La vida

“Hi” by Kinsse Morlan

I talked to photographer Frederic Roberts recently (he currently has a show on India up at MoPA), and something he said really made me think about the process of taking photos.  And I’m not talking technical:  We’ve all gone digital, so photography is no longer too much about the aperture of f-stop, nor is it about developing the film or spending any time at all in the dark room ourselves (which I did way back in high school, and miss greatly).

Frederic reminded me of the human side of photography. He called “travel photographers”  — those who swoop into an exotic place and start putting their cameras in foreigners’ faces — total and complete assholes. And he’s right.

I’ve lived in Tijuana for two years, but I’m still an asshole outsider who keeps my camera on or near me at all times, just waiting for a chance to whip it out and snap a shot of something my gringa eyes recognize as different and interesting. Most of the time, of course, it’s the people of Tijuana.

But Frederic made me think about how I go about taking my photos.  It’s important to me to catch people doing their normal day-to-day things, but sometimes they see me seeing them and they get uncomfortable.  I, too, get uncomfortable when I’m on the other side of the lens, so I completely understand, but the question becomes;  How do you go about getting these great “average life of interesting foreign people” photos without being an outsider asshole? Frederic said he developed a relationship with all of his subjects, but that’s a luxury (both in the time and money sense) that I simply don’t have.  I could take the time to ask people if I can take their pictures, but then I’d lose the thing I like most about photography — the one moment of random fleeting beauty.

Arg.  I don’t have the answer.

Only in Tijuana

What do I do for fun? Now that I’ve experience the pleasure of a spanking party (pictured above), I think I shall partake in the spanckage more often. The wooden spoon did sting a bit at first, but the warm tingle afterward was welcome.

Pictures from down south

“Waiting in Red” by Kinsee Morlan

More visuals for those of you too scared to drive down to Tijuana these days. Just a few quick words: Tijuana is wonderful. Stop being a baby. Nobody’s going to kidnap you. Nobody’s going to shoot you. The cops may ask for money but all you have to do is say no.

There. On to the photos:

Ah-hah!

 

“Suburban Dreams Downsized” by Kinsee Morlan

Just as I suspected.  The long border waits to get back from Tijuana to the U.S. are a gigantic waste of time and money.   Dean Calbreath’s article in the U-T yesterday is an interesting read. It sheds light on the economic impact of the border line and talks a bit about how the new passport and birth certificate requirements are likely to have a huge negative impact on the region, too.

Tijuana shots

“A Tijuana Christmas Tree” by Kinsee Morlan

Photos of Tecate and Mexicali

 

Mexico’s Highway 2 will take you from Tijuana to Tecate and on to Mexicali. The toll road is expensive, about $15 when all is said and done, but the free road is curvy and filled with potholes the size of the Grand Canyon.

So take the the toll road, drive and enjoy. Pictures, mostly of Tecate ’cause I ran out of space on my digital camera by the time we got to Mexicali, are below.

Strike at Tijuana maquila

“Tijuana Dusk” by Kinsee Morlan

This is big and exceedingly good news. Strikes at Tijuana maquiladoras just don’t happen. The foreign-owned factories are too corrupt — they fire anyone who complains and if a large-scale strike looks eminent, they simply close shop and move to another third-world country where they can abuse workers without worry. Read the story below and send a letter!

So, Hank lost

 
“I Saw the Sign” by Kinsee Morlan

Former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rohn only managed to get 43 percent of the votes in his bid for governor of Baja California.

It was amazing how quickly all the vinyl signs came down. If you think the United States is bad about too much political propaganda on television or front lawns, just take a 20-minute drive down to Tijuana next time there’s an election. The use of signage is insane.

A few days ago, my friend and I were talking about the banners and billboards and he brought up an interesting point. He said the makers of those signs are actually big-time political players. They sign on to a candidate’s campaign, printing thousands of dollars worth of signage for free, and then cross their fingers and hope their choice candidate wins. If they’re lucky, and he/she does win, the debt is repaid in favors in the form of government contracts and who knows what else.

Now, this is all speculation, but the truth may not be far away.

Showing signs of globalization

“Globalization” by Kinsee Morlan

Tijuana is studied by academics worldwide. I ran into one who said the reason he was so interested in the border town was because it is one of the first places to really show the effects of globalization. He said the rest of the world would be following the lead of Tijuana in the next decade or so.

I see the effects he’s talking about, and they’re both good and bad. The bad is on the econmic side. NAFTA has completely devestated not just Tijuana, but the entire country of Mexico by making it impossible for Mexican farmers to compete with the big American corporations. Many of the out-of-work farmers have migrated north to work in the maquiladoras, or foreign-owned factories, that populate Tijuana and other parts of northern Mexico. The maquilas disrespect not only the workers, but the environment and Mexican laws as well. If you ask a NAFTA supporter, she’ll say, ‘well, at least they have jobs now, they wouldn’t have anything without foreign investment.’ If you ask people inside the fight for workers’ rights, however, they’ll tell you the Mexican people would be better off without the maquilas.

On the flip side, globalization has made Tijuana a truly bilingual, bi-cultural city. That, according to me, is a good thing. The city takes the best from both worlds, making the overriding culture a sort of hybrid form of Mexican-Americanism. I dig that for culinary, musical and artistic reasons.

Globalization has also been good for feminism. The traditionally macho Mexican culture you’ll find in Southern Mexico isn’t as prevalant in Tijuana. Tijuanense women are shown that there are more options in life than marriage and kids.

Maquiladora tour

“Sitting on a bench” by Kinsee Morlan

Taking a Maquila tour will change your life.  Click below and plan accordingly.