The Foreign Service Journal, October 2007

26 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 cross the street from the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana, Mexico, located near the Agua Caliente dog track and casino, a billboard advertises bloody “cage fights” with Mexican wrestlers clad in colorful “lucha libre” (no holds- barred style) masks. Right next to it is a sign urging socialites to go to La Cantina for all-you-can-drink spe- cials and live mariachi music. Just a few miles down the road sits the Cultural Center, a monumental arts complex with a planetari- um centerpiece, a gallery and a performance stage. Across from that is Tijuana’s commercial center, Plaza Rio (River Plaza), where weekend mall shoppers watch complimentary performances by up-and-com- ing Mexican musicians and actors. At night, many locals and visitors venture to Plaza Fiesta (Party Plaza) to go bar-hopping. Farther down, nestled around the infamous Aven- ida Revolucion (Avenue of the Revolution), is a row of stores where pharmacists in their white coats offer dis- count drugs on the street that would only be available by prescription in the United States. Other vendors try to lure people into shops to purchase faux-leather goods or antique sombreros. And hawkers entice vaca- tioners with promises to take their photo with zebra- painted donkeys. Even without all those exotic attractions to generate tourism, Tijuana would still be a thriving metropolis. It is centrally situated where visitors heading south first enter Mexico and where many pass through on their way to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security reports that the San Ysidro- Tijuana port of entry is the most-crossed international border in the world: approximately 50,000-65,000 vehicles and 35,000 pedestrians cross it daily. Tijuana’s population is estimated to be about two million, making it the largest city on the U.S.-Mexico border. It is also the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monter- rey, Puebla and Toluca. Many migrants from all over Mexico and the world call Tijuana home, giving the city a diverse mix of people. But Not Everything Goes … The region is famous for its bustling nightlife, luxu- rious spas and daylong shopping expeditions. “I come to Tijuana to relax and forget my troubles,” says one F O C U S O N T H E U . S . B O R D E R S T HE G REAT T IJUANA E XPERIENCE T HE S AN Y SIDRO -T IJUANA PORT OF ENTRY IS THE MOST - CROSSED INTERNATIONAL BORDER IN THE WORLD . B Y M AY G. B APTISTA A May G. Baptista recently completed her first Foreign Service tour in Tijuana. She is now in German lan- guage training for her assignment as an operations offi- cer in the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center.