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The History

Tijuas wasn't born yesterday. Here's the proof.

Legendary Tijuas

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The doors closed. The stories stay open.

Clubs, cabarets and places that made Tijuana history. With sources, and with your memories. 24 documented places.

The Hotel Caesar's facade on Avenida Revolución.
PhotographThe place2024The Hotel Caesar's facade on Avenida Revolución.Orlando Reynoso Orozco · CC0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons

Caesar's

Since 1923 · Avenida Revolución, Zona Centro

Still operating

Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant, founded his restaurant on Avenida Revolución in 1923, according to San Diego Magazine.

Photographic postcard of the Agua Caliente garden, with the minaret behind. Captioned "Jardín de Agua Caliente".
PostcardThe placeDate unconfirmedPhotographic postcard of the Agua Caliente garden, with the minaret behind. Captioned "Jardín de Agua Caliente".UC San Diego Library · Public domain (US) · Source: UC San Diego Library

Agua Caliente Casino & Hotel

1928–1935 · Agua Caliente

Closed

The Agua Caliente casino and hotel complex opened in June 1928. The casino closed in 1935.

Postcard of the Frontón Palacio with its "Jai Alai Games" sign. Captioned "Fronton Palace — Home of Jai Alai".
PostcardThe placeDate unconfirmedPostcard of the Frontón Palacio with its "Jai Alai Games" sign. Captioned "Fronton Palace — Home of Jai Alai".Talleres Gráficos de Tijuana · UC San Diego Library · Public domain (US) · Source: UC San Diego Library

Frontón Palacio Jai Alai

1947–2002 (jai alai) · Av. Revolución, between 7th and 8th

Jai alai: ended in 2002 · Building: now El Foro

The Frontón Palacio opened on February 28, 1947, on Avenida Revolución. Jai alai was played there until 2002.

Tijuana's Monte Carlo casino, on a photo postcard lettered "Monte Carlo, Tijuana, Mexico".
PostcardThe placeAround 1915 (approximate catalog date)Tijuana's Monte Carlo casino, on a photo postcard lettered "Monte Carlo, Tijuana, Mexico".Tijuana Photograph Postcard Collection, UC San Diego Library · Public domain (US) · Source: UC San Diego Library

Monte Carlo and the old racetrack

From 1915 (casino) · 1916 (racetrack) · By the Tijuana River, near the border

Closed

The Monte Carlo casino opened on July 30, 1915, run by businessman Antonio Elosúa as part of the Feria Típica Mexicana, according to historian Pablo Guadiana Lozano (UABC). A second Monte Carlo building, beside the racetrack, opened on March 11, 1917.

Today, not the bullring: residential and office towers on the former Toreo site on Bulevar Agua Caliente (2022).
PhotographThe place2022Today, not the bullring: residential and office towers on the former Toreo site on Bulevar Agua Caliente (2022).Chiko elektriko · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons

El Toreo de Tijuana

1938–2007 · Bulevar Agua Caliente

Demolished

El Toreo de Tijuana, the bullring on Bulevar Agua Caliente, opened on July 3, 1938, with a corrida by Fermín Espinosa "Armillita" and Alberto Balderas, according to the history by the bullfighting group CONTOROMEX published by AFN. Businessman Claudio Bress built it, and in 1957 its wooden stands were replaced with steel. It held about 12,000 people.

Calle Primera today, with the Arch behind (2023). This is not the Café Flor de Loto building.
PhotographThe place2023Calle Primera today, with the Arch behind (2023). This is not the Café Flor de Loto building.IBERZA · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons

Café Flor de Loto and Calle Primera's old Chinatown

1920s – 2004 · Calle Primera 7931, Zona Centro

Building standing in 2021 · current use to be confirmed

Calle Primera, which crosses Revolución at the Arch, once had a small Chinatown. In 2021, according to historian Maria E. Curry (SOHO), its last standing building was the one that housed Café Flor de Loto, at Calle Primera 7931.

Tijuas logo · Verified historic image pending

Mike's Bar

1960s · Avenida Revolución

Current status unconfirmed

Mike's Bar, founded by Cuban expatriate Raúl "Socio" Crespo Villardel, was an Avenida Revolución rock club where bands like Los Dug Dug's played in the 1960s.

Tijuas logo · Verified historic image pending

Baby Rock

June 1989 – 2012 · Diego Rivera, Zona Río

Demolished

Baby Rock opened in Zona Río in June 1989, according to Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias: a cave-themed disco described as a cousin of Acapulco's Baby'O. Its facade looked like a pile of huge boulders, and inside was a wide circular dance floor.

Tijuas legends

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Some made history. Others made sure we'd tell it.

Context, not a portrait: the postcard "On the Way to Tia Juana, Mexico" shows a stagecoach crossing a river on the road to Tijuana. It does not depict Tía Juana; no portrait of her is known.
Context, not a portrait: the postcard "On the Way to Tia Juana, Mexico" shows a stagecoach crossing a river on the road to Tijuana. It does not depict Tía Juana; no portrait of her is known.Detroit Publishing Co. · New York Public Library · Public domain · Source: Wikimedia Commons (NYPL)

Tía Juana

The aunt everyone names. But who ever met her?

The place name is documented from 1809 on. The woman's existence is not.

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Vicente Fernández in concert at Denver's Pepsi Center. It is a portrait of him; it was not taken in Tijuana.
Vicente Fernández in concert at Denver's Pepsi Center. It is a portrait of him; it was not taken in Tijuana.Julio Enriquez · CC BY 2.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons

Vicente Fernández

Lived and worked in Tijuana as a young man, before he was famous. He wasn't born here: he was born in Jalisco.

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Jack Johnson with his wife and three other people in front of a wooden building in Tijuana. Real photo postcard.
Jack Johnson with his wife and three other people in front of a wooden building in Tijuana. Real photo postcard.Tijuana Photograph Postcard Collection, UC San Diego Library · Public domain (US) · Source: UC San Diego Library

Jack Johnson

The former world heavyweight champion, in Tijuana in 1920.

Spent a few months in Tijuana in 1920. He wasn't born here: he was born in Galveston, Texas.

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Know the story or lived it? Got a photo or a story about someone who left a mark on Tijuas? Tell us.

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The Slang

Short phrases and words. Plenty of Tijuas.

  • Cáele a Tijuas.

  • No Mames

  • Simón

  • ¿Por dónde le caemos?

  • Órale

  • A Huevo

  • Está Curada

  • La Neta

  • Aquí se arma el plan.

  • Cáele

  • Sobres

  • Perrón

  • La Mamada

  • Sobres, vámonos.

  • El Sobreruedas

  • Ahí nos Huachamos

  • Ahí te Huacho

  • Cáele con los carnales.

  • Hazme el Paro

  • ¿Qué Pedo?

  • Así es el Pedo

  • No Cagues el Palo

  • Con hambre sí. Con prisa no.

  • Ando en el Jale

  • Está Canijo

  • Está Cabrón

  • Todo Tijuas. Todo tuyo.

Reference photos of the city, not of any one place.

Got a Tijuas word or phrase?Send it and we'll post it here with your credit →

Primera Vuelta · Beta

Tijuas is on its first round. We check every place before it goes up, with the business's own sources or an in-person visit. Something changed or looks off? Let us know.

Send a correction

correcciones@tijuas.com

Photos of streets, areas and scenes (Wikimedia Commons; cropped and resized). If a business sign is visible, the photo doesn't represent that business, unless it's marked “Photo of this place”: Caidahi (CC0) · Definitly not qualified (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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