Beyond the fact that Tijuana has its origins in the late nineteenth century and that for a long time it was an obligatory step for anyone who wanted to make the overland trip to Upper California.
It can be affirmed that Tijuana, the prelude to the American dream, grew and developed during the first half of the 20th century until reaching an approximate figure of 50 thousand inhabitants in the 1950s. Favored by its geographical position, Tijuana soon reached urban status if one takes into account that the 1924 grid barely exhausted the first ten streets that went from the first to the tenth and some letters of the laalaj alphabet.
External factors influence its growth, the enactment of Prohibition in the United States of America generated special flows of visitors for a time when tourism as a global phenomenon had just been born.
From the common North American to the Hollywood stars they took the time to look from time to time to a city that at that time had the largest canteen in the world known internationally as "The Whale." Thousands of thirsty tourists in search of recreation came to its luxurious bar, almost 100 meters long.
More exclusive, but also visited by many, was the Aguacaliente Casino Hotel located in the southeast of the city, which was reached by rental cars of the time and private cars, many of them open-top to enjoy not only the casino and the galgódromo, as well as the Hot springs and the comforts offered by that oasis, which became the first resort that operated in our country with these characteristics.
That was for a long time the hallmark of the city, the image spread in newspapers and magazines. Leaving aside the considerations that may be made in this regard, the truth is that Tijuana became the best-known border in the world.
What was an incipient tourist offer became over the years an unprecedented economic phenomenon motivated to a large extent by the demand of the thousands of tourists who visited it, as is the case to this day, on weekends.
The effort of its people from the most diverse parts of the country and the world transformed it in a very short time into a complete city open to visitors.
Hospitable and cordial Tijuana like few cities is an ideal place to exercise leisure, seen as the possibility of escaping from the stress of routine and finding, like traditional tourists, attractive in the enjoyment of what is close.
To the entertainment that made Tijuana famous, the Jai Alai, the bullfights, the galgódromo, the good cuisine, the bars and nightclubs and cabarets with great dance floors, the cultural offer is now added, the ancient aspiration of the people of Tijuana today. It is possible thanks to the excellent facilities, such as those offered by the Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT) that the city has today.
Today's Tijuana, with its almost two million inhabitants, is the key that opens the door to tourism that extends from the border to the Mission of the Sun in the Santo Tomás Valley, visiting it is essential to reach the beaches and cliffs by land from the Californian coast ideal for diving, fishing and other water activities; It is the shortest way to reach the Ensenada vineyards, center of an international quality wine industry; the closest point to the famous Spa in the city of Tecate; to the lunar landscape of La Rumorosa, the Sierra de Juárez and the enviable places.
Obligatory port to start the adventure of traveling the long territory of the Baja California Peninsula, Tijuana continues to be in a thousand and one ways, a meeting place.
Source: Aeroméxico Tips No. 10 Baja California / winter 1998-1999
