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Tijuana

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

                                                CAPTION: Ciudad de Tijuana

                                               Image:Escudo_de_Tijuana.png
                               Coat of Arms of the municipality of Tijuana
           Motto: Aquí empieza la patria, "The Homeland Starts Here". The
                  government translates the phrase as "Gateway to Mexico".
                                                Date Founded July 11, 1889
                                             Demonym Tijuanense in Spanish
                                              Population 1,410,700 ( 2005)
                              Density of population 2 212 hab/km² ( 2000)
                                                        Altitude 20 metres
                                                   Latitude 32° 31' 30" N
                                                     Longitude 117° 02' W
                 Time Zones ( UTC) Pacific Standard Time – 8 hours (GMT)
                                                   Telephone area code 664
                                                Website www.tijuana.gob.mx
               [Sources: 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; the city's current mayor is Jorge Hank
   Rhon of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Hilly Tijuana is
   the westernmost city in Latin America as well as one of the
   northernmost cities ( Mexicali a few hours to the east by car, is
   slightly farther north). For this reason Tijuana is referred to as the
   corner of Mexico and/or Latin America. The city stands on the
   U.S.-Mexico border, adjacent to San Diego County, California, United
   States to the north. The city of Playas de Rosarito seceded from
   Tijuana in the year 1996 to become its own city. Although population
   figures are considered as official, yearly entries of large numbers of
   mostly-national —but also third-country transnational— migrants conform
   vast squatter sprawls amongst endless hills, complicating population
   counting.

   The city's motto is "Aquí empieza la patria". The Mexican government
   actually translates it as "Gateway to Mexico", but the literal
   translation is "The homeland starts here." It is also sometimes known
   as the "Most visited city in the world," owing to its proximity to the
   world's busiest border crossing.

   It is sometimes considered a mix of Mexico's good and bad: known for
   its economic prosperity, popular night clubs, and shopping areas,
   Tijuana is also considered to be Mexico's biggest illicit drug and
   prostitution centre, with high kidnapping rates.
   Agua Caliente's towers, located on one of the city's main avenues,
   Boulevard Agua Caliente.
   Enlarge
   Agua Caliente's towers, located on one of the city's main avenues,
   Boulevard Agua Caliente.

History

   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 Viscaíno. 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 1916, the Feria San Diego, California Panamá 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
   Colonia Lomas Taurinas, a neighbourhood nestled in a valley near
   Centro. The shooter was caught and imprisoned, but doubts remain about
   who his paymaster 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

   Historians have investigated the origins of the name of the city of
   Tijuana. One legend says that it was the name of a ranch in the area,
   property of "Tía Juana" – Aunt Jane, although it is now shown that name
   comes from the Yuman Indian language from the early inhabitants. In
   other documents there are mentions of "La Tia Juana", "Tiguana",
   "Tiuana", "Teguana", "Tiwana", "Tijuan", "Ticuan", "Tijuana". Based on
   the Yuman language, historians have come to recognize Tijuana
   originating from "Tiwan", meaning close to the sea.

   Nonetheless, most English-speaking Americans pronounce the name of the
   city Tia wanna, though it is commonly called "TJ" in Southern
   California.
   Playas de Tijuana, Crowds gather at Tijuana's beach on a hot summer.
   Enlarge
   Playas de Tijuana, Crowds gather at Tijuana's beach on a hot summer.

Geography

   Tijuana is at 32°31′N 117°01′W. This US-Mexico border city just south
   of San Diego, California. The adjacent city and formerly part of
   Tijuana is Playas de Rosarito. 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.

Culture and entertainment

Culture

   CECUT by night
   Enlarge
   CECUT by night

   The city has various schools of superior studies, conservatory music,
   dance schools, plastic arts, science and culinary arts. Also, there is
   a professional and university theatre, an opera, many movie theaters,
   two bullrings, and diverse festivals along the year.

   The Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT) is comprised of a theatre, lecture
   rooms, video rooms, a library, exhibition hall, Museum of the
   Californias, a futuristic planetary movie theatre, and a restaurant.
   Since 1992, the CECUT has hosted the Orchestra of Baja California
   (OBC), it headquarters the Centre of Scenic Arts of the Northwest
   (CAEN) and the Hispanic-American Centre for Guitar (CHG). Since 2001,
   the CECUT receives an 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 a school, theatre, and
   public library. Dance, painting, music, plastic arts, photography and
   language are taught there. The city also has 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. 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 and print "bulbo PRESS", to show different realities of Tijuana out
   of México. 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.

Education

   Universities of the region include the College of the Northern Border (
   COLEF), the most important social research institution in Tijuana; Baja
   California's Autonomous University ( UABC), the third best public
   University in Mexico, with Baja California's best medical and dentistry
   school and the second best Business Administration and International
   Business programs in the Republic of Mexico (and on par with most
   similar programs in the US); Tijuana Institute of Technology (ITT),
   with a strong program in engineering majors; Universidad Iberoamericana
   - Tijuana, the most prestigious private school in Baja California and
   in Mexico is the leading education institution for innovative programs;
   and Centre of Technical and Superior Teaching ( CETYS Universidad), One
   of the best universities in the state, CITEDI (Centro de Investigación
   en Tecnología Electrónica y Digital), a research centre focused on
   electronics and digital computing beloging to the Instituto Politecnico
   Nacional, on of the major national federal universities in México
   focused on technical issues;

   The demand for technical jobs is high in this region. For that reason,
   other technically-oriented universities such as Colegio Nacional de
   Educacion Professional Tecnica ( CONALEP), Centro de Ensenanza Tecnica
   e Industrial ( CECATI), Universidad de Tijuana ( CUT) and Univer have
   been founded.

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 English to conduct everyday business transactions
   Enlarge
   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 English to conduct everyday business transactions

   Tijuana's most prestigious entertainment centre is the Club Campestre
   de Tijuana, but the Hipodromo dog racing track would be the most
   notable that is open to the general public. Parque Morelos has a small
   zoo and big open spaces perfect for recreational activities and weekend
   barbeque; El 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, buy prescription drugs, bootleg
   brand-name clothing and accessories, and Mexican curiosities. However,
   there are plenty of other night clubs that do not have the touristic
   hassle over at Plaza Fiesta, across from the Plaza Rio Mall. Locals are
   more likely to drink and party there without the sleaziness found on
   the Revolución strip.

   Avenida Revolución is also famous for its nearby red-light district La
   Coahuila (also known casually as Zona Norte) which boasts a large
   number of street prostitutes, being tolerated in this portion of the
   city, as well as a great 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 pricey 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 Rio, located just a few minutes away from the US border. The mall
   hosts a variety of shops, which sell a wide array of things, ranging
   from cheap Mexican curiosities to expensive imports. The Plaza Rio also
   represents a common place for the people to socialize.

   Typically, just about everything that can be found in the US is also
   available in Tijuana - for example roller skating rinks, pool halls,
   bowling alleys, traditional cantinas and car clubs.

Economy

   The US dollar is accepted in many Tijuana businesses, but local peso
   rates are lower. As prices go in Mexico, Tijuana is one of the most
   expensive places in Mexico for goods, and it rises as you approach the
   US border, with some Mexicans resorting to shopping in San Diego.
   Tijuana is particularly famous among US youths, who cross the border in
   order to drink alcohol prior to their 21st birthday (Mexico's legal
   drinking age is 18). Tijuana makes a lot of money from medical tourism
   because many drugs can be bought for pennies on the dollar when
   compared to the US, as well as discount dental and optician work.

   Due to Tijuana's proximity to large California cities and its large,
   inexpensive, skilled and diverse workforce, it is an attractive city
   for foreign companies to establish extensive industrial parks comprised
   of 'assembly plants' or 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).

   Foreign and domestic companies employ thousands in these plants,
   usually in assembly related labor. Such jobs are demanding and ill-paid
   by US standards, but yet high pay for Mexico, as the nominal GDP per
   capita 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 poor migrant workers from other parts of Mexico, as
   well as other countries to the south, and very profitable trafficking
   of drugs, people, and other goods across the border. Not withstanding,
   there are some high-tech firms and telemarketing companies that pay
   better than average making their way into the city, and many skilled
   people with technical trades and college degrees are making their way
   to the city to find work in the growing but less established economic
   sectors.

   Among the companies that have setup 'maquiladoras' in Tijuana we find:
   Sony, Toyota, Samsung, Kodak, Matsushita/Panasonic, Nabisco, Philips,
   Pioneer, Plantronics, Pall Medical, Sanyo, etc.

   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.

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 (Soccer) 2006 Primera División
   A CREAD Stadium Gallos Tijuana Logo

   There are also two professional basketball teams. The Dragones de
   Tijuana 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 ( Greyhounds) de
   Tijuana 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.

Transportation

   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 ten airlines serving destinations across the nation. As
   of November 16, 2006, Aeromexico 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.

Bus Travel

   Mexico is served by an excellent network of bus transportation,
   reaching virtually all parts of the country. The city has a main
   Central de Autobuses, 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. Another small depot is near the border, with
   frequent service to Ensenada.

Road

   Tijuana is home to the world's busiest border crossing and queues to
   enter the U.S. can literally be hours long. However, after clearing
   customs and immigration formalities, Interstate 5 is a major 8-10 lane
   freeway to downtown San Diego, Los Angeles, and north to the Canadian
   border. Interstate 805 takes a more easterly route north and rejoins
   I-5 in the northern part of San Diego.

   Two important Mexican federal highways terminate in Tijuana. Mexican
   Federal Highway 1 runs south through the Baja California peninsula,
   terminating in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur. From Tijuana to
   Ensenada, most travelers take Highway 1-D , a four-lane, limited access
   toll road. Mexican Federal Highway 2 runs east for several hundred
   kilometers near the international border, currently as far as Ciudad
   Juarez, Chihuahua.

Driving to Tijuana from the USA

   Either Interstate 5 or Interstate 805 lead directly to the
   international crossing at San Ysidro, California -- a community within
   the city limits of San Diego. To enter at the Otay crossing, leave
   either 5 or 805 at the exit to Route 905 and proceed to follow that
   highway directly to the Otay crossing. Mexican Insurance may be
   required to be purchased, either at the border or online. Daily
   insurance costs about $25 USD/day. There is ample parking in San Ysidro
   for travellers crossing on foot, taking a taxi or tourist bus service
   which is available from the large parking lot located west of the I-5
   freeway. This parking lot is next to the pedestrian border crossing.
   From there, it is a ten minute walk to the downtown shopping and
   restaurant area along Avenida Revolución.

Tijuana Makes Me Happy

   Tijuana has always been thought of as a hub for tourists to purge their
   appetite for tequila. Its reputation for violence has been blown out of
   proportion. The feature film Tijuana Makes Me Happy directed by Dylan
   Verrechia, produced by James Lefkowitz and Pablo Tendilla, with music
   by Pepe Mogt from Nortec Collective, shows a brighter and more
   realistic picture of this city. The goal in their film is to break down
   the preconceived notion of Tijuana as a city of sin by showing the
   humanity of its people: their struggle, the strength of character, and
   the love of life that flourishes within. It also seeks to show that
   Tijuana is also in its own right a melting pot rich in culture, a place
   where people from all over Mexico come to work and live, people who are
   genuine and whose stories deserve to be heard.
   El Arco, a man watches Tijuana's arch located in Ave. Revolucion.
   Enlarge
   El Arco, a man watches Tijuana's arch located in Ave. Revolucion.

Trivia

   Mexican politician, Luis Donaldo Colosio was murdered here on March 23,
   1994.

   The famous battle between the Tijuana Cartel and their rival,
   Chihuahua-based Juárez Cartel was portrayed in the 2000 Hollywood movie
   Traffic.

   Tijuana's International Airport ( General Abelardo L. Rodríguez
   International Airport) is known for the tight approaches airplanes have
   to carry out, flying just over a fence before landing.

   Caesar Salad was invented in Tijuana in 1924 by an Italian chef named
   Caesar Cardini.

   About 300,000 people cross the border between San Diego and Tijuana
   every day.

   Despite general perceptions about the economy, there are various
   products that are more expensive in Tijuana than in the United States.
   Among these are: designer clothing and perfumes, prepackaged snack
   foods, burnable CDs, and other common products.

   In the animated TV series Futurama, Tijuana is the industrial heartland
   of the United States. The fictional robot Bender Bending Rodriguez was
   assembled here.

   In the animated TV series The Simpsons Krusty the Klown takes a group
   of children to Tijuana in the episode Kamp Krusty. To make it up to the
   kids, Krusty personally drives the bus to, "the happiest place on
   earth... Tijuana!"

   The city is mentioned in Nortec Collective's song Tijuana Makes Me
   Happy.

   The feature film Tijuana Makes Me Happy by Dylan Verrechia, James
   Lefkowitz and Pablo Tendilla, depicts a brand new positive and truer
   image of the city of Tijuana.
   From the arch hands a sign saying "Bienvenidos a Tijuana" (Welcome to
   Tijuana)
   Enlarge
   From the arch hands a sign saying "Bienvenidos a Tijuana" (Welcome to
   Tijuana)

   In the movie Inside Man, Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) mentions
   that the last time he had "his Johnson pulled that hard", it cost him
   five dollars. When asked about that, he mentions "It was Tijuana. Don't
   ask."

   One episode of the show " The OC" took place here
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