Spotlight Shines on Tijuana Tourism 'Tolerance Zone' Sandra Dibble - San Diego Union Tribune
go to original November 1, 2015

Tijuana's Red Light District - Calle Coahuila, Zona Norte, Tijuana, Mexico (RedLightDistrict.mx)

As the sun went down one night last week, Tijuana’s red light district came to life — with flashing neon signs, scantily clad women lining the sidewalk, bars filling with customers, and police pickups slowly cruising the main drag, Calle Coahuila.

The business of sex has for decades been conducted openly along these few blocks near the U.S. border at the edge of Tijuana’s downtown, an area of La Zona Norte known to locals as La Coahuila. But in recent days, the mere mention of its name has become a touchy political subject.

The hot-button issue is a program called Tijuana Coqueta, roughly translated as “Tijuana Flirty,” described in a recent Tijuana television news report as a campaign to bring sex tourism to the city. Tijuana’s tourism chief, Miguel Angel Badiola, subsequently denied the campaign’s existence. Mayor Jorge Astiazarán said he would never stand for it. And after days of controversy, both men say they’re done talking about Tijuana Coqueta, which local bar owners say is the name they gave to their own plan to improve sidewalks and add lighting to the area.

Near the U.S. border fence, at the northern end of downtown Tijuana, this is an area of town that goes unacknowledged in tourism campaigns. Promoters would far rather keep the the focus on Tijuana’s growing gastronomic offerings, its expanding music scene, and its vibrant and evolving community of artists — not these streets that speak to the city’s raunchier side.

But for decades, clients from both sides of the border have brought a booming business to the bars, hotels and cantinas in one of the city’s older and grittier neighborhoods.

Read the rest at San Diego Union Tribune

Related: Tijuana Tourism Pitch Flirts with Oldest Profession (San Diego Union Tribune)

Photo: David Maung

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