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Preservation News in Tijuana
March/April 2017
By Maria E Curry
Here's a roundup of what preservationists are working on and discussing in Tijuana and the Mexico-U.S. border region.
 View of the depot from San Ysidro. Photo courtesy Fundación de Ferrocarriles de Baja California |
 (Left to right) Miguel Angel Perez (photo), Juan J Cabuto, Antonio Lara from the Fundación de Ferrocarriles de Baja California |
 Cine Libertad, December 2010. Courtesy Roberto G. Ricci |
 Cine Libertad, February 2017. Courtesy Maria Curry |
Group eyes historic railroad station
The old Tijuana train depot, built for the San Diego and Arizona Railway, is closed and no longer in use by Admicarga, the state agency in charge of the Tijuana-Tecate short line.
This historic building, which has been modified during the last decade, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in five years. It has been listed in the Catálogo de Monumentos (Monuments Catalog) of the INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) since 1984 and can be declared cultural patrimony under the Baja California state Preservation Law (Ley de Preservación del Patrimonio Cultural).
Fundación de Ferrocarriles de Baja California (Railway Foundation of Baja California), a model railroad group, is interested in helping the federal government restore the building and hopefully adapt it for use as a railroad museum and meeting place.
Libertad movie theater to be reused
The 1932 Art Deco Cine Libertad theater will be rehabilitated through a grassroots effort and used as an affordable community theater and acting school. It is in Colonia Libertad, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, which borders San Ysidro. The theater closed in 1964, but hosted the Opera en la Calle (Street Opera Festival) out front on 5th Street for several years, beginning in 2004.
After years of abandonment and a battle between the city and neighbors searching for an appropriate use, the building will be saved, remodeled and reused. Ideally, the old neon Cine Libertad sign should be restored, too.
Workshop on Kumiay language
A workshop on Kumiay language will be held March 11 and March 25 in the Centro Cultural, Paseo de los Heroes 9350, Zona Urbana Río. Kumiay (or Kumeyaay) is one of the four original languages that are spoken in Baja California and California. The instructor is Yolanda Meza Calles, who comes from the Kumiay community Juntas de Neji in Tecate.
Changes to historic downtown
Construction began in February on a 16-story building with 66 apartments on Avenida Revolución between 9th and 10th streets, part of a project called Distrito Revolución by developers Cosmopolitan Group. Buyers, investors, developers, press, public officials, business owners, and landowners attended a presale event.
Although the project has been praised as the beginning of a new downtown, the initial proposal was made without sufficient public input and environmental and design reviews. As a result, the true impact of this project on the historic downtown is unknown.
Latinos in Heritage Conservation monitors historic border sites
LHC is asking for information about historic sites, with or without official designation, that could potentially be affected by the proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. This request is aimed at U.S. sites but could include monuments in Mexico with binational significance.
The border markers, trails, and heritage areas that straddle the border are examples of what LHC is looking for and include El Camino Real Misionero, the San Diego and Arizona Railway, backcountry landscapes, and archaeological sites.
Send the name, location, and any designations of sites to latinoheritageconservation@gmail.com along with a paragraph on the significance. Go to www.facebook.com/latinoheritageconservation to follow this group on Facebook.
Similarly, SOHO and other cultural groups interested in Mexico-U.S. shared heritage participated in regional discussions when the triple border fence was proposed, then eventually built between San Diego and Tijuana.
The Jai Alai building's out-of-place mural
 Courtesy Daniel Esparza
 Courtesy Maria Curry |
In October 2016, a team of 11 international artists painted a mural on the back façade of the 1929 Jai Alai palace on Avenida Revolucion with the goal of encouraging urban art. This project was part of the Interzona Tijuana Festival and the third International Encounter of Urban Art.
The mural, named El Transeúnte (The Passerby), created a heated discussion in the city's cultural community because the Jai Alai is an iconic building. Those who oppose the mural argue that it diminishes the building's original character. Supporters say the painting highlights the building's value, can be removed in the future, and does not affect the historic view from the street.
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