“My dad started this stand in March of 1970, the year I was born,” says Israel Carrillo, who runs Mariscos el Buzo, a small seafood stand in the corner of Calle Segunda and Gonzalez Ortega …
March 25, 2016
Mexico
Drunk diving in Tijuana
Goat is so much better than beef
I remember the first time I had birria in the city of Guadalajara. I was only seven and wasn’t much of a meat eater. Without asking for it, a bowl of spicy greasy red soup …
March 18, 2016
Shot borer beetle gets hot in Tijuana River Valley
The devastation — 140,000 trees destroyed by a beetle infestation — that has beset the Tijuana River Valley is becoming the statewide symbol of what could happen if there isn't a rush to find ways …
March 15, 2016
Tijuana movie theater reopens
“As soon as you sit down, a guy will come over and offer you sexual favors,” a gay friend told me a couple of years ago. “You pay around two dollars and you can stay …
March 5, 2016
La Justina has grown up
A couple of years ago I stopped by the soft opening of La Justina to check out San Diego–based Bajaphile chef Chad White’s south-of-the-border debut. I was not disappointed. A creamy sea snail and almond …
March 4, 2016
Unusual Baja
Tijuana Dream Tracker "Just like Florence, just like Rome, Tijuana, too, has its monuments." Professor Julio Rodríguez steers his blue Ford through Zona Rio, gesturing at one statue after another. "And what are monuments? What …
February 28, 2016
Even the dogs are down and out
It’s the end of the road for the Wild West, except the crooked sheriff now carries an automatic rifle, the saloon women dress like school girls (and might not be girls), the horse bandits use …
February 10, 2016
Whatever you do, stay south of Calle Primera
The first time I tried a Buda Burger was two years ago. My roommate had left a half-eaten burger in the fridge, and I was hungry. He later gave me directions on how to find …
February 7, 2016
Razor wire stops lots of border-fence jumpers
Recently installed razor wire along the border from Imperial Beach to San Ysidro has cut traumatic injuries to fence-jumpers by more than 70 percent. The need for border patrol agents to be stationed at hospitals …
February 5, 2016
Bland food, fantastic view
Waves crashing, rooftop dogs barking, seagulls squawking, the banter between people (mostly in English), music playing in the background, improvised couches, random pillows and cushions, a long wooden table, a bookshelf with a sign that …
January 28, 2016
Tastebud invasion by a Tijuana torta
Five minutes later she arrives with my steaming torta. All wrapped in its own papoose.
Zonked out
The zonkey business seems to be dying of natural causes, not because of animal rights activism.
January 27, 2016
To be Mexican
Reina's Story North County's sex slaves. In April 2001, 15-year-old Reina was leaving her home in Tenancingo, a high-plateau town west of Mexico City. She was happier than she’d been in a while, traveling north …
January 24, 2016
Kitty and tea
“The Persian one, that’s Zed,” says Elizabeth Barajas, the founder of Bastet Cat Café, pointing at a napping kitty. “Zed is the house cat. He is always here and welcomes all the newcomers. More than …
January 22, 2016
Peso falls at the same time as Chapo
“We need to find another news story for people to get distracted; we call it la caja China (Chinese box).” That’s a translated line from a Mexican movie that came out in 2014 named La …
January 14, 2016