Although currently residing in New Orleans, Marshall Owens lived many years in San Diego and has written extensively on the area for local news outlets. Working on a law degree, he’s working part time as a paralegal for a private practice specializing in maritime law. Because Louisiana has many ports that serve the oil industry’s Gulf coast operations and because of its solid reputation, his firm is one of the most often called when local maritime workers get injured on the job. But for us, his knowledge of the San Diego/Tijuana culture is invaluable. His posts are informative and are regularly referenced in the national media.

Tijuana’s history, culture, and music make it both uniquely Mexican and yet at the crossroads of cultures, even a crossroads of the world.

The city is one-half of the San Diego/ Tijuana metropolitan area; it has been said that the US people work in SD but live in TJ. People certainly come to the city from all over the world, to visit or stay; the population is diverse and includes South and Central Americans, Asians, and of course people from Sinaloa, Jalisco, Oaxaca…

And the green revolution has come to Tijuana big time! Going green may seem like a current trend, but the benefits of leading a more organic and sustainable lifestyle will far outlive any trend or fad that seems to be happening. One might even say it is similar to the princess dresses for girls trend that will probably always be a “trend” as long as there are little girls who love to dress up in pretty clothing and make believe they are princesses. It is evident that the princess trend is a strong as ever with the emergence of e-commerce stores selling extraordinary princess dresses along with all the necessary accessories such as tiaras, crown, and cone hats (for the medieval princess), white gloves, capes and cloaks , and the absolutely important magic wand. No longer is mom’s old dresses good enough for the princess look. Now little girls can get the Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty among other princess dress styles. So like some of these trends the princess dress trend most likely will not go away anytime soon. With advancements in production of everything from food to cars becoming more “earth friendly” we will start to see the benefits and hopefully can bring much of this into our own homes.

Like Las Vegas, Tijuana has spent plenty of time and money trying to shake off the sin city image to attract more family-style tourists. The city of Tijuana would certainly like to project that the lawless “anything goes” days of danger and abandon are in the past. Not so. In the spring of 2014 news ws posted on the internet that Mexico’s attorney general revealed that investigators had seized 44 tons (39 metric tons) of marijuana in Tijuana across the border from San Diego, California. Tijuana is known for huge marijuana seizures because of its proximity to the U.S. There are numerous marijuana dispensaries both in Tijuana and San Diego. If you do not want to travel across the border for marijuana edibles, you can get all you want on the US side in San Diego. All the legitimate marijuana dispensaries cater to the medical cannabis user, often offering small, personal, professional delivery services out of San Diego,CA. Some even often a free marijuana edible as a perk. DO your research however. There are a lot of shady marijuana dispensaries out there as well.

Another area where American influence is prevalent has to do with law enforcement, particularly regarding vehicles. Due to commerce across the border, there are a significant number of vehicular accidents reported each year with many involving trucks. A US truck accident lawyer tells us that many of his clients have been injured by trucks – semis, 18 wheelers, as well as smaller transports – making pickups and deliveries to locations near the border. Of course US law only governs one side, but since that is where most of the accidents occur, it makes sense that legal firms are active in this area. And if you are a US citizen injured by a commercial vehicle, then you are advised to contact a lawyer specializing in truck accidents before you do anything beyond reporting the accident to the authorities.

The excitement of the shady and illicit still draws many to the Avenida Revolución and Zona Norte. However, the tourist story of Tijuana is only part of the story, and perhaps the less interesting part.

One of the big stories of the last decade or two has been the explosion of activity within the art community of Tijuana. Bulbo and other collectives produce some of the world’s foremost dance, theater, and visual art with a definite ear to the authentic and ‘underground’ currents of inspiration in Tijuana. Mural grafitti and large-scale sculpture can be found throughout the city, sometimes where you least expect it but always making an impression.

The musical scene is diverse and often unique; while the nightclubs host bands from all over the world, performing and bringing their sound to the mix, the significant movement is from local artists who absorb and reshape the musical inspirations that have gone before. The proud energy and subculture support that came of age during the punk era has spilled over into many genres, from the traditional and faithful to the most modern and abstract.