Baja California

Top 5 lies about Tijuana: Mythbusters!

Separating infamous border town fact from fiction

Inspired by the Mythbusters, the famous Discovery channel TV show, that takes myths like "Is Miami more shallow than Los Angeles?" and hast to state whether the myth is wrong (busted), is right (confirmed), or it could possibly happen (plausible).

Trying to find the right myth to debunk was an easy task, apparently the news that scenes of the movie "Hangover 3" will not be filmed in Tijuana, but in a fake one, received mixed reactions from fans in blogs and social networks.

Many people complain against having once again, this border town portrait in a bad light. Some comments evoked French singer, Manu Chao's famous lyrics, "welcome to Tijuana, Tequila, sexo y marijuana."

On the matter, in the blog imgur.com you are able to read comments like; "they are not filming in Tijuana because the city they want to portrait in the movie doesn't look like the modern Tijuana that is now." Clearly opposite to other comments like; "Tijuana, where tourist make several or their biggest mistakes."

So here you have 5 myths about Tijuana:

Myth #1: Is the Caesar's salad an Italian invention?

Well, not at all. Most historians believe that Caesar's salad was invented in Tijuana by Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated a restaurant and hotel in Tijuana`s Avenida Revolucion, And just to bust up the stereotypes a little more, what about the anchovies?

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "the original Caesar's salad recipe did not contain pieces of anchovy; the slight anchovy flavor comes from the Worcestershire sauce. Cardini was opposed to using anchovies in his salad."

Myth #2: They are going to rob you, kidnap you, or kill you if you go to Tijuana.

Although Mexico in recent years has had a lot of high profile violence, lately that have occurred more in other parts of the country, in which Tijuana and Baja California overall, are no longer "hot spots".

Historically tourist are not the targets of many crimes, but at the same time you must always be aware of your surroundings like in any other city, by using just your common sense you should be ok. But because mainstream media keeps hammering with the subject, let's say it again…Only parts of Mexico are violent, Baja California is safe.

Myth #3: Drugs are easy to buy in Tijuana.

Truth is drugs are extremely illegal in Mexico, they are a federal offense, and if you mess around with the wrong people, you put at risk not only your freedom but also your own life. So the image of a drive through drug store, just leave it to the Hollywood films.

Myth #4: Is Tijuana the land of the super fakes?

Not exactly, most of good looking counterfeit merchandise is made in China and is imported either to the US or Mexico illegally. Most unregulated goods are sold in swap meets, but be very careful since you'll be breaking the law if you try to enter to the US with them. There are more and easy to finds knock-offs in San Francisco's Chinatown, than what you might find all over downtown Tijuana.

Myth #5: Don't drink the water.

Well again, not exactly. The fact of the matter is there is no way to compare the US water treatment system with Tijuana`s own because you can't compare Mexico, who is still going through social and infrastructural changes, to the largest economy in the world.

If you are still in doubt, you can always choose from a wide selection of local beers and wines that could lead you to discover one of your new favorite things that you never expect to find in Baja. Something you can go back on Monday and talk about at the water cooler.

Tijuana is the most important city in the US/Mexico border. Even if it was born as a commerce and tourist border town, nowadays most of its income comes from factories and assembly plants better known as "maquiladoras".

The city knows it has an image problem and it is slowly being corrected. The world can thank Tijuana when it enjoys Caesar's salad, margaritas, and burritos. However, the city is often misunderstood; city stereotypes exist all over the world and Tijuana fits right into it.

Eduardo.Flores@sandiegored.com

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