TIJUANA.– People planning to visit this city on Saturday take note:

One of the major streets leading to and from the San Ysidro border crossing will be closed for a free concert.

Margarita, known as "The Cumbia Goddess," is expected to draw 25,000 people to the Río zone in a concert that's part of Tijuana's 122nd anniversary celebration.

If that weren't enough, more than 16,000 fans from both sides of the border are expected to turn out for the start of the professional soccer season at Caliente Stadium, also in the Rio Zone.

Authorities have already begun putting up the stage for the concert and sprucing up the area. The performance will be at the traffic circle known as glorieta Independencia in front of the Centro Cultural Tijuana on Paseo de los Héroes Boulevard. That's the route cars take to get to the border crossing.

On Saturday morning, U.S.-bound traffic will be diverted to the nearby Sánchez Taboada Boulevard, according to city spokeswoman Miryam Ruiz.

And sometime during the day, Paseo de los Héroes Boulevard will be closed to all traffic from the glorieta Independencia, better known as "The Scissors" monument, for several blocks to the traffic circle at the Cuauhtémoc monument.

The festivities, which will include live music and food stands, begin at 6 p.m., and the concert is scheduled for 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, the city's professional soccer team, the Xoloitzcuintles, open their season in the First Division, Mexico's premier league, with a game against Morelia, starting at 5 p.m. Their home field, Estadio Caliente, has a 16,000 seat capacity, with the team planning to add up to 4,000 more.

Authorities will mount an operation with more than 400 police officers, firefighters, emergency personnel and Red Cross staff to safeguard the thousands expected to turn out to the Rio Zone.

Margarita is best known for her contagious, danceable cumbias although she's also recorded boleros and ballads over her 25-year career in her native Colombia and in Mexico.

Andrea.garcia@sandiegored.com