I can still remember that day when I first set foot in Tijuana. It was a bit scary on my part and even though I was with a Chicano friend (Aron Sanchez Quintero, from Mazatlan), I still feel alone, knowing that if something happened to me, none of my relatives would know about it... Yes, I did not tell them that I will cross the border, and yes, it was foolish of me not to. Hey, it was going be one of the greatest adventures of my life (in my mind) and I knew my cousin will not let me go there, so why would I? I was 23 years old then and at that age, I was still so naive. You see, I could probably could go as far as Antipolo or Batangas or maybe even Nueva Ecija in the Philippines alone, but not in Baja California, Mexico. They are so protective of me because I'm an only child. But that will not stop me from having fun. Will it? So I told myself, "Pepe, enough with all your inhibitions, we came here to party and that is what we're going to do!"
It was already evening when we arrived in Tijuana from San Ysidro, U.S.A.. We were starving, so we went to the nearest Taco Restaurant and we ordered five Tacos each. Aron ate like a starving horse and I can't even finish mine. After we finished eating, Calle Revolucion awaits.
Avenida or Calle Revolucion is a long stip of road dotted with bars, discotecas and night clubs. It has that Fiesta atmosphere there. A lot of Americans go there to party and to have fun because to them it's cheaper, wilder and just across the border. Then we went inside one of the many establishments around and we ordered our first round of Tequila and Cerveza Corona, then after an hour we transfered to another Discoteca, ordered some more and danced some more. Oh yes, I can still hear "Macarena" playing. Like professional bar hoppers, we went from one bar to another. At around 3:00 am, we were so intoxicated, we walked around Calle Revolution to 2nd street and 1st street looking for a cheap hotel for us to sleep in.
We were so drunk, we slept until 11am, then I noticed that I lost my coat somewhere, it was December so it was very cold especially in the morning. We headed downtown after we checked out of the hotel. It was amazing there, you'll see vendors selling anything from Pomegranates to Cacti (a delicacy in Mexico) to English-Spanish tapes, for those who want to learn both languages. Everything was so new to me yet so familiar. I remember seing a huge poster of the film "Desperado" featuring Antonio Banderas while we walked downtown. Then I saw a record shop and there I bought a double CD of Luis Miguel as a souvenir, just to remind me of Mexico. Neither of us have camera that time, so for me a CD is enough. Then we went inside the Centro Cultural de Tijuana, the admission fee was 5 pesos per person, I think?. It was amazing there, I bought a couple of post cards too and send one to my friend in the Philippines.I really enjoyed Tijuana but we had to go back to San Diego that afternoon. I will never forget my trip and all my experiences there, it was amazing. Tijuana will always be on my mind.
