Stars and Stripes por Siempre

A display of American flags lined a portion of Tijuana´s Coahuila Boulevard and environs over the July 4 weekend. Old Glories were put into position in anticipation of holiday visitors from el otro lado (“the other side”).

The annual rite has seen more draping of the red, white, and blue over the past few years, as local saloons and dance halls attempt to lure back Americans who are reluctant to visit Tijuana.

Vintage rock ’n’ roll reverberated from inside cavernous bars like the Chicago Club, at the crossroads of Constitución and Coahuila. This reporter hadn’t heard so much Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis since his grammar school days. The sale of bottlerockets, firecrackers, and roman candles was up at the local tiendas that offered them.

Tijuana celebrates Independence Day twice a year -- on July 4th and the 16th of September, which is when Mexico broke ties with Spain in 1810 and began fighting for independence.