Surfing/Surfear

Someday I'll take a good surfing photo, today no.
Algun dia voy a tomar una photo buena de surfear, hoy no.


But we do have a good beach for surfing.

Pero tenemos una playa buena para surfear.







And some good surfers.

Y buenos surfers.






Surfing also is grace under pressure.

Surfear tambien es la gracia bajo la presion.

The Boardwalk/El Malecon

It is one of Playas's best features.
Es una de los caracteristicas mejores de Playas.

































In these last two photos you can see "the other side" and San Diego in the background.

En las ultimas dos photos puedes ver "el otro lado" y a San Diego en el fondo.

The line/La linea

With over 150,000 crossing the border between Tijuana & San Ysidro/San Diego daily, it is the busiest land crossing in the world.

Mas que 150.000 por dia hacen la garita entre Tijuana y San Ysidro/San Diego la mas concurrida del mundo.


In the late morning with an "orange alert" it takes 2 to 3 hours to get across going north. A short time ago it was 1 to 2 hours. Last Sunday at 4am it took 30 minutes. (To go south takes less than a second.)

Tarde en la man~ana cuesta 2-3 horas para cruzar al norte con la "alerta naranja" en los Estados Unidos. Hace unos semanas era 1-2 horas. El domingo pasado a las 4 de la madrugada cuesto' 30 minutos. (Para ir al sur cuesta menos que un segundo.)


Estimates of economic loss to San Diego & Tijuana are about US$80billion a year.

Es estimado San Diego y Tijuana estan perdiendo como US$80millar de millones por an~o.








It is good to have a cd player in your car.

Es bueno tener un tocador de cds en su auto.

Contemporary Indigenous Youth/La Juventud Indigena Contemporania

Accept them.

Aceptelos.






They are not going to fulfill your expectations.

No van a cumplir sus expectativas.





Traditional in their own way.

Tradicionales en sus propias maneras.

The Zoo/ El Parque Zoologico

One of the things I love in Alta California, Occupied Mexico is the San Diego Zoo.

Una cosa me gusta mucho en Alta California, Mexico Occupado esta' el Parque Zoologico de San Diego.


The okapi

El okapi






and the hippo

y el hipopotimo

are two of my favorites.

son dos de mis preferidos.

A new mural/El mural nuevo

4 graffiti artistas cooperated to create a new mural on the boardwalk.

4 artistas graffitis colaboraran para hacer un mural nuevo en el malecon,

Matadors/Matadores

Killing well is the matador's job. El trabajo del matador es matar bien.
He is well rewarded. Es bien recompensado.

Behind the scenes at the bull ring/Entre bastidores en la plaza de toros

Arrive early to see some of the preparations for the bullfight.
Llegue tempranito para ver algunos de las preparaciones por la corrida de toros.


Armoring the picador's horse.

Acorazar el caballo del picador.







Warming up the horse of the official who leads the parade into the ring.

Entrar en calor el caballo del alguacil.

The market on wheels/El mercado sobre ruedos

Many neighborhoods have a "market on wheels" one day each week. On Sunday there is a very large one in Colonia Santa Fe. You can always find something of interest.
Muchas colonias tenien un "mercado sobre ruedos" un dia cada semana. Los Domingos hay uno bien grande en Colonia Santa Fe. Siempre puedes encontrar algo de interes.


Food, here gorditas, tortillas stuffed with whatever you like.

Comida, aqui gorditas.








Used clothing at 3 for US$1.80.

Ropa de mano segunda 3 por $20mn.








Chivas (my favorite soccer team) underwear.

Ropa interior de las Chivas, el mejor equipo de futbol Mexicano.








Or a baby hamster.

O un hamster nene.

ACORN in Tijuana/ACORN en Tijuana

ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is not just in Chicago anymore. It is in at least 75 communities in the USA, the Dominican Republic, Peru, & Mexico, including Tijuana. Last weekend it sponsored a community festival in Colonia Presidentes.
ACORN (Asociacion de Comunidades Organizadas para la Reforma Ahora) no esta' simplemente en Chicago ahora. Por lo menos esta' en 75 comunidades en los EU, la Republica Dominicana, Peru, y Mexico, incluyendo en Tijuana. El fin de la semana pasada tuvieron un festival comunitaria en la Colonia Presidentes.


ACORN is present in working class communities in Tijuana.

ACORN presente en la comunidades del clase obrera en Tijuana.






An invitation to attend the festival.

La invitacion para asistar al festival.










The clown played with the children & talked with them about drugs in their neighborhood.
Jugo' a los nin~os el payaso y hablo' sobre las drogas en su barrio.




A psychologist spoke with the parents about child development.

La psycologica hablo' a los padres sobre la tema del desarrollo humano.



There were many other workshops with many other themes.

Habia muchos otros talleres sobre muchas otras temas.

The son/El son

The son is many things in many different Latin American countries. In Mexico there are at least 3 versions, Huesateco, Vera Cruzano, & Michoacano. All 3 were on display at CECUT (Centro Cultural Tijuana) last weekend.

El son es muy diferente en muchos paises diferentes de America Latina. En Mexico hay por los menos 3 versiones, Huesateco, Vera Cruzano, y Michoacano. Todos los 3 se tocaran en CECUT (Centro Cultural Tijuana) el fin de la semana pasada.


The poster outside the theater at CECUT

El cartel afuera del teatro de CECUT











Audience members jumped up on the stage to dance the son.

El publico salto' a el escena para bailar el son.

The Bufadora (the blow hole)/La Bufadora

The Bufadora is a natural blow hole about 85 miles south of Playas de Tijuana.
La Bufadora esta circa de 140 kilometros al sur de Playas de Tijuana.


The coastline is spectacular.

La costa es espectacular.








The site is heavily developed for tourism.

El lugar es muy desarrollado para el turismo.






Even on a Monday it is crowded.

Aun en lunes hay mucha gente.








Nonetheless it is worth the trip.

Sin embargo vale la pena ir.

The surf shop/La tienda de surf

Marea Baja (Low Tide), the surf shop, is right across from our house on the Walkway del Rocio between Paseo Pacifico and the boardwalk.
Marea Baja, la tienda de surf, esta' otro lado del Pasaje del Rocio de nuestra casa entre Paseo Pacifico y el malecon.


Most of the merchadise is used and reasonably priced.


Casi todo es de segunda mono y con precios populares.










The proprietor, Carlos.

El duen~o, Carlos.








His right hand man and the high school student living with us, Israel.

Su hombre de la mano derecha y nuestro tutor, Israel.







You can rent or buy almost anything you might want for a day at the beach and take a surfing lesson from Carlos.

Puedes rentar o comprar cualquier para un dia en la playa y tomar clases de surf de Carlos.

Tacos on the border/Tacos en la frontera

This taco wagon is in a working class/commercial district of Tijuana called Soler. It is not a tourist area. Thus, I thought the sign, "Se habla espan~ol," pretty funny. Well, we are in Mexico. Why not speak Spanish? Only on the border...

Esta carreta de tacos esta' en Soler una colonia obrera y comercial. No esta' turistica. Entonce el letrero, "se habla espan~ol," es un poco divertido. Pues, estamos en Mexico. ?Porque no hablamos espan~ol? Solamente en la frontera...


Maybe you have to click on the photo to read the sign.

Tal vez, tenga que hacer un clic en la photo para leer el letrero.






The largest fried pork rinds I've seen.

Los chicharrones mas grandes habia visto yo.

Other sunsets/ Otras puestas del sol

Here are two sunsets from this week.
Aqui hay dos puestas del sol de esta semana.


I never tire of the sunsets here.

Nunca me canso de las puestas del sol aqui.








Each one is different.

Cada una es distinto.

Fire in a factory/ Incendio en la maquila

5 y 10, the neighborhood where CITTAC is located and home to many foreign owned factories (maquilas), had a good view of one maquila burning to the ground yesterday. Falcon Foam manufactured styrofoam. The fire polluted the air with toxic smoke but all the workers were evacuated and nobody was directly injured.

5 y 10, la vicinidad donde esta' CITTAC y el lugar de muchas maquilas, tuvo una buena vista de una fabrica siniestrada por el incendio ayer. Falcon Foam hecho carton de espuma. El incendio contaminado el ambiente con humo toxico pero todos/as sus obreros/as fueron evacuados y nadie herido.


This was the 4th factory fire I have seen this year in Tijuana.

Era el 4to incendio de una maquila he visto en Tijuana esto an~o.





By the way the Matel factory is nearby this location. Yes, Barbie is a Mexican immigrant.

De paso la maquila de Matel esta' circa el local. Si, Barbie es una migrante Mexicana.

The Colorado River/El Rio Colorado

Most of the Colorado River has been diverted to southern California but a little water still gets through to Mexico to support a large amount of agriculture south of Mexicali.

Mucho del Rio Colorado va por California pero todovia un poco de agua llega a Mexico para la agricultura al sur de Mexicali.



If plans for the expansion of the theft of Mexico's water through the ironically named "All American Canal" are carried through this rich agricultural area will be devastated.

Si los planes para el crecamiento del robo de agua por los Estados Unidos por el ironicamente llamado All American Canal va a seguir adelante esta rica area de la agricultura va a ser devastado.

La Rumorosa

The mountains around Tijuana are quite spectacular. These two photos were taken at a spot near the top of the pass between Tijuana and Mexicali.





Las montan~as circa Tijuana son espectaculares. Las dos photos se tomo' cirquita la cumbre del paso entre Tijuana y Mexicali.

CITTAC

CITTAC is the Centro de Informacion para Trabajadoras y Trabajadores, Asociacion Civil (Center for Information for Women and Men Workers, a non-profit corporation). It provides information, and legal representation for workers in the maquilas (foreign owned factories) and a place for them to organize. It represents workers in administrative legal actions under Mexico's Federal Labor Law to recover unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, unpaid vacations, the mandatory Christmas bonus (the aguinaldo, 15 days pay), and damages for wrongful firings and wrongful plant closures. Mexican labor law is actually very good, better than the U.S. equivalent, but without information and representation most workers have little chance to benefit from it.

El Centro de Informacion para Trabajadoras y Trabajadores, Asociacion Civil (CITTAC), tiene como mision proporcionar informacion y representacion legal a trabajadoras y trabajadores de las maquilas, al igual que un lugar donde puedan ellas y ellos organizarse. Representa a trabajador@s por la Ley Federal del Trabajo para recompensar sus sueldos y benificios no pagados por las empresas. La Ley de Trabajo es mejor que la misma ley en los Estados Unidos, pero sin informacion y representacion nadie podria usarla.

Back to school/Regresar a la escuela

We are acting as parents for the son of a friend. He is starting high school this fall. One of the requirements here is two weeks of orientation classes for him and two weeks of parenting classes for us. Thus I am spending two hours a day in a high school classroom. The school is new, built in 2003, but apparently high school architecture hasn't changed much.

Somos tutores para el hijo de un amigo. Empieza la prepa. Hay que ir a clases de orientacion y nosotros tenemos que ir a clases para padres. Paso dos horas cada dia en la sala de la prepa entonces. La escuela es nueva, construyendo en 2003, pero aperece que la arquitectura de las escuelas no ha cambiado mucho.


The administration

La administracion







The classrooms

Las salas de las clases






Biology & chemistry

Biologia y quimica