Good News about TJ
I love finding positive news about Tijuana!
The news about this border city just keeps getting better. I think TJ gets a bad rap, because of the past. It takes time for perception to change, even if the city is on an upward swing.
An article titled, The Rebirth of Tijuana appeared in The New York Times Opinion section on Sunday. Author Sam Quinones writes a realistic view of Tijuana.
Tijuana is not pretty. A city of 1.3 million people, it is chaotic, grimy, unplanned, loud, and it smells bad. It possesses none of the colonial architecture or history of Morelia, Oaxaca City or Zacatecas, across Mexico’s interior. On the contrary, most of its neighborhoods, stacked across alarmingly steep hills, are less than 40 years old.
But Tijuana’s beauty lies deeper, and has to do with why the town is flourishing now.
Quinones believes part of the appeal of Tijuana, and part of what makes it a special place is how far it is from Mexico City. Tijuana is the furthest city in Mexico from Mexico City.
I think it was one of Mexico’s poets, Octavio Paz who said, “poor Mexico so far from God and so close to the United States.” Quinones posits another saying, “Farther from Mexico City, the closer to God.”
Since we lived in Mexico City, it’s an interesting take on the power and influence that the capital city has over the nation and it’s people.
There’s Hope for TJ
Tijuana has survived much of its troublesome past and its beginning to thrive as it makes some positive strides forward.
Quinones finishes his article saying,
Decades after rising from the coastal desert, Tijuana finally has something like a history. More important, it has emerged from its darkest days to return to its roots as that rare place within Mexico where poor people like Mari can find refuge and a future.
We pray that the gospel will further invade this border town and that they will truly draw near to God! O Lord, hear our prayer!
In His Grip, Dave
DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org
