TIJUANA In its golden era, this city's legendary tourist strip was a dynamic, colorful gathering place.
Some 700 artists and restaurateurs from across the region will try to revive that ambiance four weekends in a row, starting this Saturday and Sunday.
They are throwing a big arts and music festival, called "Revolucionarte Once" between Fourth and Sixth streets of avenida Revolución.
Víctor Amaya, the festival's director, said all kinds of art will be on display, and there will be three music stages featuring jazz, classic and new rock, electronic and trova.
Festival-goers won't have to go hungry and thirsty. Some 50 restaurants will set up shop along the avenue offering their specialties.
"We want our (avenida) Revolución back, rebuild it to what it was," Amaya said. "We want to hear those unique sounds, smell the paellas and other foods sold there, see the colors, see the flowers."
He's also the director of a civil association called Séptima Meca, which represents 400 painters, 160 bands and 60 dance and theater groups.
The association wants to contribute to the city's development by organizing events such as the art festival to inspire pride in what's created on the border.
Amaya said that organizing the festival was difficult because of a lack of resources, noting that all participants are "pure volunteers, none of us are charging one cent."
For businessman Gregorio Goldstein, director of the new World Trade Center Tijuana, this effort from the cultural community sets an example of what can be done not only to lift the city's mood but the community itself.
Organizers promised that many surprises are in store for festival-goers, from a living sculpture to
musicians playing great jazz to exquisite dishes from the region's emerging Baja Med cuisine.
The opening day of the festival, Saturday, is a busy day for Tijuana. It's also the day the traditional "Opera in the Street" celebration is being held in colonia Libertad.
"Revolucionarte Once" organizers don't see that as a problem, saying that residents are used to turning out to a variety of events that are held to celebrate the city's upcoming anniversary.
Four fun weekends
Avenida Revolución will host the art and music festival "Revolucionarte Once" the weekends of July 9 and 10, 16 and 17, 23 and 24, and 30 and 31. Hundreds of artists will exhibit their works, 50 restaurants will offer their fare, and three stages will present a variety of live music. Between Cuarta and Sexta (Fourth and Sixth streets), from noon to 8 p.m. Free admission.
