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March in Tijuana to raise awareness on missing women
The "feminicidas" in Mexico have nothing to do with neighborhood violence. These women are not killing each other in drive-by shootings. Their deaths appear to be perpetrated by politically powerful men and boys. Several deaths in particular have been attributed to a batch of politicians that Visduh thinks we just elected: among those murdered was a foreign-exchange student from Belgium, whose government received the official response of "Sorry, your girl was a whore, she had it coming to her." About five years ago, a Tijuana student named Benazir was raped and murdered by the son a local judge connected to the drug cartels. He has never been charged. Instead, during the investigation, Benazir was accused of being a promiscuous crackhead even though she had no history of such behavior nor were any drugs found by the autopsy. People put up crosses on the site her body was found: our mayor ordered them removed. These marches are very much different from the ones in the United States. The goal is not to bring the women back to life, nor can we expect to bring their arrogant murderers to justice. These marches are meant to let the whole world know that such evilness is at large, preying on its own people. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)— September 9, 2012 11:43 a.m.
Enviros try to stop channelization in Tijuana's Colonia Chilpancingo
About six years ago, the president of our College of Architects was on the air to lobby for the remediation of the Tijuana River canalization project. In his professional opinion, he said, all that cement was engineering overkill but, now that it's been built, at least we might make its floor porous, to help our water table, and maybe cover over some of the bleakness with public architecture. There has been no remediation. Instead, we now use the canalization to house people kicked out of California prisons, to park police cars, and to shoot off city-sponsored fireworks. What a shame it is to see that the Alamar has already been canalized in that same over-engineered way. Doesn't the International Boundary and Water Commission have anything to say in the matter?— September 9, 2012 10:22 a.m.
Tacos Salceados (Tacos la Ermita)
Tacos Ermita, now officially called Tacos Salceados, is found on Ermita Norte between Díaz Ordaz and Benítez, a bit east of Plaza Patria. As to the above: Kids' menu: this is as taco stand Occasional live music: only informally Payment options: cash (pesos and dollars) The tacos are very good but unusual. The carnes asada and adobada are fried rather than cooked on an open flame and the quesatacos are unique to the owner. Their salmon and smoked trout come from the U.S. The name "Los Salceados" was given to Tacos Ermita by its customers. The place is now registered with CANIRAC as Tacos Salceados.— September 2, 2010 11:46 p.m.
La Identidad Tijuanense
Julio, 'mano, escribes como si vivieras en el Otro Lado ahora y como si la madre Tijuas ya no te reconozca. Tus vecinos de la cara pálida dicen "home is where the heart is" (tu querencia hace tu hogar) en balde confusión con el dicho tradicional y etimológico, "home is where the hearth is" (tu hogar está en tu fogón). Un verdadero vecino de Tijuana no diría "que el crimen acosa la vida cotidiana" porque aquí la unica cosa que nos acosa diariamente es el desprecio (de origen gringo) en los medios masivos de los dos paises. Bueno, eso y el embotellamiento del tránsito… Al enseñar el español a los gringos, solemos hacer hincapié en la diferencia entre "chihuahueño", un perrito, y "chihuahuense", un ciudadano del soberano estado. Lo chistoso de nuestra pretensión es que no existen "madrilenses" ni "burguenses" sino "madrileños" y "burgueños" aunque sí los ingleses cuentan con Oxonienses y Cantabrigienses. Entonces, nosotros los tijuanenses ¿somos más gabachos que gachupines? Hemos visto en la colonia Libertad, la cuna de Federico Campbell, que se vende una prenda con el lema "TIJUANERO" para ofrecernos aún otra identidad, ésta de afición. Tijuanense … tijuaneño … tijuanero. En fin, ¿qué? ¿Los tijuanenses son ellos que escriben por uno de los periódicos gringos que odian a Tijuana? ¿o los 3'800'000 que viven y trabajan aquí? ¿o los no sé cuanto pochos y chicanos que nos visitan, apretándose las narices, en los fines de semana? Hemos visto por los fallos jurídicos de los últimos comicios que la gente más tijuanense, nuestra crema y nata, nace en el Otro Lado. Nuestros ginecólogos se quejan pero siempre ha sido así. ¡Chale, don Julio, eso significa que nosotros nacidos en Tijuana somos los nacos! Pero nuestra madre nos recibe tal como somos. Cuando quieras regresar estarás bienvenido. Saludos, The Real Tijuana realtijuana.blogspot.com— May 16, 2010 3:52 p.m.
Tijuana's new Home Depot
The city has big plans for your suburb, señor Rangel. One million new inhabitants by the year 2030. (¡!) Outfits like URBI and Geo have been tossing around phrases like "ecological homes" and "sustainable growth" like there's no tomorrow. And what market have they asked the state to help them attract? Retired gringos. This is your chance to make a fortune – just open a branch of Dandy del Sur.— December 1, 2009 1:08 p.m.
Tijuana Snapshot
"the unrelenting Mexican sun" Were it not for a mere few meters, this might have been the unrelenting San Diego sun. But luck is on the story-teller's side. He makes no choice. And soon you will not hear his voice. His job is to shed light and not to master. With apologies to Robert Hunter.— November 5, 2009 11:40 p.m.
Tijuana Turnaround?
C'mon, please! The holding pens are for "muggers, drunks, dope dealers, and general ne’er-do-wells"? I was in there once myself and I am nothing of the sort, I was merely someone who was being shaken down by Jorge Hank's thugs and who insisted on my Constitutional rights. My holding pen mates told me that we were all being deprived of our liberty because we didn't look important enough to be let free. The qualifying judge for the caseta was in on the scam (he spit in my face while calling me a cabrón for quoting the Constitution to him) but I doubt that he's a judge any more. When they released me I filed a complaint against them all with the Sindicatura. So you say that caseta was closed for a while? Little wonder. You only have freedom if you will exercise it. You don't have to go through everything I did, just dial 076 anytime day or night and tell the bilingual operator what's happening to you -- they can dispatch an attorney to assist you without charge. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!— November 5, 2009 11:31 p.m.
Home Is Where Cheap Rent Is
You are correct, don Refrito, our so-called neoliberales are not Keynesians at all. They just want us to believe they are. They are no more neoliberal than their opposite numbers in D.C.* are neoconservatives -- they are all just cryptofascists. But this business with Friedrich von Hayek? There is no point in making a distinction between Harvard and Yale. Both universities have working against the success of universal suffrage. In Mexico the presidents have been alternating between Harvard and Yale ever since Salinas de Gortari (but none before!) and we have suffered the consequences ever since. Keynesianism is their brand and Lord Keynes is too dead to disown them. If we must give them a true name, I would suggest calling them Croesians because King Croesus was the first to begin clipping his coins (that is, to cause inflation). I thought I'd never say this, but I sure miss Miguel Alemán. Late at night we can afford to indulge in such philosophy. (*) they have the same political goals and they use the same marketing wizards, such as Dick Morris— November 5, 2009 11:01 p.m.
Home Is Where Cheap Rent Is
Now if I might address the question of whether rents here are payable in pesos or dollars in a manner less polemical than BigBob's... From a historical perspective, dollars have been more common here in Tijuana than have been pesos. Before Baja California achieved statehood it was often impossible for the pesos to make it here from the capital so dollars were used perforce simply so that the city might have some form of currency. (Even today a lot of our supplies come from north of the border, for example, our natural gas and many of our vegetables.) The peso became a centrally controlled currency in the 1960s. This means the president decided how much the peso would be worth from one day to the next. Every new president would cover the previous president's retirement package by devaluing the peso ... most of Mexico didn't notice, but those on the border and those in international finance would take a beating. The World Bank and the IMF were not amused. Landlords in Tijuana who rented in pesos got screwed hard with each devaluation. They took refuge in the dollar, whose value varied imperceptibly. This was viewed by the government as an attempt to sidestep the controlled currency, so it got written into the Commercial Code that all rents for land in Mexico must be charged in pesos otherwise the lease would be null and void. Salinas de Gortari floated the peso, good Keynesian that he is, and the requirement of renting in pesos subsequently was taken out of the Commercial Code. But habits die hard: many people still believe that rents in dollars are illegal. Nowadays landlords can charge their rents in pesos or dollars ... I know some who accept both ... but the lease contract still needs to be written in Spanish if the courts are to enforce it. As a general rule, the closer the property is to the border, the more likely the rent will be quoted in dollars; if the owner lives north of the border, dollars are an almost certainty. But there are still many, many places to live here in Tijuana that are renting in pesos -- you can see those in the classifieds of El Mexicano and La Frontera.— November 4, 2009 1:04 p.m.