employ thousands of employees in these plants, usually in assembly related labor. Such jobs are demanding but offer high pay for Mexico. Companies that have setup 'maquiladoras' in Tijuana include Sony, Toyota, Samsung, Kodak, Matsushita/Panasonic, Nabisco, Philips, Pioneer, Plantronics, Pall Medical, Tara and Sanyo.

Service industry

In addition there are also some high-tech firms and telemarketing companies making their way into the city drawing skilled people with technical trades and college degrees to Tijuana. The nominal GDP per capita of the city is above the national average at about $9000 per year, third only to Cancún and Mexico City (source: INEGI). This makes Tijuana a popular city for migrant workers as well as college graduates from other parts of Mexico as well as other countries to the south.

Tourism

Tijuana also relies on tourism as a major revenue. About 300,000 visitors cross by foot or car from the San Ysidro point of entry in the United States every day. Restaurants and taco stands, pharmacies, bars and dance clubs are part of the draw for the city's tourists. Many shops and stalls selling Mexican crafts and souvenirs are also located in walking distance from the border. Mexico's drinking age of 18 (vs. 21 in the United States) make it a common weekend destination for many high school and college aged Southern Californians who tend to stay within the Avenida Revolución. Tijuana is also home to several pharmacies marketed toward visitors from the United States. These pharmacies sell some pharmaceutical drugs without prescriptions and at much lower costs than pharmacies in the US. Many medications still require a Mexican doctor's prescription though several accessible doctor offices are located near the border as well. In addition Tijuana has a legal "red-light" district known as the Zona Norte which also adds significant revenue to its economy. Tijuana is also home to many businesses selling products and services at a much cheaper rate than in the United States. Such businesses as auto detailing, medical services, dentistry and plastic surgery are heavily marketed and located near the city's border with the US.

Economic research and development

Binational economic development along the US-Mexico border is key to the development of Tijuana going forward. Multiple regional (San Diego-US/Tijuana-MX) think-tanks exist on both sides of the border that promote such regional collaboration and innovation.

Government

Infrastructure

Sewer

The International Boundary Wastewater Treatment Plant currently treats 25mgd directly pumped across the border from the central collection point in Mexico (Pump Station #1). When there is any flow in the river, the river diverter kicks in and diverts up to about 12-13 mgd to the IWTP. The totals from either must not exceed 25mgd, based on a monthly average (permit conditions) although the IWTP can treat sustained flows up to 45mgd daily and peaks of 70 or so for a short period. The diverter is regularly sending about 6-8 mgd daily to the IWTP.

Japanese credit plants

The plants (a total of 4-5 decentralized units in all) have been planned for some time as part of the "Tijuana/Rosarito Potable Water and Wastewater Master Plan". This plan was required as part of Public Law 106-457 (Nov.7-2000) which was written to allow the Bajagua project to move forward. The master plan was a binational collaborative effort by EPA and CESPT and addressed those cities' needs for the next 20 years.

The plants are intended to treat approximately 5 mgd each, to tertiary levels and provide the reclaimed water to the surrounding areas for agriculture, industry etc.

There are several issues that they are facing: no infrastructure to convey the reclaimed water to customers and inadequate groundwater recharge infrastructure.

Tijuana River

The Tijuana River (Spanish: Río Tijuana) is an intermittent river, 120 mi (195 km) long, on the Pacific coast of northern Baja California in Mexico and southern California in the United States. It drains an arid area along the U.S.–Mexico border, flowing through Mexico for most its course then crossing the border for its lower 5 mi (8 km) to empty into the ocean in an estuary on the southwesternmost corner of the United States. Its lower reaches provide the last undeveloped coast wetlands in San Diego County amidst a highly urbanized environment at the southern city limits of Imperial Beach. The river has been the subject of great controversy in recent decades regarding pollution, flood control, and U.S. border protection.

Water

Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos Tijuana, (State Commission of Public Services Tijuana) better known as CESPT, is Tijuana's water supplier.

Storm drain

Electrical

As with all of Mexico, Tijuana's electricity is supplied by Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).

Crime

Tijuana's crime problems are caused by drug trafficking and human trafficking rings which smuggle drugs and people into California. In 2004, nine kidnapping cases were reported to authorities in Baja California. However, that number is believed to be low because many cases are not reported to police [1]. In the first four months of 2005, there were 151 homicides and in 2004, there were 355 homicides. According to Francisco Castro Trenti, an administrator of the homicide investigation teams in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Tecate, least 20% of Tijuana's homicides were related to organized crime groups in the city. [2]. As a result of police corruption, citizen groups have been formed to help stop corrupt cops there from soliciting bribes from the population [3].

Transportation

El Arco, a man watches Tijuana's arch located in Ave. Revolucion.

Tijuana is well-served by bus, road, and air transportation links to all of Mexico, and to the United States via two heavily traveled border crossings.

Air travel

The General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport is the city's airport, with eleven airlines serving destinations across the nation. As of November 16, 2006, Aeroméxico has introduced twice-weekly international service to Tokyo, Japan. U.S. and select Canadian destinations can be reached from the busy San Diego International Airport, located about 35 kilometers north of the international border. Tijuana's International Airport is known for the tight approaches airplanes have to carry out, flying just over a fence before landing.

Bus travel

Mexico is served by a network of bus transportation, reaching virtually all parts of the country. The city has a main bus station in the eastern part of the city. There is also a small terminal downtown which serves a few Mexican bus lines and US-based Greyhound Lines and Crucero USA. Another small depot is near the border, with frequent service to Ensenada.

Roads

Tijuana is home to the world's busiest border crossing with about 300,000 people cross the border between San Diego and Tijuana every day. Queues take a few minutes to a couple hours to cross to the United States and a few hours on US national holidays. However, after clearing customs and immigration formalities, Interstate 5 is a major 8-10 lane freeway from San Ysidro to downtown San Diego, Los Angeles, and north to the Canadian border. Interstate 805 takes a more easterly route north at the Mesa de Otay (Tijuana) to Otay Mesa (San Diego) and rejoins I-5 in the northern part of San Diego.

Two important Mexican federal highways end in Tijuana, one of them is Federal Highway 1, which runs south through the Baja California peninsula, ending in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur. From Tijuana to Ensenada, most travelers take Highway 1-D (scenic road), a four-lane, limited access toll road that runs by the coast starting at Playas de Tijuana. Mexican Federal Highway 2 runs east for several hundred kilometers near the international border, currently as far as Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.

Tijuana in pop culture

From the arch hangs a sign saying "Bienvenidos a Tijuana" (Welcome to Tijuana)

Music Bands

  • The band Tijuana No!, that performs a mix of ska, punk and rock is based in Tijuana.

Music Albums

  • Charles Mingus' album Tijuana Moods was named after the city succeeding Mingus' visit to Tijuana.

Films

Depictions

Mentions

Television

Novels

Music Videos

Songs

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ^ Kidnap fears causing some to leave Tijuana on SignOnSanDiego.com
  2. ^ Days are grueling and grisly for Tijuana's homicide cops on SignOnSanDiego.com
  3. ^ Citizen watchdogs to stop shakedowns on SignOnSanDiego.com
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