There is a vast difference between what Uber was when they started in Tijuana in 2015 and what the company is now. Cars were new and clean. Drivers used to offer water, mints, candy, or …

During the holiday season, thousands of Californians head south of the border to join their families for a Mexican Navidad mixed with customary American Christmas traditions. In the Spanglish world, as with the languages, the …

The trend to design exteriors of exposed brick and finished natural wood has made it to Tijuana. Many of the new and remodeled buildings have that modern look, clashing with the old sheet-metal carts of …

“People touch my hair all the time without asking,” says Szavio Raaum, a 28-year-old Minnesotan who lives in Zona Norte, Tijuana’s red-light district. “You missed a perfect picture the other day. A group of schoolgirls, …

Downtown Tijuana is a constant cacophony. Taxis, calafias (tricked-out short buses), and other vehicles never stop honking. Sirens from police cars, fire trucks, car alarms, and ambulances seem to always distract one’s attention. And with …

“Tell her that her grandmother, on her mother’s side, was a powerful witch,” said Amy Venezia, pointing toward Erika the veteran bartender at Nelson. “Let her know that she wasn’t a bad witch, she was …

Over 107,023 sodas of the 7up brand in all its varieties have been recalled in the state of Baja and distribution has stopped. José María Soto Gastelum, 35, died after drinking the soda bought in …

A hungry San Diegan can chose from hundreds, maybe thousands of places to eat Mexico’s fast food of choice, the taco. It only seems fitting that tijuaneneses should be able to eat the American fast-food …

An art installation by a French artist that goes by the name of “JR” was unveiled at the Tecate border with the U.S. on Thursday (September 7). Taller than the border wall at 30 feet, …

Puente El Chaparral is the bridge that goes over the smelly Tijuana River that thousands of pedestrian border-crossers and tourists use daily from downtown to the PedWest border. The access goes through a caged dark …

On Sunday, August 27th, a young man wearing a black cap, black shirt, and black jeans walked into a small coffee shop located in Colonia Buena Vista and pointed a gun at a customer who …

“It looks like I’m entering a ride in Six Flags,” regular border crosser Yesenia Huerta comments after using the new southbound entry to Tijuana via PedWest. “It feels like you are getting out of prison,” …

Aviso importante para la comunidad de border crossers and visitors: prepare to suffer longer wait times heading into Tijuana starting late September. This is due to the third and final phase of the $741 million …

Twenty-six people were murdered the first week of July in Tijuana for a total of 793 in the city and a total of 1,023 in the state of Baja for the course of the year. …

A few steps after entering Tijuana through the San Ysidro border, you get hounded by the first barrage of men in yellow shirts and black ties offering taxi services. “Taxi my friend? Rosarito, Ensenada, Hong …

Climb the California Tower in Balboa Park Balboa Park’s California Tower at the San Diego Museum of Man was closed to the public in 1935, but after extensive construction and safety renovations it reopened for …

Taco means tiny taste of temptation. Satisfaction by a thousand different cuts of meat and veggies. Is it just me, this wacko taco love affair? I don’t think so. Every San Diegan has a secret …

La Taquería Vegiee 2036 Avenida Ocampo, Downtown Tijuana The word “vegiee” is misspelled, but the vegan attitude at La Taqueria Vegiee is fully pronounced. Vegetables pretend to be meat and seafood at this 100 percent …

Countless street masseurs ply their trade throughout the city of Tijuana. Most sit on sidewalks near popular areas such as parks, flea markets, plazas, and churches. Signs hanging around their necks read “Experto Sobador” — …

Two hours south of San Diego, around sixty miles from Tijuana, sits Valle de Guadalupe inside Ensenada, the largest municipality in all of Mexico. Dozens of wineries with tasting rooms and fancy eateries sit near …

“I almost had a heart attack. I just witnessed gunshots at [Bar] Chip's,” my friend Amayrani posted on Facebook at around 1 am after the incident. I caught up with Amayrani the day after the …

“It’s like a multicultural limbo,” said Ken Terry, a daily border crosser. “In Mexico, I’m the gringo. In America, I’m the white Mexican. I’m stuck in the middle and seem to be a foreigner in …

After watching police arrest some minor drug offenders from inside the huge modern bus terminal in the Zone Norte, I headed toward a bus in Tijuana’s new rapid transit system, named SITT (Sistema Integral de …

“It’s been since January that the trash hasn’t been picked up,” says Geovanni Zamudio, a 35-year-old high school teacher in Tijuana. “Garbage collectors usually come on Wednesdays where I live in Porticos de la Mesa, …

“Buddy! Over here! Buy something, amigo! It’s all cheap! Free tequila shot!” Street salesmen in Tijuana usually try to shove things down your throat, whether you want them or not. They yell at you in …

The morning after Trump signed the executive order to build a wall (January 25), a couple of workers in a white van installed a 60-yard section section of chain-link fence on the existing barrier that …

A Caucasian American and a Korean opened a taco shop in Tijuana in late November. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but there is no punchline. KoMe is situated downtown on 7th Street …

Gas prices went up more than 20 percent in Mexico on the first Monday of 2017 (January 2). Protests and highway blockades started the same day over what is being referred to as "El Gasolinazo." …

Burritos salesmen walk the streets toting coolers in many corners of Tijuana. You can find them while waiting in line to cross the border, in small stores, or outside popular dive bars. The coolers contain …

Cue the upright bass solo in G minor. Enter trombones. Enter drums. Enter saxophones. All in a long crescendo. “My solo in it is a deeply concentrated one,” said jazz man Charles Mingus about “Haitian …

“Tengo que ir hacer laundry, then I have to study en la biblioteca,” I’m paraphrasing what the Latina students in my college sounded like. My first real encounter with Spanglish speakers was in Minnesota. Spanglish …

Despite the fact that there is no pizza in Tijuana that comes close to Pizzeria Luigi, there are many hundreds of pizzerias spread throughout the city. Many of them are commercialized garbage. Including many of …

When I talked to Juan Carlos Bucio for last summer’s Tijuana beer article, he described a vision of Plaza Fiesta beyond just beer. He envisioned Plaza as a daytime option for foodies, not just for …

I first visited Pizzeria Luigi in 2008. I lived in Los Angeles at the time, but I visited my brother in San Diego frequently enough that Luigi’s became a regular spot. I thought Luigi’s pizza …

“Bajan!” Anyone who has ridden public transportation in Tijuana has shouted those two syllables. There are no real bus stops in the city, the few that exist are symbolic. You can yell “bajan” at any …

“But first, my presentation.” Pepe Nacho breathes in and places his calloused right hand on his ear, pretending he has an earpiece. It’s a Wednesday morning and Pepe Nacho, a newspaper salesman, has been out …

It was a classic family outing with my parents, my brother, his pregnant wife, and their two-and-a-half year old son. My brother picked us all up. In the car we started debating on where to …

I’ve known Kokopelli tacos since they started on a street cart on Calle Ocampo in 2012, and the food truck craze wasn’t prominent in Tijuana yet. The grilled octopus taco in a charred tortilla named …

“Sorry, but this is not a costume, this is a character, and it’s something I do with all my heart for everyone that visits us and those who live here in Tijuana,” el Shrek de …

Rarely do I find myself in the Gaslamp Quarter. Two out of the last three times I was there were after picking up out-of-state friends from the Santa Fe Depot; the other was during Comic-Con. …

It’s NFL season again. Which means that, besides watching the Chargers lose over and over, I also get to watch a lot of meretricious commercials. Most of them are about cars that I cannot afford, …

Situated on Third Street in what used to be the Foreign Club building, Mamut Brewing Co.’s main location is top notch. The old hotel is one of Tijuana’s oldest buildings. Legend says that the building …

Avenida Revolución is seeing a lot of changes. The most emblematic street in downtown Tijuana, known as La Revu, has had something different opening up almost each week this year. Mexican curio shops lose ground …

I have been meaning to write about the kitchen inside Border Psycho’s tap room for a while. Border Psycho is one of the few breweries in Tijuana that exports to the U.S., a well-established craft …

“The [rise] of the dollar does not affect Mexicans,” said Andrea Legarreta, host of daily morning television show Hoy, in January of this year. The Mexican peso had just plummeted to a historic low against …

My friend Dan from San Diego matched with a Tijuana girl through Tinder. They agreed to meet on a Monday night on a double date, accompanied by my roommate and his girlfriend who was celebrating …

There is a lot of quirky nonsense in Tijuana. There is the three-story house that has a naked lady sculpted around. There are several cars and motorbikes modified beyond imagination. Cars are more than just …

The partnership between La Cerve and Alga Bien is a welcome addition to an area of Tijuana that has seen too many failed attempts at new restaurants and bars.

“As long as the buskers are getting along with each other and not fighting…everything is fine,” said Chet Harrison, a guitarist and fiddle player who makes his living as a busker in San Diego. “The …

The “danger dog” was born in the streets of Tijuana, then spread to Los Angeles (and beyond). Usually sold by unlicensed street vendors on improvised dirty grills, the weiner is typically a bacon-wrapped and deep-fried …