town
At the end of the known world
on the corner of a desert rivernot Grande nor Bravo
but sometimes floodthey built a town
and the city grew -Tijuana .
The founders began at an old rancho
between hot springs and the sea -shared, divided, united, apart, this
first piece of border pueblo was bornalready splintered into battle
over ownership of landuntil even those founders' children
debate the true date of foundationor deny the existence of "Tia" Juana
yet you must never doubt they love oldTijuana de Baja California
so near the horizon of Los Angeles
and so far from Mexico City .Ranchos - cattle - horses - onyx
transformed the roaring 20s into"old west" & Spanish bullfights
drinking & curios souvenirs .La Ballena - The Whale -
- the world's longest bar -cowhides, boots & vanished casino
the most visited city in the worldsoon grew into a strange metropolis
drawn against the gringo line in sand .La garita más transitada del mundo
the busiest border gate on earthTijuana, Mexico
has now become a postmodern maquiladora
factory millennium megalopolis of the future -where more TV sets are assembled
than anywhere else on our planetyet here the nation begins - aquí empieza
la patria - on this farthest river frontierfor this is and will always be
Tijuana, Baja California, México .
Tijuana Gringo | Poems |