Tijuana History
The geographical region in which Tijuana is currently located was part of the many areas that the native Kumiai people frequently visited for their food and weather necessities. Europeans arrived TO Tijuana in 1542, when the explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo toured the coastline of the area, which was later mapped in detail in 1602 by Sebastian Vizcaino. More settlement of the Tijuana area took place after the end of the mission era when Jose Maria Echendia, governor of the Baja California and Alta California States, awarded a large land grant to Santiago Arguello in 1829. The award was a large cattle ranch, Rancho Tia Juana which covered a vast are of almost 100 km2.In 1848, as a result of the Mexican-American War against the United States, Mexico lost all of Alta California Region. Tijuana acquired a new and distinct character and purpose on the US border. 1889 marked the beginning of the urban settlement in Tijuana when descendants of Santiago Arguello and Augustin Olvera entered an agreement to start the development of the city of Tijuana. The date of the agreement, 11th of July 1889, is accepted as the founding of Tijuana. Tijuana saw its future in tourism from its inception. From the end of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th, the city attracted large numbers of Californians coming to Mexico for trade and entertainment.
In 1911, during the Mexican Revolution, revolutionarists claiming loyalty to Ricardo Flores Magon attacked and took control of Tijuana for over a month. Federal troops soon arrived and combined with local loyal militia known as the ‘defensores de Tijuana’, got the control back. In 1915, the Panama-California Exposition brought a great number of visitors to the neighboring California city of San Diego. Tijuana took the opportunity to attract these tourists south of the border with a ‘Feria Tipica Mexicana’ - Typical Mexican Fair. This fair included curio shops, regional foods, thermal baths, horse racing and boxing matches.
The first big professional race track in Tijuana was soon opened in January, 1916, a few meters south of the border gate, close to what is now called Pueblo Amigo. The race track ran horse races until the new Agua Caliente track was opened several miles south and across the river on higher ground, in 1929, one year after the famous casino and hotel complex. Legal drinking and gambling attracted U.S tourists, especially during the famous prohibition in the 1920s in the US. The Avenida Revolucion area became the tourist center of the city with casinos such as the Foreign Club, and lodging such as Hotel Caesar's, birthplace of the famous Caesar Salad.
In 1928, the Agua Caliente Touristic Center opened, including an hotel, spa, dog-track, private airport, golf course and gambling casino. 1 year later, the new Agua Caliente Racetrack joined the complex. During the 8 years it operated, the Agua Caliente hotel, casino and spa achieved a near mythical status, with Hollywood stars and gangsters flying in. Rita Hayworth was discovered there. Musical nightclub productions were broadcasted over the radio.
In 1935, President Cardenas brought an end to gambling and casinos in Baja California State and the Agua Caliente complex was closed. In 1925, the city renamed its name to Zaragoza in the aim of leaving its negative image of lawlessness created by American mob empresarios, but its name soon reverted to Tijuana. With increased tourism and the large number of Mexican citizens relocating to Tijuana, the city's population grew from around 20 thousand to 60 thousand in the 1940s. With the decline of nightlife and tourism in the 1950s, Tijuana restructured its tourism industry by promoting a more family oriented structure.
In 1994, presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio was assassinated in Tijuana while making an appearance in the plaza of Lomas Taurinas, a neighborhood nestled in a valley near Centro. The shooter was caught and imprisoned, but many doubts remain about who the mastermind behind the assassination might have been.