Brillo Monthly release party
March 17, 2009
Music
Alfredo Libre Gutierrez art
March 14, 2009
A video diary documenting the construction for the exhibition “SE VENDE,” featuring Alfredo Libre Gutierrez in the ex convent, Carmen, on April 3, 2009 in Tijuana.
Documento vídeo/diario del proceso de construcción para la exposición individual “SE VENDE” de Alfredo Libre Gutiérrez en el ex-convento del Carmen 3 de abril ‘09, grafiti de Tijuana
120 THINGS TO DO IN TIJUANA
March 14, 2009
PSA:
120 days before Tijuana’s 120th anniversary (on July 11th), the Tijuana Convention and Visitors Bureau (COTUCO) is announcing a new campaign: “120 Things To Do in Tijuana”. Starting Saturday, March 14th in Tijuana, and Monday, March 16th in San Diego, COTUCO will begin distribution of 5,000 full-color calendars and launch a new website to highlight some of Tijuana’s most-scenic tourism destinations, upcoming events, and give visitors a fun list of 120 “things-to-do” in TJ – the second-largest city on the West Coast of North America.
Tijuana, Baja California, March 11, 2009 – Have you ever had your picture taken with one of Tijuana’s famous zebra-donkeys? Or tried the tasty tamarind martini at Cheripan restaurant in TJ? Or bought a piñata in Tijuana’s traditional market, Mercado Hidalgo? Well, if you have, you’re on your way to completing a new list of “120 Things To Do In Tijuana” being unveiled this Saturday, March 14th, by the Tijuana Convention and Visitors Bureau (COTUCO) in an attractive, 10-month calendar, and the launch of their new, interactive tourism website: www.120ThingsToDoInTijuana.org.
Saturday’s event begins a 120 day countdown until Tijuana’s 120th Anniversary on July 11, 2009 – an accomplishment for a city that has grown to have the second-largest population on the West Coast of North America, after Los Angeles. “There are so many wonderful things that visitors can do in our city, particularly in the safe, Downtown Tourist District. Visitors have been enjoying the great food, culture, shopping, and entertainment in Tijuana for over one-hundred
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years, and with 2008 behind us, our list of ‘120 Things To Do In Tijuana’ is meant to give our friends from Southern California and the rest of the world a starting point to explore Tijuana,” said Ana Alicia Meneses, President of COTUCO. “Not only is the calendar a lovely addition to any home or office, but the new website also gives people a chance to upload their own pictures and stories about their visits to our City.”
The special 10-month calendar includes full-color photographs of some of Tijuana’s most notable tourist destinations, as well as U.S. and Mexican holidays, important tourist information, a map, a list of events, a countdown to Tijuana’s 120th Anniversary, and an initial list of 120 “things to do” – from bullfights to wrestling matches, from high-end art exhibitions to duty-free shopping, from casinos to cafes, or dozens of some of the best food, drinks, and dessert options in the U.S.-Mexico border region. “We want to show people how Tijuana is growing, and invite visitors to come and experience, or re-experience, its fun side, as well as our hospitality, cultural and culinary offerings,” states José Avelar, Vice President of COTUCO.
Saturday’s launch will take place at 11 a.m. in front of the recently renovated Jai Alai Palace along Avenida Revolución, and will feature the Mexicoach City Tour bus as well as Tijuana’s famous zebra-donkey. Speakers will include Ms. Meneses and representatives of Tijuana’s city government, with copies of the “120 Things To Do In Tijuana” calendar to be distributed to the public. The following Monday, March 16, a San Diego-based launch will take place at 11 a.m. at the office of the Mexican Consulate in San Diego, attended by Tijuana tourism officials and Consul General Maria de los Remedios Gómez Arnau.
The Tijuana Convention and Visitors Bureau and U.S. Border Authorities remind visitors to Tijuana to bring a copy of their birth certificate plus a driver’s license, or a passport, to ease northbound border inspections.
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For more information, contact the Tijuana Convention & Visitors Bureau toll free from the U.S. at 1-888-775-2417, or visit their website www.TijuanaOnline.org . Also, contact Alfredo Apodaca at intaffairs@tijuanaonline.org
Leaving Tijuana: A wish list
February 10, 2009
"End of Trail" by Kinsee Morlan
I’m not leaving Tijuana because of the violence — let’s just get that out of the way. I love TJ and, no matter how hard the mainstream media tries, I refuse to be afraid. The violence isn’t targeted at people like you and me. The drug war is an all-out battle fought in the streets of Tijuana and other Mexican border cities, and yes, every now and then, innocents get caught-up in the crossfire, but the relative safeness of Tijuana is no worse than Washington, D.C., Oakland or any other urban city with an edge.
Wish for TJ No. 1: People, journalist especially, should lay off Tijuana. Focus on the artistic and ingenious side of the city and quit adding to the black cloud that hangs over the place like the undeserved bad reputation of poor, misunderstood high-school students who smell weird and act a little strange only because they’re different and creative.
The seedy side of Tijuana is notorious. Just this morning, I got an email from one of my readers about La Zona Norte. He wanted me to explore his and other gringos’ love and apparent addiction to the prostitutes and strip clubs located in the “Red Zone” just north of downtown. I’ve been to the barely-legal strip clubs and photographed the prostitutes in the Red Zone; I too am drawn to the things we don’t often see out in the open in the U.S.
And admittedly, I go out on Revolucion every now and then to get tequila poured down my throat and stay up until 5 or 6 a.m. acting like an idiot. I’ve hit up some of the hundreds of pharmacies the city is infested with and taken advantage of their lax rules and regulations. I’ve been a bad gringo who benefits from Tijuana’s bad side.
I actually wouldn’t like Tijuana if it didn’t have all those naughty and dirty things, but that’s not why I love the city.
What made me fall in love with TJ were places like Estacion Federal, La Casa Del Tunel: Art Center, Galeria H&H, The Lobby, La Mezcalera, Tacos Salceados, Dolce Salato, Dandy Del Sur, Lui Velazquez, La Estrella, Cafe La Especial, Mercado Hidalgo and Cielo; things like two-for-one specials almost everywhere you go in playas, the liveliness of public places and plazas, bright colors, tacky ads, bustling streets, taco shops on every corner, strange and different smells on every block, farmers markets, mariachis, fire-spitting and juggling beggars, big families and underground parties; and people like Jorge Tellaeche, Derrik Chinn, Luis Ituarte, Gerda Govine, little Nanette and Rafi, Tania Candiani, Beam, Louie Navarro, Lucia Sanroman, Giacomo Castagnola, ERRE, Astronauta Jackson, Toni V, Guerro and all of the Radio Global peeps, Lesli and Dream Addictive, Charles Glaubitz, Foi Jiminez, Caballo, Sergio Gonzales, Daniel Ruanova, Mely Barragan, Aldo Guerra, Adrian Posadas, Memho Sepulveda and the drag queens at Mike’s.
Wish for TJ No.2: Look at my list above. Seek these people, places and things out. Explore Tijuana. Take a camera. Think about volunteering and helping the city get better and better.
The only thing I do not like about Tijuana is actually no fault of the city itself. The line — the bastard-ass intolerable line to get back inside the U.S. — is a nuisance. It disrupts the natural flow of the city and turns all Tijuana drivers into nuts. It’s embarrassing and disrespectful, unnecessary and a giant waste of money. I still can’t believe that, in modern times, we have walls keeping people apart. It makes me giggle until I start thinking about how serious and horrible it really is.
I’ll miss Tijuana. I’ll miss the quesadillas and the beautiful language. I’ll miss the brown skin and the beer. I’ll miss defending the city every time I tell people where I live. I’ll miss arguing with assholes who think illegal immigration can be stopped through stupid legislation and building multiple walls. I’ll miss the culture, the excitement and the adventure. I’ll even miss the smelly Tijuana River and the scruffy street dogs. Oh, and I’ll miss the churros and raspados for sure.
I won’t miss wondering if my car is going to be outside of my apartment when I wake up every morning. And I won’t miss going without water for days, or even weeks at a time (or hauling drinking water, for that matter). I won’t miss having to dust off anything and everything I’ve left outside because of what one Mr. Chinn likes to refer to as “Tijuana dust.”
I’m leaving this exciting city because it’s time for a new chapter in my book of life. I’m ready to do the more internal adventuring and finally allow myself to really fall in love, get married and, eventually, have kids. I’d do that here in Tijuana but I’m not even going to pretend that I can do the kid thing without the help and support of my mother and father.
I’m sorry to those of you who will be disappointed in me. I’m sorry to those who think I’m giving up or giving in. But, most of all, I’m sorry to the city of Tijuana. I hope other voices spring up where I’ve left off.
Wish No. 3: Keep up your interest in Tijuana by visiting these very good Tijuana-related blogs: Derrik Esta Aqui, Across the Border, GisLuis.com, NathanGibbs.com, and Tijuana Bible.
This will be my last real post. I plan to maintain the site only if there is an event or community notice that I feel needs to be posted. Keep up with me on my new blog, Durango Dirt, or by following me on Twitter.
The Love Bazaar in Tijuana
February 9, 2009
From one of the event organizers, Franklin Collao:
Que tal amigos, estoy muy contento de invitarlos a THE LOVE BAZAAR.
Una especie de SHOWROOM/OPENSTUDIO, en mi estudio vaya.
He invitado a amigos que tienen una produccion de Arts&Crafts DIY o HANDMADE,
para mostrar nuestro trabajo y pasar la tarde del
SABADO 14 DE FEBRERO juntos.
El Bazaar estara abierto de 12 a 8 pm
El vernisagge de la expo “FORMATO PEQUEÑO” es a las 6pm
La pieza Interactiva de DreamAdcictive es a las 6.20 pm
Y durante todo el dia se haran proyecciones de videos, cortos y peliculas.
Para los que no saben donde vivo, la direccion es:
Ave Jalisco 8216 col. Cacho. tel 6642035601
(Para ver mapa checar el flyer)
Espero que nos visiten y pasarla Super.
F.
The demolition of Friendship Park continues
February 9, 2009
According to Dan Watman, one of the activists fighting to save access to Friendship Park, the park where families from both sides of the Mexican/U.S. border go to meet, there will be a large demonstration at Border Field State Park on Saturday, Feb. 21.
For more info, contact dan.watman@gmail.com.
Lui Velazquez: Pollada musical
February 6, 2009
At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, Shinpei Takeda and Tony Cozano will be presenting what I’ve been told is a pretty good improvised-music show. Lui Velasques, the experimental art space in Tijuana that’s run by vis-arts students at UCSD has officially moved downtairs of its former location, where they’ll be enjoying about 150-percent more space!
Directions: From the U.S., park on U.S. side of border. Walk through first turnstile gate, stay to right, walk through second turnstile gate and as soon as you walk into Mexico, head right toward a three-story building with one green wall and the rest white walls. There is a big white gate surrounding the building and the words “Estaction Federal” are written in tile on a building on the same property. The new Lui is on the first floor, in the apartment with the bright green gate.
American Apparel in Tijuana
January 29, 2009
La Mezcalera: It's so close to Dandy Del Sur, you can see the reflection of Dandy's neon sign in the window.
Revolucion, the main tourist thoroughfare in Tijuana, was pretty dead as usual last night. Tourism, see, is one of the victims of the city’s recent crime, too. Some reports say visits have dropped 90 percent since 2005, and if the ghostly appearance of the once poppin’ party street can be taken as empirical evidence, I’d say 90 percent is right — maybe even a tad low.
Last night, friends and I were going downtown to check out La Mezcalera, a new bar and restaurant on Sixth between Revolucion and Madero. On the way, we passed by a storefront on the corner of Fifth and Revolucion covered in thick plastic with the words “American Apparel pronto llegamos” scrolled on every window.
Wow. American Apparel in Tijuana. Really? Who would have thought?
At the Mezcalera, I talked to one of the owners of the new, decidedly hip hot-spot, and he pointed around to his nice freshly painted walls and clean restroom and said, “I don’t own this bar, the neighborhood owns this bar. I know that, before too long, this place will be a little dirtier and darker, just like the rest of Revolucion.”
I wonder if he’s right, or I wonder if more people like him and the decision-makers at American Apparel will start to see the possibilities of Revolucion and downtown Tijuana.
Not long after the owner of the Mezcalera made the comment about his place getting dirty and darker, he said he did hope new businesses came in and turned Revolucion into more of an outdoor urban mall-like area with places where entire families in Tijuana could come to shop and enjoy their weekends. The old stores filled with tourist-targeted things just aren’t working anymore, the owner of Mezcalera said, and he wished they’d just accept it and open stores targeting Tijuanenses instead.
Maybe the drop in tourism isn’t such a bad thing after all, I ended up thinking by the end of the night. Maybe the hoards of Mexicans who wait for hours in line to shop at stores in the United States won’t have to do that anymore. Maybe forward-thinkers like the people at American Apparel will see the market potential of Tijuana and finally build Tijuanenses the downtown they deserve.
La Mezcalera Tijuana
January 28, 2009
La Mezcalera opens tonight! The new bar and restaurant featuring 6 different types of Mezcal and 9 different types of crema de Mezcal is finally opening its doors to the Tijuana crowd, which will likely embrace it with the kind of love and devotion usually reserved for moms.
La Mezcalera is located on Sixth between Revolucion and Madero in downtown Tijuana just south of Dandy Del Sur. Mas informacion en espanol esta abajo:
Tijuana eventos @ La Casa de 9
January 27, 2009
"Alright!" by Kinsee Morlan
La Casa de 9 is celebrating their sixth anniversary. If you’ve never been, it’s time to go. The punk-rock-minded cafe is a cultural hub in Tijuana. They often hold film and lit events and you’ll always see new and interesting art on the walls. Their coffee isn’t bad either. The La Casa de 9 February and March schedule is below:
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