Border and Borderlands Luis Espinoza

A: I would encourage San Diego residents to visit Tijuana at least once in their lifetime. It is not as dangerous as the TV says it is, in fact it is a great city that has a lot to offer. Food is great, people is nice and it’s cheaper than San Diego. In order to fully understand the culture of San Diego, one needs to visit its sister city Tijuana because parts of the culture in this region comes from Tijuana therefore I will say to get out of your comfort zone and visit Mexico. Only if more people visit Mexico we could eventually fight ignorance and stereotypes such as that all people there are drug dealers or criminals. ●

Transborderism | Participant/Author to Participant/Author

Marcelle Rico (24) is a Transborder student born and raised in Tijuana Mexico, currently Studies Architecture In San Diego Ca. Her family lives in Tijuana and she crosses the border at least three times a week. Her lifestyle is not very uncommon in this area of the world. This interview explores the lifestyle of a Transborder Student from their own perspective. This interview was conducted at Woodbury University on 09/28/2016.

Luis Espinoza: Describe a normal day crossing the border, are there any tricks?

Marcelle Rico: I try to avoid crossing as much as I can, but I do have a social and family life in jobs too, because there are a lot of factory jobs available and not enough people wanting to do Tijuana so I cross normally during the weekend. I check for crossing wait times, there are those jobs. Tijuana has always been a city of migrants, it kindly takes them in, it is just a matter several websites and a Facebook page where you can check how long the wait will be. I check of time that people from those countries will realize this. it constantly and give myself enough time to cross and be in San Diego when I need to be. You

can also check to see if the lines are shorter in San Ysidro or Otay which are the two border L: How do you think life will be for you if the border suddenly disappeared?

crossings in Tijuana. M: I think both countries would definitely mix. I think that mix has already started happening.

L: What are the most common questions that you are asked when people find out that you are a I see people from the U.S. buying houses in Mexico because they can’t afford to buy a house in transborder student? San Diego. We still see thousands of people trying to cross to the U.S. illegally each year. The

only real issue is the border itself. If there was no border, I think it would be more desirable for M: When I used to cross the border everyday people asked me why I did it, and why didn’t I Americans to come to Mexico. I think there is a lot of demand for things that you can find in just go to school in Tijuana. My mom thought crossing and commuting to school was worth it Mexico such as cheaper living conditions, jobs, produce, water, etc. I think these things would

27 because of the education I would receive and because of the future that would open up because of it. Many people can’t believe that there are transborder students that cross every day just to come to school or work. They think it is crazy to cross the border just to attend school. L: Can you tell me stories of times when you felt that you didn’t fit with people from either Mexico or The U.S. due to you transborder culture? M: The biggest culture change for me was going to high school in the U.S. I had come from a middle school in Tijuana where I knew everyone and I lived down the street from it. Having to commute to school was a change but not knowing anybody and having to speak English was a challenge. People in high school had very divisive cliques. Naturally, I hung out with people that resembled my own culture at first. But I found out that I could relate a lot more to a different group. Mexicans in the U.S. were totally different than in Mexico, they had adopted American culture more than their parent‘s or grandparent’s culture. The group that became my group of friends was mostly White but with some mixed races. They were more like me because of the things they liked to do. After that, I became a little bit separated from my friends in Tijuana. There were a lot of things that they were going through that I could not relate to. Even now, there are things that separate me from them, they think I am a little bit “Americanized” but it doesn’t bother me or affect my friendships on either side of the border. I think I have always been a little bit of a mix of both cultures, because I’ve taken advantage of the fact that I live in the border. L: When you hear the word “border” is there any other meaning that you attach to that word other than the actual Mexico-USA physical border? M: Border can be a non-physical boundary. It is something that exists only in our minds and be taken advantage of and there would be a lot more construction and rehabilitation in Mexico. Kind of what happened in San Miguel Allende which is now a town populated with U.S. citizens and people from all over the world, because Americans brought in tourist businesses that attract visitors. L: Could you describe advantages that you see in one country over the other? M: I think there are a lot of advantages to each country and they are kind of hard to describe in a general sense. I think people should explore these cultures more. For instance, you feel more free when you are in Mexico, even though there are as much rules as there in the states. There is a general sense of freedom and not too many restrictions towards what you can and can’t do. Architecturally speaking for example, their building policies and regulation allow you to explore more materials and even the type of building. I also think that is crucial, and it is an obvious benefit that comes from living in the border, that you can easily learn another language either Spanish or English respectively. While on the other hand The U.S. is a first world country and there are more well-paying jobs and the education is better. In conclusion both countries have advantages and disadvantages that is why we should encourage people to visit one another. L: What effect do you think border has on people from Tijuana? How about people from San Diego? M: I think it is not so much the border physically that produces an effect on the people from Tijuana. Unless their relatives crossed the border and they can only see each other through the fence when allowed by border patrol, the border is merely a fence that separates two cultures and two different governments. Jobs, goods and people cross the border every day. People from

our social constructs. I think that by challenging the actual Mexican-American border, I have Tijuana see the effect of the border in their lives every single day. The cost of products, their learned that there are other types of borders that we can challenge in our daily lives. One that use of the dollar in the city, the fact that they cross the border just to go shopping, the jobs that is important for me is to constantly challenge what women can do, to defend our rights and are being created in Tijuana because of factories leaving the U.S. They are all effects from the constantly remind people that we deserve equal treatment than men. The most common border. I think people from San Diego acknowledge the border but do not bother to cross it that interpretation of this is in the workforce, but there is so much that needs to be changed. In much. Maybe the benefits that they receive from being next to Mexico and them being an ally other instances of daily lives, such as women being objectified, reduced to only their is not as apparent as the other way around, that is why when a president says he wants to build appearance and not being given credit or being known for their work. a wall to separate themselves from Mexico, people cheer him on and don’t realize what effect that wall would have in their lives.

L: Can you talk about the most interesting experience that you have had while crossing the border lately? L: What are some recommendations for people that want to visit Tijuana?

M: There is something unique happening at the border at this moment. People from Haiti and different places in Africa are fleeing to Tijuana to seek refuge in the U.S. They are escaping violence in their countries. They have estimated that about 500 people have come to seek refuge since May this year. This is more than anyone has ever seen. You can see the families when you cross the border walking. They are looking for a better life in the U.S, which is not something new, given that people from all over the world have come pursuing the “American Dream” However, Tijuana is the one that is giving them refuge and will probably give them M: I think before GPS, I would have recommended to travel with someone who knows Tijuana, because it can be tricky to move around, but now I’ve seen people cross and get to places really easily. So I would just say to check out some lists of restaurants and places that they would want to visit and to definitely come. Going to El Cecut is important and also visiting El Malecon in Playas de Tijuana. The nightlife is also fun. I would just warn people to use their common sense like they would in any other city. Tijuana is not as dangerous as it seems on TV. I would definitely recommend people to come and experience some great restaurants, bars, museums and an overall great culture. ●

DRAW YOUR THOUGHTS

visit: www.collectivemagpie.org/book for another interview conducted by Luis Espinoza and to download the full collection of 82 interviews

The wall has become an extremely politicized symbol of the region, of SD/TJ. Twenty minutes away from our home in San Diego 50,000 northbound vehicles and 25,000 northbound pedestrians cross the US/MX border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry daily. You can stand at the closest beach to that port at the International Friendship Park and be a part of the surreal i image of three different layers of border divisions. La Mojonera, or Western Land Boundary Monument No. 258 is a 9-foot high obelisk which sits completely out of place at the beach like a tomb marker from a historic cemetery. It marks the start of the 1,952 mile line separating Mexico and the United States. In 1851, representatives of the Boundary Commissions from each nation placed the marker together in a collaborative effort that seems difficult to imagine today. A foot away from the territory marker is a sight impossible to fully ii understand. There is a 10 foot steel fence that divides the concrete, then the sand along the beach and continues on into the ocean for several hundred feet as if to attempt to divide that as well. This is a security border wall to prevent the passing of people from Mexico into the United States as a result of the 1994 Operation Gatekeeper. The wall is made of steel military iii landing mat and has small gaps between slats. Separated families have used those spaces to see each other, talk and hold hands between the bars for years. The latest wall is a double v iv reinforcement, first built after 9/11 when more federal legislation allowed for increased security at the border. This secondary wall built in parallel, several feet away from the first, also vi put an end to the possibility of physical contact through the fence. It created a further strange division of a policed no entry zone between the two fences that is occasionally opened for cultural events and often increases the pain of this division. If you go there today, you will see the barren US beach of Border Feld State Park under watch of a border patrol officer. On the MX side, you can see the lively festivities of the Playas beach front, food vendors, live musicians, seafood restaurants and children playing. What we see here is a landscape that separates families, creates tension between nations and instills fear of each other. The wall is a constant reminder of war, failed humanity and the incessant power play for the 1%. President Trump’s scheduled 21 billion dollar border wall will only reinforce and reassure us of all of many years of tension.

The interviews transcribed in this publication share a Mexican-American border patrol officer reflecting on illegal immigrants, a criminal sketch artist profiling the accused inside the court, first hand observations of how the legend of Tijuana, the dangerous city, continues to haunt families over 3 generations, a self described racial identity fading away from racial tension, the resolution of an internal struggle caused by external violence, a pathway from religious crisis to the questioning of freedom and much more. These stories are tragically frustrating, violently unforgivable, some cringe worthy, or confusing at times, are all warmly exchanged, immensely complex and most surprisingly, they are strikingly honest and personal. They ignite the border from the inside rather than from the outside reminding us that the border does not start at the line between US and MX but it is here, embedded in our lives, in every one of us.

These are the stories that are here and remain here as a memory and history. These are the stories of the border residents. These are the stories of our border—the border that matters.

28 Transnational Identity | Self-Interview Marcelle Rico, born in San Diego and raised in Tijuana. She moved to San Diego in her sophomore year of high school, and has been studying in San Diego ever since. She is currently in her 4th year of Architecture. w i t h r e s i d e n t s o f T i j u a n a - S a n D i e g o Border Identities Marcelle Rico Border is something the intends to divide or separate. A limit or extent which is not necessarily unattainable. Marcelle Rico is a first generation American, born in San Diego, CA and raised in Tijuana, MX. She has experienced the Mexican-American border from a very early stage in her life. She currently resides in San Diego, where she is studying Architecture at Woodbury University. She is constantly faced with the notion of border and how we form our lives around it. She enjoys living in both Tijuana and San Diego, and has embraced her transnational identity using it to her advantage. READ ALL 82 CONVERSATIONS b o r d e r t h r e e 3 6 c o n v e r s a t i o n s PREFACE & THANK YOU We are humbled and grateful to have had the honor and privilege to cross back and forth between San Diego and Tijuana, listening to the experiences of people living in these borderlands, over these last several years. Those who have shared their personal stories, for others to read, have inspired this rich publication. We thank you all for extending your sincerity, labor and trust in each other and to us—two complete strangers—during our Globos Workshops*. The generosity extended by each participant opened a space to consciously engage together, reflecting on the complex close(d) relationship of living within the region of the most frequently crossed border in the world—And all the mess, beauty and challenges that are a part of it. The resulting 82 conversations on the subject of border were produced via four seminars from an experimental Art & Ethnography course series: HOT AIR BALLOONS and INTERVIEWS from 2015-2017. The seminars were held in conjunction with the Culture, Art & Technology Program, University of California San Diego; the Transdisciplinary Program, Woodbury University at the School of Architecture; and the concluding seminar, Transnational Edition was held in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, in addition to multiple sites in both border cities. MCASD hosted the seminar extending access and content to the their permanent collection and enabling the seminar to exist between multiple colleges, allowing joint participants from Southwestern College, University of California San Diego and Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. This interview collection and artwork consists of a series of transcribed interviews conducted and edited by millennials working collaboratively with each other and with us. * Globos Workshops were developed to produce a fleet of 25ft unmanned hot air balloons to be launched over the US/MX border at Friendship Park, TJ/SD. Balloon construction workshops were held at both sides of the border within many different communities and cultural centers. This publication is a four part series of conversations about the border. Preface & Introduction by Tae Hwang & MR Barnadas of Collective Magpie. Design by Adrian Orozco & Abigail Peña. Copyright. 2015-2018 All authors. . Printed at Diego & Sons, SD. Complete free download of 82 interviews can be accessed at www.collectivemagpie.org/book Q: Who’s decision was it to come to the U.S. and when did it happen?

A: My family is actually from Tijuana. It is one of the few families that is originally from TJ. So they had experienced the border from a very early age. My grandmother used to live in Mexicali and she would go to school in the U.S. when the border was almost non-existent. She would take her bike to school and then go back home to Mexico afterwards. My dad actually went to college in San Diego, he went to SDSU and he would cross the border every day. His parents had to pay for the full tuition since he is not an American. My mom decided that learning English in Tijuana was not good enough, and in 2nd grade she enrolled me in a school in San Diego. We would cross the border every day, and from then on, my life would be on either side of the border. She also decided that education and opportunities for people who study in the U.S. were better than for people who studied in Mexico, so it was decided that I should come study in the U.S.

Q: How was it decided to stay in the U.S. and stop crossing the US/MX border every day?

A: When I was in my junior year of high school, my family stopped having the Sentri Pass, which is a special type of traveler card that allows you to cross the border faster. The regular wait times were horrible; it would take us up to 3 or 4 hours to cross just to go to school. My grandma and aunt were already living in San Diego, so I stayed with them so that I could continue going to school. Now there is something called Ready Lane , that is separate from Sentri but is still better than the regular lines.

Q: How often do you cross the US/MX border and for what reason?

A: Normally I cross the border 2 times per week, depending on how busy my life gets and how much work I have to do in San Diego. Typically I go to Tijuana for leisure, so if I don’t have a lot of free time to spend, I stay in San Diego for longer amounts of time.

Q: Have you overcome the frustration of waiting time to cross the border?

A: Probably not, but I have to say that it has become a lot easier. I don’t get frustrated as much as I did before, because I am not crossing every single day. When I do cross, it is because I want to, so I don’t feel bad about having to do it. If I have to go to work or to school that day, I make sure I give myself a lot of time so that I’m not late. I think the frustration would come out of not giving myself enough time to be there on time, and not knowing how much time I would spend waiting in line. Being late to places is something that bothers me very much. It doesn’t happen to me anymore because I plan my crossing times better now. On average it takes me anywhere from 1-3 hours so cross, 3 is the extreme and only happens if there is a holiday. To allow myself enough time to be where I need to be, I plan a 3-hour gap to cross the border.

Q: How do people react when they learn that you are from Tijuana?

A: It think people from San Diego are very aware of the border and probably know people who cross it regularly. People from different parts of the country (Mexico and the U.S.) and from different parts of the world have a more negative connotation for Tijuana. Because of the drug-related crimes and the illegal immigrants, Tijuana has been viewed very negatively for a long time. I think the opinion of Tijuana is starting to shift, and I am happy to be a part of a generation that is going to improve Tijuana and change the world’s view of it.

other culture-wise?

A: There is definitely a crossover of culture between the two cities. In a way, yes, it is very different to be from Mexico than to be from the U.S. Mexican culture is very strong and traditional. But to be Mexican on either side of the border has its differences too. There are people that were born in the U.S. whose parents are Mexican, but have never crossed the border to Mexico. Mexican culture is carried over through generations, but growing up in Mexico is a whole different story. The people that were taught about Mexican culture in the U.S. have no real experiences about what it is like to be Mexican, they only know what their parents or grandparents have told them. To have an understanding of these experiences they have to be in the country and see it for themselves, even if it is just visiting Tijuana. I have known some people like that. They have sort of a mix of cultures, and some of them have a culture that is just plain American, but you can tell that their ethnicity is Mexican.

Q: How does it compare to be from the border city than to be from a different place in Mexico?

A: It is very different to be from Tijuana than to be from another city (not in the border) in Mexico. The rest of the country views us very differently, because we adopt certain characteristics from the U.S. that the rest of the country does not. For example we use words in English in our Spanish that other people wouldn’t, we watch movies and TV in English instead of the Spanish translation, we cross the border regularly to do our shopping and groceries, and stuff like that. The way of life is definitely different for us. Cities closer to the center of Mexico or to the southernmost edge of Mexico are more traditional. Since Tijuana is a relatively new city, being only a hundred years old, its culture and tradition is not deeply rooted like other cities in Mexico. There are virtually no historic buildings and up until the last decade there was little art and customs that you see in older historic Mexican cities, for example San Miguel Allende, which is where the Mexican Independence started, or Oaxaca which is one of the

richest places in Mexican cultural tradition, from folk dance, music, artisan crafts, food, etc.

Q: Do you believe that San Diegans have the same idea of border being a physical barrier between the U.S. and Mexico such as people from Tijuana do?

A: The U.S. has constructed a border to keep people from crossing over. People from Tijuana see the border, but they also see the opportunities that are across from it. People who are from Tijuana use the border to buy American products. People that cross the border illegally, come from other parts of Mexico and are looking for a change of life. People in Tijuana go through the process of getting their passport so that they can enjoy the luxury of crossing to the U.S. People in the U.S. however, do not care to do this. They don’t see it as a luxury because they think they have everything they need in their own country. Only people who want to travel and explore go to Mexico. I think the idea of the border is about to change. With president-elect Donald Trump placing a lot of importance on the border and who crosses it, and the Mexican peso being devalued, I think Mexico is about to realize that they have their own richness in their country and do not need to go elsewhere and buy foreign products. Mexicans have everything they need without the need to go to the U.S.

Q: With crossing the border being such a huge part of your life - what do you think of the fact that there’s a lot of people who choose not to do so. There are people who have lived in San Diego their entire lives and haven’t been 20 minutes across the border. What sort of experiences do you think they’re missing out on?