Tijuana Looks Inward to Spark Its Cultural Revival Whitney Eulich - The Christian Science Monitor
go to original August 2, 2016

City As Blender: Tijuana's New Mix of Music, Crowds, and Cultures (KPBS News)

Ever since US prohibition, when upscale – and decades later young and rowdy – Americans would cross the border to gamble and imbibe, tourism has been the lifeblood of the city.

But a series of events in the early 2000s put that model in peril.

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, border controls tightened and crossing times between San Diego and Tijuana nearly quintupled. Not long after, Tijuana faced a spike in drug cartel violence – with shootouts overtaking busy intersections and public spaces and an uptick in kidnappings – leading many to move away and international governments to warn against travel here.

Restaurants and clubs shuttered, and the city’s long-rowdy main drag became a ghost town.

But instead of looking north for ideas on reviving Tijuana, as had long been the custom, many here stopped and looked around their own communities for inspiration, says Raúl Cárdenas Osuna, founder of an artist collective in Tijuana that focuses on food and community development. A tough police chief took on the cartels head on, and an active arts and business community sent a strong message of taking back the streets.

It’s led to a renaissance of sorts, with eyes from the international art and culinary community homing in on Tijuana as a hot spot to visit for cutting-edge artwork, gastronomy, and culture.

Read the rest at The Christian Science Monitor

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