Chinese land in Ensenada, get tossed out

Plus — sketchy trailer park, Mexican gamblers, TJ morgue, lucha libre, what Mexican maids really think

Author

By Various Authors

Publish Date

April 15, 2018

Choking with extension cord (Sandy Huffaker, Jr.)

Margola wore short pants and a halter. She had thick purple coloring on her eyelids. A cigarette dangled from her lips. (Larry Ashton)

Brief Eden

We didn’t see too much of the man in trailer number eight, who was supposed to be a Federale, except for the times when he would step out onto his wooden deck and use his cellular telephone. He appeared to be in his 40s, well built, but with a savage face. There always seemed to be a string of women entering and leaving his trailer. Once as I was leaving the park, he said, in English, that his car was being repaired.

By Crane Johnson, Feb. 18, 1993 Read full article

Should I point out that Jorge Hank Rhon owns both of those two nice buildings? In addition to all of these betting books all over Baja California? (Sandy Huffaker, Jr.)

Gambling is deep In the blood of Mexicans

"They confiscated all my betting money, my birds, my equipment — probably over $2000 worth — then they set me a $1500 bail. And they put me on six months’ probation. And they shut down the La Gloria pit. They arrested 200 people, but when the story went out in the newspaper there were 25 names listed. Mine, of course, but nobody from Chapu who drives a Cherokee and wears thousand-dollar suits, right?"

The body always tells you how it died

“There was a female patient — excuse me for saying patient, it is a habit — she was the mother-in-law of a guy who lived here in Tijuana, though she lived in, I think, Chula Vista or National City. The mother-in-law didn’t like the son-in-law. She had a very prosperous business. Her son-in-law was working with her and he got fed.up with her behavior. He tried to make the perfect crime of her."

By John Brizzolara, May 20, 1993 Read full article

Boat people transported from Ensenada to Tijuana for deportation (Dave Gatley)

Baja's Chinese refugees risked everything

The Mexicans were nervous. The Mexicali mishap and the tragedy of the Golden Venture had been grim lessons, and the ongoing agitations aboard the Sing Li only sharpened their awareness of the potential for a disaster. The despair of some of the passengers was considered absolute, and in that condition, who could say what they might do?

By Larry Siems, Oct. 7, 1993 Read full article

The kids are in an uproar. “Miedo! Miedo!” they are screaming. (Sandy Huffaker, Jr.)

We fight dirty and they love it

The secretive changing rooms are crude cubicles of bathhouse tiles with the stubs of defunct taps and pipes still protruding from the walls. The gladiators use them as coat hangers. Folding metal seats, opened suitcases, and scraps of showbiz clothing clutter the floors. The wrestlers are not at all keen to be interviewed here, since few people are ever allowed to see them putting on or taking off their masks.

By Lawrence Osborne, Dec. 3, 1992 Read full article

For 30 cents more, a bus takes me to the border, where I walk across and catch the trolley. (Sandy Huffaker, Jr.)

What Mexican maids really think

The taxi took us up Otay Mesa, near the university. We seemed to be just driving around, moving towards the airport. Nobody was talking except Javi and the taxista. They were talking about the very latest in information about the movements of the migra. My impression was that they had a very special spot and were using it only with small groups to protect it from discovery. They seemed very relaxed and were sharing a bottle of tequila.

By Ana Maria Corona, Jan. 21, 1993 Read full article