Stephen in California 3: The Happiest Place on Earth

Today I went to the Happiest Place on Earth. No it's no Disneyland, nor is it any of the associated places such as Universal Studios, Six Flags, Seaworld or the San Diego zoo. It is not West Hollywood. The Happiest Place on Earth is Tijuana, Mexico.

Tijuana is a sprawling, dusty town spread along the border with the United States, indeed, clinging to the border as a child clings to it's mother's leg. Tijuana seems to be almost insisting that if it's just good enough, the United States will sweep down and embrace it, severing it from the Mexico it longs to shed. Indeed, to get to Tijuana is a positively domestic experience. All you need to do is get onto the San Diego trolley, a light rail system almost identical to the Calgary C-Train system. The Trolley's only major variance from Calgary is that it loads on the street, with steps leading up to the interior.

Once onboard you simply sit back as it takes you past the industrial districts and the port of San Diego. I watched with interest as the port past by with all of it's various ships docked. I even spotted a Canadian flagged warship in the port. The Trolley rather quickly takes you south and soon you can see Mexico. It was peculiar sensation to watch Mexico coming up on you from public transport like this, at least for me. It was not a method by which I was accustomed to when it comes to reaching a border. Then again, Tijuana is not an ordinary border.

More people cross between Tijuana and the United States then at virtually any other border crossing on Planet Earth. Despite being in two countries, Tijuana and San Diego are bound together, with Tijuana almost being a suburb of San Diego and the surrouding areas. The only difference being that this suburb requires crossing with a passport.

I walked off the C-Train, erm, Trolley at the San Ysidro station. I followed the throngs of people over the pedestrians bridges that connected the train station to the border. We crossed over huge lanes of traffic going in and out of the border station. From my last crossing I did not expect much of a hassle crossing into Mexico. I was shocked however, to see that there were no border guards whatsoever. I could clearly see border guards conducting inspections of cars crossing into Mexico, but for walking crossers there was no one to be seen. The only indication of passing into Mexico was going through a gated entrance, with one of those large revolving gates.

After entering Mexico and Tijuana I crossed over a pedestrian bridge that was cutting over a floodway. As I walked across I looked north towards the United States and saw the wall that divided the two countries and I was struck by the artificiality of it all. Once, long ago, all of this would have been Mexico, not divided between two countries like it is now. I was also struck in many ways by how porous borders can be, how arbitrary these decisions that determine whether you're a Mexican, an American or a Canadain. A line on a map, with the walls to prove it, defining jurisdiction, culture and nationality.

Tijuana and San Diego are like mirror images of each other. One is poor and the other is rich. One mostly speaks English with Spanish as a second language and the other mostly speaks Spanish with English as a second language. One is big and the other is little. One is vibrant and the other is dour. One recoils from the border and the other hugs it. And both spent a great deal of time staring at each other through the prism of the border.

Tijuana has also changed a great deal since I was last there. It's still crawling away from poverty but it's come along way. On my first visit Tijuana was a broken down wreck of a town, a third world tragedy next door to the richest country on Earth. On my second visit Tijuana was bustling with activity and commerce. And now, it's thriving on the flow of American dollars. Pharmacies are everywhere, bringing inexpensive drugs to Americans being gauged on similar drugs at home. Americans seem to be pouring across the border in record numbers, all of them looking for deals, all of them bringing money to Tijuana. It's not exactly a success story, it may well never get there. But it is interesting to watch it happen. And with the vibrancy of Latin culture it will be fascinating to watch it happen.

Ua Lava South of the Border